LED Taillights, Custom Made for the 914 Options

[Spoke]

I've wanted to convert my 914 taillights to LED for a while but never got around to it.

Finally I started working on the design of the taillights. This will be a single custom PCB for each side and will have all the LEDs and control circuits on it. One PCB will be used for both sides.

The plan is to remove the existing plastic reflector and bulb assembly and mount a custom board in its place. With proper standoffs, I should be able to mount the board using the same 2 screw holes that secure the reflector.

I'm trying to decide now how many LEDs to use for each purpose. Right now, I have 8 LEDs for the backup lights, 20 LEDs for the running/Brake lights, 24 LEDs for the turnsignals, and 4 LEDs for the side marker.

I've been observing modern cars with LED taillights and some use a few LEDs (like 8) and some a lot (+20).

I would like your opinions on how many LEDs you think would be good to use. On the board below, the LEDs are spaced about 0.7 inches apart. These will be medium brightness white LEDs. (I'll let the lenses provide the color).

The first cut at the board is shown below for the driver's side. The side marker LEDs will be right angle LEDs pointing out the side of the board. They can be seen on the extreme left side of the board.

If these work out, I could manufacture them for World members. One thing though, they won't be cheap. The LEDs are about $0.50 through Digikey and there are more than 55 LEDs on each right now. Plus there's 2 dc-dc converters for providing constant current for the tail/brake and turnsignal LEDs.

Cheers
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[a914622]

ok so i got around to getting some pics of the volvo 3rd brake set up. The first pic is crappy but the bright part is magnify piece in place the not so bright are just the leds.


second is a side shot



And then the diffuser lens lifted so you can see it



So maybe brighter leds are not the answer? Are there any "focuser" lenses out there that could be added to the board end of things?

The other car tail light leds i was looking at had a cup around the led. It was the old flashlight idea. Small light but the reflective dia is bigger/brighter.


just giving input.

jcl

[Spoke]

ok so i got around to getting some pics of the volvo 3rd brake set up. The first pic is crappy but the bright part is magnify piece in place the not so bright are just the leds.


second is a side shot


And then the diffuser lens lifted so you can see it


So maybe brighter leds are not the answer? Are there any "focuser" lenses out there that could be added to the board end of things?

The other car tail light leds i was looking at had a cup around the led. It was the old flashlight idea. Small light but the reflective dia is bigger/brighter.


just giving input.

jcl

Thanks for the visuals. The lenses are an important part of the LED lights. I think pretty much all LED lights have some type of lens or reflector to focus or diffuse the light as needed for the application.