Best 921 bulb?

[BenVincent]

Hi all.
I have a 2001 Jeep Cherokee and the CHMSL is one of the dimmest I have ever seen. It only has one 921 bulb.
What is the brightest 921 bulb on the market? I realize that it is the reflector shape and coating that is the real problem. It looks like a satin finish silver paint on the plastic housing. But I'm looking for any improvement however slight.

Stamped on the housing it says 921-DOM and under that WI6W-BUX. What does the second line mean?

I have a second housing from a salvage yard. I got it stocking up on likely spare parts. I keep my vehicles a long time. Does anyone have any ideas or experiments to try on the spare housing? Would trying to put foil tape over the silver finish improve brightness? Texas (at least my county) doesn't even check the CHMSL for operation during yearly vehicle inspections. I doubt that a single 921 bulb would be too bright for drivers behind me if I try to coat the reflector and make it better. The red lens and housing are all one piece so it will be difficult to reach the reflector surface but there is a cut out on the bottom. I'm guessing that the cut out was to apply the silver paint on the back curved surface to serve as a reflector. Some of the light is lost going out this hole into the liftgate. Any ideas?

Thanks everyone.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

Hi all.
I have a 2001 Jeep Cherokee and the CHMSL is one of the dimmest I have ever seen. It only has one 921 bulb.
What is the brightest 921 bulb on the market?

A 921 is a 921, for the most part. Avoid "long life" (an exception being the 921X, possibly).

Do not install "LED bulbs"; they are unsafe, ineffective, and illegal.

I realize that it is the reflector shape and coating that is the real problem. It looks like a satin finish silver paint on the plastic housing. But I'm looking for any improvement however slight.

Taillamps use a satiny finish, rather than a specular finish. They are designed to meet a particular EPLLA (Effective Projected Luminous Lens Area) requirement. These are lights meant to be SEEN, not to SEE BY.

Stamped on the housing it says 921-DOM and under that WI6W-BUX. What does the second line mean?

I believe it's a "Wedge", "16W" (at 12V) under ECE ratings. Not sure about the "BUX".

I have a second housing from a salvage yard. I got it stocking up on likely spare parts. I keep my vehicles a long time. Does anyone have any ideas or experiments to try on the spare housing? Would trying to put foil tape over the silver finish improve brightness?

It'll mess up the EPPLA and possibly cause glare. Leave it alone.

Texas (at least my county) doesn't even check the CHMSL for operation during yearly vehicle inspections.

They're doing it wrong. If they're testing federally mandated vehicle lighting, it needs to be working.

I doubt that a single 921 bulb would be too bright for drivers behind me if I try to coat the reflector and make it better. The red lens and housing are all one piece so it will be difficult to reach the reflector surface but there is a cut out on the bottom. I'm guessing that the cut out was to apply the silver paint on the back curved surface to serve as a reflector. Some of the light is lost going out this hole into the liftgate. Any ideas?

Just don't mess with it.

 

[-Virgil-]

Hi all.
I have a 2001 Jeep Cherokee and the CHMSL is one of the dimmest I have ever seen. It only has one 921 bulb.

The CHMSL doesn't legally have to be very bright. If you want a better one, replace the factory item with an LED unit (I like these).

What is the brightest 921 bulb on the market?

A 921 is a 921.

I realize that it is the reflector shape and coating that is the real problem. It looks like a satin finish silver paint on the plastic housing.

It's not supposed to be specular (mirrorlike, "chrome looking"). The finish you see is correct for that type of lamp construction.

Stamped on the housing it says 921-DOM and under that WI6W-BUX. What does the second line mean?

"921 DOM" means the DOMestic, i.e., North American bulb specification is #921.
"W16W BUX" means the Built-Up eXport, i.e., UN-rest-of-world bulb specification is #W16W.

921 and W16W are the same bulb, only the W16W is homologated (type approved) to UN Regulation 37 and the 921 is not because North American regs don't require it.

trying to put foil tape over the silver finish

It would screw up the lamp's beam pattern.

