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Wondering what others have experienced when replacing the 1154 bulb such as in the 1942 Packard 160. I ordered a pair from ledlights.com, and they did not work.
I would like to order from a different source but not sure they would be from a different mfg since most of them are mfg in China. What say you????

LEDs are polarity sensitive so if your Packard is stock make sure the 1154 LED replacements you get are universal or if you have a selection make sure you get the ones configured to work with positive ground. Also, if you have turn signals, LED bulbs generally do not work well with the old style thermal flashers. At the least, to work with the old flashers they usually need an extra resistor added at the sockets. Rather than add resistors, sometimes it is easier to swap out the old flasher to an electronic version which also needs to be able to work with positive ground.

Depending on how your turn signals are installed, you may be able to insulate the ground with some plastic and manually reverse the polarity. If you do this, BE SURE to put an inline fuse between the battery and light. If your insulator comes loose or wears out, you will have a dead short.

Can you attach a picture of how the light is installed?

Quote:

This is not necessarily true. The little LED element itself is polarity sensitive but many bulb assembles have a bridge diode in the base that makes them polarity insensitive.

That said, for 1955 and earlier Packards, always be sure to check whether they are polarity independent so that they will work with positive ground systems. Some are and some aren't.

As already said, you also need to change the flasher unit to a solid state type as LEDs do not have sufficient load to make the old thermal type work. They are readily available in 6v, 12v, positive and negative ground and are are direct replacements except that most have a ground wire that must find a home.

As for where to buy, I usually buy on Amazon.com unless is a special bulb that isn't there, such as vintage-looking headlights. I usually look for Philips or Sylvania but, of course, none are made here.

There is a lot of info on this thread:

packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb ... 5086&post_id=240608#forumpost240608

You need to change the flasher to a solid state flasher (info in the thread)

If you know the wattage of the bulb you can add in a resistor to go with the LED bulb instead of changing your flasher. Though it's probably easier to just swap the flasher.

The resistor is in parallel with the bulb and is just there to draw extra current. For example if you are replacing an 18W bulb with a 6W LED, you need a 3 Ohm resistor of 12 or more Watts.

(Watts = Voltage^2 / Resistance... 12W = 6^2 / R, R = 3)

Yes, you hit the nail on the head. The point of using LEDs, aside from the extra brightness, is to NOT draw an extra load and any associated heat it may generate.

This is the solid state 6v positive ground flasher in my 1954 Patrician and it even clicks like the original. No need to add resistors.

Attach file:

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What about a bipolar led.

Compatible with neg ground.

It replaces the 57 bulb. Think its a b9.

Hi PDon,

I came across this when I was looking for the flasher you posted in the picture. Will it suffice?

ledlight.com/flasher-6-volt-led-3-prong-120-watt-positive-chassis.aspx



dynamoregulatorconversions.com/online-sh ... -led-bulbs-and-light-boards-etc.php

dynamoregulatorconversions.com/flasher-units-shop.php

Regards

That's the one I used.