custom tail lights

[SS Spoiler]

Passion project.....I like that

[Fly Joe]

We would be unable to implement the configurable tail/brake lights though, as this would require "dual ligament" bulb sockets on the boards.

I meant "filament" of course ;-p

Still trying to figure out why a .gif is converted to a .jpg by the forum software. Possibly there is a stone age file size limit that my gif exceeds.

You guys are right, the one and only thing that worries me is cutting the OEM lights. Without that I wouldn't even have asked if there is demand, we had just developed it and offered it. I know there would be demand for simple exchange lights that plug and play (and even look like the originals).

While RHS NOS is still available (not even too expensive from Houston - D-Go and DL.eu more expensive), LHS is not.
This is why we came up with the second idea, where only the outer triangle of the turn signal is opened from behind (whether a cut on one end is sufficient to push the small board in would be still to evaluate). This is a small modification which does not affect the OEM function at all. Even with a non working board inside one wouldn't see the difference.

On Facebook some people say they are happy with the OEM lights using LED bulbs. Anyone here who confirms this but at the same time would still like some additional function?

[Fly Joe]

After all your input here is a better overview of two options.
Option 2 ("reduced") would require very little modification of the tail lights as it would work almost entirely with the regular boards that you all have.

Please see table below (PLEASE SCROLL DOWN, for some reason all these blank lines appear above the table)

Features	Option 1 (full)	Option 2 (reduced)
turn signal incorporates second segment (outer triangle)	X	X
sequential ("running") turn signals	X	X
foglight functionality included	X	X
use of original connector ("plug and play")	X	X
panic brake light (>6 m/s² braking leads to fast blinking)	X	X
use of all three red sections for tail light (darker) and brake light (brighter)	X	--
DMC Logo as tail light and/or brake light	optional	--
necessary modifications of OEM lights (lenses)	heavy	minor
Full area equal brightness LED lights	X	only outer turn signal triangle; rest would work with standard boards and LED bulbs
price (pair LHS and RHS) approx. $	580	220
warranty 1 year	X	X
user configurable (switch) to behave 100% stock	X	X

Also here is an animation of the turn signal - externally stored .gif this time:

Of course the blinking interval is too high, but it's just to demonstrate the sequential.

[Lukas]

Joe

Are you sure you can't make the tail light housings?!

[Ron]

(PLEASE SCROLL DOWN, for some reason all these blank lines appear above the table)

Fixed that for ya...

That happened because the line breaks in the table's code were not stripped by a HTML compressor.
(They were only there to make the code easy to read while writing it etc.)

[Fly Joe]

Joe

Are you sure you can't make the tail light housings?!

Yes. This is a very difficult task. The housing itself, not a big problem - could be 3D printed even. But the glass segments can't be printed. Even with translucent filament it does not turn out clear afterwards. You always have the structure from the printing process.

We have 3D printed a plate to put between LEDs and glass to distribute the light evenly. It works perfect but doesn't look like the original lights where the tiny lenses in the glass lead to some kind of sparkling / local glowing depending on the angle from which one is looking at it. So we gave up that idea.

Here are some photos of the work so far.

IMG_20190518_190353.jpgIMG_20190616_130813.jpgIMG_20190616_154801.jpgIMG_20190622_175118.jpgIMG_20190622_204823.jpgIMG_20190622_205614.jpgIMG_20190623_134627.jpgIMG_20190623_134747.jpgIMG_20190623_155334.jpg