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Thread: LED door and side marker lights

  1. #1
    Senior Member Tomcio's Avatar
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    Location:  Poland

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    My VIN:    6149 plus 2418, 3633, 5030, 17086

    LED door and side marker lights

    Hello everyone,

    I came up with an idea for a high quality LED replacements for the door lights and side marker lights. Other lights will follow if this project works out.
    I have designed a custom circuit board that replaces the original light bulb and provides comparable amount of light while using a lot less power and creating very little heat. I have made a sample set to test the idea and see how it turns out. I am very pleased with the results.
    I would like to go ahead with the project and start production but I need to know if there's enough interest out there. The more orders I get the lower the final price will be. With 10 orders a complete set of six door lights or four side marker lights will cost $80 with free shipping.

    Door lights:
    Custom circuit board with four LEDs with three chips each for a total of 12 LEDs in each light:
    15s.jpg 06s.jpg 08s.jpg 05s.jpg 07s.jpg

    Each light needs just 0.67W for a total of 4W for all six lights! That's less power than just one original bulb! This means you can leave the doors open at shows without worrying about your battery dying.
    They provide uniform brightness from about 10 to over 35 volts. The power is controlled by an IC mounted on the board.
    There are no tools required for installation. Just remove the bulb and install the new board. That's it.

    Side marker lights:
    Custom circuit board with six LEDs with three chips each for a total of 18 LEDs in each light:
    27s.jpg26s.jpg18s.jpg21s.jpg

    Each side marker light needs about 1W of power and provides uniform brightness from about 9 to 35 volts. The power is controlled by two ICs.
    In this case the installation is more difficult as the backing of the light will need to be cut off. The original socket requires just a small round hole. The new board is the size of the center section and the backing needs to be cut off.

    Please let me know if there is any interest. If this project works out there is a plan to make interior dome lights, front turn signals and rear light assemblies. If the rear lights are made it will be a full replacement. There is a plan to make an exact replacement of the entire assembly as cutting and retrofitting the OEM lights would be too complex. Just sticking a LED bulb replacements doesn't guarantee good results. With a whole new assembly the possibilities are endless.

    Check out my little site for more details. Link in my signature.

    Keep in mind that the lights are NOT AVAILABLE yet. This is just an idea for a product. With enough people interested I will make it happen.
    Greetings from Poland!
    Tom
    http://www.deloreana.com

    Please excuse my typos... and watch this: Ben Champion - That Auto-Correct Song

  2. #2
    Senior Member Domi's Avatar
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    This project sounds really good
    Sure, I will be interested by the doors lights.
    About side markers, I'm sure yet. It will be nice to see a picture in dark to see if the light is fine or not.
    About the rear light, definitively yes!
    I always dreamed about all the red part to be light on, and more powerful when you hit the brake.
    It will be nicer in the dark if we could see a bigger light, like for example on old Trans-Am.
    Keep us in touch about this one!
    Many thanks

  3. #3
    Senior Member Tomcio's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Domi View Post
    This project sounds really good

    About side markers, I'm sure yet. It will be nice to see a picture in dark to see if the light is fine or not.

    About the rear light, definitively yes!
    I always dreamed about all the red part to be light on, and more powerful when you hit the brake.
    Thanks Domi!

    It's difficult to take a good picture in the dark.... especially because my car is in pieces and I can't even install the battery at this time. This project is in very early stages of development at this time but I will try to get some before and after pictures when it advances a little more.
    Anyway, the side marker lights are the proper color as per regulation and the brightness is adjusted to be the same as the OEM light bulb. I used a lux meter to measure the light intensity of the bulb and then adjusted the LED current to get the same brightness.

    For the rear I have some wild ideas... One idea is to make the lenses colorless... Frosted glass look. Then I was thinking about doing the OEM pattern or lighting up everything red. Then when the turn signal comes on the two outermost blocks would flash amber-off-amber and return to red. With reverse on the innermost blocks would turn on cool white and return to red when out of reverse. As I said, the possibilities are endless....
    Greetings from Poland!
    Tom
    http://www.deloreana.com

    Please excuse my typos... and watch this: Ben Champion - That Auto-Correct Song

  4. #4
    Senior Member Domi's Avatar
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    All right, thanks for the information.
    Count me in for the doors light to begin

    Quote Originally Posted by Tomcio View Post
    For the rear I have some wild ideas... One idea is to make the lenses colorless... Frosted glass look. Then I was thinking about doing the OEM pattern or lighting up everything red. Then when the turn signal comes on the two outermost blocks would flash amber-off-amber and return to red. With reverse on the innermost blocks would turn on cool white and return to red when out of reverse. As I said, the possibilities are endless....
    That's awesome!
    I hope you'll be able to do this project, it sounds really cool!
    Everything red, and then the color change is a wonderful idea
    But you need to make a modification to the lenses?
    If you do red the brake and light, it's already a big improvement I think.

