Everything You Need To Know About LED Tail Lights

It's the perfect time to upgrade your vehicle's traditional factory lights to LED tail lights if you haven't done so already. LED lighting gives you significantly better safety benefits when driving at night or during bad weather than its conventional counterparts. This article breaks down everything you need to know about LED tail lights.

What Is the Function of Tail Lights?

You'll find your tail lights located just above the bumper on the back of your vehicle. The lights are red and feature white lights on the side that signal when your car is moving in reverse. While you're driving, tail lights alert other drivers to your whereabouts, helping you navigate safely through the darkness or poor weather conditions.

Additionally, as you brake, the red hue of the tail lights glows brighter, signaling to other drivers that they should slow down as well. When a tail light fails, you must replace it as soon as possible. You may get pulled over if your tail lights aren’t functioning correctly because you can pose a danger to others on the road.

How They Work

Tail lights operate on a relay, turning on simultaneously with your headlights. Since tail lights connect to the same button that activates the headlights, they're effortless to use. Additionally, tail lights get wired directly to the battery.

Types of Tail Lights

Tail lights come in various designs and sizes, depending on the automobile type and the space available in the rear. They might be round, oval, or any other shape you can think of. In general, you can divide all types of automotive tail lights into three categories:

• LED
• Xenon
• Halogen

Traditionally, older cars utilized halogen lighting, but many people are now switching to LED lights, which are far superior.

What Is an LED?

At its most basic form, a light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that generates light when an electric current conducts through it. An LED produces light when the current-carrying particles (electrons and holes) collide within the semiconductor material.

LEDs are solid-state devices because light gets generated inside the solid semiconductor material. The name "solid-state lighting," which includes organic LEDs (OLEDs), separates this type of lighting from heated filament lamps, such as incandescent and tungsten halogen lamps, and gas-discharge lamps, such as fluorescent lamps.

Benefits of LED Tail Lights

Whenever your vehicle features standard factory lights, it's a brilliant idea to upgrade to LED tail lights. LEDs make you way more visible when you're out at night or in inclement weather. When other drivers can clearly see you on the road, you're much more likely to avoid dangerous rear-end collisions. Here are some of the primary benefits of LED tail lights.

Instant Illumination

Conventional bulbs have a delay between pressing the brake and when they turn on. This is because they must warm up to emit light. However, LEDs begin to glow immediately after a current flows through them. Thus, they make the taillights highly visibly almost instantaneously. These moments can make the difference between getting into an accident and enjoying a safe ride.

Longer Lifespan

LEDs generate much more light than conventional bulbs while only using a fraction of the energy. This is because, unlike incandescent lamps, LEDs don't burn hot. Therefore, the power doesn't get squandered producing unnecessary warmth, and the lack of heat reduces the deterioration of plastic lamp cover assemblies.

You can usually get around 1,000 to 2,000 hours out of an incandescent bulb before it burns out or dims, while LEDs generally last about 25,000 to 60,000 hours. This means that they save you money in the long term with LEDs. They also spare you the inconvenience of changing your bulbs all the time.

Incredible Durability

Stock bulbs degrade over time due to temperature swings throughout the year and get banged around while driving. You don't need to worry about either of these issues affecting LEDs. Since they don't have a filament, they're less likely to break, and the heat they emit is more focused.

The LED architecture allows them to survive extreme road conditions and stay operational when other types of lighting might fail. Simply put them in place, and you'll experience consistent performance for years and years.

Tips for Replacing Halogen With LED Lights

You can always have a trusted mechanic replace your car's halogen tail lights with aftermarket LED tail lights. However, it’s also possible to do the swap yourself with a bit of effort.

Installing LED tail lights is ideal for improving your vehicle's exterior. That's because LED tail lights provide your car with a sleek, personalized appearance. The best part is that LED lights have much longer lifespans than conventional tungsten filament bulbs used in stock tail lights.

Apply Silicone to Your Sockets First

This will seal moisture out and keep rust at bay. While LEDs last a long time, you don't want to introduce unwanted elements that could affect their shelf life.

Test Out Your Lights Before Finishing Installation

You don't have to be concerned about how electrons move through halogen installations. They'll light up in almost any direction you point them. The current direction in LEDs, on the other hand, is quite specific. As a result, you should test them out before proceeding with implementation.

Check for Low vs. High Voltage

There’s a wide range of LED light sources that can fit in the existing sockets of your vehicle. As a result, you should be able to replace all halogen bulbs with LED counterparts. However, because there are high-voltage and low-voltage halogens, you must be careful with your voltage. Ensure the LED lights you want to use are compatible with the same voltage as the halogen bulbs you're replacing.

Worry Less About Replacement

Unfortunately, while LED tail lights make you much more visible on the road, you still can't always predict how other drivers will act. However, LED tail lights provide a supplementary safety benefit over halogen bulbs in the event of a collision. Any impact with a solid surface will almost certainly result in halogen bulbs’ demise.

Conversely, LED lights have durable, shock-resistant components. This makes them more resilient, so you don't have to replace them as often, even when someone hits you from behind.

We hope that discovering everything you need to know about LED tail lights has been extremely enlightening, no pun intended. American Modified provides various aftermarket LED tail lights that increase your visibility on the road while also improving your vehicle’s aesthetics. Feel free to contact us with any questions about our products.