3rd Brake Light -> LEDs
08-19-2009, 11:05 PM
#46
Noodle Jr.
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08-20-2009, 04:13 AM
#48
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Looks great. nice job. T5 286 Wedge style seem to be more available in Europe. I don't know if that is a standard US size or not as I don't know much about auto bulb sizes. Did a search for T5 286 Wedge LED and most results are in Europe. The US sites I've found that have T5 286 wedge LED's in the US are few and those suckers are pricey (again suggesting they are not widely available here). Great idea you came up with and I'm sure there are some US equivalents. I'm going run to the auto parts store and look at some small "dash" led's they stock as the led replacement bulbs here in us auto part stores are all the rage lately.
Nick
Nick
08-20-2009, 10:15 AM
#49
Looks great. nice job. T5 286 Wedge style seem to be more available in Europe. I don't know if that is a standard US size or not as I don't know much about auto bulb sizes. Did a search for T5 286 Wedge LED and most results are in Europe. The US sites I've found that have T5 286 wedge LED's in the US are few and those suckers are pricey (again suggesting they are not widely available here). Great idea you came up with and I'm sure there are some US equivalents. I'm going run to the auto parts store and look at some small "dash" led's they stock as the led replacement bulbs here in us auto part stores are all the rage lately.
Nick
Nick
08-20-2009, 10:23 AM
#50
Seared
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08-21-2009, 12:19 AM
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Love to support a fellow RL'er but that would cost over $50 (~$1.65 each led) US shipped and probably take a while to get here. I'm gonna see if I can find something comparable around here first. Who knows something comparable around here might even cost more (I just have not looked yet) and want to.
Nick
Nick
12-30-2009, 12:05 AM
#52
Burning Brakes
I know this is an old thread but after scouring the 2 million threads about 3rd brake light LED's and all the different calculations and resistor amounts I gave up and ordered some wedge type with the resistor built in, just like trevor-uk posted. So I thought I would give any US based people still looking to do this the link I bought them from. No afiliation to the company this is just what worked for me and couldn't get any easier. I would rather support a RLer but couldn't find anything in the US.
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...cs%2F74-x.html
I chose these based on size and comparable output to the original incandescent and the fact I didn't need to add resistors, they offer brighter but I don't think you need them. These are the perfect size once you trim the wedge base down. Note: the outer bulbs need to be trimmed down as short as you can get them, the rest I trimmed to original bulb length. The picture below is with a 9 volt battery held on the wires while I was taking the picture with my other hand so sorry for the close up. Already has a better light output than the old bulbs with 12 volts. I will mount it back on the car later this week and see how it looks with the 14 or so volts feeding them.
If anybody needs a few of the original bulbs I have a dozen of the old ones that still worked that I managed to not break on removal or drop on the floor.
I feel I needed to try to add something after learning so much from here.
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...cs%2F74-x.html
I chose these based on size and comparable output to the original incandescent and the fact I didn't need to add resistors, they offer brighter but I don't think you need them. These are the perfect size once you trim the wedge base down. Note: the outer bulbs need to be trimmed down as short as you can get them, the rest I trimmed to original bulb length. The picture below is with a 9 volt battery held on the wires while I was taking the picture with my other hand so sorry for the close up. Already has a better light output than the old bulbs with 12 volts. I will mount it back on the car later this week and see how it looks with the 14 or so volts feeding them.
If anybody needs a few of the original bulbs I have a dozen of the old ones that still worked that I managed to not break on removal or drop on the floor.
I feel I needed to try to add something after learning so much from here.
12-30-2009, 04:10 AM
#53
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I know this is an old thread but after scouring the 2 million threads about 3rd brake light LED's and all the different calculations and resistor amounts I gave up and ordered some wedge type with the resistor built in, just like trevor-uk posted. So I thought I would give any US based people still looking to do this the link I bought them from. No afiliation to the company this is just what worked for me and couldn't get any easier. I would rather support a RLer but couldn't find anything in the US.
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...cs%2F74-x.html
I chose these based on size and comparable output to the original incandescent and the fact I didn't need to add resistors, they offer brighter but I don't think you need them. These are the perfect size once you trim the wedge base down. Note: the outer bulbs need to be trimmed down as short as you can get them, the rest I trimmed to original bulb length. The picture below is with a 9 volt battery held on the wires while I was taking the picture with my other hand so sorry for the close up. Already has a better light output than the old bulbs with 12 volts. I will mount it back on the car later this week and see how it looks with the 14 or so volts feeding them.
If anybody needs a few of the original bulbs I have a dozen of the old ones that still worked that I managed to not break on removal or drop on the floor.
I feel I needed to try to add something after learning so much from here.
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...cs%2F74-x.html
I chose these based on size and comparable output to the original incandescent and the fact I didn't need to add resistors, they offer brighter but I don't think you need them. These are the perfect size once you trim the wedge base down. Note: the outer bulbs need to be trimmed down as short as you can get them, the rest I trimmed to original bulb length. The picture below is with a 9 volt battery held on the wires while I was taking the picture with my other hand so sorry for the close up. Already has a better light output than the old bulbs with 12 volts. I will mount it back on the car later this week and see how it looks with the 14 or so volts feeding them.
If anybody needs a few of the original bulbs I have a dozen of the old ones that still worked that I managed to not break on removal or drop on the floor.
I feel I needed to try to add something after learning so much from here.
Nick
12-30-2009, 04:47 AM
#54
Nordschleife Master
Erik, your LEDs look very good ... can you post a DIY guide for us? 
