1156 and 3497 mix up?

thrower65

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 13, 2019
Messages
5
Hello, I've been looking for a way to upgrade my 1156 reverse lights. I came across the #796, but couldn't find it on eBay . However, I also came across the 3497 and I founded a 4 pack of GE 3497 bulbs for a good price. Now, the research I've done states that the only good 3497 bulbs add the ones made in Japan, by Stanley electric and even the ones made by Phillips and GE are made in Taiwan and are junk. Here's where the confusion happens. I opened up the bulbs and upon closer inspection, 3 out of 4 say 'GE' on the bottom, but one says 'Stanley'. How could this have happened, they were all 4 brand new and unopened and there was no tampering to the packages. Is there really a difference between the Stanley bulbs and the Taiwan bulbs?
 

-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
Yes, there is really a (large) difference between the Stanley bulbs (worth having) and everything else (not worth having). The real 3496s, the dual-filament bulb for upgrading 1157, are here. The real 3497s, single-filament for upgrading 1156, are here. The 796s are far better, but are safe only in reverse lights, not in brake lights or turn signals. I get mine from Daniel Stern.
 

thrower65

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 13, 2019
Messages
5
Thank you for the info and the link, for some reason I couldn't find the Stanley bulbs. However, I still don't understand how a Stanley bulb ended up in an unopened GE card.
 
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