You will never believe it, but it's true!

[SmokinGT00]

Ok so I needed new red bulbs (yeah the APC ones suck, but they lasted 4 or so months). Well out of 3 places I went to, only 1 place had any, but they only had 1 pair. I had seen these 3157 led's, 10 year warranty and $8 a pair, I figured since it's only $8 I'll go ahead and try em. So I get home and try em and they friggin WORK!!!!!!!!! Yes that's right 3157 RED LED bulbs for $8 a pair!!!!! I immediately rushed back and got another pair and put them in there at the store. I am on this huge high right now, OMG!!

[AaronGTR]

Ok, so what brand were they? I know some companies make LED's just for cavaliers/silverados,etc. because GM wired something different than other manufacturers. Where they cavalier lights?

[SmokinGT00]

It's called JamStrait, and they are actually $14.99 a pair, sorry about that. Here are some pics!!!!!

[SmokinGT00]

another....

[SmokinGT00]

money shot of the led bulb

[SmokinGT00]

a great 'from behind' shot!! notice the reflection of the 'GT' on the bumper :D hehe
one more after this, sorry I'm just sooooo excited!!

[SmokinGT00]

only problem is the left side is brighter, and there isn't much difference when you hit your brakes, the led's get a little brighter, and then you have your CHMSL that comes on as well. do you think I should get amber led for turn signals?? if so, where do I get them??
this is a beeeeeeeautiful shot, as well!

[Black Z28]

looks trick smokin, gotta love leds!!

[StarFire]

Nice nice nice!!!!

The reason they don't light up more when you brake, is because you are already maxing out the ability of the LEDs...they aren't like light bulbs where more power will make it go brighter (because of how the filament reacts).

They look really good...and you got a great warranty!!! LEDs should not break very easily. :)

I still want to check out those LED Neon Tubes...they are soooo bright (and look like regular neons as well). Definitely would be good under the car.

[botlfed]

Those are the same brand of bulbs that I had at the picnic
Mine worked fine for a couple weeks and then the bulbs that is on the right of each light when looking at them won't light up when braking, but, they all work when just in the on position

[Nikki]

Ok, I'm blonde :rolleyes: so sorry if this is a stupid question....so are you saying that those LEDs don't light up brighter when you brake?? They just stay the same as when they are on?? So when you're braking the only way people behind you know is the 3rd brake light?? Sorry, just wondering cuz I would be really interested in these instead of changing the APCs every month!!

[SmokinGT00]

botl, we'll see what happens, but I'll be very ****ed if something happens.
Nikki, they do get a bit brighter, but not much, the price you have to pay for led's I suppose.

[StarFire]

Does APC make anything that is a quality product? I don't think I've ever seen anything of a high quality from them...

That and the fact that all the "****" type pepboys, advancedautoparts people buy everything from there and think it's Godsend.

Just never been impressed by them at all.

[Gimli]

If you want to check out really high quality LED bulbs (both in red, amber and clear) check out LEDtronics:
http://netdisty.net/ds/aut3157/

I don't personally know anybody who got these lamps but I got some household LED lamps from them and let me tell you that they are the highest quality possible.

Their 3157 and 3156 are way too expensive for me to try them but if someone a little richer wants to test them out you should be very pleased. Check out the number of LEDs they have in each bulb too, almost 3x the number that APC have...

[AleroME]

I've been using Jamstrait LED's in my alero since june. I got them from autozone. They're really high quality bulbs. If ya want to fix the turn signal problem they also have turn signal load equalizer that you can just wire in. I just bought the load equalizers last weeks. So i using the led bulbs with the fast blinking for 2 months.

I'm using their amber 3157 led's only 30 bucks at www.stylinconcepts.com or www.stylincompacts.com (can't remember the name)
heres their website : www.jamstrait.com

Varad makes LED neon tubes.. they cost like 40 bucks for a 6" tube. I looked into it. Also they just started making underbody kits that chase side to side.. beat to the music.. steady built into the transformer of the underbody kit. Pretty cool to me but didn't find out a pricing cuz its just in the magazine pages and not released to the public yet until in 2 weeks

[PACE]

I just ordered the Hyper Red LED's from that www.stylincompacts...I sure hope they work!!

[PACE]

Does anyone know what bulbs to get....It is a bit late to ask this since I already ordered them....but so far I have found:

3157
3157SRCK
3157LL
3157CK

[SmokinGT00]

AleroME, you just gave out my secret and my hope that I was the only one with LED's from Auto Zone, so there it's out. No problem with turn signals, I just have the plain amber bulbs, I'm sure they would look better as LED's, but I'm just hesitant to buy something from somewhere that no one else has bought and tried.
ECAP, sorry can't help, but the number part is right. heh

[iceman]

Anything after the 3157 is a color designation.

