Tail light wattage

[Zeuk in Oz]

What wattage tail lights do you use ?

[winfred]

the most common **** up i see on e34s is dumbasses using 1156 (old # for 21w single element) in the 5 watt hole (lower inside) destroys the light by melting it, so i am not really for anything but what that position calls for, and it's generally stamped on the back of the light, occasionally ill grab all of the lights off the shelf and see how many of them i can make work again so i sell them, i sometimes can melt them and get the hole and contacts back in to the right shape

[Zeuk in Oz]

the most common **** up i see on e34s is dumbasses using 1156 (old # for 21w single element) in the 5 watt hole (lower inside) destroys the light by melting it, so i am not really for anything but what that position calls for, and it's generally stamped on the back of the light, occasionally ill grab all of the lights off the shelf and see how many of them i can make work again so i sell them, i sometimes can melt them and get the hole and contacts back in to the right shape
The reason for the poll is that I have 2 E34s, one owner's manual ('94) recommends 10W globes and the other owner's manual ('88) recommends 5W globes.

[94_e34_525i]

Hmm, that is intresting how the manuals say two different things, probably cuz, the newer one has a more powerful alternator (m50) then the older car (m20).

[myles]

dumbasses using 1156 (old # for 21w single element) in the 5 watt hole (lower inside) destroys the light by melting it

Thats what someone had done to my car. I bought some used lights from ebay to fix the problem cheaply.

[BuckNaked]

I had a lot of issues after a previous bulb replacement used a wattage higher than recommended. The $.99 bulb only cost me $40 to replace housing after meltdown caused the contacts to shrink away from the bulb fitting.

[winfred]

perfect example, you can see the 10w moulded into the housing, i go with what the light wants


I had a lot of issues after a previous bulb replacement used a wattage higher than recommended. The $.99 bulb only cost me $40 to replace housing after meltdown caused the contacts to shrink away from the bulb fitting.

[Qube]

I use tower LEDs...

http://autolumination.com/images/auto_bulbs/1156_pt_w_wm.jpg

[whiskychaser]

What wattage tail lights do you use ?
Not replaced any rears. But side lights are usually 5W and brake lights 21W. Think that may even be a UK standard.

[rob101]

Not replaced any rears. But side lights are usually 5W and brake lights 21W. Think that may even be a UK standard.
Not really, EU standards are set on luminance not lighting power as are most developed countries (ie US and Australia). the standard looks at the lights in general ie the reflector as well. a 5W in a certain reflector will give a diff value of luminance than another. you can replace the bulbs as they are standardised unlike LED's where you have to replace the whole light cluster.

[e34m30SF]

do you have a pic of the tower LEDs in your car, lit? I want them equal brightness as the stock cheap-o bulbs, and can't justify (yet) spending money on LEDs I can't return...

[whiskychaser]

Not really, EU standards are set on luminance not lighting power as are most developed countries (ie US and Australia). the standard looks at the lights in general ie the reflector as well. a 5W in a certain reflector will give a diff value of luminance than another. you can replace the bulbs as they are standardised unlike LED's where you have to replace the whole light cluster.
Could not agree more. But if you go into a spares shop in the UK you will find bulbs labelled 'stop and tail' etc. The fittings and wattages for the elements will be standard and have been for many years.