OK. I will not be the first to try this, as you can see by the pictures, but I am hoping that HNE will be the first to implicate it on a large scale basis. Full credit will go to Tony who is the first, and currently the only person to my knowledge who has done this. Here are the pics to start off, and I will post a reply in a few minutes on how I intend to do it, and what it will take.
David Warner
Please remember, that this idea is not limited to Tail lights, and I hope to implicate it on almost all of the lighting in my vehicle.
OK. The tail lights contain about 50 LEDs per lens. That would be approximately 100 per side. With 25 Low intensity wide angle LEDs and 25 High intensity narrow angle LEDs per lens the Total amperage per lens is still limited to 1 amp. This would total 2 amps on each side of the vehicle when all the LEDs are lit. Given the LED formula : Source Voltage - Forward Voltage over the Forward Current (Or MiliAmps in our Case) = The resistance needed to run the setup.
Our source voltage is obviously 12 Volts in our vehicles. The Forward Voltage for the 8000mcd 30 degree LEDs is 2.6 Volts, and they operate at 20 Ma. Soooooooo.....
12 - 2.6 / .020 = 470 Ohm resistor per LED.
I plan on running approximately 25 LEDs in the Tail lamps in parallel circuit. Meanin that the Ma will increase by the number of LEDs used. 25 X 20 = 500Ma. Given that.....
12 - 2.6 / .500 = 18.8 Ohm resistance for the whole set of LEDs for the Tail lights. The Brake lights would require it's own resistor, since they run at 2.5 Forward volts, and the resistor would have to be a slightly different size.
I have located a supplier that sells LEDs in Bulk and and a box of 100 would cost abbout $44.00, which I feel isn't bad at all for Red LEDs. It is the only thing the company des, so I know they are good quality.
The way this would have to be done.......... The lenses would need to be removed from the vehicle, and using a dremel or other similar tool, the backs of the housings would need to be shaved smooth. That would mean shaving the rough portions of the housing (obviously). From there, you would have to draw a grid on the back of the housing. Where the grids intersect is where the LEDs would be placed. Drill a whole in the housing where each LED is going to be placed, and wedge it it. Wire the LEDs in parallel circuit, solder the conections, and then spray the back of the housing with some kind of sealing adhesive to protect the circuits. I was thinking of something along the lines of undercarraige coating type spray can stuff. Once that's in place and all wired up, then you can hard wire the sytem to your vehicle wiring.
One fall back to this design is the fact that the LEDs would be pretty hard to replace when they burn out. The good thing is, that LEDs can burn up to 100,000 hrs continuously before going out. This equals roughly 11.41 years of continuous burn time. I don't know about you, but I don't plan on leaving my car running and the lights on for 11 and a half years solid.
Guys please tell me what you think about this idea, and tell me if I'm crazy for thinking about trying it.
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Oh, I haven't done it yet. It is an idea I'm thinking of trying. It's going to be very time consuming and tedious.
you should because it looks really good
__________________ My Site I am starting a fundraiser!!! Help a man with a broken car!!! J/K (but accepting donations... lol) Cheer's :cheers:
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mpja.com has 3000mcd LEDs for $0.20 each..
And you don't need to mess with the buttload of resistors either... Since all the LEDs are the same, you can simply wire them all in parallel and stick one large resistor at the end of the string. it'll solve a lot of hassles with the LEDs.
I think that would be really smooth. You would probably be the only one in houston with lights like that on a Max. If it works, I might try to find a way to LED the tails on my '03. They would be nice and bright. Good luck with it.
__________________
Shift_sleeper in the making
2003 Maxima SE
damn man if htis works i want some too!!! that' looks really awesome.
Yeah Infinity G35s and coupe has this.
And David if you want to try this,I can prolly be very helpful handing you the leds,lol!Let me know if you trying to do this OK.
Looks good! Although it does remind me of that thing I used to play with as a kid in the 80's (where you put the colored lights on the board... forgot the name)
holy shit david! you might as well put some 100w bulbs in the back up lights! if the person behind you doesnt see you braking or backing up, its because they went blind from the first time you were breaking or backing up.
__________________ Roxanne-91 240sxSE HB
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holy shit david! you might as well put some 100w bulbs in the back up lights! if the person behind you doesnt see you braking or backing up, its because they went blind from the first time you were breaking or backing up.
hahahahaha, that'd be awesome. my brake lights are bright enough really. ive got led's but only one on each light area so its not very bright anyways.
OK. The tail lights contain about 50 LEDs per lens. That would be approximately 100 per side. With 25 Low intensity wide angle LEDs and 25 High intensity narrow angle LEDs per lens the Total amperage per lens is still limited to 1 amp. This would total 2 amps on each side of the vehicle when all the LEDs are lit. Given the LED formula : Source Voltage - Forward Voltage over the Forward Current (Or MiliAmps in our Case) = The resistance needed to run the setup.
Our source voltage is obviously 12 Volts in our vehicles. The Forward Voltage for the 8000mcd 30 degree LEDs is 2.6 Volts, and they operate at 20 Ma. Soooooooo.....
12 - 2.6 / .020 = 470 Ohm resistor per LED.
I plan on running approximately 25 LEDs in the Tail lamps in parallel circuit. Meanin that the Ma will increase by the number of LEDs used. 25 X 20 = 500Ma. Given that.....
12 - 2.6 / .500 = 18.8 Ohm resistance for the whole set of LEDs for the Tail lights. The Brake lights would require it's own resistor, since they run at 2.5 Forward volts, and the resistor would have to be a slightly different size.
I have located a supplier that sells LEDs in Bulk and and a box of 100 would cost abbout $44.00, which I feel isn't bad at all for Red LEDs. It is the only thing the company des, so I know they are good quality.
The way this would have to be done.......... The lenses would need to be removed from the vehicle, and using a dremel or other similar tool, the backs of the housings would need to be shaved smooth. That would mean shaving the rough portions of the housing (obviously). From there, you would have to draw a grid on the back of the housing. Where the grids intersect is where the LEDs would be placed. Drill a whole in the housing where each LED is going to be placed, and wedge it it. Wire the LEDs in parallel circuit, solder the conections, and then spray the back of the housing with some kind of sealing adhesive to protect the circuits. I was thinking of something along the lines of undercarraige coating type spray can stuff. Once that's in place and all wired up, then you can hard wire the sytem to your vehicle wiring.
One fall back to this design is the fact that the LEDs would be pretty hard to replace when they burn out. The good thing is, that LEDs can burn up to 100,000 hrs continuously before going out. This equals roughly 11.41 years of continuous burn time. I don't know about you, but I don't plan on leaving my car running and the lights on for 11 and a half years solid.
Guys please tell me what you think about this idea, and tell me if I'm crazy for thinking about trying it.
David Warner
I don't know where you got the details for this but last that I read on the .org was he wasn't doing a write up. Oh well, good job! I am drooling over trying to do this to my tails. I would love it! How much do a set of extra tails go for, ~150? Another 150 for all the leds? Plus whatever time it takes(a month of every extra waking hour?) $300 for the most custom tail lights you can get on a max right now, priceless. It does not sound too hard, the possibility of doing it on a scale sounds feasable. After it has been done a few times, get a bunch of tails, clean them up. Pattern the board on the back and make many of those. Install, solder, and test leds. put together, seal, and re-test leds. sell them for some profit, we could start buying in such a large quantity the led prices will surely come down. Do a core exchange with swapped tails(as long as they are in good condition) and be able to sell a set for ~$200.
G35 Taillight Mod!!!!
Linear Mode
