Are LED lights "Legal" in Pa ????

[Sunline1]

Are LED lights legal, and will they pass Pa state inspection ??

Tailights as well as marker (running) lights.

Anybody know for sure ?

Thanks

[HappyCampers]

Several of our newer refrigerated trucks at work come from the body company with LED tail lights recessed into the rear of the body. They pass PA inspection every 6 months. My buddy also has LED lights on his 30 ft enclosed Pace American race car trailer.

[Steve Collins]

Originally Posted by Sunline1

Are LED lights legal, and will they pass Pa state inspection ??

Tailights as well as marker (running) lights.

Almost all new commercial and specialty vehicles (fire trucks, ambulances, custom bodied vehicles like work trucks) are now coming with LED light packages, especially on the rear and main body of them. 18 wheelers in particular are moving to them at an incredible rate. They are even replacing existing light fixtures as rapidly as possible, especially on their trailers. Since 18 wheelers operate throughout the US under standards set by USDOT, I highly doubt that PA or any other state has banned them. Most state's lighting standards for vehicle lighting involve candle power and lumens and such, and not the type of light (incandescent vs. LED.)

On my last few trips to Carlisle I saw more and more 18 wheelers and commercial vehicles with LED light packages.

Here is the relevant portion of the PA vehicle code relating to lighting standards. The only mention of LED's in the whole section is a note permitting the addition of specialty lighting to motorcycles.
http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms.../chapter43.pdf

[nasa42a]

Sunline 1..........

I sure hope so, as our '07 Que had all LED marker, tail-lights, and turn signals!

Frank

[Sunline1]

I'm a little confused, some might say I'm a lot confused.

It seams to me that these LED lights you can buy from the internet come in a few varities something about 30 degree viewing angle, and some other viewing angle?

Anyone know anything about that ?

Thanks

[Steve Collins]

Originally Posted by Sunline1

It seams to me that these LED lights you can buy from the internet come in a few varities something about 30 degree viewing angle, and some other viewing angle?

Well, that's the problem. Some of the LED's have a narrow viewing angle (45 degrees or less) and some are much wider. The more you look around, the more variations you find.

In the case of the 194 marker lights, I'd look for something that is a combination of a wide viewing angle and yet not terribly expensive. This is probably not a very critical application.

Stop/Turn/Tail (STT) are a different matter. I would suggest examining your existing STT fixture to see what what the existing viewing angle is, and then try to find an LED that offers similar properties.

One other small problem... license plate lights. Remember the need to use the same color LED as the lens (except of course, you can use any color LED you need behind a clear lens.) That suggests a minor problem with the fixtures that are common on our TT's that use the same clear incandescent viewed through a red lens for STT, but have a clear panel in the bottom so that the clear incandescent bulb also shines white light down on the license plate.

My thought is to get a small LED license plate light, and install it so that it shines on the plate, and then block the red light coming from the STT, problably with tape or maybe even paint.

Lode may be able to "shine" some additional light on the matter (I could not resist... )

All of this suggests that swapping out the complete fixture has an advantage as they would function properly - the right LED behind the right optics. But that has an increased price tag attached.

And in the case of the Bargman 68 clearance lights, there is no exact LED version available. There are, however, a number of other clearance light fixtures that are similar in size and mounting that are availabe in LED versions and would completely cover the existing holes, etc. Or swap out the 194's for LED versions which is what I will do as the 194's burn out.

[Sunline1]

Steve

Thanks I see what you are saying.

Looks like this isn't quite as simple as I originally thought.

[Lode]

LED lights are definitely legal in PA. Most automakers now incorporate LEDs into their production line as well for exterior vehicle lighting. I see them more and more on cars.

As far as viewing angles for your markers, I agree with Steve. It's not crucial to meet any specifics. They're going to be brighter and sharper than the current lights without question. An inspecting mechanic probably won't pay much mind to them more than making sure they all work.

My coach is a 92 so I wanted to ensure piece of mind that I wasn't dealing with poor wiring connections(talked about in the other thread... wire nuts probs) along with blown bulbs so I replaced everything with brand new lights and redid all the splices behind the mounting plates. Now I know that if something doesn't work, it's a wiring issue... no bulbs involved with my markers.

Here's a slideshow of the two different styles of lights I bought at Walmart. They were both the same brand manufacturer and same price, I think $7.87/each a year ago. They fit into the mounting holes of the Bargman lights I replaced but are a little wider profile. I'm pretty sure there's an industry standard for the base mount tap for this application. To make sure measure the distance when you remove one and match that to the new ones you're buying. I took an old base with me to Walmart.

The amber shown has a reflective diaphram that fits over the LEDs to give more reflection. The red ones shown lit do not. They only had 5 of the reds to match the 4 ambers up front so I had to get the odd 2 reds for the side/rear of the coach. You'll also notice one has 4 lights, the other 6.



With the stop/tail/turn I went with incandescent over 80" wide boat trailer lights. They're submersible but I don't plan on doing any underwater camping... I like the bulbs being sealed. Wanting to camp the weekend after I got the coach, I bought what was available. They didn't have anything in the line of LED stop/tail/turn to fit my application. I had to put new mounting holes into the camper to install these.

I have shopped around since for new ones for the camper I'm building but it's a truck camper so I don't have to consider license plate lighting. As Steve indicated, make sure you get the appropriate LED lights that accomodate a white plate light if you're going that route with your trailer.

An example for you.
http://www.optronicsinc.com/oempages/stl16-17.htm

I'm not sure what kind of success you'll have finding a perfect match to your existing stop/tail/turn with its LED counterpart if that's your preference.

I hope that helps spread some glowy LED light to the subject. Anymore questions, feel free!

Take care,
Lode

[luvrque]

Sunline1 wrote:
Are LED lights legal, and will they pass Pa state inspection ??

Tailights as well as marker (running) lights.

As Frank said... I guess ALL 2007 QUES have LED lights, so they are legal in PA.
I have them on our QUE and it passed the PA. state inspection ( I have the PA inspection sticker)