  5. #5
    Senior Member DMC5180's Avatar
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    Location:  Reedsburg, WI

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    Good to here from you Tom. You've been off the grid for awhile. Keep up the good work. I've had your heated mirrors installed for 6-7 years now.
    DENNIS

    VIN 5180, Frame 3652, STAGE II​, DM-eng Solid State Solutions (RPM Rly, Dm.Lt.Mod., Fan Fail Mod. , FAN Rly, HS.Rly) , HID headlights, SPAX user since 2009, Eibach springs, M Adj. Rear LCA's, DPNW poly-sway bar kit, DMCEU LCA Stabilizer link kit, DMCMW Illuminated door sills, Aussie Illuminated SS Shifter plate, REAL MOMO EVO Steering wheel, DELOREANA Extended View Side Mirrors w/ Heaters, DELOREANA LED Door Lights.

  6. #6
    Member
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    Location:  Brisbane, QLD, AU

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    I'd be very interested in any taillights you could come up with. Although I don't mind the original look (amber, red and white), I think less colours (all red, or at most red and white) would give a cleaner and more modern look.

    I have seen some D's with tinted taillights which also have a similar effect. I haven't seen any with a clear or all-red version.

    There are so many possibilities for the rear lights, so any order could be difficult to satisfy everyone.

    Another suggestion - what about clear front indicators (with an amber bulb behind). What about using this new 3D printing everyone is talking about?

  7. #7
    Senior Member Tomcio's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DMC5180 View Post
    Good to here from you Tom. You've been off the grid for awhile. Keep up the good work. I've had your heated mirrors installed for 6-7 years now.
    Dennis, I'm here and I am on the grid, but I am a fan of the DML email format. I've been on the DML since 1998. I didn't really have time to participate on the DMC Forum.
    I'm really glad you like the mirrors! Thank you. This has been my first addition to the DeLorean but I hope it's not the last Now I'm into the LED lights. I just love LEDs

    Quote Originally Posted by Lukas View Post
    I'd be very interested in any taillights you could come up with. Although I don't mind the original look (amber, red and white), I think less colours (all red, or at most red and white) would give a cleaner and more modern look.
    The way I see it is that D has no color. When you look at a picture of a D you don't really know if it's a color or b&w photo unless you look at the lights. I would like to remove the color altogether. Make the car colorless. I think it would look really good with the rear lights all grayish-white frosted glass lenses that light up all red with color change for amber turn signal and white reverse lights.
    It will be a while before I'll have a working prototype as I do not like to cut corners. If I'm to make rear lights I need to make sure they are compliant with all the rules and regulations and they provide the necessary light output. People usually drive too close behind a D so a good brake light is a must.
    I already have all the info regarding the required color and brightness for all the outside lights on a car for Europe and the USA.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lukas View Post
    Another suggestion - what about clear front indicators (with an amber bulb behind). What about using this new 3D printing everyone is talking about?
    I'm working on the same "frosted glass" design for the front indicators. With amber LEDs of course. Stay tuned...
    3D printing is great for prototyping but not for actually producing any usable components. This is especially true for a light lens. It just doesn't work like this... at least the 3D printers that I had experience with. It's meant to produce a model that you can touch and look at from all angles and then you can make the final product based on this data. You can't just print a lens or a whole light that you could install on a car. Not yet at least...
    Greetings from Poland!
    Tom
    http://www.deloreana.com

    Please excuse my typos... and watch this: Ben Champion - That Auto-Correct Song

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tomcio View Post
    The way I see it is that D has no color. When you look at a picture of a D you don't really know if it's a color or b&w photo unless you look at the lights. I would like to remove the color altogether. Make the car colorless.
    What about doing the same thing for the side marker lights?

    I know that they incorporate coloured retroreflectors at either end, with a clear center section for the light. I imagine you would lose the red/amber reflector, and just use a white one in it's place?

  9. #9
    Senior Member john 05141's Avatar
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    My doors have LED's and they are not too bad.
    I never put LED's in the sidemarkers becasue LED was too weak.
    I'd like to see a picture inthe dark with a comparisson too, I'm interested.
    also for the rear lights.

    Jan


    Steering with power

  10. #10
    Senior Member Tomcio's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lukas View Post
    What about doing the same thing for the side marker lights?

    I know that they incorporate coloured retroreflectors at either end, with a clear center section for the light. I imagine you would lose the red/amber reflector, and just use a white one in it's place?
    It is an option to remove the reflector and just install a frosted glass lens but then lighting up just the center would not make much sense. I think that we would need to make a circuit board the length of the entire light with one row of LEDs. It can be done.

    Quote Originally Posted by john 05141 View Post
    My doors have LED's and they are not too bad.
    I never put LED's in the sidemarkers becasue LED was too weak.
    I'd like to see a picture inthe dark with a comparisson too, I'm interested.
    LEDs get brighter every day it seems. I'm using type 5050 with three chips in each. With four in the door light I get a total of 12 LEDs and 18 LEDs for the side markers. That provides enough light.
    Will a picture of both OEM and LED side marker on my desk be enough? I can't do it on a car.
    Here's a comparison of the bulb and LEDs:
    31.jpg18.jpg19.jpg

    I'll try to take a picture of both side by side turned on. I'll post pictures tonight.
    Greetings from Poland!
    Tom
    http://www.deloreana.com

    Please excuse my typos... and watch this: Ben Champion - That Auto-Correct Song

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