LED Upgrade to Rear Rectangular Lights

[RodKnock]

If you were a betting man, then always bet against anything going smoothly for me.

I'm sure the Kirkhams made the installation that much harder for me when they saw me coming.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by patrickt

My real motive was to bait RodKnock in to making the upgrade himself. Somehow I know he's going to screw up the installation and it will be good for some laughs.

Speaking of screwing up the installation. Nah, I haven't attempted it yet, but I did receive them in the mail.

Now WTH do I do?

Reach up underneath and start yanking on things. And no, that's not sexual innuendo. Step one. Take car cover off.

I'll have to get to it one of these days.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

Reach up underneath and start yanking on things.

The only thing I think you could possibly get in to trouble with is if the glass in the old bulb is kind of thin. It could break and slice up your finger if you squeeze/push on it too hard. So, at least use a modicum of care in that regard.

[w-lewis]

Check the LED thread on www. uniquecobra.com. Mike Del's adaptor works very well.

[PDUB]

Replacement 1156 and 1157 right-angle LED lights are available from the same company, superbrightleds.com that will point all of the light out the back end. See the link below for photos and specs:

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...x30.htm#photos

I am not sure of how bright these are in comparison, but might be worth checking out if you are considering a simple conversion.

If you want the real deal, check out Mike Del's upgrade at:

http://www.uniquecobra.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7540

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by PDUB

If you want the real deal, check out Mike Del's upgrade at:

http://www.uniquecobra.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7540

I bet Mike's mod is brighter alright. I've seen motorcycles like that and thought to myself "dang, that is a bright brake light" and that makes for a pretty good safety feature -- clearly brighter and more noticable than the brake lights on your regular car. The "5-minute upgrade" in this thread just takes your Cobra up to the "normal" brake light level. I have also seen rear brake lights, usually on school buses or safety vehicles, that come on nice and bright and also have a subtle underlying "flash" to them as well -- nothing that actually irritates you, though. That would probably be the next step beyond.

[SF_SN888KE]

Less to screw up: I used the square LED and dropped it into the lens ...

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...%2Fpcblamp.htm

Yes, I have the third brake light, but it's on the license plate frame. Billet Specialities:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/BSP-55520/
although I've seen others that are cheaper, clear lens with the new red leds ...

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by SF_SN888KE

Yes, I have the third brake light, but it's on the license plate frame. Billet Specialities:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/BSP-55520/
although I've seen others that are cheaper, clear lens with the new red leds ...

That looks interesting. Could you post a pic of the back of your car? A pic with the brake lights on would be even better.

[SF_SN888KE]

3rd brake light/license plate and tail light off



lights on (rectangle LED)


Brake lights on (rectangle LED) License plate 3rd brake light is standard bulb, not the newer LED models


Rectangle 1157 LED inserts from:
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...%2Fpcblamp.htm

[patrickt]

Thank you, Ron. I like the "look" and the safety aspect.

[trularin]

I work with LEDs all day and I am not going to follow behind Pat or some of you others.

Who has a rear light switch? What is that?

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by trularin

Who has a rear light switch? What is that?

I think that was from my post. What I meant was that I can turn my headlight toggle switch on to the first click and that just turns on my tail lights. If somebody is riding your tail in traffic, it will appear kind of like brake lights and they will ease off a bit.

[strictlypersonl]

I'm intrigued. I'm thinking about using the top half of the rectangular light for the brake and parking light, and the bottom half (with amber LEDs) for the signal. That way, I could eliminate the tail-light relay. It's mostly a matter of being able to easily see both the brake and signal lights simultaneously.

[Excaliber]

I thought most all of us had a light switch like that? First click is tail/running lights, second click is that plus the headlights.

For a minute there I thought we were talking about a switch to kill the brake lights, for whatever reason a guy might need to kill the brake lights... Gumball Rally maybe?

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Excaliber

I thought most all of us had a light switch like that?

Yes, I think just about all of us do. But that moron RodKnock has never turned on his headlight switch, so when I made the post he responded with something like "Huh, how do you do that?."

[Bobcat]

Ernie ... you asked why anyone would like to kill their brake lights ? I never did this , of course , however some of my friends that were involved with distributing alcohol ( running shine ) where I grew, up had their cars set up like that . Kinda confused the Feds during a chase .

Bob

[patrickt]

Ron's third brake light got me to thinking.... I have an extra license plate light fixture around here somewhere, I may just try drilling six holes through the front of it and then mounting six clear LEDs, in series, through those holes. Those LEDs would be RED and the superbright type. With a source voltage of 14.6v, and each diode having a diode forward voltage of 2.2v and a forward current of 20mA, an 80 ohm resistor would be all I needed and just feed it directly off the brake light switch. It would be hardly noticable when not lit, and would look something like this when you were on your brakes (although obviously much brighter):

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Ron's third brake light got me to thinking.... I have an extra license plate light fixture around here somewhere, I may just try drilling six holes through the front of it and then mounting six clear LEDs, in series, through those holes. Those LEDs would be RED and the superbright type. With a source voltage of 14.6v, and each diode having a diode forward voltage of 2.2v and a forward current of 20mA, an 80 ohm resistor would be all I needed and just feed it directly off the brake light switch. It would be hardly noticable when not lit, and would look something like this when you were on your brakes (although obviously much brighter):

Yep, that outta look good. Your next project should be side marker lights and turn signal indicators in the side view mirrors to match your Cadillac Escalade.

[dcdoug]

Safer? Yes. Probably unattractive? That too.

You could always wrap some Xmas lights around the rollbars and wire those up to your brake lights too. That's not likely to be missed by the guy behind you.

I think LED brake lights are enough for me.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by dcdoug

Safer? Yes. Probably unattractive? That too.

But I think I can make them invisible to the eye when you are not touching your brakes -- maybe by even dropping down to the 3mm. Would you still they were unattractive if you could not see them when they were not lit?


EDIT -- now mind you that each of those little clear domes would be only 3mm in diameter and peek out less that 1mm!!