Is it just me or does anybody else hate with a passion the modern marvel that is rear LED cluster lights?

I get an annoying srtobing effect whenever I move my eyes which makes it appear as if they are (suddenly) other vehicles in front of me. I notice too, there are nasty strobing effects from the reflections off the bonnet.

Far from being a safety feature I reckon they are down right dangerous and very fatiguing if you're stuck behind these monstrosities for any length of time. Volvos, Audis, VWs and Citroen are the worst culprits. What's wrong with a good old filament rear light?

(I'd like to say <rant> but I think this is going to annoy me forever!) Freelander 1 TD4 HSE - gone, 2 weeks after the Cat.Converter!
Freelander 2 TD4 SE Auto MY08 - Santorini black

I would suggest a week or two in a caravan as therapy  2002 Honda VFR800
2002 Toyota Celica 140 Silver (mid life crisis - again!)
2007 FL2 GS Manual Army Reconnaissance Green + freel2.com sticker
2004 Toyota Celica 140 Black - Gone
2000 Toyota Celica 140 Silver - Gone
1998 Toyota Celica ST Pearl Green - Gone
1996 Nissan Primera 1.6 - Gone
1994 Rover Montego 1.6 Auto - Gone

Some are worse than others, they are powered by fancy "epilectrics" that drive the leds at at high frequency rather than a steady state.

Some people can percieve the flicker some are oblivious, like the folk who can't see the whole car on occasions

I pity EY, with these epilectric leds and his vibrating rear view mirror he is in a bad way, always someone worse off

Well, I love them. LED's have a huge safety advantage in that they light and extinguish instantly, making indicators and brake lights much more noticeable, quite apart from the fact that they make all sorts of interesting new designs possible.

If the Freelander has a failing or two, one of those failings is the dull and unimaginative tail lamps.

How's that for being contradictory?!

So do I, but not flickering ones, sat on the fence a little before

Another positive is that if any of the LED's fail then the others stay on - better than if a single lamp fails = no light at all

But agree about the flickering - means they are set too low a frequency. 2002 Honda VFR800
2002 Toyota Celica 140 Silver (mid life crisis - again!)
2007 FL2 GS Manual Army Reconnaissance Green + freel2.com sticker
2004 Toyota Celica 140 Black - Gone
2000 Toyota Celica 140 Silver - Gone
1998 Toyota Celica ST Pearl Green - Gone
1996 Nissan Primera 1.6 - Gone
1994 Rover Montego 1.6 Auto - Gone

I don't think they will be set low, maybe harmonics? A bit like some car wheels appear to be turning backwards, strange tricks of light and our eyes.

I also wonder about flashing cycle lights, both front and back, I'm sure they are not legal but everybody uses them, when you come upon a group of cyclists using them some with two more more rearward facing ones the whole thing is distracting 2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .

The flickering of LED lights is a symptom of the PWM (pulse width modulation) used to limit their current / light intensity. It compares to the old CRT monitors (remember those? ) that had various refresh rates and the cheaper ones used to really give me headaches (I'm in IT) Some people couldn't see any flicker and some, like me found it intolerable.
In the car world Peugot seem to be a major culprit in my experience - they flicker like mad and if I am stuck behind one in traffic I really hate it and will actually pull over to avoid a 'dazzle migraine'
On the other hand, I have used LED lights in my kit car and they don't flicker at all because they just have a simple resistor to limit the current - they just glow brightly without all of the complicated electronics to 'help' them along.  Cheers,
Raz
FL1 TD4 GS Auto 2001 Silver
FL2 TD4 Auto 2007 Black
FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2012 Fuji White

Dont like LEDs - check this http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/04/audis-v...ghborhood/

Personally I love them... had them on my E46 coupe and have missed them since getting rid... they look nicer, are clearer and also low energy. Freelander 2 TD4 Auto, SE, Narvik Black, Alpaca full leather, Rear Headrest Entertainment System, 6 CD, 18 HSE Wheels, Privicy tints

Thanks for your feedback.... I'm all for safety but not at a price. If that price be driver fatigue or some form of blindness then it has to be bad. For a new thing to be safe it has to be an improvement over what it is replacing - these things aren't (in my opinion).

And - How you can own a car and say LED rears are better is beyond me... thay're not exactly in your field of vision are they!

As for saving energy - hmmm, are we being metered and is it a significant drain from the battery/alternator? The whole idea of LEDs originally was to save power, agreed - but we bring with us a whole power station. And how much power is consumed in manufacturing the damned things?

I still HATE them. Anything that makes me want to get past or stop while it gets out of my sight is not a safety feature but an arrogance.

I followed a lorry/trailer combination the other day (I think it came from Holland but it was very new) I counted 28 rear red lights arranged in abotu 12 clusters... that did not include the tractor portion. That just has to be SO wrong! (The fact that it forced me to count them must fly in the face of some safety aspect) Grrrr! Freelander 1 TD4 HSE - gone, 2 weeks after the Cat.Converter!
Freelander 2 TD4 SE Auto MY08 - Santorini black

razmabaz wrote:

Thanks for your feedback.... I'm all for safety but not at a price. If that price be driver fatigue or some form of blindness then it has to be bad. For a new thing to be safe it has to be an improvement over what it is replacing - these things aren't (in my opinion).

And - How you can own a car and say LED rears are better is beyond me... thay're not exactly in your field of vision are they!

As for saving energy - hmmm, are we being metered and is it a significant drain from the battery/alternator? The whole idea of LEDs originally was to save power, agreed - but we bring with us a whole power station. And how much power is consumed in manufacturing the damned things?

I have to admit my comment about missing LEDs is a bit shallow... I like them because I think they look nice.. I can live without them

As for the strobing effect - I have not experienced this at all yet (except on the slo-mo shots on Top Gear) I'll have to keep a look out for this  Freelander 2 TD4 Auto, SE, Narvik Black, Alpaca full leather, Rear Headrest Entertainment System, 6 CD, 18 HSE Wheels, Privicy tints

Captain Worm wrote:

As for the strobing effect - I have not experienced this at all yet (except on the slo-mo shots on Top Gear) I'll have to keep a look out for this

RazMan wrote:

Captain Worm wrote:

As for the strobing effect - I have not experienced this at all yet (except on the slo-mo shots on Top Gear) I'll have to keep a look out for this

~clip~ They are ideal for brake lights as they switch on much quicker - its surprising how much extra time /distance this gives a following driver.

yeah - you're dead right there... I have so much more time! I'm 1 hour behind because I can't stand to be behind the bd things! Freelander 1 TD4 HSE - gone, 2 weeks after the Cat.Converter!
Freelander 2 TD4 SE Auto MY08 - Santorini black

At least when the Freelander 2 gets fitted with LED tail lamps for MY2013, it should stop people from bickering about Chrome Arses! You'll all have something new to complain about



Last edited by Tigger on 15th Mar 2012 8:27 pm. Edited 1 time in total