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Daryl

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Reverse lights are weak. Looking for upgrades that are BRIGHT so I can see better when backing up in the dark!

Anyone else install brighter back up lighting? If so, what did you do? Any recommendations? Hopefully just plug-n-play...
 

ttocs

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my dad actually was having the same problem with his car. The lights were night bright enough to allow for use of the back up camera so he asked if I could help. I found something similar to this that I installed on his car above the license plate(similar but not the same as the link). I am waiting for the leds I needed to finish lighting up the 3rd bar/reverse light area on the horizontal lights to arrive today to finish it and I have considered doing something similar on mine, or firing up the CNC and machining something to go on the license plate frame that would look a little cooler.

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Bo...+lighting+license+plate&qid=1598358769&sr=8-9
 
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Daryl

Daryl

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Adfalenski,
I checked that out and could be just the solution. I'm going to pull out one of the rear tail light housings to make sure the back up light is a separate bulb and if so, order those bulbs and see the difference. I also ordered LED license plate bulbs. Anything that helps, right?!
 

Adfalenski

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The key to brightness with LEDs is lumens. The higher, the brighter. For color, 6000K is a bright crystal white. The higher the K, the bluer the light. The lower the K, the redder the light.
 
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Daryl

Daryl

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Good info, thx!
 

Wmac

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I have similar led's for reverse lights. Improvement is marginal at best. Hope you have better results.
I suspect the clear lens for the reverse lighting is just too small.
 

ttocs

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I ordered these. Will have to see how it goes.
if you don't like them, I think they will work in my tail light modification that I am curious if an led would help to balance the light levels between the bars out. If you don't like them let me know. I might not be able to wait that long but ya never know
 

ttocs

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looking at those lights I fear that they are probably not going to work for you. It is a dual filament "bulb" so it could work as a tail/brake light but your using in a single filament plug so I am afraid that its going to only activate one light or the other. I would guess one will light the leds around the outside, and the other will light the led on the end. If its the led on the end then you might be ok but if its the one around the outside I fear its not going to get out of the reflector any better. I would suggest you test them out before you put them in the lights or the lights back fully mounted in the car to see if you want to keep them. I found these down below and the design looks like it would throw the light out the back, rather than around the sides like the one you ordered does.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08734ST7...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

There is more to lights than just lumens and color #'s. The biggest difference between led/hid/halogen is the way the light emits from them and the design of the reflectors to maximize them. You just can't stick one in another reflector and it will be better because its a newer style.
 

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Reverse lights are for seeing? I thought they were for notifying other drivers of your intended direction of movement. (Which is why regular passenger vehicles aren’t allowed to have a constant white lamp on the back, or red on the front) but then GM decided to be cute and light up any time the car is locked/unlocked, so people wait forever for a parking spot even though there is no driver in sight, which is also why, when you actually do back out of a spot, no one waits for you. Entire car is out of the spot, and they squeeze past you anyway, because why wait for a physically backing out car? The driver is probably still in the store!
 

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Reverse lights are for seeing? I thought they were for notifying other drivers of your intended direction of movement. (Which is why regular passenger vehicles aren’t allowed to have a constant white lamp on the back, or red on the front) but then GM decided to be cute and light up any time the car is locked/unlocked, so people wait forever for a parking spot even though there is no driver in sight, which is also why, when you actually do back out of a spot, no one waits for you. Entire car is out of the spot, and they squeeze past you anyway, because why wait for a physically backing out car? The driver is probably still in the store!

OMG Chevy really screwed the pooch on that one.......How stupid could an engineer/bean counter be?
 

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OMG Chevy really screwed the pooch on that one.......How stupid could an engineer/bean counter be?

what I think is worse is the fact that their models have been doing this for HOW LONG?!? They consider it courtesy lighting, because installing dedicated courtesy lights is too hard/expensive. And since the vehicle is parked, not driving, and on private property (parking lot, driveway, garage) there’s no federal/state law they’re violating.
 

ttocs

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Reverse lights are for seeing? I thought they were for notifying other drivers of your intended direction of movement. (Which is why regular passenger vehicles aren’t allowed to have a constant white lamp on the back, or red on the front) but then GM decided to be cute and light up any time the car is locked/unlocked, so people wait forever for a parking spot even though there is no driver in sight, which is also why, when you actually do back out of a spot, no one waits for you. Entire car is out of the spot, and they squeeze past you anyway, because why wait for a physically backing out car? The driver is probably still in the store!

If your not allowed to have a light on the front on all the time then how do they get by with daytime lighting then? I thought you were kidding about it in this post but I see you have sat and waited for maybe one too many parking spots I guess.
 

MyLittlePony

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(Which is why regular passenger vehicles aren’t allowed to have a constant white lamp on the back, or red on the front)

If your not allowed to have a light on the front on all the time then how do they get by with daytime lighting then?

Simple there is no constant white in the back and no constant red in the front, just as I said. ...though GM can’t even do that right either!!! How many of those stupid trucks and SUVs had at least one of those daytime running lights not work? At least now they’re old enough to have an excuse, but they were doing this brand new!!!

I thought you were kidding about it in this post but I see you have sat and waited for maybe one too many parking spots I guess.

I just don’t want someone backing into me. Parking lot, both vehicles in motion, both are at fault for the accident. That’s why I have to make complete stops even when I am 100% out of my spot because I don’t want to get hit by the asshole that doesn’t want to be inconvenienced for a literal two seconds. They hit me, but I am stopped with my entire vehicle out, it’s clearly 100% their fault.

But yes, if there is a pretty sweet parking spot, and I see the reverse lights, I will wait. With everyone owning a truck or SUV, it’s difficult to see if anyone is actually in that vehicle, so if it’s a GM product, I may pull forward for a closer look, even look around. GM vehicles are like that mom with one child. You don’t wait on them, EVER! They somehow will find a way to spend ten minutes doing god knows what before they ever leave! They kept telling me ”wait until you have a kid, then you’ll understand.” Well, I did. Had one for 8 years now. I still don’t understand. Yes, they’re extremely inconvenient, but I timed myself on many occasions. It takes 5 seconds to fold AND load the stroller, 2 seconds or any purses/bags (not including grocery) 5 seconds to secure the child, 10 seconds to walk around the vehicle, get in, and buckle up. So 17 seconds, but let’s just round that up to 20-30 just because people are ignorant. Oh, and that’s just with an infant! You get into actual kids age, and all you gotta do is open the door for them. Honestly, by 6, you don’t even have to do that. They buckle in while you’re walking to your door. So, FIVE SECONDS! What are these people doing? Breast feeding their 5yo?!?

No! I will NOT wait for families or GM vehicles, but I expect them to wait for me. Honestly, I used to hate that. If parking was so important that I had stalkers, I would actually leave the spot as soon as I could, and find someplace else to put down the top (With speedster covers in the back seat, this process could take 2 minutes). But in the super rare times I was that stalker, they always took their sweet ass time. I even LOST a spot I had been waiting 5 minutes on (it was literally that or the sidewalk (which I actually did park on after that happened, which, umm... ...caused everyone else to start doing)
 
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