[SmokinGT00]

well yeah i know that, only letters i know are just one letter ie 3157r.

[daltman]

I have been running the LED's for about 30 days now (give or take) and have had no problems with them.. There a hell of a lot better than the painted/died regular bulbs that are available from APC that fade out in less than 30 days.

[Nikki]

PLEASE help me here!!! I went out and bought the LEDs from Autozone last night and I'm kinda confused as to if I'm the only one having this problem or what?! Here's the prob:

1st~they don't light up when you apply the brake when the car is off (only the 3rd brake light does)

2nd~when the car is on and you apply the brake, only one bulb from each tail, lights up brighter...and its the outer one on my left tail and the inner one on my right tail, also I'm pretty sure that this morning driving to work, my brake lights did not work at all becuz my lights weren't turned on, only the DRLs...I didn't get to check becuz I had nobody to help me, but in the reflection off a truck behind me, I seen no red lights :eek:

Do I have some faulty LEDs or do any of you have similar problems??? Other than that tho, they work great :thumbs:

[PACE]

Originally posted by iceman
Anything after the 3157 is a color designation.

I thought so too, but I called jam strait and they said it is how the bulb is wired. for example the Grand Prix takes 3157LL. Do we take the same bulb as the GP?

That sucks that your's didn't work Nikki!! I bought the hyper ($29) instead of the super ($19)...3 sets (tails and fronts). It was $100. They better work or I'm gonna be real peaved! :rage:

[AleroME]

Originally posted by Nikki
PLEASE help me here!!! I went out and bought the LEDs from Autozone last night and I'm kinda confused as to if I'm the only one having this problem or what?! Here's the prob:

1st~they don't light up when you apply the brake when the car is off (only the 3rd brake light does)

2nd~when the car is on and you apply the brake, only one bulb from each tail, lights up brighter...and its the outer one on my left tail and the inner one on my right tail, also I'm pretty sure that this morning driving to work, my brake lights did not work at all becuz my lights weren't turned on, only the DRLs...I didn't get to check becuz I had nobody to help me, but in the reflection off a truck behind me, I seen no red lights :eek:

Do I have some faulty LEDs or do any of you have similar problems??? Other than that tho, they work great :thumbs:

did u try fliping the bulb around? they only go in one way.. even the package says if it don't work.. rotate the bulbs 180 degrees and try again

[AleroME]

Originally posted by SmokinGT00
AleroME, you just gave out my secret and my hope that I was the only one with LED's from Auto Zone, so there it's out. No problem with turn signals, I just have the plain amber bulbs, I'm sure they would look better as LED's, but I'm just hesitant to buy something from somewhere that no one else has bought and tried.
ECAP, sorry can't help, but the number part is right. heh

I'm sorry.. thats just where i got my bulbs..I'm just like you see something new must try them.. cept i got mine when autozone first started carring them in june. Then like everyone asks me where i got them cuz there bright as hell and i said autozone sells them.. and they say "what!?!?".

Mine are the hyperbright ones. I are a little brighter than the super ones but only by as bit. The only thing that makes them a bit brighter is resistor iinside.

[Nikki]

Originally posted by AleroME


did u try fliping the bulb around? they only go in one way.. even the package says if it don't work.. rotate the bulbs 180 degrees and try again

I tried EVERYTHING!!! Maybe they're faulty, I dunno. Do you guys/girls only have one that lights up brighter when you brake?? They both light up, but only one lights up brighter. I'm going outta town this weekend and just wanna make sure I have no probs with them.....so anymore suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!!

[BrianS]

I tried EVERYTHING!!! Maybe they're faulty, I dunno. Do you guys/girls only have one that lights up brighter when you brake?? They both light up, but only one lights up brighter. I'm going outta town this weekend and just wanna make sure I have no probs with them.....so anymore suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Sounds like botlfed had a similar problem...

Those are the same brand of bulbs that I had at the picnic
Mine worked fine for a couple weeks and then the bulbs that is on the right of each light when looking at them won't light up when braking, but, they all work when just in the on position

[PACE]

I got my jam strait LED's and they work only in the ON position. When I brake I get the same problem as botlfed. (1 of 2 light up in each tail) Does anybody still have the package they came in? I need the part #. Mine were the 3157HRCK.....What is the letters after the 3157 on yours that work? This would help me a ton! Thanks in advance

[iceman]

Originally posted by ECAP


I thought so too, but I called jam strait and they said it is how the bulb is wired. for example the Grand Prix takes 3157LL. Do we take the same bulb as the GP?

