LED lights that actually fill up the door light lens.

[DeLorean03]

I'm not trying to be a jerk and only show pictures, I'm just in the middle of working on the car, but I wanted to share this with you.

Old:

13235

New:

13236

As you can see, I'm upgrading the remaining lights with SMD LEDs.

13237

More to come later tonight - don't worry, I'll take nighttime shots :).

[cybercusp]

Those look much better than the standard led's. Post the brand/stock# when you get time.

[DeLorean03]

They are GP Thunders:. Part # 194-5SMD-A and 194-5SMD-R.

I normally purchase from http://stores.ebay.com/Premierteknet/_i.html?_nkw=194+SMD+amber&submit=Search&_sid=840472, but for whatever reason right now he is not selling them except in bulk.

Night time shots coming as it gets darker.

[Bitsyncmaster]

Try fliping the lens so smoth side is in.

[Shep]

They are GP Thunders:. Part # 194-5SMD-A and 194-5SMD-R.

I normally purchase from http://stores.ebay.com/Premierteknet/_i.html?_nkw=194+SMD+amber&submit=Search&_sid=840472, but for whatever reason right now he is not selling them except in bulk.

Night time shots coming as it gets darker.Do you have a link to where you bought these particular ones from? I googled the part numbers and came up empty. I've been looking at converting to LED bulbs to reduce battery drain and eliminate bulb replacement, and these look really good! Can't wait to see those nighttime shots!

[DeLorean03]

Do you have a link to where you bought these particular ones from? I googled the part numbers and came up empty. I've been looking at converting to LED bulbs to reduce battery drain and eliminate bulb replacement, and these look really good! Can't wait to see those nighttime shots!

The link that I provided in my post you quoted is where I bought them from - that particular seller on eBay. For whatever reason, he is not selling them separately. What you can do it email [email protected], and explain to them you want the part numbers I listed off. Get 2 pairs of amber and 1 pair of red. Each pair is $5.00.

And here are the night time shots :).


Red LED:
13253

And Amber LED:
13254

[Shep]

The link that I provided in my post you quoted is where I bought them from - that particular seller on eBay. For whatever reason, he is not selling them separately. What you can do it email [email protected], and explain to them you want the part numbers I listed off. Get 2 pairs of amber and 1 pair of red. Each pair is $5.00.Thanks for the clarification! I misunderstood your last post and thought you couldn't buy them from that seller on eBay so you bought them elsewhere. It looks like he added at least the 2-pack amber ones since then, but I still don't see any red.


And here are the night time shots :).


Red LED:
13253

And Amber LED:
13254Those look nice! MUCH more visible than he old ones. Question: is it possible to turn the bulb socket 45 degrees clockwise/counterclockwise so the light pattern forms an "X" rather than a "+"? I'm a wee bit anal retentive when it comes to details, and it seems like it would get more coverage as an "X".

[SIMid]

Should try SMDs, alot brighter.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-X-T10-8-LED-SMD-White-Car-Bulb-Wedge-Side-Light-Lamp-/320675850155?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4aa9c527ab

I used something like these in my Delorean.

[DeLorean03]

Question: is it possible to turn the bulb socket 45 degrees clockwise/counterclockwise so the light pattern forms an "X" rather than a "+"? I'm a wee bit anal retentive when it comes to details, and it seems like it would get more coverage as an "X".

Absolutely. Pull the rubber housing out of the door, rotate it so the light socket is turned 90 degrees (in other words, rotate the rubber housing 90 degrees either direction), reinstall it into the hole in the door, reinstall LED. Test and enjoy :).

[DeLorean03]

Should try SMDs, alot brighter.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-X-T10-8-LED-SMD-White-Car-Bulb-Wedge-Side-Light-Lamp-/320675850155?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4aa9c527ab

I used something like these in my Delorean.

They are SMDs. I kinda said that in my first post ;).

They are these right here just in amber and red instead of white.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GP-Thunder-Lot-of-50-W5W-T10-194-168-2825-5-LED-Lights-White-Bulbs-Wedges-Base-/120783929413?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c1f488045&vxp=mtr

[Shep]

Absolutely. Pull the rubber housing out of the door, rotate it so the light socket is turned 90 degrees (in other words, rotate the rubber housing 90 degrees either direction), reinstall it into the hole in the door, reinstall LED. Test and enjoy :).Thanks for the tip! I'll be sure to do this one when I get my D back.

By the way, let us know how the other LED's you bought work out when you get around to installing them. :)

[Bitsyncmaster]

Thanks for the tip! I'll be sure to do this one when I get my D back.

By the way, let us know how the other LED's you bought work out when you get around to installing them. :)

The best way to get the light to disperse is to move the LEDs as far from the lens as possible. I did that by removing the socket and gluing in custom LEDs. I could do even better with these wide angle SMT parts now.

