LED side lights project

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BBZ149
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LED side lights project

Post by BBZ149 »

I have decided to make some white side lights to match the HID's that I will soon install. Ive seen some single LED mod's but decided to go way OTT with 10 x 10mm LED's lol. I did originally purchase some 5mm but decided they where too small! I will also be painting the Vero board silver. I will post some pic's before and after V soon.

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Last edited by BBZ149 on Mon 09 Jul, 2018 09:36, edited 3 times in total.
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BBZ149
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Post by BBZ149 »

Now all I need to do is convert an old bulb into a connector to mount LED's. ill see what it looks like at night time, and if not happy create a strip of 30 LED's to fill the lens :D

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LED's over the wider indicator side of the lens

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Last edited by BBZ149 on Mon 09 Jul, 2018 09:52, edited 3 times in total.
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mikez3oldgit
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Post by mikez3oldgit »

Neat! have been contemplating similar build myself but not been happy with LED colours so far.
Would be interested in LED spec as want to increase visibility of my Z
maybe you could post and also post pic when fitted.
Well done for your"brilliant" upgrade 8-) 8-)
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Post by mikez3oldgit »

Neat! have been contemplating similar build myself but not been happy with LED colours so far.
Would be interested in LED spec as want to increase visibility of my Z
maybe you could post and also post pic when fitted.
Well done for your"brilliant" upgrade 8-) 8-)
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BBZ149
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Post by BBZ149 »

mikez3oldgit wrote:Neat! have been contemplating similar build myself but not been happy with LED colours so far.
Would be interested in LED spec as want to increase visibility of my Z
maybe you could post and also post pic when fitted.
Well done for your"brilliant" upgrade 8-) 8-)
Thanks mikez3oldgit :) I will post all info as soon as completed and hopefully a pic this eve of one side done.
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mikez3oldgit
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Post by mikez3oldgit »

Firstly,apologies for the double post? not really sure what went on there :oops:
Did consider etching my own pcb but decided perfboard would be quicker for prototyping ( should state electronics a hobby of mine as I have a full radio ham license)
Particularly interested in LED spec as there are so many different colours and outputs available.
Very keen to see posted photo of fitted light :)
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Post by mikez3oldgit »

Firstly,apologies for the double post? not really sure what went on there :oops:
Did consider etching my own pcb but decided perfboard would be quicker for prototyping ( should state electronics a hobby of mine as I have a full radio ham license)
Particularly interested in LED spec as there are so many different colours and outputs available.
Very keen to see posted photo of fitted light :)
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BBZ149
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Post by BBZ149 »

Hi mikez3oldgit,
My best friend’s dad use to be into Radio ham back in the day, that’s how I got into electronics when I was about 10! G, that was a long time ago lol, then went onto working in a TV repair shop at 15 repairing TV's and anything electrical. Back in the day used to make PCB’s for everything, but now I have no UV box or etching equipment and probably not worth collecting it all again as I have no time to play anymore :cry: I used Vero board as it was quicker, but yes it would be perfect to make your own board if you have the time.

Anyway here is some pic’s as I managed to get one side done while the kids were driving the misses mad :roll:

Much nicer than the horrid yellow glow and should match the HID's nicely :D

Excuse all the dead Dutch, German and French flies all over the front lol.

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Last edited by BBZ149 on Mon 09 Jul, 2018 09:58, edited 3 times in total.
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mikez3oldgit
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Post by mikez3oldgit »

Total improvement! will be doing my z3 lights soon,was going to fit HID
lights and take risk on legal issues but a friend installed some in his car and regretted it straight away (he is also a radio ham)and found that they caused massive interferance on the vhf and hf radios that we use. Instead I settled on hyper bright gas filled bulbs that appear close in colour to HID.
Must congratulate you on your efforts as the results are tremendous and
make the fitment of the lights more purposeful especially in light ( :lol: ) of the new daylight running lights coming in.
Which 10mm LED'S did you use ? they appear brighter than the 1200mcd
ones that I had thought of using.
Apologies again if this results in a double posting but I am new to this,
maybe a moderator could assist. :head:
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Jet
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Post by Jet »

Mr T,
Did you have to upgrade the fuse? How do they look with the Hids on?
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BBZ149
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Post by BBZ149 »

Thanks mikez3oldgit,
Yes I also think it is a vast improvement those nasty looking orange lights, and so glad I took the time to do it. It only cost £3.59 for 10 x 10MM 1200mcd LED's delivered and I used 10 for each side, then I installed a 470 ohm resister on each LED that are wired in parallel.