That sucks that your's didn't work Nikki!! I bought the hyper ($29) instead of the super ($19)...3 sets (tails and fronts). It was $100. They better work or I'm gonna be real peaved! :rage:

Could be Jason.. I guess some manufacturers will tag their own stuff on the end for their part numbers... *sigh* gotta hate the non-standard stuff :(

[Nikki]

Originally posted by ECAP
I got my jam strait LED's and they work only in the ON position. When I brake I get the same problem as botlfed. (1 of 2 light up in each tail) Does anybody still have the package they came in? I need the part #. Mine were the 3157HRCK.....What is the letters after the 3157 on yours that work? This would help me a ton! Thanks in advance

Sorry don't have the package on me right now. But I finally got mine to work right!!! Try switching them from one tail to the other, and flipping them around. I dunno what exactly I did for them to work, but all 4 now work fine.

[PACE]

OOh! I didn't try switching them from side to side...I'll try that. I flipped them around enough to get them to all work in the ON position...but when I brake they go haywire:mad: I'll try mixing and matching them....I bought some more APC's yesterday till I get these LED's to work and each bulb is a bit of a different color!!Some red some more of a worn orange..Look like TOTAL garbage!!!:rage:

If anyone does have their part #'s though I would still appreiciate it!! (3157HRCK no workie so far) Maybe 3157LL would work?

[SmokinGT00]

Yeah I'm having the problem that botlfed had, but I was thinking about switching one to the other and vice versa. Do you just switch the left tail working one to the right tail non-working one???

[iceman]

What side of the car the bulb is on doesn't affect its operation... It is the act of you re-seating it that helps. Look closely at the position of the contacts on the "wedge" part of the bulb.. Make sure they are lining up correctly and out far enough to touch the contacts on the car-side.

[PACE]

well, Lets not jump to conclusions just yet...since both bulbs in each tail are wired in a circuit...and then all four are on a larger circuit...Right???.....If so, different bulbs in different positions may created different levels of resistence....That is, if flipping the bulb creates a different amount of resistance....just a thought....Hell, I don't know.....

I'm going to give them another try tonight and see what happens....mix and match till I can't take it any more! Anything is better than multi-color APC's....might as well put a rainbow sticker on my rear-end!!LOL

Nikki, are you sure that all four of your bulbs work with the brakes on???

If not, do anyones??????

[SmokinGT00]

UGH!!!! Ok so now after switching all my brake lights work, but when just the lights are on, only the left 2 work!!!! I'm about to rip out this bulbs and put the red plastic back in.......PLEASE help!!!

[PACE]

This sux! I think it is a resistance issue....I just wish I knew about OHM's and stuff....I hate electrical crap!!

[SmokinGT00]

Think I'm gonna switch them back so that I have all plain lights and only 2 brakes, at least ppl can see me and it's less likely that I would get pulled over. Grrrrr..........

[daltman]

Hey, do this...

Take the lense off the car...

Take the part that has the electrical connector from the car that retains the bulbs out of the housing...

Take a razor blade and cut the little plastic "tits" that hold those 2 pieces together, then take that apart...

Take a look at the "Printed circuit", coming from the car wiring harness, and follow it around to the 2 park/brake lamp circuits... you will see, that on one bulb U can plug in the bulb, and it will work... the other bulb, you have to take the wire on the "BULB" and reposition it over to another pin in the housing...

Piece of cake, just take your time, and figure it out... just follow the circuit........................................... ..

[PACE]

ummm...the socket only has one pin on each side...the bulb only has one contact on each side.....I think...Have you done this? Can you claify what you are saying? maybe it's because I just got back from the bar but I don't know what you mean.....:(

[daltman]

Originally posted by ECAP
ummm...the socket only has one pin on each side...the bulb only has one contact on each side.....I think...Have you done this? Can you claify what you are saying? maybe it's because I just got back from the bar but I don't know what you mean.....:(

WHEN SOLBER !!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

& YES, i have done this, that's how I know 'EXACTLY' how do do it.. .. :cool:

do as stated above, TRACE the line that for instance feeds the park lamp circuit... (get a test light, or DMM, and see which pin it is in the wiring harness)... Then look at the printed circuit (map) in the back of the housing, U will see that in one bulb, the park lamp circuit is on one side of the bulb, and in the other bulb, the circuit is on the other side of the bulb..

Just do that (trace the printed circuit) for all 3 circuits..