[SIMid]

They are SMDs. I kinda said that in my first post ;).


Sorry, I just read the title.

Should try the ones like I have that have them all facing forward, than side on. And as Bits, said, push them as far back as possible. I have pics of my installation, all on FB. :)

[RIUM+]

One of the other big things you can do to even out the light spread is to paint the inside of the light housing white. A latex/acrylic-based house paint is fine for the job, it'll bond to the rubber without damaging it or flaking off. The internal light reflections will increase the brightness plus even out its spread.

The same can be said for the tail lights. Use a small brush & paint as much of the sides white as you can reach. I need to get around to uploading those before/after photos, but that's probably for another thread...

[Citizen]

I had been thinking about this problem for a while now. I finally (and coincidently today) decided on putting in a very thin defuser. What to use? Construction paper! That's right, construction paper. Extreamly cheap. Just cut to size with sissors.

My lenses are the standard red in back, yellow in the middle, but non-standard blue in front (looks way cooler than four yellow lenses, especially at car shows when it's dark out), so all three colors in construction paper are needed. As of today, I have them all.

Anyway, I'll try to get before and after pictures, and post here later.

Thomas

...

[Citizen]

Anyway, I'll try to get before and after pictures, and post here later.

Well, sorry for the kludgy hack job on the attached photo, but it shows all six shots. All on the left are without the defuser, and on the right are with the new defuser. All photos have the smooth side of the lense on the outside.

I don't think the camera does the pictures justice, as the defused LED's look much better looking straight at them, albthough a little dimmer. Still, looks pretty darn good at night.

Thomas

...

13426

[Shep]

Do you guys think wax paper would be opaque enough to disperse light effectively? House paint sounds like it would block quite a bit of light, as would construction paper. I won't be doing much night driving, but I may be doing some driving around dusk, so for me it needs to be bright enough to see when there's still light out.

[Dangermouse]

I think he meant paint the inside housing white, not the lens (what would be the reflector part of a headlight, say)

[Shep]

I think he meant paint the inside housing white, not the lens (what would be the reflector part of a headlight, say)Ah, I misunderstood that one then. That makes a lot more sense. Thanks for the clarification!

[Citizen]

Do you guys think wax paper would be opaque enough to disperse light effectively? House paint sounds like it would block quite a bit of light, as would construction paper.
[SNIP]

Maybe what I used is not actually construction paper. It's more of like colored printer paper, same thickness as copier paper, and not used for building stuff. You can see in the picture using the "colored" paper that very little light is lost.

Thomas

...

[DeLorean03]

Hey guys!

Wow, alot of discussion coming from this thread. I respect everyone's inputs and ideas - and not knocking anyone's input.

My reason for posting the thread was just in case anyone wants to just do a "plug and play" job with LEDs, those were the ones I used, and they light up the door lenses like nobody's business. Unfortunately, the pictures don't always do justice. Take my word for it - I am very pleased with how they came out, and they are a WORLD of difference in comparison to the old "cluster" LEDs I installed back in 2004.

Anyways, carry on! I just wanted to clarify my original post is for those who choose to "plug and play".

[Shep]

Maybe what I used is not actually construction paper. It's more of like colored printer paper, same thickness as copier paper, and not used for building stuff. You can see in the picture using the "colored" paper that very little light is lost.Thanks for the clarification! I was wondering how construction paper did so well. Copier paper makes much more sense. I'll toy around with tissue paper first to see how that works, then move on to copy paper if that doesn't work out too well.


My reason for posting the thread was just in case anyone wants to just do a "plug and play" job with LEDs, those were the ones I used, and they light up the door lenses like nobody's business. Unfortunately, the pictures don't always do justice. Take my word for it - I am very pleased with how they came out, and they are a WORLD of difference in comparison to the old "cluster" LEDs I installed back in 2004.

Anyways, carry on! I just wanted to clarify my original post is for those who choose to "plug and play".Indeed, and I greatly appreciate you posting the pictures and part numbers to the bulbs you used! :thumbup: I was mostly curious on how to get even coverage with the extra brightness.

[Bitsyncmaster]

One of the other big things you can do to even out the light spread is to paint the inside of the light housing white. A latex/acrylic-based house paint is fine for the job, it'll bond to the rubber without damaging it or flaking off. The internal light reflections will increase the brightness plus even out its spread.

The same can be said for the tail lights. Use a small brush & paint as much of the sides white as you can reach. I need to get around to uploading those before/after photos, but that's probably for another thread...

I did that also but used aluminum rust-olem paint. Just brushed it on the inside of the black rubber housing. It helps a little when your looking at them at angles to the lens.