38 watt reverse lights

[Humvee21]

This will be my guide/review on the 894 bulb conversion to 921 for our reverse lights. I originally got this idea from a Honda Element forum (yeah... go figure). Anyway, the results seemed impressive considering that the stock 921 bulb is only a whopping 18 watts, while these 894 (fog lights) are 38 watts.

I know what some of you are thinking. You're thinking, shit that's gonna melt my housing or blow a fuse. Well, these Element guys have been running them for months with no problems. Some even had the balls to go to 50 watts, but I read 1 guy blew a fuse so I wasn't gonna take the risk. Plus, I figured that our Ford would be at least the same quality as the Honda if not better.

Here is the guide to do it:
Backup Light Bulbs

Here are some results on a Honda Civic:
DIY: Brighter Reverse Lights - 8th Generation Honda Civic Forum

Honda Element 894 conversion to 921 discussion/results:
need a reverse bulb replacement - Honda Element Owners Club Forum

I promised some photos. And I had a great idea of going to this really dark park nearby, but apparently they had parking lot lights installed recently.. Or else it'd be the perfect spot to get you guys some pictures.

These are the bulbs I purchased, but any 894 bulb will work.
Philips 894 Standard Driving Light Bulb, Pack of 1 : Amazon.com : Automotive

My results:
I only switched out one bulb so far, since I wasn't sure how this was gonna turn out. The install is super simple. I actually didn't even bother cutting the bulb housing, and I just took the easy route by cutting the 2 metal prongs as low as i could get them. Then, I bent the contacts as said in the guide (I'm not sure this is necessary). Finally, jam the bulb in without breaking it...

In broad daylight, I immediately noticed an improvement. I could visually see the difference between both lights. I did feel that the housing with the 894 bulb was slightly warmer, but unless you're reversing for minutes... I wouldn't worry about it.

At night (with parking lot lamps), I did notice a slight difference. I think most of the light was drowned out by the parking lot lamps, but I am being hopeful. I did not notice much difference when looking in my mirrors, while backing up. Nor did I notice much difference in the reverse camera. But again, these results were in a somewhat lit parking lot (i tried the dimmest spot).

My conclusion for now is that these lights are only marginally brighter. Hardly enough to justify the effort required. I can also conclude that if you're concerned with melting/blowing a fuse, you should relieve any worries of that. It seems to me that the F150's reverse light reflectors just suck in general. However, give me some time and I will be able to go back home to really test these lights in the dark.

Pictures:
This is the only picture that was actually worth taking. This was taken by my phone. I do not have a real camera with me, so I do apologize about that. I will let you guys decide which side has the 38 watt bulb and which has the 18 watt.


TO BE CONTINUED...

Please note that I do not take any responsibility for any damages this modification may do to you or your vehicle. Proceed at your own risk. This is simply my own testing. Take this information for whatever it's worth.

--------------------------------------------------------------UPDATE 2/10/2013 12:49AM EST-----------------------------------------
Finally went home tonight. Got some comparison pictures for you guys. After driving with it for about a week and a half, I must say the light output is great!

Still, no issues with melting/overloading wires or anything of the sort.

I have set up comparison pictures side by side comparing the 38 watt bulb (passenger side) vs stock (driver side) vs fully lit environment (just so you guys can see what you would actually see in the daytime). Captions describing each photo will be below the photo that is being described.


I set up two chairs to give a little point of reference. The chairs are measured to be 15 feet behind the rear bumper. As you can see, the light on the left (the 38 watt) produces a much brighter beam of light, which projects a stream of light across the entire left wall. Using the center of both chairs as the midpoint, you see that the light on the right (the stock bulb) does not project a stream of light on the wall.


Driver's side perspective


Passenger's side perspective


Direct shot


This is about 6 feet away from a small retaining wall. You can easily see where the projection of the 38 watt bulb stops and where the stock bulb is super dim. Notice the ground is lit up more on the passenger side than the driver's side as well.


Passenger's side perspective in front of retaining wall.


You can even see that very bright beam of the 38 watt on the backup camera.


Direct shot outside

I think this mod is a great one. I have tried LED bulbs and they are actually even WORSE than the stock bulbs. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do with the stock reverse light reflectors. This is, IMO, the best option if you're looking for a brighter reverse light without having to mount some fog lights underneath the bumper. Also, I said that the housing felt warmer with the 38 watt vs the stockers, but I had them on for about 2-3 minutes to take pictures and I felt no significant difference between the two in temperature.

The only bad thing about this mod is the part where you have to remove the 38 watt bulb from its plug. I wanted to replace my driver side today after I collected all these pictures for you guys, but I was too rough with the 2 metal prongs and 1 of them snapped off. Be careful with the bulbs since they are very fragile, the prongs too. I hope this helps you all that are looking for brighter reverse lights. let me know if you have any questions

 

[ISFast]

Pass side has the 38?

