Just Add Lightness LED Lights - fitting and first impressions

[Neal_E]

I ordered the lights recently and think I must be one of the first to receive them.  I decided to fit them at the weekend and first impressions were right, a beautifully designed and manufactured LED board on a traditional backplate in the normal Caterham 7 rear light pods.  Fitting is straightforward and instructions supplied if needed.  There is a strong likelihood you will need a new flasher relay for the indicators to flash at the correct speed.  Sadly, this is where my installation stalled; Doug Taylor kindly sent me a Wipac relay on a sale or return basis (top man) and when I fitted it I was surprised to find the indicators didn't work.

I did some research, followed advice on faulty flashers and even put dialectic grease on the connectors to get a better connection.  Nothing.  Frustrated at this point.

Sunday morning, I emailed Just Add Lightness and expected a reply on Monday.  I was wrong.  Doug emailed me back within minutes and a quick email discussion on a relay that was acting like a Dodo ensued.  As nothing seemed to work Doug said he would send me out a further relay which he would test in his car before posting.  Monday afternoon Doug emailed confirming a working relay was coming via Special Delivery - again top man.

Tuesday arrived. 

Good news​ New relay arrived

Bad news​ Although tested it doesn't work in my car, a 55 plate Roadsport (ex-Academy)

Good news (belt and braces for me) I did some research on Sunday night and after reading some reviews on the Land Rover forums (well the front indicators do come from a Defender 90/110) I learned that some relays are problematic so decided to purchase an RDX LED 4 pin flasher relay just in case! Glad I did as it is a much tighter fit in the panel (same as the original) and works.

Bad news (well from the point of view of a Yorkshireman even if I do live in Berkshire)​ It costs £29.99 for the relay ☹

Result​ I am really pleased with the lights and if I can work out how to post photos I will add some, otherwise if you are able to view 7reHaB on Facebook have a look there for photos and video. Very bright indicators, rear lights and brake.

Overall experience.  Fantastic.  Great Customer Service by Doug.  Great product and now ordered the Just Add Lightness fog light and reversing light.

[Jonathan Kay]

Thanks for the photos and experience. Could you add a photo from 45° to the side... preferably next to a 7 with the old ones?

Does anyone have anything to add on relays that work and those that don't?

Jonathan

PS:

...and even put dialectic grease on the connectors to get a better connection.

That won't help with the contacts, but it's really good for constructive arguments... ;-)

[Neal_E]

I'll see what can be done regarding a side by side comparison.  Biggest problem will be getting two out together when it is getting darker - may be a few weeks!

[JAL]

After Neal's experience I too decided to do some investigating.

The Wipac relay is widely regarded as one of the best LED relays on the market and works perfectly in most situations. However, there have been a small number of cases where the Wipac has not been up to the job and a more robust relay is required.

The RDX relay was developed for Land Rover Defenders with trailers. It can cope with a much higher load and handle any number and combination of LED / standard bulbs. The manufacturer states 'it just gets the job done!'

I find it odd that both Neal and I have 55 plate cars with LED's on the rear and standard bulbs on the front and yet the Wipac works fine for me and not for him. When Neal fitted the RDX relay his problems where solved instantly.

Obviously in my position of supplying LED lights I need every possible scenario covered. With this in mind I have had discussions with the manufacturer of the RDX relay and I'm pleased to say that the RDX is now available to order on my site. The price at £29.99 is steep for a relay but this is not fixed by me and at the end of the day it appears to solve many problems.

https://www.justaddlightness.co.uk/accessories/rdx-led-flasher-unit-relay

If any customers of Just Add Lightness experience any problems with the Wipac relay then I am happy to exchange the Wipac for the RDX relay and simply charge the difference in price.

Doug

[DJ.]

Sounds very fair to me

I might well be interested in this upgrade, but it won't be until Christmas 

Duncan

[Manstein]

Doug I finally got round to fitting the new LED units yesterday. The usual fiddles with reluctant connectors I should have power washed the underside but all done and working in about an hour. I used the RDX relay so can't comment on the Wipac relay supplied.

Hopefully I'll be more visible on the run down to Portofino!

