Anthony Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 With the car now completely in bits - save a couple of panels still to come off -I cannot help think it the lights can be improved A "for sale" disposal of LED lights seemed a good starting point. Is anyone else considering this - looked at options ? I would like to get rid of Caravan lights and the rubber wedge Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Beaumont Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 It's certainly something I've cast my mind to, but in the end I didn't want hassle with them not being E marked at MOT time. Homebrew was my first thought, which obviously wouldn't be so marked, but AFAIK the racing style aren't either. I decided the potential for aggro wasn't worth the effort/cost/weight saving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFA Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 OK chaps, I've been doing my homework here. There appears to be no requirement in the DfT Vehicle Lighting regs which says they must be marked IF THEY ARE ON THE REAR!! Position is important, as is viewing angle. I've seen some LED based bulbs herewhich are a straight swap for ordinary bayonet bulbs on the abck, and these could be mouted into a billet aluminium block with the bayonet fitting exposed at the rear for connecting. Some clever machineing would mean you could end up with something a little smaller than the rubber block we now have, with two LED bulbs inset for Stop/tail and turn, with a circular reflector of similar size in the centre. Otherwise look here M10250 could be the jobbie or even two of these here But you still need to add reflectors...... Guess these could go where the old glass reversing lamps went or something? I guess Led brightness can be adjusted to reflect the 21/5 watt function of a stop tail by putting a shunt resistor across it or using a potential divider network??? Arnie Webb The Fat Bloke back @ 512k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klaus Loske Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 Hi, I also looked into it. The replacement LED bulbs are in my opinion not really up to the job. Simply not enough LEDs per bulb to give you enough light output. You also will use them in the standard rear light housing. DIY might be a good option. You still have to find a nice housing if you want to get rid of the rubber block one. You want at least 30 LEDs per function, e.g. 30 for left break/tail, 30 for right break/tail, 30 for each indicator to give you enough light output. LEDs are also very directional, so you have to bend them slightly to give a nice light pattern. Probably very important for a Cat because the light are so low, if all LEDs are just parallel to the road surface, the person behind you might not even see that they are on. High brightness LEDs can also be quite expensive and with almost 100 to install, you will have a hard time on the soldering iron. You also might consider to get a custom circuit board (pcb). I have done this for my motorcycle stop/tail light and the result is quite good. The rear light now consumes considerably less power which results in better charging of my battery. Probably the best option is to buy some nice LED lights like the ones mentioned in the previous post. You can also look here http://www.maxxima.com/transportationlighting/ or here http://www.hella.com.au/cgi-bin/catalogue.pl?flcmd=showsection&flrecsection=Signal Looks like they have approval and you do not have the hassle to solder them yourself. If you intend to use them for the indicators as well, you need to replace the flasher relay. The standard relays are desined to increase flash rate if a bulb goes dead (they detect the reduced current flow). If you use LED indicator lights, they will have a much smaller current draw, therefor the flash frequency is increased. Klaus 1700+ X-flow Combustion is not a secret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k.russell Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 anthony i looked at some neat rear lights at stoneliegh last year, think they were Hella, and think they were on stafford vehical electrics stand, these were component lights that you could arrange in different ways, having a central stop or indicator an then an outer ring consisting of led brake or reflector (think this is required by mr MOT) all were e-marked. think they were similar in diameter to a CD. the only problem i could for see,would be, to get them low enough ( on the flat part of the rear wing) would mean they would be lower than a strictly legal height. I threw away those two great lumps of rubber when i built my car 11 year ago and have round (land rover style)rear lights and these had to be fitted loow to get the required angle, but have been looking for something to replace, the ones mentioned above are the best ive seen so far. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k.russell Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 I also spotted some small LED rear(red) clusters, in maplins, think they do 24mm and 50mm, looked identical to the rain lights in DT, at maplins they were about a tenner each. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-B Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 the maplin ones are very bright, and i think that they could do the biz. and stop OAP's from trying to hit the rear of our cars 🙆🏻 Steve Metalic Black SV-VHPD click here to see our pictures.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Stewart Posted March 3, 2003 Share Posted March 3, 2003 I found these new Hella's that look alright: http://www.s-v-c.co.uk/SVCMORELIGHTS.HTM I wonder if they'll fit Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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