My custom LED tail light adventure began yesterday...
 

My custom LED tail light adventure began yesterday...

So Ive been reading a book on electronics. I bought a circuit breadboard, some resistors, LEDs, capacitors etc and have been goofing around with it and have decided to make my own custom LED tail lights for my 66.

I tried the LED bulbs that were designed to simply replace the old 1157's but they sucked. They simply were not bright enough.

So, here is my idea, I know it will be a labor of love as i will have to solder hundreds of connections but i am hoping that my hard work will pay off with nice, much brighter, safer tail and brake lights with the added benefit of using much less power and not worrying about my 1157 not working because of a bad ground lol.

My plan is to make a lexan or plexiglass plate that will simply be basically sandwiched inbetween the lens and housing so it will looks stock and all the connections will be safely housed in the housing. The plexiglass will have 135 5mm holes drilled into it (per side) each hole will house a 5mm super bright LED pointing directly at the stock red lens. As you know there are 9 louvered slits per side on the 66 GTO tail lights. Each slit will have 15 LEDs in a row. And they will be wired in 3 45 LED sections so I can still retain the sequential turn signals and brake burst that I currently have.

I know some people have mentioned that they dont like how quickly the LEDs turn on and that it looks funny on an old car. Well, I was goofing around with some capacitors and found that if i put a 100-200uF capacitor before the LED resistors that would slow down the time the LEDs lite up giving it a more old school 1157 look when they slowly turn ed on and off.

Any how, here are the chinese LEDs I ordered yesterday. (I know i could buy the exact same ones from some one here in the USA but that would cost 2 or 3 times more).

When/if :) they come in I will start wiring them up. I ll be posting pics step by step with my progress in case they turn out well and someone out there would like to give it a go. I will also do a sided by side comparison vs. the 1157's

http://cgi.ebay.com/300-pcs-5mm-stra...item1c0e3add60

Cheers,

Would you mind haring the schematic? I plan to do the same thing for a 65. Thanks!

yeah i would appreciate it too. I've thoguht of the same thign for my lemans. And just wish someoen would pop new lenses lol
C

You just might not need it.
 

I bought a strip of LED's to use in my GIVI luggage on my Honda VFR. They are very bright. See the pics!
I am checking on current pricing but they sold for $13 for a row.
Here is what I got from the vendor "Yes they come in 12" strips. The strips are designed so that they can be cut every 3 LEDs. You will be able to cut the strip down to approx. 6", 7.5." or 9"."

They are very bright and they are 12V right out of the package.
It was quite complicated for my GIVI case but for a car lens you can just make a base and mount them with silicone. As I said they are very bright. Make the base so it is very close to the red lens and you have it made. I am starting a set for my Firebird. Should run me about $60 or less. The wires arent that heavy as they do not need to be. My build will have two connections on it where I can mount the LED wires and then larger gauge to come out of the bottom.

I was planning something for my 66 Lemans and found that YO has a kit for my car.
Has anyone used the LED kits from YO..
http://www.yearone.com/serverfiles/f...ain2.asp?cat=5

Jeff, when/if you put them in please post pics or video. I'm VERY curious to see what they look like on a 66 Lemans tail.

pontiac banshee,

I have seen those strips but had no idea they were that bright. Do they have 2 levels of brightness? one for normal driving and then brighter for brakes and turn signals? those strips would make things a lot simpler as my plexiglass plate i made basically looks to be doing the same thing...(ie strips of LEDs approx 1/2 inch apart)

I ll post some pics after lunch of what I made today.

And yes, I will be posting everything for these lenses....LED's, resistors, caps, wiring etc.

Geez, if you are willing to put a little work into making some you could save a ton of money.


so far i have invested...

23.00 for LEDs
11.61 for the 1/8th inch plexiglass

im guessing another
8.00 for resistors
2.00 for the optional capacitors

+ time = a set of custom tail lights that in my opinion will be better than the Year One because they will be 300 dollars less and more importantly there will be more LEDs that are also better placed. (all my LEDs are facing the lens at an opening in the louvers)

Nothing ventured nothing gained ;)

ok, so here is what i did this morning.

