LED tail lights

[socorob]

What year safari van was it? Do you have a picture of how you ran the wire to it?

I installed a 3rd brake light from a Safari van on my hatch. I know it's saved my ass end a couple of times now.

 

The Z31 trim is too wide for the S30 (I have or at least had one to try).

 

[Six_Shooter]

I think any year of Safari van has this 3rd brake light, along with several other models of GM vehicles.

Running the wire was interesting. I drilled down through the outer skin under the light and  through the inner skin towards the rear of the car. The issue was that there is a re-enforcement in between the two holes I drilled, so I had to drill another hole and fish the wires through. I don't like how there's the metal divider with just a hole drilled in it and no grommet. I wrapped extra tape around the wires for this point where it passed through, to act like a grommet, there was enough that the tape held the wire in place when pushed into the hole. It wasn't a preferred way to do it, but at the time I had already drilled the other holes and didn't have much of a choice. 

I think the next time I do it, I will try to run the wires down to the bottom of the hatch and put contact pins in the deck near the latch.

You might want to consider placing it on the roof, but I didn't like how that was going to look overall, and this light fit that space between the widow trim and the top edge of the hatch perfectly.

Edited May 25, 2014 by Six_Shooter

[88dangerdan]

I now am also considering the Safari tail light idea, so thank you for the information

 

Daniel

[Domzs]

Bench testing sequential/starburst turn signal .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6DcPQiCuVM&feature=youtu.be

 

Will post better VDO next time , just got one side done .

Edited May 31, 2014 by Domzs

[NgoZ]

That looks pretty cool Dom

[Domzs]

That looks pretty cool Dom

Thanks .

[Domzs]

Here's how I did the inserts . Nice to have a sign shop next to my shop . Still waiting on a replacement sequential module .

 

Will be doing my brake lights today . Wiring is going to be fun . Since I'm incorporating running lights ( perimeter strips ) with turn signal and brake , I have to use relays and diodes to make them work ( in theory ) . We will see .

[Pharaohabq]

I'd like to clarify that I said to use PWM to dim the LED's rather than using just in series resistors.  PWM pulses the LEDS at a high rate so that they look dimmer when they're off more than they're on and blight when they're on full.  This is usually at some multiple of 120Hz. So if at 120 HZ your LEDs are on 1/2 the time, they'll look dim like parking lights. Then when braking or Blinking, they'll be on the full 120HZ so they'll be at full brightness.   If you use resistors, sure you can do it, but your wiring gets much more difficult.  For LEDs, you should really use a power regulator too, or they'll vary in how much current they'll pull over time, getting brighter or dimmer and they'll burn out much more quickly.  Don't say LED's don't burn out, trust me they do. Just not in the same way incandescent bulbs do.  Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) is really the best way to get two brightness levels out of the same LEDs digitally.

[Domzs]

I'd like to clarify that I said to use PWM to dim the LED's rather than using just in series resistors.  PWM pulses the LEDS at a high rate so that they look dimmer when they're off more than they're on and blight when they're on full.  This is usually at some multiple of 120Hz. So if at 120 HZ your LEDs are on 1/2 the time, they'll look dim like parking lights. Then when braking or Blinking, they'll be on the full 120HZ so they'll be at full brightness.   If you use resistors, sure you can do it, but your wiring gets much more difficult.  For LEDs, you should really use a power regulator too, or they'll vary in how much current they'll pull over time, getting brighter or dimmer and they'll burn out much more quickly.  Don't say LED's don't burn out, trust me they do. Just not in the same way incandescent bulbs do.  Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) is really the best way to get two brightness levels out of the same LEDs digitally.

Thanks for the advice . We were using resistor to see what it would look like dimmer . I'm using sequential modules , designed for LEDs , for my turn signals .  Also using dimming modules , they do a lot more than dimming , for running lights . I was going to use regular 12v. ( brake light voltage ) for brake lights , do you think I need power regulator for brake ? Thanks .

Edited June 5, 2014 by Domzs

[Pharaohabq]

The regulator limits the Current, not the voltage.  That helps keep the LED's happy. If you're using modules designed for LED's then you're probably going to be fine. Especially with the larger LED strips and pucks, the current limiting is more important.  Remember when calculating which resistors to use, that you need to be setting 13.5 ish volts rather than 12v as battery voltage, since a well charged car battery is over 13 volts normally.

 

Are those sequential modules designed for LED's or for standard bulbs.  If they're for  standard bulbs you can put PWM circuits (modules) between the Sequential modules and the LEDs.  That way you can also adjust LED brightness without changing anything but the size of the pulsewidth..   Here's an interesting module that may work for you. http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1281013

[Domzs]

Thanks . Sequential modules are designed for LED only . I'm going to use dimmer modules , which are designed for LED strips , for brake lights and set them on full bright , this will leave out the guess work on what size resistor to use . They are only $1 on eBay .

Edited June 9, 2014 by Domzs

[Domzs]

Finally , I got one side done , still waiting on dimmer modules for the other side . Will post VDO later . Only one thing that I didn't expect is , when brake applied , the LEDs slowly ramping up to full brightness and when release , with running lights on , the outer ( running lights ) LEDs won't dim back down at times . It will if I tap the brake again .

[Domzs]

More pics .

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Domzs]

VDO clip .

 

[texis30O]

video no worky.....

[Domzs]

Anyone else having problem with the VDO ? I was not able to paste earlier . Had to change my browser to Google Chrome , it's fine on my end . 

[Hypertek]

Looks good. Any thought on doing the lights behind the reflector? 

[Domzs]

Looks good. Any thought on doing the lights behind the reflector? 

No . Light doesn't come through well behind the reflector because it's a reflector .  .

Any problem with my  VDO ? 

Edited June 14, 2014 by Domzs

[Domzs]

Here's a mess that i have to deal with . Got a little carry away with this LED tail light project .  .

 

Cleaned up a little .

 

This is what i used to reinstall the lenses .

 

It works great . Easy to use and will not hardened up , stays tacky .

 

 

 

 

[onyx_riddle]

I really like the end result. Nice.