It seems like most LED rear lights are very directional and don't light up the reflector very much. I was thinking about some LED lights that aimed backward and sideways to get a more even light, then I ran across these:

From:
http://autolumination.com/3157_3156.htm
and run about $20 each. Has anyone tried these?

Or what about these:

They have 6 leds around the edge. They are $13ea.

Also, has anyone found any 562 replacement leds for the cargo lights? Maybe the tabs can be bent to hold a festoon bulb like the map lights.

I already found some 212's for the map lights here:
http://www.superbrightleds.com/1157.htm
scroll down to the 44mm festoon bulbs.

I also noticed they had some 90* amber and clear 1157's for the front DRLs. I figure you could aim them to the rear and it would make the reflector light up big time. Or aim them to the front for a circular shaped light. Not too bad at $16ea.


They also have some inverted dome 194 bulbs in white or colors.

for $1.49ea.

If anyone has tried these or has some comments, please post them, I would like to change out my bulbs and would like some user feedback.

 

i think the 20 led tower lights are f'ing bad! I wanted to put led's in my TL's but you already stated the reason that i did not. There are some like those called refractors on e-bay if you wanna check those out. I think they have 'em for our cargo lights.

 

I saw some 562 replacements listed by dave313131 on e-bay, but no pics. So I don't know what they look like.

 

I ordered some LED's from there after. i saw all these home Made LED interior lights on this site. I ordered 2 of the 9 bulb, LED lights for the mirror lights. If you go to the order page and scroll down you will see some small 1.5" x1.5" square panels with 24 LED bulbs in them. I bought one of those and mounted it and wired it into my Cargo lamp. It lights up the car just as good as all these guys homemade LED panels. I think it cost me a total of $25 for them all. The only thing i suggest if you buy one of the 24 bulb LED panels for the rear cargo, they come wired from the factory backwords in colors. For some reason me and my friend both wired up our lights Red/orange and black/grey and the LED's woudlnt' light up. We switched the wires and that fixed the problem. I dunno why they are all the opposite.

 

I make custom LED tail lights, I almost have another set done with over 250 leds per light...

 

Z95m6, which place did you order from?
autoillumination or superbrightleds

Were the mirror lights brighter or the same as the stock lights?
Were they better overall?



LS1_SS, are these yours?

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...654_7_full.jpg

That single row design blew me away and is what made me get back into designing some new tail lights. I originally planned on making some custom ones using bulbs, but the LEDs open a lot of new ideas.

Did you end up making them full of LEDs or did you stick with the single row design?

Was it a single row at full brightness for running lights and a 2nd or 3rd row for brakes, all at the same brightness?

If you changed it to filling it up with LEDs, why? Did it look better?

 

One other question LS1_SS, If you used some bright, white LEDs behind the stock red lens, is it brighter than the stock bulbs?
So if you were to add some tinted covers, like the AVS blackouts, would they still be visible day and night?

 

i ordered mine from superbrightled. The 24bulb panel i got is the same amount of bulbs everyone is making in there custom replacements. They also offer a 36 bulb. I've been considering putting 2 of their 24 bulb panels in there. The Map lights are also much much brighter. I've seen pics posted by ws6extreme showing his interior with his custom LED replacements and i must say mine is every bit as bright as his set up for 1/2 the price and 1/2 the work.

 

is there a significant change in look when using LED bulbs over regular bulbs?

 

yeah those are myne, I sold them to a board member.. Those pictures are of the finished product I left them that way... The single row shown are the running lights then there are 3 roms above that are the brake lights, theyre all the same brightness... Im making a set now from the 93-97 with a double row running all the way down really close together... and then the rest of the light will be for the brake lights... Ill get some pics up soon, Im still waiting for the resistors to get here so I can solder them on...
-Nathan

 

LS1_SS, have you looked at them through some tinted blackout panels? If not, do you think the brakelights would show up in the daytime? If you don't know, that's cool.

What mcd led would you suggest to help the light get through the smoked covers?

Oh yea, a general question for you guys. Does the factory dimming still work when you close the door and wait 15 or so seconds? Or do the LED's turn off abrubtly as the voltage drops?

 

I dont know if you would see them through the black outs or not, thats a good questions... and yes the LEDs would turn off as soon as the voltage it needs stops..

 

if only someone would make the 3rd SS brakelight id be happy, i just dont see paying GM`s ungodly price for a bunch of lightbulbs

 

This is a pretty old thread your bringing up.

Making a row of LEDs in the 3rd brake light shouldn't be difficult. Just use bright red LEDS behind the red lens.
I'm considering making the rear lens clear with a row of red LEDs and putting the backup lights in there and maybe a rear view camera as well.
If that wasn't enough, I might mount a GPS reciver as well as a XM antenna in the rear wing near the brake light. That's going to be one busy area.

 

what about bullet proof glass?

 

Are you just making a joke or do you want info on "bullet proof" glass? Bullet resistant is more accurate. That's a whole other subject from back when I studied how armored vehicles are constructed.

Regular Lexan with a protective anti-scratch layer should work just fine. Clear LED's that light up red would work very well even with a few coats of Niteshades.

I just fabbed and painted a filler panel a few days ago and plan to silicone it on top of the factory brake light to make it flush and appear almost none existant from the top. Once the paint cures and I attach it, I'll post up some pics. Makes it look real nice.

There are a lot of LED tutorials around here if anyone is interested. Use some wire taps on one of the bulb connector to supply power. You can wire a whole row is series and then use a resistor to limit the load. I forget the specifics. I remember that a single 3v red led usually needs a 220ohm resistor to make it work on 12 volts, but I haven't messed with this stuff in a while. You could probably take 20 LEDs, wire then in series and then hit them with 14v and see how bright it gets. If you are using a 3v LED, wire a couple of AA batterries to it to see what it should look like whne properly volted. If 20 is fairly dim, reduce it by a few until it gets about as bright as it should be. Don't try and squeeze more brightness out of the string by continuing to remove LEDs as that will stress it and cause it to be unreliable. The string my even get 15volt surges so make sure and give it some extra room for that.

If you use bright LEDs the 3rd brake light should be even brighter than the stock unit.

Once you take the brake light out (2 T15 torx screws) use a saw to cut off the rear half hidden inside the wing. Silicone or hot glue the LEDs to a piece of plastic or wood or something to hold them straight and then glue the piece down inside of the lens. Glue the rear half you cut off earlier and seal it up around the seams. Plug the 2 sockets in to keep moisture out and there you go.

The hardest part of the whole thing is probably finding some bright LEDs that have a fairly wide angle of output. You can get a second 3rd brake light housing from a scrap yard if you don't want to cut your original up.

http://members.misty.com/don/ledx.html

You can make a 3rd brake light board kind of like this but space them closer.

 

LS1_SS, How much are you selling your led tail lights for?

 

+1, those LED tail lights are sweet. I've always like the look of the new caddy LED tail lights especially when it blink.

 

all my lights, including the 3rd brake light are LED, the side markers, turns, all brake lights, etc

i use the tower leds and i think they work great. just keep in mind you have to switch out the OEM flasher, for an electronic one.

 

Nice...