LED taillights, Choose a style Options

[smrz914]

LED taillights!

Please read first before voting. Post if you would like more detailed info before voting.

This is a project I started over 2 years ago, and want to get some made as an upgrade to other members’ cars. I’m working on costs so don’t ask. I want to see what style people would like.

All styles require you to make some alterations to the housing. Style A and B require fairly extensive modifications to the housing (cutting out terminaland will require a new connector. The cost would be higher for style A since there are more LEDs and more soldering time. But the advantage of A is that the light from the LEDs will fill the whole back of the lens. Style C will need the least modification to the housing. You will need to add connectors to the wires that are already in the housing to connect to the circuit board. You will also need to shave off a little from the screw “towers” so the lens will get back to the right position.

The squares on the left are LEDs, the mumbo jumbo in the middle is the circuit and the circles on the left are The LEDs for the reverse lights

I have some pics on the Upgrades section on my site (link to site below).

[Gint]

Nice! Any idea when they'll be ready?

BTW, I couldn't find pics on your site. Or the Upgrades section for that matter. Post a link?

[smooth_eddy]

Hmmmmmm, why would someone want to do this in the first place? What is wrong with the regular bulbs? Am I missing something?

[TonyAKAVW]

What about using a single 1 or 5 watt Luxeon emitter with optics for the backup light? Or for that matter, just a single red 1 watt or if thats not enough, maybe 5 for the brake, turn, and running lights?

Those pirhana LEDs (which I'm guessing you are using) should work great, but like you say, lots of soldering... seems like fewer devices would be easier to work with.

-Tony

[Gint]

QUOTE (smooth_eddy @ Oct 2 2005, 02:00 AM)

Hmmmmmm, why would someone want to do this in the first place? What is wrong with the regular bulbs? Am I missing something?

Because anything that can make a 914 MORE visible is a good thing.

How many times has someone not seen you while you're driving a 914 where you suspect they would have in another larger car? Happens to me all the time in a 914. Almost every time I go out.

[Al Meredith]

GE as in General Electric Lighting has an LED strip that can be cut to length for easy install. I saw this about a year ago as it was marketed to the sign industry.

[motorhead]

If youre driving it right they won't see anything but taillights........
Oh yeah, mine is yellow (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif)

[Gary]

QUOTE (TonyAKAVW @ Oct 2 2005, 01:01 AM)

What about using a single 1 or 5 watt Luxeon emitter with optics for the backup light? Or for that matter, just a single red 1 watt or if thats not enough, maybe 5 for the brake, turn, and running lights? Those pirhana LEDs (which I'm guessing you are using) should work great, but like you say, lots of soldering... seems like fewer devices would be easier to work with. -Tony

I'm working on this with a stock or near-stock taillight housing. Not high on the project priority list right now, but maybe in the next few months...

[lapuwali]

On Paul's setup: I'd think one would want the brake lights to be considerably brighter than the taillights, so fewer tail LEDs and/or more brake LEDs seems a useful thing.

As for LED "bulbs" in general, this place: Super Bright LEDs sells ready made automototive bulb assemblies using LEDs. Four 24 LED bulbs for the tail ($13 ea), plus two 30 LED bulbs for the brakes ($15 ea), plus two 12 LED white bulbs for the reversing lights ($7 ea), and for $100 you have all LED tail lights w/o hacking up the OEM housing in any way.

They also have amber in case you have Euro lenses, and they sell a solid-state flasher unit that will flash the LED turn signal bulbs (the stock resistance flasher won't work). The solid state flasher is also available at most FLAPS (and will also work with filament bulbs).

[jimtab]

QUOTE (Gint @ Oct 2 2005, 05:31 AM)

QUOTE (smooth_eddy @ Oct 2 2005, 02:00 AM) Hmmmmmm, why would someone want to do this in the first place?  What is wrong with the regular bulbs?   Am I missing something? Because anything that can make a 914 MORE visible is a good thing. How many times has someone not seen you while you're driving a 914 where you suspect they would have in another larger car? Happens to me all the time in a 914. Almost every time I go out.

Gint, I don't think the answer is more lights. After all look at all the cars with DRLs now and the dipshits still run into each other. What needs to happen is to remove the distractions to paying attention....a good start would be NO CELL PHONES while the car is moving...damn little is that important. Also, no shaving, eyebrow plucking, complicated eating and drinking, watching tv/dvd, reading, beating the kids/wife/pets/etc. Just pay attention. My .02

[Andyrew]

You have my vote and my money when these start production.

[jd74914]

QUOTE (jimtab @ Oct 2 2005, 10:38 AM)

What needs to happen is to remove the distractions to paying attention....a good start would be NO CELL PHONES while the car is moving...damn little is that important.

As of yesterday in CT you cannot talk on a cell phone and drive at the same time (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smilie_pokal.gif)

[SpecialK]

smooth_eddy: "Hmmmmmm, why would someone want to do this in the first place?"

Answer: because he can.

I voted for "A" because it's the style I was working on (got all the stuff minus the perf boards) before I got sidetracked with other stuff. I'd planned on have them sequence when the blinker came on, kind of like the old Cougars........always thought that was cool as hell when I was a kid.

[effutuo101]

When I rebuilt my electical, I made the whole brake/tail lamp assy. light up for brakeand turning. The running lights use the original position. i prefer to have the whole back of my car light up rather than 2 very dim lights come on. If somebody isn't watching you can hardly tell between running lights and brake lights. I hit the brakes and it is like a big neon sign. I would like to do the same to my front turn signals.
Chris

[skline]

QUOTE (jd74914 @ Oct 2 2005, 10:48 AM)

QUOTE (jimtab @ Oct 2 2005, 10:38 AM) What needs to happen is to remove the distractions to paying attention....a good start would be NO CELL PHONES  while the car is moving...damn little is that important. As of yesterday in CT you cannot talk on a cell phone and drive at the same time (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smilie_pokal.gif)

Santa Monica has a law against phones while driving, I wish more cities/states would adopt that law. It really is a distraction that will eventually kill thousands.

[smrz914]

Gint,
Here are some pictures My LEDs

As for when they will be ready, well that depends on how I'm going to get funding. I have exhausted my funds for this project and I'm paying for school myself now so all my money goes to that.

[smrz914]

smooth_eddy,
The reason for doing this is as Buzzard1 sayed, I can. There are advantages to using LEDs though. They turn on faster then incandescent bulbs, you can use clear lenses since I can get LEDs that have red light (orange blinker will also be available), and there is a cool factor. It makes me happy that I can use what I learned and reasearched and do something productive with it. There is still an issue of with the blinker relay but there is a solution for that out there, it's just a matter of finding it.

[smrz914]

TonyAKAVW,

I would be more than happy to design a board for the Luxeon LEDs, but I think they produce a lot of heat and require a aluminum core circuit board for heat. I'll look up more info when the manufacturer site is up.

[smrz914]

lapuwali,

The circuit is designed to run the LEDs at a lower brightness for the running lights and then full when you hit the brakes or the blinker is on.

I don't like the LED replacement bulbs, I have heard that they just don't produce enough light to make them worth changing out. Only what I have heard, I have no direct experience with those replacement bulbs.

[smrz914]

effutuo101,

The arrays can be made to turn on any way you want. You can even arrange the LEDs to say something. The first test LED array I build, I felt like the LEDs were to bright when the brake lights were on.