1157 Bulbs

[Chief Brody]

I need to get new bulbs for my 74 Blazer...you all know whats been done to it and what I am trying to do with it and while it isn't going to be a 95 point restoration, I still keep trying to keep it as original as I can....
that said, I got to looking online for 1157 bulbs...what I found was some NOS GE factory 1157 bulbs from the mid 70's....
now , they claim that they were for use on the factory line...these do look like old bulbs did...more brassy....then I look at the new ones at O'Reilly's...
It would make me feel good to put old original bulbs in there, but it's one of those things that after I put them in only I would know...

Should there be any difference in the old and new bulbs?

 

[4X4HIGH]

An 1157 bulb is an 1157 bulb whether it's an old bulb from the 70's or a new bulb made today.

 

[y5mgisi]

I would do yourself a favor and not bother.

 

[Chief Brody]

kill-joys

 

[ktmoutfront]

Just a heads up on installing something that only you know about.

Your first thought when someone asks about the truck is, "how do I make them know the work I put into and what is hidden"?

My moms 34 Chevy has all kinds of trick stuff in it. She is now needing to sell it and nobody cares. If I would have kept it, I would know. But it still would not matter to value or anyone else. There are 394 polished stainless allen button head bolts in it. 20 of which can be seen.

So if it makes you feel good about it, do it. If it is to impress your friends or resale value, don't waist the time. And because you asked about it here. You want your friends to know about it. So don't waist your time.

 

[Chief Brody]

not really trying to impress anybody....

$2 for oe bulbs or $2 for new bulbs...guess it really doesn't matter...

as long as the old bulbs don't blow too easily...

guess I got lots more stuff to worry about anyway....like how to get the cash to get it painted

 

[ktmoutfront]

I will say the old bulbs seemed to last longer when on rough roads and such. I seem to blow a new bulb every time I go out. The old ones probably weren't made in china.

 

[Chief Brody]

you know they are old because they have lead contacts...

 

[ktmoutfront]

Are they selling them as a set or individually? I would buy some.

 

[Chief Brody]

Are they selling them as a set or individually? I would buy some.

he sells them 2 at a time....$3.99 for 2...that's the same price as the new ones at Autozone
actually there is another guy who has them for 4.99 and no shipping...so actually that's 2.50 each...still...50 cents more than the new ones...

I may get a couple just for the heck of it....

 

[blazer74]

Nostalgic, just get some to have

 

[Chief Brody]

In the last 15 or 20 years I have seen those old bulbs in boxes at yard sales and thrift stores for as low as 5 cents each....I wish I had bought some back then...but I was driving a rice burner and never thought I would ever need an 1156 or 1157 again....

I keep saying I am going to stash away some Edison light bulbs before they are completely banned...I may be too late already...

 

[Fordum]

I keep saying I am going to stash away some Edison light bulbs before they are completely banned...I may be too late already...

I bought 5 cases, 24 each, of 100 watt bulbs last year. Didn't cost too much, and I figured with careful rationing they would last me past my 120th birthday.

I hoped by then there would be something better.......

But, I am beginning to think it was a mistake.

I have been saying for a couple of years now that LEDs were going to take over. But I was about to decide that it was not going to happen.

Had to go to Lowe's the other day, and wandered into the bulb section. The LEDs are hitting hard.
Its going to be a few more months, maybe next summer, before you will start seeing a big dent in the incandescent and fluorescent bulb market, but its coming.

Just for fun, I bought an approximately 75 watt replacement for the lamp over my bed.
I had tried a curly fluorescent in there, but the color, combined with about a 4 minute warm-up time for full brightness, was a pain.

Even though it was pretty much the same brightness as a 100 watt for only 26 watts.

This 13 watt, 75 watt brightness LED, good color, instant on, half the wattage, longer life and generally nicer manners than the curly only cost $20.

Marked down from about $40.
Still too high to replace a lot of bulbs with, but getting there.

