Federal Signal Beaconray question

[Scott Richard]

Recently I purchased a 1957 Maxim Ladder/Pumper truck which served the City Of Barrington Rhode Island. It comes with 1 Beaconray light and I was wondering if it is difficult to convert the halogen sealed beams into LED sealed beams. I was not sure if they are Par 36 or PAR 46 and I cannot seem to find the information anywhere. I am trying to keep the truck and the lighting as time period as possible but the halogen bulbs are just nit cutting it brightness wise. Any help would be amazing. thanks again

 

[NIACO]

It's totally up to you but I would leave the bulbs alone or keep them as original as possible for this antique fire vehicle. In other words no LED. Just my opinion.

 

[dmathieu]

PAR 36, and don't switch to LED, you won't like it.

 

[shues]

What lamps are in the beacon now? If you find be the 30 watt 4416, then you could upgrade to the 60 watt 4464, or if your elecrical system can handle them, the 100 watt 4509.

Edit: This presumes a 12-volt electrical system.

 

[stansdds]

The correct bulbs would be PAR36 model 4416 and 4416R (Red). These are 30 watt bulbs and should be plenty bright.
7400 bulbs are halogen and are 35 watt bulbs and have a different lens, they are a little brighter than the 4416 bulb.
I cannot say that I would put 4464 bulbs in a 4-bulb Beacon Ray. Yes, you can, but they are 60 watt bulbs, they produce a lot of heat and draw a lot of current through those relatively small and old wires.

 

[ex416]

you could also consider PAR36 H7600 halogen bulbs that are 37.5 watts. they have a slightly different lens and are a little brighter than the standard 4416.

 

[Maxim2Eng]

The 4416, 4464, and 4509 all have a clear glass that has no fresnel or optic corrections. The bulbs should be mounted so the filaments, which are fully exposed, are vertical*. When illuminated, they emit a narrow but “tall” light pattern that creates a proper flash effect like a “pop” of light.

*FedSig 175 has two bulbs oriented off level—one downward and one upward. The upward oriented bulb must be mounted with the filament horizontal so the wiring contacts do not contact the frame causing a short.

Also, PAR stands for Parabolic Anodized Reflector and are measured in 1/8” increments, e.g. PAR 36 is 36 1/8” in diameter (36 divided by 8 = 4.5”; PAR 46 is 5.75”).

 

[bpollard]

PLEASE don't put any form of LED lighting on a 1957 fire apparatus! We are begging you!

 

[stansdds]

LED bulbs have their uses, but they tend to perform poorly as a replacement for a PAR bulb in a rotating beacon. As Maxim2Eng pointed out, the proper PAR bulbs for beacons produce a narrow, vertically oriented beam of light, this creates the pop flash we see when the beacon is operating. LED bulbs produce more of a round pattern of light, great for flashers, work lights, and flood lights, but they do not produce that pop flash that makes rotating bulbs so effective.

 

[JohnMarcson]

North American Signal uses a specific PAR36 LED in their beacons and they look bad even though they are factory designed for this application. As others have said LEDs will not look good, if they even fit in the holders. When these lights were made there were far less automotive bulbs and the lights were designed very specifically around them.

Beacon specific "not great" par 36 LEDs https://www.vehiclesafetysupply.com/north-american-signal-sealed-beam-12-250led-77-p-151668.html

New LEDs

Now the original sealed beams

If you want to watch a really long and nerdy video on PAR lamps (in this case headlights) and how they standardized automotive illumination, the video below is great.

 

[NPS Ranger]

I know you're not getting the answer you wanted to hear, but take our word for it, trying to make your Beacon Ray an LED rotator will be dimmer overall and will also make it look like a clown truck to any fire apparatus buff. If you want more light, do like Maxim did in 1957 and mount some fixed red sealed beam lights on the front fenders. LED's have their place but this isn't one of them.

 

[JohnMarcson]

I know you're not getting the answer you wanted to hear, but take our word for it, trying to make your Beacon Ray an LED rotator will be dimmer overall and will also make it look like a clown truck to any fire apparatus buff. If you want more light, do like Maxim did in 1957 and mount some fixed red sealed beam lights on the front fenders. LED's have their place but this isn't one of them.

There are lots of ways to add power to a period correct vintage apparatus. You make a good point about fender lights. Large stationary flashing sealed beams are actually pretty bright by today's standards. Also McDermott still makes (or sells?) a very accurate flasher (the TG Series). I'd rather go a little overboard on the number of period correct lights than alter them. Don't get me wrong, you can make a clown car with too many period correct lights too, but it isn't as glaring as adding LEDs in a rotating beacon.

I could see is replacing something stationary under fluted lenses that you otherwise cannot source the parts with LEDs. For example the internal 360 and stationary PAR 46 strobes of a Whelen 8000 bar could be replaced with LEDs set to double flash. The fluting on the domes is so heavy and the lack of rotation would conceal the dirty secret well. I also used S360 model strobes (they use the same optic spreader) inside an 8000 bar I did for a restoration car. I used the remote version of the light and a strobe supply that was double flash. It was pretty much impossible to tell it apart from a later model factory 8000 without pulling the domes.

There are always ways to update a vintage vehicle and stay looking sharp, I just think the specific example of replacing rotating PAR 36s lamps with LEDs is going to get a resounding "please don't" pretty much all the time from enthusiasts. Heck, I don't even like LED 888 lights and LED rotorays on new vehicles let alone restorations, and those are factory designed.