TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

Ok one more project to start. Ever since I cleared my front signals (malibu lenses), I've needed to get amber/orange bulbs or LEDs in there. I haven't found any good looking ones for a decent price, plus they go into the housing on an angle, so they look weird during the day.

This is one route I'm exploring, made a few cuts and tests today:







Keep in mind, I'll be installing the LED's into a clear housing. This is the old Amber housing for testing and sizing.
I first used a Yellow LED, not happy with the outcome:






I will, of course go all the way around with the LED's when I find a set up I like.

This is with some Amber LED's (3 of them) on the left side, the yellow LED's are still on. The pictures turned out bad, the amber LED's are a much deeper colour than they appear, the last picure (close up) shows them much more realistic:







I like the Amber LEDs much better, they are a much richer colour. Overall though, I think SMD's would suit this application better. I've started looking for a 30cm 30smd Amber side emmiting waterproof strip, but I haven't found one yet. I also have some Amber SMDs coming in.


Just thought I'd share, anyone tried this before?

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

Since you are going to have the entire circle filled with led's, how (and where) are you going to hide all the resistors?

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

If I decide to go the route of 3mm LED's, I'll be using silicate based 1 watt resistors, and doing 1 per 3 LEDs. They'll be attatched in series runs of 3, and the resistors will be on the back side.

I have ordered some Side Emitting LED strips that I'm going to try in there first. They were quite hard to find in Amber or Orange, and not very cheap, so I'm hoping they work. I paid for 7-10 day shipping so I can find out quick.

If not, I may try SMD's on the board I made, or run the Amber 3mm's.

TheAnswer11

iTrader: (1)

I really like where your going with this .. In for pics when finished .. Are you just doing the LEDs around the outside or are u filling the entire circle ?

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

I'm going to try it just around the outside for now. I don't want it to look like crap with the lights off, don't want to see the LEDs or circuit board, trying to keep it stealthy.

We will see, can't wait to test them out!

knight_yyz

iTrader: (40)

this may make them look a little neater

http://www.pcboard.ca/shop/home.php?cat=81

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

Interesting, never seen those, thanks Ray. Something else to consider if the strips don't work out.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

Well I decided that the custom LED ring was too much work, so I finally found side emitting LED strips with 1 LED per CM, they arrived a couple weeks ago.
I was very excited to say the least:



Then I tried them in the old amber lens:








Ugh,..... all that waiting for this??? They weren't cheap either! Oh well. They're nice and bright, but I can't bring myself to like it, the LED's are still too far apart IMO.



Well, you know me, can't let this get me down! Next I had a great idea, trucking industry LED lighting has come a long way in the past few years, so first I got a 2.5 Amber LED marker light. Great pattern but too small:








So I went online and bought some T20 Amber LED's, a decent product it seemed, didn't get the cheapo ones.






While waiting for those to come in I thought it out a bit more, then one day said WTH and measured the lens against a 4" tailight. I then said OH SNAP! (yeah, I said that shyt out loud )
The lenses are just a bit smaller than a 4" tailight, now I am getting excited again. So I grabbed a pair of "Truck-Lite" '4050A' 4" Amber turn signals.



Disassembly time:



Now, FYI this light is set up to run dual intensity, so I have the option of running it as a marker light if I want.

Lens off, reflectors on:





Lens off, reflectors off:




Now, not too many months ago when I was off work, I wouldn't have hesitated, just as soon as I saw what the lights looked like with the lens off I would have had my headlights coming off in preparation for the mounting. Well, unfortunately, I AM back to work, and had to resist. I decided to wait until the Ebay ones came in, and decided if they didn't look up to snuff by my standards, then I could reason myself into retrofitting the 4050's in.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

Well the ebay T20 Amber bulbs are here. Look good too, sorry didn't take pics of them before install but maybe I'll pull them for pics later. FYI these have dual-intensity too, I'm going to try them as markers later on and see what it's like.

And, the moment of truth:











Well.... I have to tell you, surprisingly perhaps, I am disappointed they look so damn good . I really wanted to put those 4050 lights in. Anyways, there it is boys, I'll post back with the actual LED I used for those of you with clear lenses interested.

Oh, here's some pics of the small Amber LED bulbs I put in the Headlight marker a couple weeks ago:









Thanks for tuning in (pun intended? ). Until the next project.....

luvlexus101

iTrader: (6)

Looking great as always.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

Update time tomorrow


Sooooo.... the seal started going on the headlights, and then I foolishly took the car through a high pressure wash, and the lenses were bytched after that. So I had to take them off.

Then someone wanted the AE lights I was running as a back up, so I started taking the 5.5's apart again. This means of course, I had to try the 4050 LED in there. Well yup, they're going in, a lot of messing around to get em in, more than expected, but nothing too terrible by any means.

Pic's on the way tomorrow, stay tuned.

MAXXED_816

iTrader: (5)

Those are bright as hell.
I think my retinas are burnt.

ivey_usmc

Wow I cant believe how bright those are! Ive been thinking about trying something like this but I wanted to wait and come across another set of headlights first.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

Ok here's the pics of the progress so far:

Lights off. Disregard the white filmy substance, it will be removed, this is IN PROCESS, and will be finished much nicer.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

Marker light (Low intensity):







Signal on (High Intensity)







n

Brudface

Tuner, your accomplishments, and LED work amazes me. Just reading back through all of your threads, and posts I love your LED work and honestly, if I had the money I would send you my instrument cluster for you to do the led cluster mod... I was talking to Alex about that about 4 or 5 months ago, whom I got all of my interior LED's from (which are awesome by the way!!) All of your little mods on your max makes me smile!!

