Hey I was bored today (not really, watching my 7-1/2
mos. old Hazel)  and "invented" something...

Normal Osram 1156 (single filament) bulbs are ~21w.
1157 (dual filament) bulbs are ~21w/~5w.  My Vanagon
has 1156 (single-filament) bulbs in almost all
locations.  Vanagons are prone to getting rear-ended,
so a common upgrade is to use expensive special 50w
halogen bulbs in the stop lamp location.  Being cheap
and creative, I decided to try modifying the 1157 bulb
so that both filaments light at once.

A few moments with the soldering iron and some fine
solder melts the two positive contacts on the lamp
base into one contact.  Now when used in an 1156-type
location, you get 26w.  You may ask yourself, what's
the gain, 5w?  Remember, that 5w is normally your tail
light, which is a lot brighter than nothing.

Another requirement is to remove (with a file or
similar) the little nub on the side that is farthest
from the base.  1156 bulbs have two nubs the same
distance up the side of the base, while 1157 bulbs
have staggered nubs, so removing the one that's
farthest from the base makes it fit the 1156 socket.
If the socket is loose, you may be able to use the
bulb without removing the nub.

I have several 1157s to mess with.  The everyday GE
bulb doesn't list it's watts, but it should be similar
to the Osram numbers above.  I even found a Toshiba
1157 rated at 27w/8w, so that would be a 35w stop
lamp, a good improvement over 21w.

For applications where a smaller, single-filament 89
bulb (or similar) is used, a good upgrade is to use
the larger 1156 if it will fit.  Caution must be
observed to ensure the larger bulb does not contact or
get to close to a plastic lens, or it could melt it
over time.  In this situation, the modified 21w/5w
bulb, now 26w would be even better, if space allows.

In addition to stop lamp locations, this modification
is great for reverse lamps, every little bit helps!

Gregory Smith
'84 Vanagon
Olympia, WA

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