LED's bought from Fleebay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWNX:IT

I was also considering building a light switch so they turn on automatically in low light using the smaller equivalent to the ORP12 LDR to switch a relay on/off connected to the light switch. Luck for me I won’t have any issues with HID interference as I never even listen to the radio in my car; are there no filters you can get to work on your Ham equipment?
Also looking forward to seeing the pic’s of your conversion.
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Post by BBZ149 »

Jet wrote:Mr T,
Did you have to upgrade the fuse? How do they look with the Hids on?
No Jet, as each LED is only 20-30mA, and Led's use very little amps! So im looking for some praise or comments if you’re looking a set :D

As for installing HID's do you think the wife and kids would let me have a few hours to work on my car? :head:
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Post by Jet »

BBZ149 wrote:
Jet wrote:Mr T,
Did you have to upgrade the fuse? How do they look with the Hids on?
No Jet, as each LED is only 20-30mA, and Led's use very little amps! So im looking for some praise or comments if you’re looking a set :D

As for installing HID's do you think the wife and kids would let me have a few hours to work on my car? :head:
Woah, not so fast, I know what your like, lets see the finished item first, has it been soak tested, weatherproofed, can it cope with english weather, is it too bright, how easy is it to fit....

You know I dont give praise lightly :D

But still, nice to see one of your ideas take shape :)
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Post by Holland Harry »

Nice gadget Mr T! Looks okay but post a pic with the HID's on as well. Just to see how well it fits together.
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BBZ149
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Post by BBZ149 »

Holland Harry wrote:Nice gadget Mr T! Looks okay but post a pic with the HID's on as well. Just to see how well it fits together.
Cheers HH, ill get pic's up as soon as wife lets me fit them lol.
Jet wrote:Woah, not so fast, I know what your like, lets see the finished item first, has it been soak tested, weatherproofed, can it cope with english weather, is it too bright, how easy is it to fit....

You know I dont give praise lightly :D

But still, nice to see one of your ideas take shape :)

Soak tested, it's just a bunch of darn LED's not rocket science :)
Weatherproofed, yep
Too bright, never thats just the photo taken lower than any car coming the other way needs to worry about + if too bright ill remove some LED's
Fitting test unit took all of 2 min :D

You’re now on backorder for doubting my expertise lol :D
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Post by BBZ149 »

Both fronts now done, just need to install HID's :D

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bluejay
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Post by bluejay »

SO what are you going to do come MOT time??

Because that is a sure fail!!
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Post by BBZ149 »

bluejay wrote:SO what are you going to do come MOT time??

Because that is a sure fail!!
bluejay, they look brighter in the photo, it also helps to have friends in useful places :wink: Car also has no side indicators so not a problem.

Besides they can be swapped as easy as changing a bulb!
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Robert T
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Post by Robert T »

bbz, I'm watching this thread with interest - not for my zed, but for my frog - my indicators and sidelights are combined and I am wondering if using a combination white and yellow LEDs in two separate circuits in place of a dual-filament bulb might work, as at the moment my front indicators are off-white not yellow.

Taking photos of car lights is not easy, but can you possibly take one with dipped headlights on. This should show how bright your sidelights are compared to normal headlights.

LEDs can be a little garish when you are looking directly at them - but as they don't get particularly hot, it would be simple enough to put a diffuser in front of them - a simple sheet of slightly opaque plastic would do this.

If nothing else, you've just about inspired me to get my soldering iron out. :D

Cheers R.
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Post by BBZ149 »

Robert T wrote:Taking photos of car lights is not easy, but can you possibly take one with dipped headlights on. This should show how bright your sidelights are compared to normal headlights. .
Hi Robert T, I did not even think of that that’s a good idea :) I was thinking of installing a diffuser but did not think they were that bright! Pictures were also taken on a camera phone.

I was also thinking of using 5 White LED's on the indicator side along with amber LED’s for the indicator, but when the indicator is enabled it would probably have to turn the White one’s off so as to see the indicators properly.

