Slowly the whole car is being converted from ugmo incandescents to LEDs.
The side markers on the front bumper as stock only act as running lights.. no blinking with the signals. I wanted to change this too, so I rigged up a little regulated circuit to deliver a constant voltage to the LEDs, and increase that voltage upon blinking.
Then I needed to waterproof them since they would go inline to the corner lights. So I potted them with thermal potting compound. I made a couple extras because I figured someone I know would want them.. they got scooped up quick!
Next I printed off the PCB design I made on the computer and transfered it to some PCB board and cut out the shape of the marker.
Here they are after the acid etch with the toner removed.
And now with the solder paste attaching the tiny SMT resistors on the top.
Then I soldered on the LEDs, these are LumiLEDS Snap150 LEDs. They are designed for automotive use, and they produce a DOT certified amber colour. These are the same LEDs you'll find in high end beamer/benz/lexus tails. All the cheaper cars use knockoffs. After soldering on the LEDs I painted the boards "chrome"
Now the stocker side marker and the after market guy are cut apart. The OEM unit was much better built, much heavier, so I used it as the backing piece and just attached the clear after market lens back onto the stock housing with JB weld.
All Done:
Now for some illuminated action...
Here's a comparison of the clear stock bulb in the amber housing. Amber coloured bulb in the clear housing, and of course the LEDs in marker mode.
All 3 of these pics have been taken on manual mode with the same shutter, aperture, and iso settings.
Here's the stocker, clear bulb amber lens:
The after market clear lens with the amber coloured bulb:
And the o-so-much-better LEDs:
I hate the colour of the amber bulb through the clear lens.. doesn't really even look all that amber, you can tell more in person.. doesn't look right at all, that thin film of amber on the bulb isn't enough of a colour filter.. and thus the reason the clear lens is slightly brighter than stock. No matter though, the LEDs have perfect colour.. I like how they're less orange and more yellow than the filtered light bulb above.. soon that will be replaced as well.
And finally, here's a video so you can see the blinking feature that I added.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZRFxkLkPGg
