Which bulb?

M

M Darrah

Registered
Seems like such a minor thing, but which is the right bulb for the brake light/turn indicator on a '98? The owners manual says 3057. The Silvania book at Pep Boys says 3357. I decide to go with the owners manual and get 3057. I get it home and pull the lamp housing to find a 3157 in there! Good grief. What's the difference between these things anyway? They all look identical.

And don't say 3257. :)
 
RE: Which bulb?

The Sylvania site says 3357LL(LL=Long Life designation):

http://www.sylvania.com/bin/carApp/...OLN&year=&year=1998&model=Mark+VIII&x=38&y=11

The 3057 / 3357:
Category: Wedge (2)/ Same
Base Type: W2.5x16q / Same
3057:2.1 Amps @ 12.8 Volts & 32 MSCD w/ 1200 Rated Life
3357:2.23 Amps @ 12.8 Volts & 40 MSCD w/ 400 Rated Life
3057:0.48 Amps @ 14 Volts & 2 MSCD w/ 5000 Rated Life
3357:0.59 Amps @ 14 Volts & 3 MSCD w/ 5000 Rated Life
Filament Type: C-6 / Same
Figure #: 27 / Same

The 3357 is a little brighter?
The 3157 is ECE approved.
The 3457 is a 3357 with a high heat base.
 
RE: Which bulb?

Don't forget, our cars have the lamp out warning which is very sensitive to bulb amperage. So I would go with the Sylvania recommendation(I did), without modification I don't believe the LED bulbs would work without setting off the lamp out warning.

You may consider the Sylvania Signal Lighting SilverStars for the fronts - very nice!

http://www.sylvania.com/auto/sssignal.htm
 
RE: Which bulb?

Yeah, I figured as much, since my lamp-out warning kicked on right away when it went out. I'm sure you could put a resistor in line, but that's way too much trouble to deal with.
 
RE: Which bulb?

Changing the blinker module would also take care of this. LED's will use the same amperage, but will blink faster because they take less time to charge up. When I converted my truck I had super fast blinkers (like 5 times/second) and went to Champion, and they troubleshot with me 'til we found the riht blinker module. It all has to do with the resistance of the blinker module.

One thing to keep in mind, my '98 burns through the bases of the bulbs(I've actually found them melted into the socket), so it would probably be worth looking into the higher temp bulbs.
 
RE: Which bulb?

[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]
One thing to keep in mind, my '98 burns through the bases of the bulbs(I've actually found them melted into the socket), so it would probably be worth looking into the higher temp bulbs.
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Press down on the long skinny pedal more instead of the brake pedal and you won't have that problem! LOL! j/k }(
 
RE: Which bulb?

Had the same thing happen to my '95 T-bird. The high-mount brake light went out on one side, and when I went to replace it, the entire enclosure was melted and collapsed. In fact, the BULB ITSELF had a hole in it from the heat (someone told me the bulbs are actually plastic, not glass).
 
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