The 100 watt replacements are out there now, but they are still too expensive. Even so, I seriously doubt that I will use up my first case of bulbs before I start seeing them in the $5 range.
With a rated life of 25000 hours, probably 3/4 of that at full brightness, they will easily be cost effective.
And be an improvement over the old style incandescents.

BTW, as you probably know, they have LED replacements for the 1157s also...........

 

[Chief Brody]

BTW, as you probably know, they have LED replacements for the 1157s also...........

LED light is stark and directional...and when put in an old tail lamp fixture the LED lights up a little "hotspot" of the lamp and does not fill it with ambient light like the regular filament bulbs...

with home lighting the "color" really matters to me...incandescent light actually approximate candle light...I hate florescent light...and LED is harsh and undimable in some applications....incandescent is soothing compared to the others.

 

[diesel4me]

I see boxes of old bulbs often at the flea markets from old gas station cleanouts,grandpa's stash,etc...I buy them for 3 bucks a box of 10 often,usually the sellers just want them gone before they get busted being packed and unpacked many times--the old bulbs do last longer than the cheap china crap ones do,I've had some go up in smoke right out of the package or the glass twist off when your installing them before................................................................................................I see many older vehicles that should have 1157 bulbs with 2057's in them instead--and the brighter filament is "backwards" on those compared to 1157's,giving you a super bright running light and a dim brake light!..--I chased a "wiring problem" for almost an hour on one old truck before I realized some doofus put 2057's in the tail lamps.............................................................................................................As for house bulbs,I dislike any flouresent bulbs ,they suck for garages,they wont come on right away in cold weather,and only last a few weeks before they turn black on the ends and start flickering ,or fail to stay on,and I feel like I'm having an epilepsy attack when they "strobe" like that...I went back to 150 watt outdoor floodlamps instead,I have 2 pairs on fixtures on the ceiling and two 150 watt quartz halogon ones for when I need under hood lighting--they throw awesome HEAT too!...the heat is something I miss in my bedroom,when I had a 100W incandesant bulb over my bed I'd get a bit of warmth from it--the newfangled pigtail flouresesnt bulb only gives half the light and practically no heat,and I cant leave it on if I want to listen to an AM radio station ,its ballast kills any hope of clear reception.....................................................................................................................................................................................................I dont like the guvment telling me which bulbs I can buy or cant use!!...I hope they repeal the "edison bulb" act...

 

[dremu]

LED light is stark and directional...and when put in an old tail lamp fixture the LED lights up a little "hotspot" of the lamp and does not fill it with ambient light like the regular filament bulbs...

with home lighting the "color" really matters to me...incandescent light actually approximate candle light...I hate florescent light...and LED is harsh and undimable in some applications....incandescent is soothing compared to the others.

In the home I am a big fan of incandescent, especially the "natural light" or even real full-spectrum bulbs. That said, better CFL's these days come up to full brightness rapidly and come in a variety of color temperatures, such that I have replaced about half my house's bulbs with them. My kitchen runs a coupla degrees cooler so my AC doesn't work as hard (never mind the power savings from the CFL's to begin with.) I've not seen any that work well with my particular dimmers, but I'm sure in a year or three as LED's work their way into the home this too shall pass.

Now, on the car, seriously, LED's rock. Modern ones have a very wide viewing angle, generate tons of light, and take less power (meaning they work better with crappy old wires like on our trucks ) With the instant-on, the guy behind me gets another 50 feet of warning when my brake light pops on.

I just redid my '74 with LED replacements, 1156/1157's and 194's, and I'm very pleased. They're as bright or brighter than the stock bulbs, the light is even and widely dispersed, and should run forever. I bought from SuperBrightLEDs.com who are, let's say, not cheap, but if you scrounge EBay for the Chinese ones you could save a chunk of change.

There are some minor hiccups, like the front side turn/markers needing to be nonpolarized as the circuit goes one way with the markers on and the other with them off, but overall it's plug-n-play and well worth it.

