Anybody have thoughts on 6 volt headlamps? I am at the wiring stage on my 52 F1, it is still 6v positive ground. I like the low current draw of the LED's, not so much the look though. Is there an "old looking" bulb that won't require relays? Thanks!
Leds are polarity sensitive. You will need to reverse the wiring going to the headlamp. Easiest way is to get to the headlamp dimmer switch and make the common terminal of switch be grounded. This will require a relay energized by headlamp switch to make ground for headlamp dimmer. Then take the common wire of each headlamp and take that to negative terminal of battery. This would take care of the wiring, but another issue is that the 6 volts would not cause the LEDS to light as bright as a 12 volt system, assuming you use 12 volt LED headlamps. If you are using 6 volt LED headlamps, then you will be ok.
Thanks for this but I have not purchased any bulbs as yet. Seems the LED's on Ebay say 6-36V. I expect this would work with the polarity fix.
Many LED bulbs do not accurately mimic the way the filament in a incandescent lamp spreads the light, and therefor do not give you the light where you want and need it. To properly mimic the correct lamp type, the light needs to come from exactly the same spot where the filament would be. Not 1/8" away from there, not from 28 diffrent LEDs spread out all over the place, but from exactly the spot where the filament would be.
I realize LED's are not a straight change out. Looking for advice here. I plant to keep the truck as original as is practical, hence 6v generator. It works fine, just trying to reduce it's workload a bit.
LEDs need to reach a certain voltage to work, usually in the 3-4 volt range. Usually color dependent. Varying voltage does not brighten nor dim LEDs like it does with incandescents. I believe they will work fine as long as they have the proper resister connected.
Those LED bulbs will probably have built in control electronics. They are a generation past using resistors to limit the current. But yes, the bare LED will only need about 1,5-4V to light up depending on type, and then you add either a resistor or more advanced current control to limit the current the LED gets. Headlight lamps are a bit of a special case since they have to work with the reflector, but for any other light (turn signal, brake light etc.) you could relatively easily install bare powerleds and add your own current control adjusted to give the correct intensity of the light. Don't know if it would be street legal where you are.
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