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

Thanks man much appreciated. I do wish the colour were a little more amber than yellow. They should match the DRL's fairly nice though.

Zeirgul

Looks awesome. What bulbs did you use for the courtesy lights?

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

Not sure what you mean by courtesy lights?

locknuts27

iTrader: (2)

You're a F*cking genius man! Set up pretty sick bro!

Zeirgul

I meant the bulb above the turn signal.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

Oh that's actually a bulb I sell, $5 each. It's an amber T10 size with 5 SMD's on it. Very crisp colour and quite bright. Suitable for the front where I had them, or for the guys with clear side markers up front.

Rochester has a pair if you'd like to ask him what they're like.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

I've been working on the headlights off and on for a bit. I finally got ahold of some sealant. Ended up getting a rubber butyl that's the same as used for windsheild installations. I hope it works well, time will tell, if I have to, I'll order the $20 stuff from TheRetrofitSource.

Very time consuming!

Anyways, I finally uploaded some pics, this project should be complete today and I'll update with finished shots in the next day or so.

Here's where I'm at right now:

DONT USE SUPERGLUE!!! IT took forever to get the residue off the lens. and I still didn't get it 100%

Wiring the new signal/marker:







Left headlight cleaning process



















All cleaned, time to install the new Rubber Butyl:

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

Pre assembly:





Heated and put together:



Low intensity (marker light)







High intensity:







fully sealed and assembled

96blackmaxSE

iTrader: (30)

Great work, great idea with the trucking leds, I was thinking about tryiing something with my 4gen tail but couldnt find any pre-made assemblies or boards to use....I Suck at soldering!

What/where did you source the trucker LED assembly?

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

DRL's on





Left Signal & DRL's on:











Couple random of the Right headlight (the one that turned out the best)





The camera batteries died and it was too dark when I got new ones. I"ll post some better pics later. Looks great though, and I'm very happy that I can still fit a bulb in the top spot for the marker light. I currently have just a small 5smd LED in there, but I'll be trying a few different things.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

They're made by "Truck-Lite" http://www.truck-lite.com/wcsstore/t...EDBrochure.pdf

Look at Page #2, the Part number is "4050A" for the ones I used.

wirelessdude04

iTrader: (24)

sweet setup homie

clintb3astwood

iTrader: (10)

This is awesome, always great seeing you mods for these headlights. And to think i was gonna go with ebays....smfh lol

luvlexus101

iTrader: (6)

Matt how do these compare in brightness to factory?

Genes1s

iTrader: (5)

Awesome.....!

djkevinnn

iTrader: (5)

Looks amazing man. Well done as always

Prophecy99

iTrader: (1)

why did you have to clean out the oem sealant? did it get too beat up after opening and closing so many times??

someone else did this DRL in the High beam area.
Are your HI beams still functional? I know theirs weren't because they lived in the city.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

Thanks for the compliments guys, I'm loving the uniqueness, and the updated look. Looks very classy, not cheap.

I am trying to figure out the best looking set up for lighting when headlights are on though. Thinking of running the new LED signal Low intensity with the DRL's also. I'll keep tinkering with set ups and post pics. So far I've got the upper white LED's pulled cause there was just too much going on, it looked a little weird.

As with any directional style LED, they're brighter up to about 60 degrees, maybe a touch better. Viewing beyond those angles, they'll be dimmer than Halogen, or even the multi directional LED's I had before with the Reflector cup still installed.

IMO, it wasn't about going ***** to the wall BRIGHT, it was about classy appearance along with functionality. Being able to run the LED as a marker looks amazing too. I'll try to get a good shot, it's so hard with a camera to capture it properly!

I, along with quite a few others, have found that re-using the stock sealant doesn't last in the long run, the headlights fog up again, sometimes very quickly. I believe that cleaning out all the old sealant and installing new sealant will alleviate this problem, and create a proper seal.

This is especially an issue with our headlights because of the outer end, it's an odd curve, and very narrow. It's also darn near impossible to get in 100% after you remove it once, so you NEED extra sealant to ensure a proper seal.

My High beams still function. I am running 1/2 voltage just like stock DRL, just using a JET YELLOW Halogen bulb. Looks great, no brighter than OEM really just looks much better, richer colour.

Prophecy99

iTrader: (1)

I love this location for the DRLs, my only question is how does this work. Do you have 2 bulbs in the HI beam location? Im just not getting it, its probably really simple.

The other guy who did this, lost function of the high beams from turning them into DRLS.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

Canadian models are equipped with a DRL system stock, so I didn't install it, I just changed the bulbs. Nothing fancy going on there. Just a simple swap to Yellow bulbs, single filament.

The DRL runs the lights in series, this keeps the applied voltage at 12 Volts, but because there's 2 lights, the Voltage at each light is HALF, (6 Volts). So they don't blind everyone, they're not bright enough to cast light beyond 10'ish. Then high beams run like normal US cars in parallel when the switch is triggered.