-- A

 

[KansasTwister]

I see boxes of old bulbs often at the flea markets from old gas station cleanouts,grandpa's stash,etc...I buy them for 3 bucks a box of 10 often,usually the sellers just want them gone before they get busted being packed and unpacked many times--the old bulbs do last longer than the cheap china crap ones do,I've had some go up in smoke right out of the package or the glass twist off when your installing them before................................................................................................I see many older vehicles that should have 1157 bulbs with 2057's in them instead--and the brighter filament is "backwards" on those compared to 1157's,giving you a super bright running light and a dim brake light!..--I chased a "wiring problem" for almost an hour on one old truck before I realized some doofus put 2057's in the tail lamps.............................................................................................................As for house bulbs,I dislike any flouresent bulbs ,they suck for garages,they wont come on right away in cold weather,and only last a few weeks before they turn black on the ends and start flickering ,or fail to stay on,and I feel like I'm having an epilepsy attack when they "strobe" like that...I went back to 150 watt outdoor floodlamps instead,I have 2 pairs on fixtures on the ceiling and two 150 watt quartz halogon ones for when I need under hood lighting--they throw awesome HEAT too!...the heat is something I miss in my bedroom,when I had a 100W incandesant bulb over my bed I'd get a bit of warmth from it--the newfangled pigtail flouresesnt bulb only gives half the light and practically no heat,and I cant leave it on if I want to listen to an AM radio station ,its ballast kills any hope of clear reception.....................................................................................................................................................................................................I dont like the guvment telling me which bulbs I can buy or cant use!!...I hope they repeal the "edison bulb" act...

So is the difference between an 1157 and a 2057 the brighter element? I just thought the 2057 put out more light. So they are flipped of an 1157?

 

[dyeager535]

I'll second the LED's.

Put some of the 9+ LED SMD dome light bulbs in with clear housings, you can actually see inside the truck at night. Use the multiple-SMD brake/turn signal bulbs, and other than the fact the light blinking is much more crisp, you can't even tell they are LED's.

I've had no luck with the reverse lights in LED. I believe that to be because the reverse light lens is opaque, which does not work with LED's. Same with the stock dome light lenses. The opaque lens absolutely kills all benefit of the LED in terms of how bright they are.

As mentioned, the front markers are (AFAIK) impossible to run as-is with an LED, since LED's are polarized(?) only one function (blinker or marker) will work.

 

[dremu]

I've had no luck with the reverse lights in LED. I believe that to be because the reverse light lens is opaque, which does not work with LED's. Same with the stock dome light lenses. The opaque lens absolutely kills all benefit of the LED in terms of how bright they are.

I noticed that with my dome, though I also suspect it depends on what white the LED's output -- "cool", "warm", whatever. I have an aftermarket lense in there 'cuz the Dorman rack was handy; did you go back to bulb there, or have other ideas?

As mentioned, the front markers are (AFAIK) impossible to run as-is with an LED, since LED's are polarized(?) only one function (blinker or marker) will work.

There are some which are advertised as non-polarized; I am hoping they have a bridge rectifier inside for this very reason. I have a set ordered so I'll know more in a week or so.

-- A

 

[dyeager535]

I left the lens cover off. I can't go back to using the stock bulb/lens. Especially if I forget to turn the dome light off, which I have been known to do.

Think it was Blue85 who said that you can make a lens quite easily/cheaply from the clear plastic diffusers used for many 4ft fluorescent fittings. The sheets are like $2. Just cut, heat, bend into shape for the dome light lenses. LMC also sells clear lenses for $7 that would work. Opaque lens with a warm LED might work, but I think the tradeoff would be output. Clear/brilliant would seem to be the combination for best light output, if that is all you care about.

All my LEDs appear to be the brilliant white, no similarity to incandescent, they aren't "warm" that's for sure. But I'm ok with that, just don't look directly at them. The two in the Blazer are enough to illuminate the area outside of the vehicle when camping, and mine are all the cheap Ebay ones. They are so cheap as to be worth testing, which is why I bought them.

Report back on the marker bubls, that would be an interesting development. Those fittings tend to get damaged from the heat from the bulbs, LED's would eliminate that issue.