#1 park lamp
#2 brake lamp
#3 ground..

compair them to the actual bulb, and "WAM BAM THANK YOU MAM" :thumbs: you've got working LED's that work in parking lamp mode, and get BRIGHT in brake lamp mode..

[SmokinGT00]

daltman, do you have pics of this? and is there any way you can translate to wiring for dummies? lol

[daltman]

The LED's installed are here:

http://pages.ivillage.com/draltman/mypontiacgagt/id3.html

I really cannot explain it any clearer than I have allready explained..

[Nikki]

Originally posted by ECAP

Nikki, are you sure that all four of your bulbs work with the brakes on???

Yep :thumbs: I dunno WTF I did, but they all work just fine now!! I was having major probs at first then I just kept playing with them, switching them from one side to the other, etc...then they just finally were right! I wish I knew what exactly made them work right so I could help ya'll, but I don't :(

[PACE]

Nikki,

do your's get brighter when the brakes are on and everything? I fI can get this to work by repositioning them I would like to try that first, before I tear into circuitry......

Daltman,

I see what you are saying now a bit more "clearly" How did you put that assembly back together? glue? I am just a bit hesitant to do this, even though I am good with electrical stuff, I hate doing it....I guess the only way to see exactly what you mean though is just to take her apart...we'll see tonight!:confused:

[Nikki]

Yes, mine get brighter when you brake. But, only one of the 2 lights in each tail, light up brighter when you brake....which I can live with.

[SmokinGT00]

Ok when I brake and have the lights on, that happens to me as well. What I want to know, Nikki, is what about when your lights are off, do all of your brake lights work then?? I'm not quite sure myself, my mom said they were all working but I don't think she quite knows what to look for. It's hard to do it by yourself. lol

[Nikki]

Yep, I know what you mean lol I'm pretty sure they do, but I will have to check later after work....I'll let ya know.

[daltman]

Mine work properly..

when park's are on, all 4 lights light up.. Put on the brakes, and all 4 light up brighter...
with no lights on, & step on brakes, all 4 lights light up bright...

ECAP

There is a water barrier/seal/gasket to keep out the elements between the 2 pieces, and they "clip" back together when reinstalling, and stay cliped..

[PACE]

ALLRIGHT! I did what Daltman said and they work perfectly!! I had to bend the pin on the bulb that connects to the small transistor to a different connection on the socket. When I took it all apart it made total sense. It only had to be done on the 2 bulbs that weren't working properly (1 in each tail....Just take it apart and make sure that the pins on the bulb are touching the same connections as the bulbs that functions properly already. You just have to "trace" where the power is going...you'll see when you open it up.

These Hyper Red Jam Straits are soooooo f'in bright it is retarded...well worth the $!

Daltman thanks for the tip!! Good luck everybody:thumbs:

:boogie: :wave: :boogie:

[Nikki]

Smokin~When my car is off, only 1 bulb in each tail lights up when I hit the brake. This I can live with, these are SO much better than the crappy APC bulbs!!!

[SmokinGT00]

Yeah same here, I can deal with it until I can figure out what daltman is saying. heh

[PACE]

This will help....

Factory bulbs have 4 points of electrical connection...LED's only have 3. 2 of which are in the correct possition...one of which needs to be bent over to the other terminal in the socket. However, this only needs to be done on the 2 bulbs that don't work....Damn this is hard to explain.....

If you look at what pins touch what terminals in the socket....one bulb in each tail is touching different terminals....I just bent the one pin on the bulb that wasn't working to the terminal diagnial from it......If you take it apart it is easy to figure out and it all goes back together quite easily.....trust me. Just try it. Trace the current.

I don't think what I just said is very helpful....sorry

[SmokinGT00]

Actually you did help me, wish I knew more about wiring and electrical stuff. I'll take a look at it tonight. Hopefully tomorrow will be my last Saturday, I hate not being able to really go anywhere on Friday nights grrr.
What would reallllly help me is a diagram, even if its a cheesy one from paint (that sounds familiar haha).

[PACE]

When you take it apart, all the sockets on the inside of the assembly are connected by flat metal pieces instead of wires. So you look at what piece of metal is touching what terminal on the bulb that works. Then You will see that you need a connection where the 4th pin should be oin the bulb (but isn't b/c there are only 3 on each bulb) and you just bend the correct pin from the bulb to the that little terminal in the socket......

That is about the best I can explain it.:confused:

[SmokinGT00]

I'll give it my best shot, thanks for all the help. :)

[daltman]

Originally posted by ECAP
Damn this is hard to explain.....



