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Beetle Bulbs/Globes

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Oppressa Officially Full-On Dubber

367 posts · joined Oct 2002 ·

#964506
Hey guys

I'm sure Joel will pop in here at some point as he's done this I think.

I'm after the part codes for all exterior lights for a 1971 Superbug so that I can replace them with LEDs:

Rear indicators
Rear brake
Rear reverse
Rear license plate
Front indicator

I know that at least the rear brake ones are 1157 so I was going to get some of these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/White-1157-BAY15D-22-1206-SMD-LED-Brake-Tail-Turn-Signal-Daytime-Running-Light-/390542945690

Any help appreciated.
1971 VW Beetle
Currently being restored - click here

AA003 Custom Title Time!

1,189 posts · joined Oct 2011 ·

#964513
You need to get red LEDs.

Someone on this forum has already fallen into this trap.
I read it on samba, so it must be correct.

Sometimes Volkswagen dealers sell spare parts. Amazing isn't it!😂

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts · joined Jan 2009 ·

#964514
Take a look here. Give all the designations for bulbs

Vehicle Wiring Products

Those ones you linked to don't appear to have offset locating pins that VW use for Brake/Tail lights.
madness is in the eye of the beholder 👍

Oppressa Officially Full-On Dubber

367 posts · joined Oct 2002 ·

#964515
psimitar wrote:Take a look here. Give all the designations for bulbs

Vehicle Wiring Products

Those ones you linked to don't appear to have offset locating pins that VW use for Brake/Tail lights.
Awesome info. Thank you!
1971 VW Beetle
Currently being restored - click here

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#964601
If you want to do the indicators you'll need an LED flasher relay to stop them hyperflashing.

I went through and did the lot in mine but I've removed the indicators and reverse lights for the same reason.

LEDs are too non directional, they are nice and bright from straight on but to the side they can be very difficult to notice flashing, especially in mid day sun, and the reverse lights just didnt give off enough light to be useful at night.

The indicators and reverse lights are all BA15S and you've found the stop/tails which are BA15D.

I'm pretty sure the number plate light was BA15S too but needed a low profile setup to fit in the housing.

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts · joined Jan 2009 ·

#964684
Joel wrote:If you want to do the indicators you'll need an LED flasher relay to stop them hyperflashing.

I went through and did the lot in mine but I've removed the indicators and reverse lights for the same reason.

LEDs are too non directional, they are nice and bright from straight on but to the side they can be very difficult to notice flashing, especially in mid day sun, and the reverse lights just didnt give off enough light to be useful at night.

The indicators and reverse lights are all BA15S and you've found the stop/tails which are BA15D.

I'm pretty sure the number plate light was BA15S too but needed a low profile setup to fit in the housing.
That's cos the cheap LEDs have a narrow spread compared to the slightly more expensive ones. If you made your own from wide angle LEDs they'd be much better. The SMD LEDs are generally quite narrow beam tho.
madness is in the eye of the beholder 👍