 

[Hamilton Felix]

Hey BenVincent, not too long ago, this thread went for a long time and discussed 921 replacements.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?332489-Backup-lamp-options&highlight=2007+corolla

Turns out the Raybrig R118 is a lot of money for little if any difference.

 

[BenVincent]

I will leave it as is. Thanks guys.

 

[Mummer43]

So has anyone found a better 921??

 

[-Virgil-]

A 921 is (still) a 921.

 

[Hamilton Felix]

That's basically it. We have a 2007 Corolla, which uses 921 backup bulbs. The day before yesterday, I ordered a pair of used reverse lamps (they mount on the trunk lid, separate from the rest of the tail light assembly). I'm going to experiment a bit, seeing if I can modify the plastic assemblies to accept PAR36 sealed beams in place of the stock fixtures that accept only 921 bulbs. This will take careful work with holes saws or something similar and total removal of the stock fixtures. But if I'm successful I'll have a HUGE choice of lamps (some of which will meet backup light standards and some of which won't come close). I'll use a dedicated power circuit and relay, of course. I have no intention of overloading the factory backup circuit.

Other than my admittedly extreme "light nut" approach, I see no available upgrade to stock reverse lamps that use 921 bulbs.:shrug:

 

[JMSinMD]

That's basically it. We have a 2007 Corolla, which uses 921 backup bulbs. The day before yesterday, I ordered a pair of used reverse lamps (they mount on the trunk lid, separate from the rest of the tail light assembly). I'm going to experiment a bit, seeing if I can modify the plastic assemblies to accept PAR36 sealed beams in place of the stock fixtures that accept only 921 bulbs. This will take careful work with holes saws or something similar and total removal of the stock fixtures. But if I'm successful I'll have a HUGE choice of lamps (some of which will meet backup light standards and some of which won't come close). I'll use a dedicated power circuit and relay, of course. I have no intention of overloading the factory backup circuit.

Other than my admittedly extreme "light nut" approach, I see no available upgrade to stock reverse lamps that use 921 bulbs.:shrug:

The V-LED's License Plate Frame does a pretty good job of supplementing the stock lights.

This is my mother in law's Lexus RX330 with the V-led LPF

My Sequoia with White Night reverse light

My Highlander with White Night

 

[Kwenchana]

Philips announced an new X-treme Vision (Ultinon in japan) LED line back in December, claimed to be "road legal for a majority of vehicules" : http://philipsxtremevisionled.com (very limited list right now)

There's also T10 921 for off-road/interior use only while the new one is a T16 for backup use
At $25/ea, it's not cheap... http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H8YAX1W/?tag=cpf0b6-20

 

[mikered30]

Philips announced an new X-treme Vision (Ultinon in japan) LED line back in December, claimed to be "road legal for a majority of vehicules" : http://philipsxtremevisionled.com (very limited list right now)

There's also T10 921 for off-road/interior use only while the new one is a T16 for backup use
At $25/ea, it's not cheap... http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H8YAX1W/?tag=cpf0b6-20

That t16 is only 180 lumens, I wonder where there claim of 5X more light comes from?

Vleds has a 921 LED bulb that they claim is 370 lumens (at 14.5 V and 8W) but I don't know if they are road legal. Are you allowed to reverse legally on the road under normal conditions, ie non emergency?

 

[-Virgil-]

Vleds, like the dozens of other vendors, doesn't sell any "LED bulbs" that would be anything like legal (let alone effective or safe) to use in any of a vehicle's exterior lights.

The Philips items produce the right amount of light to replace a 921. The "5x more light" refers to performance versus many of the noncompliant "LED bulbs" on the market.

 

[Hamilton Felix]

[h=1]"Philips 12832X1 X-treme Vision LED 6000K 12 Volt Xenon White Backup Light Bulb for 921 T16"[/h]
That 6000K part pretty well turns me off. I don't like blue light. The headlights on my Crown Vic are 4200K and that's OK, but I am as happy or more so with 3200K halogens.