Bought some plexiglass and cut it to shape with simply a high speed grinder and a cut off wheel untill it fit into the stock lens (pic 1)


once i got it to fit nice i centered it in the housing and taped it down (so the plexi wouldnt move around) and put the louvers on and marked the window opening so i know where to drill the plexiglas for the LEDs (pics 2 and 3)




then i marked off 1/2 spaces. Each louver opening will have 14 LEDs...and started to drill using my drill press and i think it was a 3/16 new, sharp standard drill bit. My keys to success for drilling and not cracking were... Hold the glass down well with my left hand. slow steady pressure with the right hand. i would lift the bit out several time per hole to clear it. also, go real slow when you are about to break through the back side. I also felt that having the drill press speed at the 2nd to highest seemed to be smoother but it did tend to leave more melted plexi to clean up around the edge of the hole. Im thinking that the increased speed heats the plexi just enough to soften it up a bit while drilling?? i dont know. all i know is that I drilled (successfully) 126 holes in this lens and it took me less than an hour. (pics 4 and 5)

oops, you can only post 5 pics.



the last pic for now is the finished drivers side LED holder after i removed the protective plastic coating from both sides. I also too some sand paper and frosted the back side of the plexi. im thinking that any light emitted sideways from the LED into the plexi will reflect back softening up the usable light. it fits perfectly flush inside the lip of the stock lens and will be perfectly sandwiched in between the stock lens and the stock housing. I plan to put a rubber groment in the housing where the old 1157 socket used to be and run my wires out there.

I also simply flipped it over, out lined and circled all the holes in another plexi for the passenger side.

Add the Web Electronics sequential turn signal kit in with the LEDs Vic and you'll have a killer light setup. But I think you have that planned already. ;) LOL

If you recall, you started the thread. ;) http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...+Signal+lights

Everyone that's seen this kit on mine so far likes it.

Yes they are very bright. I was going to use one row for tailights and one for brake right next to it.

Here is the site that I was able to by the strips from.
http://www.admorelighting.com/

Yes, thats my thread and yes i will be running the Web Electronics sequential turn signal kit.....until i get board with that and decide to go crazy and wire it up to something like this....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0BjI...eature=related

:)

those are nice but pricey. im going to have like 50 bucks + time into these.

Vic, the Night Rider treatment would look cool in the back window. 4-way flasher and all, if you could set it all up to change the sequences remotely from the driver's seat. Even in the hood scoop. Especially that huge open scoop you made. But you'd have to be careful what colors you'd use. You don't want "The Law" bustin yer butt over light colors.

Just my :2cents:. ;)

Those would be pretty cool while your car is sitting at a cruise night. I have a friend that uses the bottom bucket of the stacked headlights as a ram air set up. He also has bright flashers in the same bucket. You can always find his car at night.

http://cruisintigersgto.com/Videos/0...teve_06_01.wmv

Or during the day when hes doing a burnout I guess.....LOL

New LED's from Admore
 

Here are the new ones they have for sale. Here is the email message I got from the dealer.
__________________________________________________ _______________________
We also have some some new strips that are much lower profile. They are super bright, very thin, flexible and waterproof. The dimensions are L=5.5", W=.4", D=.18". Each LED strip has a single row of red LEDs. Attached are some pictures for your reference. Each one of these is $15 plus shipping. Let us know should you have any other questions.
__________________________________________________ _______________________


I am going to pull apart my Bird Lens next week and start making some measurements.

This is allot better than a $200 or $300 kit and some satisfaction of building it yourself.

I only see a positive and a neg. how are you planning on running your tail lights? also, while they will be alot easier to install the cost is still too much, you figure 1 $15 strip in each opening, there are 18 openings on a 66 GTO grill. Thats 270 bucks :( Double that if you plan on running 2 (one for tail lights and one for brake/turns signals)

One thing to consider if you are getting a sequential kit as opposed to building your own kit- when you use the brakes, the brake lights both sequence until all the lights are lit. I don't like that and it can not be changed in my kit.

What kit did you get? the kit i got had an option for brake burst. if you didnt want the brake burst effect then i think there was a wire that you would simply cut. (i like the brake burst so i kept it)