[JAL]

Glad you got them fitted ok. You'll have a new found sense of confidence that drivers behind you can now actually see you! 

Have fun on your trip to Portofino and make sure you send some pictures.

Doug

[jamesd]

Hi Doug,

Great product! Do you have any plans to produce a similar replacement for the front indicators?

Thanks

James

[JAL]

Hi James,

We have been working hard on the front indicator design for a number of weeks now. I am pleased to say that the first prototypes are in the production stage and should be with me in the next 2 weeks.

I cannot say too much apart from:

• The indicators will be of the same quality of design as the rear lights.
• All LED's will be facing in the correct direction i.e. forward (unlike LED bulbs). 
• They are very bright.
• They will be as easy to fit as a standard light bulb.

Watch this space.

Doug

 

[jamesd]

Great, thanks Doug. I will look forward to it. 

I have ordered the complete set for the rear already. 

[gileshudson]

Doug, I can fully understand the need for better (LED) rear lights that maintain the look of the original Caterham lights and yours look absolutely brilliant if you'll excuse the pun... but why would you now look to invent better front indicators when Wipac have already done so with an LED version (fully CE marked) of the Caterham/ Land Rover front indicators?

[JAL]

Hi Giles,

The main reason is I have lost count of how many times I have been asked to look into developing a front indicator solution. There clearly is a need for another product. Maybe one with an easier installation? I could start supplying the Wipac version but I would rather investigate an alternative that would benefit owners in other ways.

My front indicator solution will involve no wiring at all and is very easy to install. I will have to time myself but I would estimate 2-3 minutes. It retains the exact look of the current front indicators. Plus you have the choice of changing between both amber and clear lenses. 

Hopefully owners will like the idea. 

Doug

[gileshudson]

Ironically I haven't changed my fronts to the new LED Wipacs yet.  Are your planned ones going to have dual (switchback) DRL/Indicator capability as that would be a great move?

[TomB]

If the planned front indicators require no wiring, will they retained the standard male bulb mount, while having a flat round LED cluster? A bit like a flat mushroom shape? If not, can I patent my idea ;-)

[JAL]

Having the DRL built in was the first idea on the list. It would have been easy to have half white/half amber LED's switching alternately when needed. The problem with this is that DRL's should switch off or dim when the headlights are activated. This gave us problems with wiring and relays etc. I do have some ideas on this but for the moment the DRL will be marked as a future project.

Tom, alas you're too late. However, it gives you an idea of how easy these will be to fit.

Doug

[Mrp]

Mine fitted into Carbon work well and look good

Mrp

 

[Manstein]

Well Doug your rear lamps have passed the 60+ Italian road and snow tunnel test without mishap. Now gently frying on the Italian riviera!

[JAL]

MRP - The LED lights look great in the carbon blocks with the clear lenses. Very nice.

Manstein - You have turned into my test pilot! I would love to see the difference between the LED and the standard lights, especially in those tunnels!

Doug

 

[Expat]

More words of praise for both the products and the service of Just Add Lightness.

I recently purchased a pair of rear light clusters for my 7. All I can say is that the result is "Brilliant" in every sense of the word. I almost feel sorry for anyone driving behind me, but at least "I didn't see you" is unlikely to be heard.

If only dealing with other companies were as pleasant.

I'm just waiting now for some front indicators and DRLs.

 

[john milner]

What problem does the RDX relay fix? Is it that a lot of LEDs draw more current than the standard bulbs or is it that even though there are a lot of them they still draw too small a load for the standard relay?

I did once try Ebay LED sidelight bulbs and when they worked they were really good but they did not last and kept blowing. One also managed to blow a fuse on my final trial which took out one of my rear lights. I assume this is down to me fitting cheapskate LEDs but what could happen if an LED or two short circuited with a justaddlightness LED cluster? When they fail is an LED more or less likely to short than a standard bulb?

I think the "Why Change to LED?" page would benefit from some figures showing the current drain compared with standard bulbs as my guess is that there is a current saving which could be useful for those who have a minimal capacity battery or knackered alternator.

