GE 1895 bulb to LED conversion question

[Sarver Systems]

I'd like to switch over a Whirly Bird from GE 1894 bulbs to LEDs.

Most of the bulbs are GI lighting, while a few light and stay lit for a few minutes at a time.

Am I going to have issues with flickering?

GE 1895 are 12V bulbs, not the standard 6.3V use in pinball machines.

[Sarver Systems]

The circuit is 12VAC, if that matters.

[ed12]

do a google search
i found a boat load of them

ed

[Sarver Systems]

Oh, I'm not worried about trhe availability of them. I'm worried that they'll flicker and look like crap since they don't have any of the built-in circuitry that the pinball LEDs have.

Maybe I should add a rectifier bridge to convert the 12VAC to 12VDC?

[ed12]

no saver system
u can get them were they run off of a/c
i just forget where off the top of my head
will chk my fav list ltr

ed

[lilshawn]

you can actually get LEDs made for AC systems...they will have 2 LED's (or 2 dies in one case) wired in reverse to each other. one is off while the other is on...and vice versa. the flicker is unperceivable.

[Sarver Systems]

I ordered the 12VDC car LEDs off Ebay. I got a reply from Great Plains Electronics on what to do if they flicker.

I'll be switching the circuit over to 12VDC via a bridge rectifier, voltage regulator, and filtering capacitor.

Time will tell!

[lilshawn]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
this.

this could be your best option. you'll have to check the circuit and see how it's switched. if it's just a relay, throw a bridge on there and a 2000 uf cap on there and you'll never know it's been modded. I wouldn't bother with a regulator. for a 12 volt regulator you need about 16 volts (at full load) to get proper 12 volt regulation.

12 volt car LED's will be good from 9-15 volts (as charging systems can vary) i'd just rectify 12vac to 12vdc and smooth with a cap and whatever you get, call it good.