U CAN SAY THAT AGAIN..................... But it works... TRUST US...

:D

[SmokinGT00]

see i have no clue how to trace the power and blah blah blah, so I dunno what to do......I looked and read what you guys said but I just don't know anything about electrical stuff.

[GrandAmSC/T]

smokin trust me it isnt just you. I wire up stereos and stuff but im still stumped. I guess back outside i go, im gonna figure this out.

[GrandAmSC/T]

here maybe you all should look here http://www.n-body.net/tech/index.php then click on modfying 3157 led bulbs....

So those directions are the same as what you all are giving it looks like. easier to understand. Did you guys just cut the wire off or what? and how did you get the wire over, mine wont reach... or how did you get the LED holder seperated? thanks

[PACE]

I didn't seperate the bulb...I just bent the small pin on the bulb over to the correct terminal on the socket. Once you open up the assembly it will make total sence to you....Just seperate the the part that holds the bulbs....as soon as you do you will be like..."oh I get it!" I promise.

[SmokinGT00]

Ok since we are all talking about GT taillights, which pin are you bending to another terminal??

[SmokinGT00]

Anyone out there???? Until now there was no problem getting a response, and of course now is the most important time to respond and tell me which pin you move....go figure. :(

[GrandAmSC/T]

ok in the bulb casing there is a little round thing on the side look really closely. thats called the key well face that side that they key is on towards you. if you number the pins 1 2 3 4 you move the 2 pin into the number 3 pin location and cut the number 3 pin off- dont need it. ill show u a picture of what i mean.

[GrandAmSC/T]

another

[SmokinGT00]

You are kickass, yay a diagram! hehe Ok so what exactly am I cutting? The entire 3rd pin?

EDIT: BTW sorry I'm such a loser right now, I know it's really hard to explain this stuff. Thanks everyone for everything.

[SmokinGT00]

Ok see I am confused because my led's have 4 pins

[SmokinGT00]

Not a great pic cuz I sharpened it alot to show the bulb better, heres another.......is yours the same??

[SmokinGT00]

Ok so the 2nd pic you posted is the 'before' right? I can't see this little round thing you're talking about, hopefully I have the same led as you. I understand how to cut the wire and move #2 to #3, but how do I keep it there once I have it moved?? Also, for the life of me I can't seperate the bulb at all, what can I do? I'm gonna wait til morning to do this, eyes are gettin droopy. Thanks for all the help!! I almost have this!!!

Actually, since I can't see the little round thing that you are talking about, so if you have the JamStraits, in the middle of the bulb, is there 1 led on top of 2 led's or are 2 led's on top of 1 led?? They're kinda lined up like bowling pins, just 3 of them there in the middle, that way I can tell which is the correct way to hold the bulb.

[SmokinGT00]

LOL ok I just noticed, your directions and your first diagram are reversed, your directions say move the 2nd pin into the 3rd or the 3rd into the 2nd? Diagram shows the latter part.

[SmokinGT00]

I know I'm getting annoying about this, but I'm soooooooooo close to getting these bulbs done, all I need to know is which pin and how to get the stupid bulb casing apart. Pllllllllease help me!!!! :(

[GrandAmSC/T]

LOL ok sorry it took me so long to respond im never on here till late. ok first you have to get the bulbs out of the casing. The pins at the bottom you just straighten out and then its kinda tricky from here. If you have a small screw driver just put it into the holes in the casing and push on that circut board-- Carefully. it'll finally work its way out, you'll have to pull and tug alot. now you cut the number 3 pin and move the number 2 pin into the number 3 pin hole. I belive the number 2 pin has a big resistor on it like bigger than the other ones on the pins.

and yes i have the jamstraits....

so i take it you found the "key" its on the outer edge of the casing. Look at the side with the LEDs themselves facing towards you and look down and its on the circut board that the leds are mounted on. a little round hole will be there on one side but not on the other. face the side with the little hole towards you, as if looking at the bulb with the LEDS facing towards the celing. then get the bulb out of the casing and then bend the 2 pin to where it goes into the number 3 pin hole. number 3 pin will be cut off. dont need it. then just push the leds back into the casing carefully. be easy with the pins dont bend them too much they like to break.


And i think you know you only do this with 2 of the 4 bulbs right?
put one bulb into one of your sockets flipping it around until it works then the second bulb the one that doesnt work is the one that you "Fix" put them in and waaa lah they all work.

if theres anything you need cleared up on just let me know. Ill check this post more frequently now until you get them working. Hope i helped you out.


