Upcoming DIY project

Topic: Upcoming DIY project (Read 2812 times) previous topic - next topic

Upcoming DIY project

August 24, 2011, 08:40:58 PM

I'm currently gathering supplies and information required to do custom led tail/marker lights. Depending on the outcome, trouble and price of materials I may be willing to do it again for a price. My goal is to look stock till the lights are on. I am also pondering custom headlights for 4-eyed vehicles in the future.

Upcoming DIY project

Reply #1 – August 25, 2011, 07:09:38 AM

I'm interested in seeng the results. Post pics of the before, during, and after.

Upcoming DIY project

Reply #2 – August 25, 2011, 09:49:52 AM

oh I will...I plan on making it as close to a tutorial as possible. Also depending on the size the led boards end up being I could offer them for a price and have they buyer install them. I'm looking at getting 300 5mm leds and resistors just for on set, any extra's will be used on my third brake light and maybe even the front turn signals.

Upcoming DIY project

Reply #3 – August 30, 2011, 10:50:37 PM

going to integrate sequencing into them while you're at it?

Upcoming DIY project

Reply #4 – August 30, 2011, 10:52:56 PM

Haven't decided if I like sequential tails yet...but I'll look into making it possible.

I'm hoping the end result will be something that anyone could easily add to their car with little to no modification.

Upcoming DIY project

Reply #5 – August 30, 2011, 10:58:36 PM

I keep picturing these:

[video=youtube;K6sZg3iL5EY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6sZg3iL5EY[/video]

Upcoming DIY project

Reply #6 – August 30, 2011, 11:22:31 PM

Well that is impressive, but a bit over the top imo. Not that thats a bad thing, just not my style. I do however like the basic sequential tail lights.

Upcoming DIY project

Reply #7 – August 30, 2011, 11:35:23 PM

Research has turned up some interesting stuff. The configuration(what appear to be 3 bulbs, outer being turn signal, middle and inner being a blend of brake/tail) I was hoping to go for will require a lot of the same wiring as sequential tails anyways. So I'm going to make a "virtual" mock up using photoshop before I make a solid decision on led pattern.

Upcoming DIY project

Reply #8 – September 02, 2011, 10:30:37 PM

are you going to include a white section to serve as backup lights?

Upcoming DIY project

Reply #9 – September 03, 2011, 07:41:35 PM

Yes, all the lights in the rear will be led. I've got measurement, just trying to find a breadboard the proper size. I'm almost tempted to use plastic needle point canvas doubled up and glued together but don't know how well it would stand up to any heat generated by the leds or resisters.

Upcoming DIY project

Reply #10 – September 03, 2011, 08:53:41 PM

The LED's and resistors shouldn't generate any heat at all, at least not anything measurable. I had started my own custom LED tail light project years ago for the 87/88 style. I was going to use 300 red LED's (50 per circle, 3 circles per side) and 200 white ones (100 for each backup light). I was using the stock housings and lenses, including the inner red lenses with the red parts cut out. I got one light about half finished and lost interest, and now I don't even have the car anymore.

Some pics (may give you some ideas for your project):

Upcoming DIY project

Reply #11 – September 03, 2011, 08:58:04 PM

Here was my original concept drawing - obviously the actual project differed slightly

Upcoming DIY project

Reply #12 – September 03, 2011, 09:00:56 PM

A tip, if you're doing this: Solder the LED's to the board about 1/8" from the surface, and make sure the legs are all oriented horizontally. This is because the boards will not be mounted vertically (the rear of the car is angled) and the 1/8" will allow you to bend the LED's down so that they face straight backward when installed in the car.

Upcoming DIY project

Reply #13 – September 03, 2011, 09:06:28 PM

I also did (and actually finished) some LED's for the front lights. These ones were really cool - they lit up amber for park lights but turned white for turn signals:
Park:

Turn: (the light was actually much brighter than shown, my camera just couldn't capture it)

Without the lens on:

Upcoming DIY project

Reply #14 – September 03, 2011, 11:04:35 PM

how did you get away with white lights? Here the turn signals have to be amber by law.

Oh and here's what I was thinking for your board.... I don't know if the birds have them but at least the cougars have this reflector thingy behind the actual lenses and maybe you could pull that out and use it for you LED board... just a thought