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Old 08-10-2003, 01:31 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Leesburg, VA USA, VA
Cobra Make, Engine: Contemporary, 427 FE Center Oiler w/ 48 IDA Webers
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In response to a private email I described what was necessary to get the LED from Lambert to work in the Lucas rectangular tail lights. I'll post here for anyone interested. Call me if you have any questions (703-669-2208):


The LEDs that I used are part number LE-412. When you go to the web site, they are listed under "Custom". They are brake and turn signal combined.

I'm sorry but I don't have any pictures, but I can tell you what I did. (Please call if you would prefer- I would be happy to talk to you about them as well (703-669-2208)).

1. After you carefully pry the small chrome-like arms up from the sides of the trim piece, disassemble the lense and bulb holder. Be very careful with the tabs. They are very soft metal and can break off easily. Use a small screwdriver under them and pry up VERY slowly until you have just enough room to get the back off.

2. Using a Dremel or similar tool, you will have to grind away the red plastic middle bar of the Lucas lens to make clearance for the LEDs. You will also have to grind down both end posts where the screws go so that you can put the LED board in and still get the back on flush. This is a little bit tricky as you have to be sure to leave enough screw hole left to screw in the screw when you re-assemble. My advise here is to go very slowly and keep checking until you have just enough removed. Easy to take a bit more - very hard to put it back. It will also probably be necessary to trim a bit of the cicuit borad around the end to get everything to clear. There is a bit of interference with the back of the back plate where the screw heads are ground off. Just be careful of the circuits. There should be plenty of excess board.

3. Very carefully (so you don't hurt yourself) use a cut-off wheel on the Dremel to cut out the bulb holder from the back. You will need to remove this whole piece as the wires from the circuit board come off right in the middle of the back and will interfere with the bulb holder.

4. I strongly suggest that you completely cover the back of the circuit board with a couple layers of Duct tape to cover all of the pins and circuits. This will insure that nothing gets shorted. Don't use more than maybe 2 layers as it will get too thick.

5. Reassembly the light. Before bending down the tabs (hold in place securely instead), hook up the wires and test operation (running lights, turn signals, and brake). Easier to fix unnoticed shorts on a pin or something before full re-assembly. If all is okay and it should be, carefully bend down the tabs and re-attach to the car.

If the flasher unit doesn't work, it just means that the current drain is too small to activate the flasher. You can either get a new flasher that works with less current draw ( I can check the number on mine if you want) or you can contact Lambert and he has a small load that can be wired in series that will correct the problem. He is a great guy that can be a fantastic help with any electrical questions. He seems very knowledgable about the Lucas lights, the application, and making the system work.

Good luck:

Corey Zimmerman
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