12-30-2009, 10:59 AM
#55
Burning Brakes
Warpig, I too went down the road of saving money on this project. I have $30.00 worth of crap led strips and loose LED's and resistors that looked awful when mounted before spending $30.00 on these, I bought 26 in case I sacrificed any. Once you get these in your hand you will realize they are worth the $1.19 each compared to the other junk bulbs and premade light strips that I bought. I don't think I could break one without a hammer. Plus they are made for auto applications so input voltage around 14 shouldn't be a problem, fingers crossed.
As for a DIY I will be happy to post anything but I really followed Trevor's instructions from post 44.
If I would have known they were going to work and look good I would have bought more, they offer discounts for quantities over 50 and over 100. I also didn't know they were located not too far from where I live or I would have just picked them up.
If anyone is interested in a group buy, if 4 people wanted them the discount would be 20% for 100 pieces or 95 cents each, I could pick them up sometime when I am over there and mail them out saving money on shipping, I think in a small padded envelope would work for $1 or $2. Just let me know if anyone is interested. I called them and they do have a customer pickup option and because I live in IL and they are in MO there would be no sales tax, thats what they told me anyway.
NOTE: I have no affiliation to this company and don't know anything about them or how long these will last yet, but everything looks great so far.
As for a DIY I will be happy to post anything but I really followed Trevor's instructions from post 44.
If I would have known they were going to work and look good I would have bought more, they offer discounts for quantities over 50 and over 100. I also didn't know they were located not too far from where I live or I would have just picked them up.
If anyone is interested in a group buy, if 4 people wanted them the discount would be 20% for 100 pieces or 95 cents each, I could pick them up sometime when I am over there and mail them out saving money on shipping, I think in a small padded envelope would work for $1 or $2. Just let me know if anyone is interested. I called them and they do have a customer pickup option and because I live in IL and they are in MO there would be no sales tax, thats what they told me anyway.
NOTE: I have no affiliation to this company and don't know anything about them or how long these will last yet, but everything looks great so far.
12-30-2009, 02:50 PM
#58
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Just to let you guys know that I am still going to have the LED 3rd brake light Printed Circuit Board (PCB) made, but it will take a little longer (Holidays, looking for a permanent job etc.).
I have the PCB design completed, I just have to bread-board the design (six LEDs with a series resistor X 4), then find a Fab house that will manufacture it at a reasonable cost. If I didn't get the board outline correct (it's a strange shape: long and skinny with a slight curve, cut-outs, bevels on the ends etc.), there will have to be a second version with corrections.
The parts (24 LEDs, 4 resistors and two quick-fit terminals per board) will only cost $4.60 through Digi-Key. Then there's the cost of the raw circuit board (unknown at this time, maybe $5-10?, possibly more with a share of the tooling costs). I'll then hand solder the parts on the board and come up with a total cost for RL'ers.
One of my concerns is liability. I have never attempted making and selling something like this. I'm not sure what I need to do to sell them to you guys. It's not like there is any risk of fire or of damaging the car (it's just a DC circuit with total power being dissipated at about 1.3 watts), but I do feel a need to "cover my @$$" in some way. Anyone have any suggestions as to how to proceed with this project?
Thanks for any help with this,
Gary
I have the PCB design completed, I just have to bread-board the design (six LEDs with a series resistor X 4), then find a Fab house that will manufacture it at a reasonable cost. If I didn't get the board outline correct (it's a strange shape: long and skinny with a slight curve, cut-outs, bevels on the ends etc.), there will have to be a second version with corrections.
The parts (24 LEDs, 4 resistors and two quick-fit terminals per board) will only cost $4.60 through Digi-Key. Then there's the cost of the raw circuit board (unknown at this time, maybe $5-10?, possibly more with a share of the tooling costs). I'll then hand solder the parts on the board and come up with a total cost for RL'ers.
One of my concerns is liability. I have never attempted making and selling something like this. I'm not sure what I need to do to sell them to you guys. It's not like there is any risk of fire or of damaging the car (it's just a DC circuit with total power being dissipated at about 1.3 watts), but I do feel a need to "cover my @$$" in some way. Anyone have any suggestions as to how to proceed with this project?
Thanks for any help with this,
Gary
12-30-2009, 03:18 PM
#59
Burning Brakes
One of my concerns is liability. I have never attempted making and selling something like this. I'm not sure what I need to do to sell them to you guys. It's not like there is any risk of fire or of damaging the car (it's just a DC circuit with total power being dissipated at about 1.3 watts), but I do feel a need to "cover my @$$" in some way. Anyone have any suggestions as to how to proceed with this project?
Thanks for any help with this,
Gary
Thanks for any help with this,
Gary
IMO I think it would be safer for you if you sold the components and the assembler/installer carried the burden of responsibility. Just an opinion probably not worth much.
12-30-2009, 04:04 PM
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Good point, the LED's I installed are probably not DOT approved, but the housing assembly and reflector are, so just changing the bulbs with similar light output in the original configuration doesn't worry me. As for manufacturing and selling an assembly ??????????????????????
IMO I think it would be safer for you if you sold the components and the assembler/installer carried the burden of responsibility. Just an opinion probably not worth much.
IMO I think it would be safer for you if you sold the components and the assembler/installer carried the burden of responsibility. Just an opinion probably not worth much.
Yeah, you have a good point about the components, but I don't think everyone has a lot of experience with assembly and soldering. It would be easier if all they had to do was to unplug the existing board with incandescent bulbs then plug in my PCB with LEDs.
I'll see if anyone else can chime in with some real world experience.