Smoke Stopper ?

[Bricks]

I have a smoke stopper already using a 12 volt 1157 bulb, what I do not like is the heat put out by the bulb, I use this for a lot of trouble shooting 12 volt circuits. If it lays on carpet or plastic it will start to melt it and also if it gets dropped it breaks the bulb. Will an LED bulb work in this instance as they produce little to no heat and don`t break.

 

[LitterBug]

The problems with LED bulbs is they turn on too easy. Doesn't take much load to turn them on. The nice thing about incandesants is they give you a good idea of how much current is being pulled by how bright they are. If the heat is too hot, you are pulling too much load. The idea is to not have it glow at all. IE. Don't fire up the motors.

I have clear shrink wrap on my 1157-ish bulb. If it does break, it will be contained. (hasn't broken in 7 years)

I also put a switch on mine. Much easier to turn it on/off than to plug/unplug it.

 

[Bricks]

Good information I use mine a lot for working on trailer lights, tractor wiring etc I use it a lot when working on any 12 volt circuit finding shorts, bad wires connections..

 

[LitterBug]

My bulb is dual filament, and I have them both wired in parallel. That lets more current through, but it also means it isn't super hot/bright unless I have a short, or I crank the motor(s) up.


I used it the other day testing walksnail TX gear, and it was pulling enough current that it caused the light to glow fairly bright. I couldn't figure out why the voltage was all over the place in the OSD and the VTX kept rebooting. then I looked over at the HVAC vent where I had the VTX to keep it cool, and noticed the light glowing. All started making sense. It was pulling more current than could pass through the filiment causing the voltage to sag. Hooked straight to battery and all was good.