 

[RatedSVT]

passenger has to have the 38

 

[Humvee21]

Updated. Check the OP. Any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer. Hope this is helpful.

 

[Reptar]

Personally it doesn't look like it's worth the trouble on this one for a minimal difference. The 38w bulb looks like a hot spot on the wall, and the light just barely brighter around that hot spot, but looking at the backup camera view kind of sums it up, that hot spot shows up as a white block against the wall, where the other side you can still see some definition, and the ground between the truck and the wall looks the same on the backup camera IMO.

 

[Irunone]

Nice write up. Agree the hotspot from about 6' away could turn some people off to this mod. As our truck's beds/tail lights sit up high, wasn't sure how the light would spread and if it would be helpful close to the backend. I noticed the driver side bumper is better illuminated in your comparison. Rarely will I have a wall or such directly behind my truck and am looking for some real improvement in light output in order for better visibility and to help not run various ***** over at night. From your pics with the chairs out about 15' this looks to do what I want. Just one question, have you noticed any annoying glare from increased light by reverse camera??

Also, hard to believe you would get any brighter output from the best led out there, but, no expert in this. Only advantage I can think of besides different color light output from an led is lifespan. That said, I usually keep my vehicles at least 8-10 years and haven't had to replace a burnt out reverse light yet.
Realize that after writing this, I will probably be changing them every other month now. As mentioned this looks to be good return on investment. I'm pretty sure I will be doing this soon. Thx.

 

[Humvee21]

Irunone, no I did not notice any annoying glare at all. I would say these lights are about 50-70% brighter than stock, which isn't saying much since stock suck. However, I have tried many LED bulbs and they were all WORSE than stock. I see a few forum members that claim to have found a bright LED bulb replacement, but frankly I just got fed up with all the LED crap.

Also, the hot spot is actually the light that is being projected off the reflector. That's how you see such a perfect rectangular pattern. These reflectors aren't worth a damn. I am happy with the results of less than $20 I invested. Like I said, the only bad part is that the bulbs are very fragile. You should just order 3 in case you break one of them. I am glad you found this helpful. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!

---------- Post added at 01:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:31 AM ----------

Personally it doesn't look like it's worth the trouble on this one for a minimal difference. The 38w bulb looks like a hot spot on the wall, and the light just barely brighter around that hot spot, but looking at the backup camera view kind of sums it up, that hot spot shows up as a white block against the wall, where the other side you can still see some definition, and the ground between the truck and the wall looks the same on the backup camera IMO.

I think most will agree with you. And I'm not saying that I don't agree with you. The difference is definitely not night and day, but I gave up on LED alternatives since I didn't have any good experiences. I think that this really is the best option for our stock reverse lights. Also, the point of this was more informational than anything else. This 894 bulb mod is not new. People have been doing this to their Hondas, Silverados, Super Duties, etc. They all seemed to have good results, which is why I decided I would try it on the Raptor since I didn't see anybody else try it on a 2010+ F150.

 

[infinitereality]

Very awesome write-up!! Thanks, makes me reconsider my reverse lights now....

I wonder over time if this may affect the harness on the bulb? You know how some, even like stock signals turn brown from the heat of the bulb?

Also do they make any brighter 894 bulbs? 50w?

 

[Humvee21]

Very awesome write-up!! Thanks, makes me reconsider my reverse lights now....

I wonder over time if this may affect the harness on the bulb? You know how some, even like stock signals turn brown from the heat of the bulb?

Also do they make any brighter 894 bulbs? 50w?

Hey, thanks for the compliment! I am glad you found this somewhat helpful.

You know, when I went to upgrade the driver's side I pulled the stock bulb and noticed that the plastic around the plug was discolored just from the stock bulbs being there. I'm not sure if that was how the plastic was before or not, though. But I wouldn't worry too much since these won't be on for more than 30 seconds at a time. As far as the harness goes, I doubt it will have any ill effects. I bet you'll be replacing the burnt out bulb before you even notice the browning.

To your last question, yes they do make a 50w bulb. The bulb number is 885. I'll provide a link for you...
Philips 885 Standard Driving Light Bulb, Pack of 1 : Amazon.com : Automotive

However, I strongly advise not to try the 50W because the amperage draw is potentially too much. The 50W bulb draws 3.9 amps, while the 38W draws 2.93 and the stock 18W draws 1.4 amps. I should add that if you haven't checked out the Honda Element forum thread of this bulb mod in the OP, you should do so. But to sum it up, a guy tried the 50W lights and he blew a fuse. Also, consider the fact that this is a truck, so if you use it to tow and plug in a trailer light you'll have even more draw.

 

[infinitereality]

Good call on the amperage. Possible to use a relay to do it, but not even remotely worth effort to run a wire to the rear for it.

Options now!