Now lol do you got any tips on clearing tail lights. I noticed yours are cleared, have any specific way that you did that worked great without cracking them? mine arent cleared yet :(

[romneym]

Cool thing about all these LED light things.

I wanted to comment only on something said at the beginning.

Incadescent lights do get brighter with more power, but if car lights have not changed much since the 80's (the last time I pulled some appart), then autos use the TWO fillament technique to make brighter light. Thus, when you blink or brake, the light gets approx. twice as bright because BOTH fillaments are lighting.

I would think you would need two LED sets of lights to emulate this, but hey, some of you here say they are working. If they are still not much different from just regular lights, try taping into the line and adding a second pair (or two other pair) to double the light. I guess you'd have to make modifications into the lense base. Perhaps I should shut up?

[GrandAmSC/T]

SmokinGT00- i just went outside and shot a pic of the FINISHED bulb. This is what it will look like when its done, hopefully this will help ya even more.

[GrandAmSC/T]

romneym- that would be a good idea to try, i think it would look cool and be extra bright. but it would probably be more trouble than its worth. The LED's DO get brighter i think about as bright as the regular bulb.

since the LED's are obviously not dual filament i think the car just sends for instance 8 watts to the bulb when its on and when the brake is hit it sends a signal to the computer to up the wattage to the bulb to lets say 20 watts. I believe thats how it works someone can correct me if im wrong.

[SmokinGT00]

I think I ****ed up...the 3 and 4 pins are still connected, but have seperated from the circuit 'board'....is this ok? The pins are straightened but aren't going through, which is why 3 and 4 seperated.....is this right????

[SmokinGT00]

*desperate plea for help*

[GrandAmSC/T]

im not sure if im understanding whats going on. SO the number 3 and 4 pins came loose from the circut board? well you dont need the number 3 pin anyways thats the one your suppossed to cut off. But if number 4 came loose thats bad, your gonna have to see if you can get it back into the place it goes when you put your bulb back into the casing, or else solder it back.

LOL i wished you lived closer id just come and do it for ya lol.

Were gonna have to throw a party when we get yours working:thumbs:

did you look at that pic that i took of my bulb? all you need to do is make 2 of your bulbs look exactly like mine.

[SmokinGT00]

Yeah I understand how to do it, how did you keep your 2 pin in place once you moved it? I'm about to give up on this, is there any other way I can get the casing apart? The 1 and 2 pins don't want to move. :rolleyes:

[SmokinGT00]

One of the pins that's outside of the casing that you bend (#2) well that pin broke off. It was pretty fragile. Tell ya what Grand Am, can you pick up a pair and do it for me? I'll pay for the bulbs and shipping, because I just can't get this, the wires were too fragile, probably from taking them out so much. I would really appreciate it. If you have the chance today to get some and do it, I'd appreciate it if you could send it out with 1 day. I have to leave for DE Saturday around noon.

[Rba007]

Did you ever get this to work smokin? Im interested, and will soon be working on this project myself. Thanks!
I think I understand what we need to do, but im still not too clear on how to get the led's apart. Any clarification would be mucho appreciated!

Thanks,
Dave

[drburns]

I was thinking of replacing my front turn signal (3157) and the small marker light (194) with amber LEDs. Do I need to do this same bulb mod to get them to flash correctly, or do I need an electronic flash relay?

[Rba007]

From reading on clubgp, youll need the relay thingy. The relay will prevent the quick, random blinking when you have the blinker engaged. The led's will work without it, but it will be a rapid, random blink. Prolly not too legal.

[SilverEcstasy]

Okay I had a quick curious lil question. The inside of the brake light assembly has reflective filaments inside right? Or else the light wouldn't glow very well?

If this is true, then a regular bulb, being round and clear would shed light on all corners of the reflective plastic in the brake light assembly, thus making them glow bright, and even brighter when the brakelight casing is cleared out. Since L.E.D.s are only an octagon of bulbs pointing backwards, and don't go all the way around like a regular bulb, its not going to glow the casing very bright.

