# LED head-lights



## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Anyone using LED bulbs for their head-lights?? The ones I've seen on ebay look "tall", and may not fit the tight space in flyer loco shells. I know I sometimes have trouble fitting the correct bulbs in the boiler shell... Thanks


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## alaft61ri (Oct 11, 2019)

No i havent.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

I have not yet but plan to. They look great. I will probably get mine from Evans Designs. They can be hooked up to
AC or DC, They include, built into the wires, resistors and all. I think they run around 3 bucks each. Hook up 2 wires
and bulbs should last a lifetime.

Check them out here.

Battery Powered LED Lights | Buy Small LED Lights - Evan Designs


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

mopac said:


> I have not yet but plan to. They look great. I will probably get mine from Evans Designs. They can be hooked up to
> AC or DC, They include, built into the wires, resistors and all. I think they run around 3 bucks each. Hook up 2 wires
> and bulbs should last a lifetime.
> 
> ...


The ones I'm talking about have the screw-in base that goes right into the head-light socket.


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

Town and Country Hobbies sells a 1447WW LED bulb that should fit. They also have a version with a 120deg beam pattern but that would be too wide for a bright headlight. The problem may be these are 18V bulbs and may be too dim for a headlight. They do not have the 14V version of the bulbs which would be used for headlights. T&C is a good source for the red and green 18V LED lights for the switch control boxes. The problem is they are expensive, $2ea or $1.20 ea in a box of 50.


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## C100 (Nov 19, 2012)

flyernut said:


> The ones I'm talking about have the screw-in base that goes right into the head-light socket.


Hey Loren, 
As Mopac mentioned, Evan Designs is the place to go and adapt what they have available to your requirements. I have purchased from them and more than satisfied. I did the direct screw in LED and it was a disaster. Irrespective of what was advertised, those lamps do not like AF high AC voltage. They last only a short time. I received my money back and told them they certainly will not survive their advertised voltage range. I have not seen them sold since on EBay. My recent PM was to put a smile on your face!
Fred


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Question....I’m not an S scaler, but I would like to know.....do brand new S scale locomotives now come with LED headlights? I do know that most new H.O. scale locomotives now do....


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

LED have a plastic case not glass. It may be just a clear epoxy. A dremel sanding drum can adjust size. 
I am not sure of the small high power versions. The sanded surface may need to be polished up.


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

The new American Flyer by Lionel engines have LED headlights. American Models engines were made with incandescent lights but gradually changed over to LED's. I think all their new engines are LED. If not AM sells an LED replacement for engines without them.
Gilbert American Flyer engines operating conventionally (the only way they will run) will have between 9V and 12V across the headlight and smoke unit running at normal to slightly fast speeds. If an LED rated correctly for 18V fails then it is poorly designed or manufactured, and as Fred said they needed to be returned for a refund. The screw in LED replacements seem to be hit and miss on quality and performance.


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## JMedwick (Feb 11, 2017)

^yup. The ones I got burned out almost immediately.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

LEDs run on a conventional engine is tricky. Voltage spikes will get to it. They do not like changing voltages. For a LED headlight I would go with a bridge of diodes and a capacitor. IF you have the room a DC output voltage regulator
Going the minimum with a resistor and one diode will eventually fail.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Evans has a 2 year warranty on all their LEDs.


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## Chuck7612 (Jul 2, 2017)

T-Man said:


> LEDs run on a conventional engine is tricky. Voltage spikes will get to it. They do not like changing voltages. For a LED headlight I would go with a bridge of diodes and a capacitor. IF you have the room a DC output voltage regulator
> Going the minimum with a resistor and one diode will eventually fail.


No need for any of this with Evan Designs. Get their 3mm warm white universal solid for $3.25. Cut out existing bulb, solder in new light, secure it in the headlight hole, and you're done. It will last for years


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## Andreash (Dec 30, 2018)

As Chuck7612 says, the Evan’s Led suggestion is perfect. Use the “transformer” one (I believe they are rated for up to 19 volts). Warm white is much nicer then their cool white...cheers


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

I use warm white for steam engines
and cool white for diesels


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## Kelpieflyer (Jan 9, 2012)

mopac said:


> I use warm white for steam engines
> and cool white for diesels


I use them also. They work very well and I have had no problems. It's nice to have all the light coming out the front and none leaking from the bottom of the locomotive.


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## Prototyper (Dec 31, 2015)

flyernut said:


> Anyone using LED bulbs for their head-lights?? The ones I've seen on ebay look "tall", and may not fit the tight space in flyer loco shells. I know I sometimes have trouble fitting the correct bulbs in the boiler shell... Thanks


I use them all the time in the project engines I build up. They are available in 3 mm and 5 mm diameters and are high-intensity LEDs, very bright. They require 3 volts or less. Less is better. I use a 470 ohm resistor in series with the LED feeding it with 5 volts DC. You can find tons of these on eBay and they are very inexpensive.

Have fun,
Rich S.


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## scenicsRme (Aug 19, 2020)

I don't model in S Scale, altho I still have my AM Flier from my first Xmas! But you can get super tiny leds with leads that even fit in the ditch lights on my N scale locos. Heck, I could fit a whole Xmas tree's worth of them in an S scale loco shell with space left over. They are quite bright, enough to light up a floor of a building, and very inexpensive on ebay.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Room is not a problem in S scale. Biggest problem is we use AC power for our trains.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

mopac said:


> Room is not a problem in S scale. Biggest problem is we use AC power for our trains.


Room can be a problem.. I was referring to the sockets that are attached to a boiler front. I've found that certain bulbs are too tall to fit into the front of the boiler shell once installed in the boiler face, the top of the bulb will hit the boiler shell, and the boiler face won't fit.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

I understand what you are saying flyernut. I have never considered usng the screw in LED bulbs.
I think those are the ones that do not have a long life. If the screw in ones are too tall that would
be a problem.


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## scenicsRme (Aug 19, 2020)

mopac said:


> Room is not a problem in S scale. Biggest problem is we use AC power for our trains.


A simple inexpensive bridge rectifier ~0.5 x 0.5 x .25" is less than a buck, and will solve that problem.You can find them even much smaller for 3. - 10.00 each.


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## scenicsRme (Aug 19, 2020)

flyernut said:


> Room can be a problem.. I was referring to the sockets that are attached to a boiler front. I've found that certain bulbs are too tall to fit into the front of the boiler shell once installed in the boiler face, the top of the bulb will hit the boiler shell, and the boiler face won't fit.


drill a small hole in the back of the socket and thread the two very fine wires attached to the "naked" led chip thru and into the loco. they can be had from 1/32" square up to 1/8" square in a number of different colors and color temps of white some will even flash or blink. I've seen steam locos with an orange blinking one place behind the fire stoking door to make a convincing fire in the firebox on a steam loco.


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

flyernut said:


> Room can be a problem.. I was referring to the sockets that are attached to a boiler front. I've found that certain bulbs are too tall to fit into the front of the boiler shell once installed in the boiler face, the top of the bulb will hit the boiler shell, and the boiler face won't fit.


Yep same problem I've encountered. 

Kenny


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