1996 GMC K1500 - Incandescent bulb upgrade for Anzo 211140 tail lights: 3457's???

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DennisT

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Forum posts here in the past have thought well of the Anzo 211140 tail light assembly replacement units. I just ordered a pair. Another well respected forum member, (can't remember who), wrote that he replaced the bulbs that came with the Anzo's with 3457 lamps. Apparently brighter, and they are, indeed, rated higher wattage. Then he mentioned that when he replaced the Front corner lamps with LED's, the rear lamps were brighter yet. And....., there was no hyper-flicker, (or whatever you call that when the directional signal lamps go crazy fast), with these changes. Here are my questions:
1. If I replace the Anzo bulbs immediately with 3457's, will they really be brighter when NO other changes are made?
2. Will 3457's burn too hot for the plastic enclosures?
3. Will using 3457's change the directional signal blink rate? (I like what I see now as the front directionals on my GMC alternate corner/parking lens flash)
4. Leave back up Anzo bulb alone?
5. Use 3457's in both tail bulb position AND brake/dir. positions? (i.e. two 3457's per side in back)
Thanks again for putting up with me.................Dennis
 

df2x4

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Well respected? You flatter me. :lol:

That was me though. I'll answer your questions individually but first a small point of clarification.

Then he mentioned that when he replaced the Front corner lamps with LED's, the rear lamps were brighter yet.

Replacing the front corner marker 194 bulbs with LEDs did not change the brightness of anything, that was simply to offset the increased current draw of the 3457 tail light bulbs so the resistance based flasher circuit still worked properly with no hyper-flash. Also those 194s are the only bulbs in that circuit that don't draw enough current to trigger hyper-flash when they burn out, so replacing them with LEDs eliminates a failure that the hyper-flash wouldn't notify you about.

On to the other questions...

1.) Yes.

2.) Not in my experience, no. Both of my trucks have been running the 3457s in the Anzo 211140 housings for years now, no damage.

3.) No.

4.) You can, they don't interact with the flasher circuit at all. I chose to replace them with 3156 LEDs which are much brighter. I used these in cool white, they look very similar to a standard bulb when nothing is lit up.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/315...evrolet-c1500-back-up-light-bulb-base-5901139

5.) Yes, I upgraded both upper tail light bulb positions to 3457s. Two per side.
 

df2x4

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Just thought of some more pertinent info to share on this subject...

When replacing the front corner marker 194 bulbs with LEDs, you need to make sure you're using non polarity sensitive LEDs. Otherwise they won't work properly or at all. You also want to match the color of the LED to the color of the lens they're installed behind. I used these in the 120 degree beam pattern and amber color. Brightness is very similar to a standard 194 bulb, and these are the exact model that I based my math on when calculating the current draw offset.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/194-led-bulb-1-led-miniature-wedge-base
 

df2x4

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Apologies for the triple post but I feel like I did a terrible job of explaining all that, so to summarize...

Replacing the stock incandescent tail light bulbs with incandescent 3457 bulbs while simultaneously replacing the front corner marker 194 bulbs with the 194 LEDs I linked (or similar) will result in brighter tail lights, and a flasher/turn signal circuit that will operate as original. It will still trigger hyper-flash if one of the incandescent bulbs burns out. That was my main goal with this project.

This may work without replacing the front corner marker 194s with LEDs, but I never tried. I went straight to compensating for the increased current draw of the 3457s by switching to LEDs in the corner markers.

Note to anyone else reading, I would not recommend this unless you're running an aftermarket set of tail lights that eliminate the circuit boards entirely like the Anzo 211140s we mentioned. I have no idea how the factory tail light circuit boards would handle the extra draw of the 3457s. It's not a lot more power, but those boards seem to be a pretty sensitive part to begin with.

EDIT - Here's the thread I made about this back in 2020.

https://www.gmt400.com/threads/question-regarding-194-leds-in-corner-markers.48075/
 
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DennisT

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2x4, thank you very much. YOU are the poster in the past that has been so helpful...........I see you're still at it - thank goodness. I found I had the Sylvania 3156 LED replacements already here from previous purchases. Odd things ..... have little aluminum-like wings inside the glass envelopes. I also had LED 194's, but NOT the ones you linked to. Ten minutes ago I purchased what you got using your link. You've made a good write up on all this. Anzo's arrived a few minutes ago. Have yet to open them. When I install the Anzo's I'll do all the lamp changes you did at the same time. Thank you.
 

df2x4

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You're welcome! Glad I could help. I thought I was the only one with vehicular OCD severe enough to make me want to do this. :lol:
 
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