Am I right on this observation? Or am I hittin the bong up too much lol

[SmokinGT00]

Ok guys so I got the problem fixed. I messed up the one LED so I went and got an APC LED. Well the APC actually works the way they are all supposed to. I'm having a problem with one of them, 4 of the led's don't work, so I'm gonna have to take it back, but they work without having to take anythign apart. And MikeNT, it still reflects and the LED's are much brighter, people can see you alot better with actual red led's. If you look into an APC led casing, you can see that one of the wires is crossed over, like what you have to do to the jamstraits. All you need are two for the ones that don't work properly, problem solved. :D

[SilverEcstasy]

Originally posted by SmokinGT00
Ok guys so I got the problem fixed. I messed up the one LED so I went and got an APC LED. Well the APC actually works the way they are all supposed to. I'm having a problem with one of them, 4 of the led's don't work, so I'm gonna have to take it back, but they work without having to take anythign apart. And MikeNT, it still reflects and the LED's are much brighter, people can see you alot better with actual red led's. If you look into an APC led casing, you can see that one of the wires is crossed over, like what you have to do to the jamstraits. All you need are two for the ones that don't work properly, problem solved. :D

Ahh okay. I wanna see someone paint their stock brake light casing to match the color of their car like *** has with their clear tails

[SmokinGT00]

No see *** tails are different from ours. They have HUGE LED's, they aren't small like the ones in the store. The 'chrome' color inside helps reflect light, so if you put a color over it, it won't reflect and it will look like ass, so don't do it. It's 'chrome' for a reason.

[SilverEcstasy]

Originally posted by SmokinGT00
No see *** tails are different from ours. They have HUGE LED's,

I call those leds "bicycle reflectors" lol

I know, i just wondered how it'd look.

[Vintalage]

where can i find these APC leds? I looked in autozone, but saw no led lights whatsoever.

[GrandAmSC/T]

Originally posted by Vintalage
where can i find these APC leds? I looked in autozone, but saw no led lights whatsoever.

I got my JamStraits at Autozone and i bought some APC's at an autoparts store called O'Rilieys (sp) but i think that store is only around my area.

[GrandAmSC/T]

Originally posted by Rba007
From reading on clubgp, youll need the relay thingy. The relay will prevent the quick, random blinking when you have the blinker engaged. The led's will work without it, but it will be a rapid, random blink. Prolly not too legal.

yep relay needed for this, thats why im not doing 3157 LED's for now too much work. :(

[GrandAmSC/T]

Originally posted by MikeNT256


Ahh okay. I wanna see someone paint their stock brake light casing to match the color of their car like *** has with their clear tails

I thought about it but i personally never will i think the casing to match the car looks like ass, but thats just me. It blends in too much i like the reflection better. I guess im just a ricer! wanting plain jane reflective tails.

[Rba007]

So let me get this straight...
I need:
2 red jamstraits
and 2 red apc led's in the 3157?


And the apc's will work in the two positions that the jamstraits dont?

[GrandAmSC/T]

i have no idea ive never heard of this. I used the APC's and they blew all my fuses so i took the POS's back. I got 4 jamstraits for now.

[Rba007]

Thats what I thought smokingt00 said, so, I was just checking. Thanks though, I think ill get the jamstraits as well. Id just assume not have apc products in my vehicle..

[SmokinGT00]

Yeah for the 2 jamstraits that don't work, get 2 APC LED 3157's. They look different from each other, but everything works like it should so I'm not complaining at all. I haven't had a problem with the APC's blowing fuses or whatever.

[Rba007]

Guys and ladies,
I went to both the autozones in my county today, and they had never heard of jamstraits. I cant find them on the autozone website either. Do you know of any where else where I could find them?

[Rba007]

Anyone?

[PACE]

www.stylinconcepts.com

[Rba007]

Thanks!


I'm still a bit paranoid about having to pop open the bulb though, but im sure if i run into trouble ill find one of you guys to help me out.

-Dave

[thedj7599GASE]

hey everyone, jus wanted to say, i got the bulbs, they work great, and i didnt have to open up the casing to get em to work right, thats a waste of time and effort.....so all i can say is, they're freakin awesome!!!:D :cool:

[GrandAmSC/T]

Originally posted by thedj7599GASE
hey everyone, jus wanted to say, i got the bulbs, they work great, and i didnt have to open up the casing to get em to work right, thats a waste of time and effort.....so all i can say is, they're freakin awesome!!!:D :cool:

which bulbs are you talking about here??? did you get 2 apc bulbs and 2 jam straits.

IF you got all jam straits you might think they work right till you hit your brakes. Just FYI. If so go check.

[thedj7599GASE]

i got all jamstraights, my turn signals too they all work, when normal and when i hit the brakes, ive double checked many many times....and i did have to move one of the connections but you dont need to open up the casing to do it...

[jason]

Ok guys, i've read this thread like 4 times now and I still can't figure out how the jamstraight bulbs come out. I have 4 jamstraights in right now and i tried everything to try to pop the top off. Any of you guys wanna give me some quick advice before I break something.

jason

[Rba007]

Straighten out the pins coming from the end of the bulb out with a razor blade. Then, just pry gently up from inside the bulb on the circuit board. The lights should come out easily. I just finished installing my AWESOME new clear tails. I couldnt get one of the Jamstraits to work , so i went to autozone and picked up two of the apc ones, and they worked great. They say "for chevy" on them, and come with the modification that you are doing to your jamstraits now already done. Goodluck!