Go on get that soldering iron out and have some fun :D Just be sure to post some PIC's
Robert T wrote:for my frog
R, what the hell is a Frog :?:
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Post by Robert T »

BBZ149 wrote:R, what the hell is a Frog :?:
The black thing in my sig pic. :wink:

Cheers R.
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Post by Holland Harry »

BBZ149 wrote:Both fronts now done, just need to install HID's :D

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May I pressume that the HID's will be installed this weekend! And no excuses about the wife this time Mr T. :wink: We want to see the total picture of this upgrade!!!
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Post by BBZ149 »

Holland Harry wrote:May I pressume that the HID's will be installed this weekend! And no excuses about the wife this time Mr T. :wink: We want to see the total picture of this upgrade!!!
Hi HH,
I will be fitting new discs all round this weekend and of to Spain on Monday for 2 weeks, so I will do lights the week im back if I do not get a chance to do them this weekend :D
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Post by Holland Harry »

BBZ149 wrote:
Holland Harry wrote:May I pressume that the HID's will be installed this weekend! And no excuses about the wife this time Mr T. :wink: We want to see the total picture of this upgrade!!!
Hi HH,
I will be fitting new discs all round this weekend and of to Spain on Monday for 2 weeks, so I will do lights the week im back if I do not get a chance to do them this weekend :D
Wish you a nice holliday with the misses and kids. Normally you get a lot of bonus points from the wife for a holliday so after the holliday there is more time to spent on the Zed. But with wifes bonus points fade very quickly again! :wink:
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Post by BBZ149 »

Holland Harry wrote:Wish you a nice holliday with the misses and kids. Normally you get a lot of bonus points from the wife for a holliday so after the holliday there is more time to spent on the Zed. But with wifes bonus points fade very quickly again! :wink:
Thanks HH, should be nice and quiet as the oldest has to stay home for Arsenal that means no fighting with his 5 year old pest brother lol and yes hopefully I would have gained enough bonus points to work on the car for the other week that I’m off when we return, and also have a 325Ci E46 to put back together for the Winter :?
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Post by BBZ149 »

Finally got round to installing HID's :oops: Wow what a difference :shock: It's little hard to take photo's of headlights with a phone camera due to glare.

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Holland Harry
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Post by Holland Harry »

Holy smoke Mr T. :shock: Thats a lot of light!
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Post by BBZ149 »

Holland Harry wrote:Holy smoke Mr T. :shock: Thats a lot of light!
HH,now everybody might now move out the way, thinking that Jesus is coming :D :D LOL

Looks much brighter in a photo,and nobody has flashed me yet!
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Post by Jet »

BBZ149 wrote:....and nobody has flashed me yet!
Thats because their hands are covering their eyes. :D :D
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Post by BBZ149 »

Jet wrote:
BBZ149 wrote:....and nobody has flashed me yet!
Thats because their hands are covering their eyes. :D :D
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Bruno
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Post by Bruno »

Hi Guys,

Your project is very intresting so what' going on...
And I have a question, maybe it look very nice if we can some white LED on the all longer but with some "orange LED" too ??
You understand what I mean...

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Post by BimBeema »

Very nice mod - well done.
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Re: LED side lights project

Post by ChrisS »

Returning to this topic, and lacking the skills to make up an LED array, would this give a worthwhile upgrade to the brightness and whiteness of the sidelights? http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/380-Ul ... -Bulb.html is available in white.
I know the Z1 doesn't need Canbus bulbs but the non-Canbus version has only 60 LEDs.
Anyway, why does the Z1 have two-element sidelight bulbs when only the 5w element is ever used.
I'm thinking of upgrading the stop/tail lights with the red version as well.
Any comments?
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Re: LED side lights project

Post by Jet »

ChrisS wrote: Anyway, why does the Z1 have two-element sidelight bulbs when only the 5w element is ever used.
Any comments?
Hi Chris,

I tried bayonet LEDs, but didn't like the spread, they are tiny so you need more to compensate. Terry's idea solves that as he uses huge LEDs on a flat mount. You could pinch one of the offset pins on the bayonet, swivel 180deg and use the 12w contact, the 150% increase does make a difference. For the rear, I simply inserted brighter standard filament bulbs.
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Re: LED side lights project

Post by ChrisS »

2-filament bulbs are 5/21w and I'm concerned about the heat that would be generated when 21w is being drawn whenever the sidelights are on. LED's draw much less current, so if I pinch the contacts, as you suggest, I won't risk damaging the lamp covers. There's also the little matter of the ease with which I forget to turn lights off and the ease with which I'd drain the battery when side and rear lights draw 52w.
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Re: LED side lights project

Post by Jet »

Yep, your right, its 5w/21w, not 5w/12w.
No denying the benefits of LED technology, I have been using the 'twisted' method for a few years with no sign of damage to the lens, they were built to withstand much higher level of heat than a 21w bulb can emit, you leaving your lights on is another matter entirely.

Ask Terry to make you a set?
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