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LED Tail light

B
Jul 6, 2001
1,590
163
63
Watrous, SK
Do the LED's retain enough heat to keep snow melted off the light or bright enough to show through the snow build up ?

----- Gimpster -----

They don't heat enough to melt snow. I know some jurisdictions in Western Canada were considering banning them as taillights on commercial vehicles for that reason.
 
the diodes only illuminate when they're forward-biased, one half of the AC wave. If they don't have a reverse-bias protection (another diode in teh opposite direction, LED or otherwise) you risk damaging the LED.

Full-wave rectifying (Bridge rectifier) and a capacitor across the power/ground will eliminate that flicker.

LED's ARE Diodes. I havnt met too many diodes that blow on AC. Unless you over voltage them. Thats what they do, conduct one way, and block the other way. LED's just emit light too
 
E

Ex-Member

ACCOUNT CLOSED
Mar 14, 2007
45,084
1,681
113
LED's ARE Diodes. I havnt met too many diodes that blow on AC. Unless you over voltage them. Thats what they do, conduct one way, and block the other way. LED's just emit light too

LEDs are a special type of diode. They're made to emit light, not made to handle reverse voltages. Without that protection they're likely to fail prematurely. Yes, pumping too much current or voltage through it will cause them to fail, but not reverse-bias protecting them is what I would call a "serious design flaw".

Replace a schottky with a zener then tell me "a diode's just a diode"....
 
D
Apr 9, 2008
395
28
28
CleElum, WA
i used that same four bar light... also got rid of snow flap and replaced it with an 08-09 cat snow pro flap it goes up on top of tunnel and covers the holes. mounted light rite above handle through flap and tunnel closer.
 
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