[thedj7599GASE]

alright lets see if i can explain this, first YOU DONT NEED TO TAKE OUT THE LIGHT OR TAKE ANYTHING APART, its too risky in breaking the bulb.

First, you can take the contact that you dont use/need and break it off or just bend it around to the other side so it isnt touching any contacts(if u wanna be safe w/o doing permanent damage).

Then, bend the contact that u are supposed to move from 2 to 3 or whatever and make it to a 90 degree angle from the base, then twist it around so that the tip of the contact is where the unused "3" contact used to be and viola! no opening it and they work fine. Its how i did mine, they all work perfect.

[GrandAmSC/T]

i dont know how it worked for you i guess i got jipped. I tried doing that but the wire lead wasnt long enough. so i took the bulb apart and did it that way.

[thedj7599GASE]

hmm, i dunno....mebbe i got newer ones or sumthin

[SmokinGT00]

Easiest way to fix your problem: get APC's. No work, no fuss.....

[thedj7599GASE]

aint it a widely known fact on the boards that APC's blow fuses

[SmokinGT00]

Hasn't done a thing to my car.

[thedj7599GASE]

well thats good, mebbe u got newer ones that have been tweaked a lil to actually works with gm's besides chevy's....

[drburns]

Being that we're talking about LED's on this thread...I just finished installing Jamstrait amber LEDs for the front turn signal and marker lamps (3157 and 194). They work great. I had to install a load equalizer on 3157s to stop the hyper flash problem. The only problem I can see with them is that when the lights are on and you use the turn signal, they don't flash as bright as the stock ones. Nevertheless, they look really nice; no more yellow bulbs. Just nice clean chrome up front. I'll try to post pics tomorrow.

Also, there was no need to modify the bulb pins. Is this just for the brake lights only? (I'm thinking of changing to LEDs in the rear now)

[thedj7599GASE]

how did u install the load equalizer....i bought the variable load equalizer flasher that it reccomended on the back of the LED package....but i have no clue where to put it to replace the original. it was part #552 like the package said...

[drburns]

What I installed was a load equalizer resistor. It's a small gold resistor that goes inline behind the bulb socket. You connect it between the black (ground) and the blue (positive) wires on the socket. What you have sounds like a flasher module(small black box with prongs). I don't think you need that because the GAs have an electronic flasher. That installs in the fuse block on the passenger side I think. Either way you may have to return it and use a load equalizer resistor. Here's a pic of the load equalizer.

[thedj7599GASE]

wow, yep....thats definatly not what i have, lol
what i got looks like a 3/4" x 3/4" alum. cylinder w/2 prongs....guess ill have to swing by the parts store again :(

[Vintalage]

whats the difference between buying a load equalizer and an electronic flasher?

[drburns]

Here are some pics of the amber Jamstraits.

[drburns]

A load equalizer is a resistor that goes in line behind the bulb socket to equalize the resistance for the LED bulbs. An electronic flasher goes somewhere in the fuse box and actually causes the light to flash. That's usually reserved for older cars.

Another pic. No more amber "egg yolk" look:

[Vintalage]

was the load equalizer easy to install?

[drburns]

Here's what they look like on:

[Vintalage]

hmmm, looks very good. That is definately on my list of mods to do when I get my Grand am.

[drburns]

The load equalizer was a joke to install. It took all of about 20 minutes to do the bulbs and equalizer. Just read up a couple of posts how to install it.

More pics:

[drburns]

Last pic:

[Vintalage]

hey, i just looked through some of your pics and noticed that you have a basslink. I was on another forum asking if the basslink was good cause I plan on getting it once I get the grand am. So does it improve the low end bass?

[drburns]

The basslink does a lot more than improve the low end bass. It absolutely rocks. I couldn't believe the bass that comes out of that thing. I highly recommend it.

[Gamguy]

I did the clear taillight mod with the Jammies but only did two of the four bulbs as far as the wire mod goes all four lights work perfect on/off tail/brake was just wondering if I could get em brighter with all four of the bulbs modded(cut wire and move resistor wire over) These are for the Jamstraights.

[GrandAmSC/T]

no you dont want to mod all 4 bulbs that wouldnt make them brighter. If you mod all 4 bulbs they wont work.

[Gamguy]

ok thanks just wondering