About Our Lamps

Why LED tail lamps?

The light output of most incandescent lamps was adequate for earlier times when speeds were less and there were not so many distracted drivers with cell phones, text messaging, and other forms of distractions. Thus, it is important nowadays to be sure your classic car is seen, especially when braking or signaling a turn.

Happily, a solution is now available with the advent of LED lamps. These have been available for modern cars for quite a few years, but only recently has the classic car market been so served. They provide greater light output, yet demanding only a tiny fraction of the current load on the electrical system.

As incandescent bulbs are full spectrum, meaning the emit light at all wavelengths from just above infrared to just below ultraviolet, placing such a bulb behing a colored lens will filter all the light except the lens color. A LED emits light in a fairly narrow wavelength. We use LEDs which are specifically matched to the lens color, red, amber, or white, Therefore, when placed behind a lens of that color, a much greater amount of visible light is emitted. 

Brittrix has been designing and manufacturing LED lamp inserts for several years.  Feel free to browse through all of our offerings as we cover most Classic Minis and MGs and may other British vehicles from 1931 and beyond.

The latest additions to the line are the insert for the Lucas L669 lamp as used on the late Triumph TR4 and TR250, and the dual color L1130 front fender lights. 

All lamps are available in either negative or positive earth (ground) and recently some polarity neutral and most with either red or amber turn signals. All lamps are manufactured in the USA from US sourced parts.

How much brighter are the Brittrix boards?

We have run comparison tests using the L488 lamp (the smallest one we make) in front of a lux meter. We set each different bulb type behind the red L488 lens and measured the light output of each on their highest intensity (brake or turn signal). The following are our findings:

Note that even though the 1157 bulb draws over 16 times as much current as the Brittrix board (1.75 Amps versus 100 Milliamps), the Brittrix board produces almost three times as much light.

Do I need to change my flasher?

 The answer depends upon what type of bulbs are used in the front turn signals. If normal incandescent bulbs are used, it is likely that you do not need to change to a different flasher. If, however, you have converted to LEDs in the front, you will almost certainly need to convert to an electronic flasher. The best advice is to convert your rear lamps to our LED inserts, then try the turn signals. If they come on but do not flash, then you will need to change the flasher. The LEDs draw so little current, the flasher simply doesn't sense their presence.

We have had good luck with the ones made by LiteZupp. They are small enough to be hidden inside of an original Lucas flasher can. Other fully electronic flashers, generally in a square can - not round, may also work fine, but the LiteZupp ones have generally given good success. These are able to be used in both positive and negative ground cars. A minor wiring change may be necessary. There are three terminals on the flasher marked + - and L. Connect the L terminal to your car's turn signal feed (the same as your existing flasher). Also connect your dash panel turn signal indicator to this L terminal. Then connect a ground wire to whichever terminal corresponds to the polarity of your car's ground. The remaining terminal (+ or -) is connected to a convenient supply of power. That's it. You should now have fully functional turn signals.

Troubleshooting

If at all possible purchase or borrow a multimeter with both voltage and resistance scales. Often a low voltage or bad connection is the cause of the problem. An analog multimeter (moving coil) variety is best. Digital meters be subject to the electrical noise from your ignition or generator and give false or unsteady readings.