Tail lights/brake lights on 18 wheelers

On a trip the other day, I noticed that I could clearly see the red tail lights (not even brake lights) on an 18 wheeler trailer from over a mile away. When I caught up, I noticed that it only had six emitters arrange in a pentagod with the sixth in the middle. When the brake lights were applied, it looked at least twice as bright, possibly even more than twice as bright.

What are these assemblies using? Are they Luxeons of some sort? I've seen the lights that have about 15-20 LEDs installed, but they were obviously nowhere near as intense per emitter as the ones I'm talking about.

Any chance someone has a couple of these they'd be willing to sell on the cheap?

I'm looking too - for my RV
havnt seen any 6-LED though

these look interesting
http://www.vehiclelight.com/ledstli.html
http://www.buytruckstuff.com/s_product_gp.asp?selcategory=61
several brands to look through
the sequential ones are kinda cool - the cop bikes and ambulances around here use them - and certainly gets your attention

Yeah, I've seen the ones with about 15-20 per light, but they are nowhere near as impressive as the ones that are 6/per. I'll try to get a pic if my diesel mechanic friend ever services such lights. It seems like these are mostly on the trailers, not on the trucks though. I saw the initial truck I was talking about maybe 2 weeks ago and since that time, I've probably seen 20 trailers with that type of arrangement, but only maybe 2 trucks with that arrangement.

Ive noticed that too. The full led laced circles sometimes fail in pie shaped wedges.

Ive also noticed some cars have a full panel of led for the stop and turn signal lights, other cars use just a few leds spaced out a few inches apart and brighter than the panel design.

The big draw for use on emergency vehilce lightbars is that they last longer than regular strobes and draw fewer amps from the batteries. I can't wait until I can get a set of LED replacements for my turn signals and brake lights...

www.buytruckstuff.com/ledlights.htm

www.partssystems.com

www.truck-lite.com

www.vehiclelight.com

They must use spider super flux leds. Check out lumileds.com. That's my guess.

http://www.mesa4x4.com/dynamic/single_mfg_page.asp?manufacturer=LED%20R%20US


I put these on my Jeep. They're awesome and bright as Heck!!!

They are Lumileds Snapleds, not superflux. These are LEDS on a metal frame rated at 75 or 150mA I believe with a big thermal path. I would add another supplier to that list, Grote, I see their products in the stores.

Semiman

Thanks for all the replies, guys. I tend to make the same 60 mile trip once or twice a week and usually one way or the other, it's dark. In comparing the 6 LED lights to the standard incandescents, the LEDs look visibly brighter from a distance though it could be because the incands have hare more grime build up outside and possibly a bit on the inside.

Still, I'd like to get a few of them to see how they do in flashlights... I imagine they won't focus as well, and they don't look like they have a particularly wide beam but, that's from behind a lens so who knows...

thanks for the clue!
that's it!?

http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wc...10001&storeId=10001&productId=24035&langId=-1
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]click on pic for close up

TRUCK-LITE MODEL 44 LED
[/font]Most advanced & cost effective LED S/T/T lamp on the market
Utilizes cold clinching joining process for a more reliable & robust product
Snap LED array dissipates heat more effectively, resulting in greater light output
Advanced optics design creates a greater dispersion of light
Electronics completely sealed in epoxy to resist corrosion & moisture
Uses standard mounting holes & accessories
Draws less current, allowing more power for other vehicle requirements

http://www.buytruckstuff.com/product.asp?selcategory=22&p_gpID=39
click on pic for close up

SemiMan said:

They are Lumileds Snapleds, not superflux. These are LEDS on a metal frame rated at 75 or 150mA I believe with a big thermal path. I would add another supplier to that list, Grote, I see their products in the stores.
Semiman

Click to expand...

Yea lebox, that first link might be what I've been seeing.

I noticed today that a UPS truck had what looked like the same thing but the red cover was more... uh... blending. That is to say, if you just sort of glanced at them, you might not realize that there were six different light sources under the red lens. They also looked like it might very well have been white LEDs under the red lens while the ones I've been seeing and was originally talking about looks like six red emitters and I could easily and clearly see that there are six distinct sources.