11-22-2005, 08:42 PM
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#1
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Another custom led project...
I realize that there are a number of threads out there that discuss replacing the standard filament bulbs with led based bulbs and even a number of these threads use custom led based bulbs that the user made themself. I didn't want to hijack another user's thread with another take at the custom led bulbs, so here is my shot at it.
Instead of trying to cram as many leds into the small wedges purchased from autolumination, I decided to use what we had available. If you noticed when replacing the door lights and the license place lights, there is a lot of wasted space in these bulb housings. What I did was cut a perf board to fit the available area and mounted the leds to this, using the led resistance calculators found all over the web. Since I used warm white 5 mm leds, I could place 3 leds in series with a 220 Ohm resistance, which draws about 15 mA. Once the leds and resistances were mounted, I ran a positive and negative wire to one of the empty sockes and used that to replace the bulb. For the door lights, I needed to leave enough slack in the wires to be able to plug in the socket, and then *fold* the perf board in the housing. For the license plate lights, I glued the socket to the perf board at the same angle found in the housing for the license plate bulb, so this one plugs right in. Check out the pictures and I'll do my best to answer any qeustions that you have. I have also done this with my running board lights as well,but keep in mind that I added the lights to my running boards so I am not familiar with the stock running board lights.
Tom
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11-22-2005, 08:43 PM
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#2
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Door and Running board leds...
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11-22-2005, 08:43 PM
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#3
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Door Led...
Last edited by Pennywise; 11-22-2005 at 08:50 PM.
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11-22-2005, 08:45 PM
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#4
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Door Led
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11-22-2005, 08:46 PM
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#5
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License Plate Led...
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11-22-2005, 08:52 PM
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#6
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License Plate LED...
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11-22-2005, 08:53 PM
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#7
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Join Date: Apr 2005
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Talk about bright, and an awesome idea. I'd want to do this to my interior lights as well, but i'm no experience on soldering or led electronics and stuff, i'll probably learn or something.... They are so bright though, i'd love these on my truck.
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2004 Galactic Grey 4Runner Sport Edition
2006 Redline 350Z Coupe
Current Mods- | Sylvania Silverstar lights | White LED front side markers | DEH-9450Mp3 Pioneer HU | White LED Door step, Map Light, Dome Light bulbs | 6x9 front Type S Alpines | 6.5 Rear Type S Alpines | Alpine V-Power F240 4channel amp |
Plans - 2006 LED tail lights | Alpine Mono amp + 12inch Type R | Independant fog light mod | 4.3k Hid Retrofit (Possibly with Projectors)
" Nothing is ever perfect, so don't go ranting around every issue... think and fix it rather than opening your mouth."
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11-22-2005, 09:03 PM
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#8
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License Plate LED...
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11-22-2005, 09:21 PM
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#9
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Quote:
Originally posted by Mashimaru
Talk about bright, and an awesome idea. I'd want to do this to my interior lights as well, but i'm no experience on soldering or led electronics and stuff, i'll probably learn or something.... They are so bright though, i'd love these on my truck.
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The dim stock lights were the motivation that I needed to find something brighter. I tried the Krypton wedge bulbs, with no real difference other than being whiter than the stock bulbs. I also tried the matrix led bulbs, but they had a bluish-purplish tint to them and looked really bling-bling. I like these leds a lot. They are classified as warm white, but look much better than the super white,which tend to have the bluish tint. These bulbs have a yellow tint, but they seem to be just what I was looking for.
It isn't hard to make these bulbs, you just need to get a breadboard, leds, and resistors to simulate your bulbs. You would need to to get some perf board and practice your soldering to get them made. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I'll try to help as much much as possible.
Tom
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11-22-2005, 09:55 PM
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#10
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Cool lights, I like your door ones the most. I've 5LED Matrix bulb there, it's brighter then stock bulb, but not as yours. Man, your door lights looks like projectors.
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11-22-2005, 10:28 PM
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#11
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Quote:
Originally posted by AlexJet
Cool lights, I like your door ones the most. I've 5LED Matrix bulb there, it's brighter then stock bulb, but not as yours. Man, your door lights looks like projectors.
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Yeah, they have some nice output to them. I like the brighter lights, especially in front since the map lights don't illuminate when the door is opened (as discussed in numerous other threads). They tend to provide more than enough light!
Tom
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11-23-2005, 09:40 AM
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#12
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Nice work. Have you considered using 1 watt diodes or are these not yet cost-effective?
I'm hoping that someone takes on a project to convert the standard wedge bulb CHMSL to LED. I think it would take an approach like yours - opening up the plastic parts and using LEDs on a strip of perf board.
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11-23-2005, 12:58 PM
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#13
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Quote:
Originally posted by jeober
Nice work. Have you considered using 1 watt diodes or are these not yet cost-effective?
I'm hoping that someone takes on a project to convert the standard wedge bulb CHMSL to LED. I think it would take an approach like yours - opening up the plastic parts and using LEDs on a strip of perf board.
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I haven't given it too much thought on using the 1W or higher LEDS, primarily due to cost and the need for a heat sink. I haven't even experimented with them to see how much heat they give off, but from what I hear, the heatsink is a necessity. Given that those housings are almost completely sealed off, I didn't want to risk melting anything. Also, keep in mind that my configuration allows every 3 leds to be in series drawing around 15-20 mA. For the Door lights, I have 6 series circuits in parallel, therefore I am drawing about 120 mA. I could be wrong, but I believe those higher wattage leds actually use around 350 mA, which is higher than the stock bulb current draw. If anyelse has done something similar using higher powered leds or if my line of thinking is incorrect, please chime in.
Tom
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11-23-2005, 08:05 PM
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#14
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AWESOME JOB!!!! I have been thinking about replacing my interior lights with LED's and have some sockets & LED's to play with. But just have not gotten the brightness I wanted and was thinking of doing something similar with boards, but wasn't sure of the feasiblity. Glad to see someone was able to do this with great results!! Looks like I will be soldering this weekend 
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11-23-2005, 09:27 PM
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#15
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Quote:
Originally posted by matoolie
AWESOME JOB!!!! I have been thinking about replacing my interior lights with LED's and have some sockets & LED's to play with. But just have not gotten the brightness I wanted and was thinking of doing something similar with boards, but wasn't sure of the feasiblity. Glad to see someone was able to do this with great results!! Looks like I will be soldering this weekend
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Great to hear! Just keep us posted with your progress and be sure to include some finished pics.
Tom
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