LED Upgrade to Rear Rectangular Lights

[patrickt]

It's tough capturing a shot of lit LEDs, but this is what it looks like. I guess the next step to seeing whether it's really any good is to go ahead and install it on my car. I'll have to put my thinking cap on as to where to wire it in since there are no pure brake signals at the rear of an ERA.

[tkb289]

Patrick ... You do nice work, looks good!

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by tkb289

Patrick ... You do nice work, looks good!

Maybe Bob P. will offer me a job.

[KevinW]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Is orange far enough up the spectrum to pass in the UK?

I reckon so. thanks for al your posts- a lot of very useful info.

[patrickt]

OK, the light is installed on the car. It's not wired up, so it doesn't light up. I tried to take "before and after" pictures from the same viewpoint, both close and far, so you can make a comparison.

BEFORE:



AFTER:




BEFORE:



AFTER:

[ERA Chas]

Thanks for covering the ugly parts.

[RodKnock]

Gee, it looks like termites ate your license plate light fixture. Man, I don't know.

It's kinda pointless w/o seeing lights, camera, action. I'm just saying.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

Gee, it looks like termites ate your license plate light fixture. Man, I don't know.

It's kinda pointless w/o seeing lights, camera, action. I'm just saying.

I picked the shot that showed the lights in the worst possible fashion. Most of the shots (and my eyes) had both before and after looking very much the same. Honestly, if you didn't know they were there and weren't looking for them, you'd never really notice them. But before I wire it up permanently to the brake circuit, I'll wire it up with just a 12v feed and get some shots of what it looks like on the car lit up. I think it will work well though. In order to wire it up to the 14.6v feed voltage of a running car I need to add a resistor in to the circuit, otherwise it'll blow. If this was a dual light car that had a pure brake feed going to the rear of the car the wiring would be much easier. As it is, I'll have to tap in to the line coming off the brake switch, that comes out of the box, runs up the frame, goes up the fenderwell to the under-the-hood runs, and then through the firewall to the circuitry that is above the driver's ankles. I think it's probably easiest to tap in to right after the brake box. But running a nice clean, hidden wire will be a small PITA. Not a huge one, but one nonetheless.

Originally Posted by ERA Chas

Thanks for covering the ugly parts.

I know by that remark that you are suitably impressed. Thank you for the compliment.

[patrickt]

I haven't hooked up the wiring at 14.6v yet, but I'm pretty convinced that six holes are way too many. I think it's going to be too bright. Even at 12v, which is under-powering the array, it's really, really bright. What I will do once I have it fully wired is to just put little circular punch outs of shiny HVAC tape over each outside light until the overall effect looks even, or maybe slightly brighter, than the regular corner brake lights. That will let me assess it properly -- and I think having an odd number, so that one is centered, would look better. If I dropped it down to three lights, instead of the six. and centered the middle light, it would look like this photoshopped pic. Now you have to admit, three holes looks pretty innocuous.

[RodKnock]

Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, had a very shiny....nose? I mean hind end?

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, had a very shiny....nose? I mean hind end?

Yes, the lights have a 70 degree span, and at about 12 feet away it's a lot on the eyes. But, I have to get it fully hooked up in the car. "Living Room" testing just ain't enough. Give me your honest opinion though on the three light look that I photoshopped.

[dcdoug]

I actually think it looks pretty decent, although probably not worth the hassle in my opinion.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by dcdoug

I actually think it looks pretty decent, although probably not worth the hassle in my opinion.

It has been a slight hassle. But, for the next guy it won't be. I won't drill it again myself. Instead, I'll carefully mark the spots to drill and have it done at my local machine shop. That makes it loads easier. Another lesson learned is not to build the array first, but rather keep each light half a mm separated and insert them individually. That's because the light fixture itself is slightly concave/convex -- so in order to get a "perfect fit" you need to place each light in individually and then glue them. Those holes that I drilled were 1/8" holes with a hand drill. I'm still not sure whether three holes, four holes, or five holes will look the most natural "brightness-wise," but if it turns out to be three, and I have the machine shop do the drilling at exactly 3mm, then I'm 100% confident no one would ever even notice it -- even when looking right at it. It's really a cheap upgrade, "parts wise." The LEDs cost twenty five cents each -- and if you want to practice on a new light fixture they're only $35 each. And as to labor, I probably have about five grand of my time invested so far.

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Give me your honest opinion...

Does this include me as well??

I know you got rear-ended but truthfully, would this have prevented that?

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by ERA Chas

Does this include me as well??

I know you got rear-ended but truthfully, would this have prevented that?

No, it wouldn't. But what do you think of the three hole design?

[patrickt]

Here is what four and five holes would look like. I tend to think having either three or five creates a more symmetric look than four does.

[SF_SN888KE]

Here is an earlier thread and pics

I wanted a 3rd brake light, soooooooooooo

[RodKnock]

I agree with the odd number, but I still don't think it has any eye appeal. I admire the initiative and the ingenuity, I couldn't do it, but....sorry.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by SF_SN888KE

Here is an earlier thread and pics

I wanted a 3rd brake light, soooooooooooo

Excellent job. These superbright LEDs are really, really bright. I've accidentally shot them in to my eye a couple of times and it literally stings for a while.

Originally Posted by RodKnock

I agree with the odd number, but I still don't think it has any eye appeal. I admire the initiative and the ingenuity, I couldn't do it, but....sorry.

Yes, you could do it. Don't sell yourself short.

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by patrickt

No, it wouldn't. But what do you think of the three hole design?

I appreciate your frank and truthful answer to my question. Should that stop you from doing all this work? Absolutely not-you're having fun and avoiding spending quality time with the family and most importantly-driving the ass off your car..

My objection(s) are not predicated on the number of holes (careful) or their arrangement or the kilowatts, resistors or pigtails.

I'm just a lover of the original character of Cobras and my build philosophy has always been to achieve that character without necessarily having each specific, original, numbers-matching part. Like-oh-Lucas fuse box covers or dummy 'original' firewall wiring for instance.

They were just raw-boned street or race cars from another era-even the tamest little roadster versions with under-car exhaust. Cobras have no back-up light, hooks front and rear to maim pedestrians, leaky tops (those that have tops), raw edges, noxious fumes and most-deafening noise. They are all about what they can make the driver feel- not what they look like or how comfortable they cruise. Replicas have allowed them to gestate into something foreign to the car's roots for the new, largest part of their audience.

Alien to the car's original character are third brake lights, GPS', A/C, heated seats, drink holders and so on. Fine for safety and modern convenience, but more conducive to the C-6 crowd in my view.

So toil away pal-you're having fun and instructing the mass audience. You're thorough and well thought- out.

Let's just agree to disagree.