DIY LED Rear Lights

[silverian535]

Has anyone tried making their own LED rear lights? I have bullseye style rear lights and would like to update them. I have tried off the shelf led bulbs and have been disappointed with the brightness.

So I was wondering about making my own bulb replacements, by ditching the idea of bulbs and making a pcb of some sort with numerous leds on to give the effect something like the latest VW Golf led lights.

The mounting inside looks fairly easy to modify to mount a pcb or matrix board of some sort on.

Design decisions:
What leds to use to get a bright enough rear light?
How to get a brighter light for brakes?
What leds to use for indicators?
How to control voltage?

Thoughts anyone? Is it worth the effort? Is it legal?

Ian

[Kiwi Carguy]

Sorry I haven't got any help in making my own but I have brought these ones from Hella which I think look quite good. Not sure on the brightness as I haven't fitted them yet.



A bit of photoshopping

[dnbruut]

May I ask where you bought them?
thanks!

[tribbles]

Those particular ones are available from SVC (among others):
http://www.s-v-c.co.uk/

Aeon Online are doing some other LED lights:
http://www.aeononline.co.uk/

[FlossyThePig]

If you want some ideas have a look at this page.

More information on this ambitious electrified Honda can be found here.

[silverian535]

I have some of these.

http://www.s-v-c.co.uk/prod/bullseye.html

and am trying to achieve one of these but in bullseye form.

http://www.s-v-c.co.uk/prod/Led-rearlight2.html

[robcollingridge]

I've got Hella 55mm LED lights on my Fury R1. The inner lights typically use normal bulbs but I'm using LED equivalents.



Rob Collingridge
http://www.robcollingridge.com/FuryR1/

[robcollingridge]

Oh, and I made the high level brake light using the 'Kingbright' LED cluster from Maplin.

[silverian535]

Look good. There seems to be more options in smaller sizes. 140mm seems to be more limited.

[robcollingridge]

Forgot to say the fog light is also made using the Kingbright module. Post SVA, I recessed it into to bodywork. It's 9.6V so you need a resistor to limit the current.

Rob

[Kiwi Carguy]

Better shot of the lights now that I have done a temperary install. Mesh will be black and smaller holes. The indicator with a clear lense and orange bulb will have an orange lense.

Edited by Kiwi Carguy on Tuesday 22 January 08:32

[RazMan]

ahem - (barefaced plug mode)
www.aeononline.co.uk/id2.html

[silverian535]

Hmmm - like the look of the 730 Tail - Stop - Indicator

BUT it's only 122mm. If only they did those in 140mm

[Paul Drawmer]

Like this?

[silverian535]

Yes! now if only it were a bullseye rather than cheeseburger.

Maybe I'm just being too picky

[Kiwi Carguy]

FYI

[BladeX1]

Kiwi Carguy said:

Edited by Kiwi Carguy on Tuesday 22 January 08:32

Hey Kiwi,

Do you have the part numbers for the lights you used on your car?

I am looking for these same lights but my only problem is I cannot find a supplier here in the States (US)… Would anyone have any ideas on where I can get these? I found one place but its very mom and pop and he has a hard time getting them. Can I order direct from Hella? It seems that they only deal with wholesalers/distributors.

Any help with this would be great… It’s the last thing I need to finish up my car.

Thanks,

- Neal
- www.BaileyBlade.com

[tegwin]

I have started producing DIY LED conversions for VW polos.... They seem to work really well...





[URL=http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a233/tegwin/?action=view&current=LEDs.flv][/URL]



Because I design and build my own printed circuit boards, I can potentially design a light board to fit any cluster!

Edited by tegwin on Wednesday 6th February 11:44

[Kiwi Carguy]

BladeX1 said:

Hey Kiwi,

Do you have the part numbers for the lights you used on your car?

I am looking for these same lights but my only problem is I cannot find a supplier here in the States (US)… Would anyone have any ideas on where I can get these? I found one place but its very mom and pop and he has a hard time getting them. Can I order direct from Hella? It seems that they only deal with wholesalers/distributors.

Any help with this would be great… It’s the last thing I need to finish up my car.

Thanks,

- Neal
- www.BaileyBlade.com

Hiya. The part numbers are in the blue boxes on the two Hella catalogue pages attached in one of my posts above. If you can't work it out then let me know and I will type them out.

Cheers. KCG

[BladeX1]

Thanks I finally figured it out… I signed up as a DIY member on Hella’s website and found all the part numbers. I am still looking for a place to buy these from. I have found a few places but they do not carry them in stock and its taking them forever for them to get back to me. If anyone knows of a US supplier please let me know.

I am trying to get the same setup you have, can you tell me all the part numbers you used so that I can compare them with what I am trying to get pricing for. Also were there any special brackets or plugs you needed?

I basically want to have two ring lights on each side (like you have) with a reflector in one and a backup light in the other. I will use the outer most ring light as the main indicator light.

Do you have any photos with the lights on so we can see what the look like lit up?

Thanks a ton,
- Neal
- www.BaileySpeed.com