Re: LED Tail Lights
[Re: FASTBACK340]
#1717250
01/02/15 12:27 AM
01/02/15 12:27 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,533 Indiana
Fury Fan
master
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master
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,533
Indiana
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Quote:
Quote:
BTW, nice groundbreaking on this topic and and for sharing your homework.
Revisions..... Revisions.......
I'm thinking less is more. 42 LED's, spread out a bit.... might look and work better. Let me & the Dog run out to the garage and solder this up.
He helps me.....
FWIW - Truck-Lite was one of the first companies to release LEDs for HD trucks, and their initial 4" round S/T/T light had, coincidentally, 42 LEDs. As the product matured/improved, they were able to drop that down to 6 LEDs via optics in the lens and mini-reflectors around each LED. They even had a single 'super LED' version for awhile but I think it went disco, possibly due to reliability issues (if that 1 LED goes out, the light is dead and a DOT issue) or because it looked just like a regular light so it had no bling. (although it reduced temptation of theft, and theft of LED lights was an issue when they first came out. They were pretty pricey - I remember LED STT were about $40 each and backing lights were about $80 and that was jobber-price.)
I agree that going to smaller LEDs and a higher qty will decrease the 'bulbiness' of your light. Plus if individual LEDs die (which was a problem with early trucking lites, as the soldering caused issues to the LEDs) you have less of a lighting drop.
It was pretty common in the early days of trucking lites to see lights with a handful of in-op LEDs, but reliability of all the brands (including the overseas stuff) appears to be much better. And cost is down tremendously.
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Re: LED Tail Lights
[Re: Fury Fan]
#1717251
01/02/15 07:18 PM
01/02/15 07:18 PM
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 952 Queens, N. Y.
FASTBACK340
OP
super stock
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OP
super stock
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 952
Queens, N. Y.
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Speaking of cost: LED Tail lights 200 red 3mm LED's : $28 50 white 3mm LED's: $10 ABS Plastic sheet-Enough for 6 pair of tail lights: $3.75 100 Diodes: $5 100 Resistors: .99 ....shipping was $3.23! Bulb bases so it can "plug-in" to factory harness: $2.98 ea. for 10 1156 & 1157 bases $9.89 total shipped Incidentals: Solder, 24 gauge wire, clear silicone, etc...... As you can see, it's not much to invest. As I experiment I'll learn more. Dakota gets close to $300 for some of their LED kits. If I burn through a $100 and succeed I'm a winner.
`68 Barracuda 340-S
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