[JAL]

Hi John,

In short, the RDX relay has fixed every issue I have come across when it comes to Caterham lighting. If you remove the top you will see that it is full of electronics and this is what makes it so expensive - it is not a normal relay.

Relays work on load, meaning they are designed to 'see' a certain wattage to work correctly. By fitting LED lights this wattage can change dramatically and completely confuse a relay. The RDX has the widest range of load detection of any relay on the market, from virtually nothing right up to 140w. Therefore it can detect any combination of standard/LED lighting and work accordingly. 

People ask me. Will the Wipac work on my car? In truth I have no idea, No two Caterhams are the same and the load can be affected by the cars age, quality of wiring and modifications made to the car over the years etc. The Wipac relay is good but I have encountered a 40% failure rate with customers cars. I've had two identical cars where the Wipac works in one and not the other. Customers where the Wipac works great for two weeks and then just decides to stop working. Obviously when these customers switch to the RDX then their problems are solved. Having said that 60% of customers use the Wipac with no problems at all. My advice would be if you're thinking of changing your cars lighting in anyway than factor in the cost of the RDX relay so there are no surprises or disappointments in the future. 

I have a team looking into the possibility of manufacturing a similar relay to the RDX specfically for the Caterham with a built in buzzer. At this time I am still not sure if this is a viable option.

LED's are much less prone to failure. The result is an extremely long lifespan, typically our LED's will last between 10,000 - 50,000 hours! However, when experimenting with my prototypes I found that there are many sub standard LED's on the market. LED's are more expensive to manufacture than standard bulbs and if you find a cheap LED solution you can almost guarantee poor design and early failure. This is why I decided on OSRAM LED's as they are the highest quality available.

I have seen many LED rear lights designed so that if one LED fails you lose the entire light! If this type of LED light fails then it is more likely to cause a short and blow a fuse, again this is down to poor design and cost cutting. If an LED fails on one of my lights, (it's never happen yet), then they are designed to have the minimum impact. There are 72 LED's on every rear light and if one LED fails then a maximum of 4 LED's will be extinguished. If another LED fails then you lose another 4 and so on - thus leaving the light totally usable at all times . An LED failure is also an easy fix for me to rectify.

I hope this answers your questions.

Doug

[john milner]

My understanding is that in general for an equal brightness comparison that LEDs will draw less current than a traditional filament. The RDX relay claims to be better at both higher and lower currents which I think overcomes some issues caused by the variable nature of diode operation. A large enough bank of LEDs can draw more current than a single filament. I'm not sure if a Justaddlightness unit has so many LEDs that it draws more than a single filament or is a current saver. The bottom line to my point is if the circuits fuse is in danger of being overloaded or should it go the other way and ideally be downrated. I doubt that the current is the same as standard but I have no way of knowing if it is by a significant amount or even in which direction.

[JAL]

Hi John,

Here is a 12v comparison for reference. Both are approximate draws per unit.

Standard setup
Tail = 0.42A
Stop = 1.75A
Turn = 1.75A
Reverse = 1.75A
Fog = 1.75A

Just Add Lightness
Tail = 0.1A
Stop = 0.43A
Turn = 0.39A
Reverse = 0.43A
Fog = 0.55A

In reality the current is less as the system should run at around 13.4V with the motor running.

Standard Fuses (Sigma)
Tail = Left 5A / Right 7.5A
Stop = 7.5A
Turn = 10A
Reverse = 5A
Fog = 5A

Standard Fuses (Duratec)
Tail = 7.5A
Stop & Reverse = 10A
Turn & Fog = 15A

Fuse Colours (for identification)
ORANGE 5A
BROWN 7.5A
RED 10A
BLUE 15A
YELLOW 20A
CLEAR 25A
GREEN 30A

If you need a fuse layout then let me know.

Doug

[john milner]

Thanks. My guess is that some of the fuses could ideally be downgraded but it's not that important.

For me it is the rear light (tail) that is weak. For slowing down the engine braking is sufficient most of the time and the brakes are only mostly used for stopping in obvious places. A rear light upgrade would though blot out a brake light. I think I need to start saving up.