LED Brake/Taillight Group Buy Options

[SirAndy]

Did you have any issues with the turnsignals not blinking?

Nope, the turn signals works just fine ...
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[smj]

Hey Spoke - panels arrived a while ago, finally got them in this weekend.

Inserting the bulb-bases was indeed problematic. My fingers are either too fat or not fat enough, any progress was due to applying force to the wires within the base. Fortunately things look solid in terms of the epoxy potting in there. Same as Andy the bases wanted to deform when I tried to use any sort of pliers, but they're still intact. I also didn't bother to pull up this thread, so it took me a while to figure out which of the plastic bits to use where, but I'm pretty sure I got that settled. And they seem to be working well, held up to a bumpy drive just fine.

Mine blink... interestingly. One problem might be pre-existing, can't tell yet. A previous owner put slant-nose fenders on the car, and installed CIBIE lights behind the fog/horn grills. It seems like maybe the driver's front turn signal is wired backwards, in terms of the running light vs. indicator lines. If I compare which filaments are lighting under different conditions, it's opposite to the passenger side. So I'll have to revert to bulbs to see if it's a new problem, then check wiring if it's pre-existing.

Anyway in the video I shot, instead of the right turn signals blinking alone, it looks like the hazards are on - though I think the left indicator is going at lower power when that's the case. The left signal is operating at half speed when they're activated...

Leaving that glitch aside until I've got more time, the LEDs look good. Shot a little video, unfortunately from too low - but since this is a 914, I had jack stands handy, so that's what I set the phone on... I've got the amber turns behind red housings at the moment, but expect to be getting amber lenses at some point.

video

[CptTripps]

Mine aren't blinking...just staying "on" all the time. I think I need a different Relay, which I purchased, but haven't put in yet. Now, I have a completely different wiring harness, so you shouldn't let that deter you from buying these. Spoke has an awesome product here.

[Spoke]

Hey Spoke - panels arrived a while ago, finally got them in this weekend.

Inserting the bulb-bases was indeed problematic. My fingers are either too fat or not fat enough, any progress was due to applying force to the wires within the base. Fortunately things look solid in terms of the epoxy potting in there. Same as Andy the bases wanted to deform when I tried to use any sort of pliers, but they're still intact. I also didn't bother to pull up this thread, so it took me a while to figure out which of the plastic bits to use where, but I'm pretty sure I got that settled. And they seem to be working well, held up to a bumpy drive just fine.

Mine blink... interestingly. One problem might be pre-existing, can't tell yet. A previous owner put slant-nose fenders on the car, and installed CIBIE lights behind the fog/horn grills. It seems like maybe the driver's front turn signal is wired backwards, in terms of the running light vs. indicator lines. If I compare which filaments are lighting under different conditions, it's opposite to the passenger side. So I'll have to revert to bulbs to see if it's a new problem, then check wiring if it's pre-existing.

Anyway in the video I shot, instead of the right turn signals blinking alone, it looks like the hazards are on - though I think the left indicator is going at lower power when that's the case. The left signal is operating at half speed when they're activated...

Leaving that glitch aside until I've got more time, the LEDs look good. Shot a little video, unfortunately from too low - but since this is a 914, I had jack stands handy, so that's what I set the phone on... I've got the amber turns behind red housings at the moment, but expect to be getting amber lenses at some point.

video

Steve,

It does look like there's some interaction between the 2 sides of your turnsignals. At about 1:00 into your vid both turns flash at a lower power than just the left or hazard. Might be up front as you suspect where the wiring issue is.

The turns flashing at a lower intensity is a sign that the voltage to each light is about 1/2 of what it should be. They're barely brighter than the running light intensity.

Try removing the front bulbs or disconnecting the wires to the front bulbs to see if it heals itself.

[SirAndy]

One more thing that was brought up in the other thread about the euro lenses.

Currently, with the "euro" version of the LED lights, the blinker portion is always dimly lit as soon as you pull on the light switch (doesn't matter to what position).

That means i now have yellow "running lights" at all times, which is not only illegal in the US, but also in Europe.


We'll see how long it takes for me to get pulled over for this ...
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/w00t.gif)

[zambezi]

Is there an "at home" remedy to cut the power to the turn signal LED's? I assume they are getting power from the side facing LED group. I think those being lit would be fine, but if we find the whole turn signal board being lit is a problem, is there a simple circuit we can disable to eliminate that function but still have the side LED's lit? Just asking because I installed mine today (even though the car is not yet ready for the road) and am seeing the same as everyone else. I don't have a problem with them yet but I have not used the car yet to see if it caused confusion with other drivers. I don't think any of the LEO's around these parts could care less about the legal issues of the lights, so that is not my concern.

[Spoke]

One more thing that was brought up in the other thread about the euro lenses.

Currently, with the "euro" version of the LED lights, the blinker portion is always dimly lit as soon as you pull on the light switch (doesn't matter to what position).

That means i now have yellow "running lights" at all times, which is not only illegal in the US, but also in Europe.


We'll see how long it takes for me to get pulled over for this ...
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/w00t.gif)

Yeah, that is some good information to have. I wish that thread would have come up before doing the LED boards.

For any further amber turnsignals, the LED array will not be lit up with the running lights, just the side facing LEDs will be lit. They should bleed just a tiny amount towards the rear of the car.

[Spoke]

Is there an "at home" remedy to cut the power to the turn signal LED's? I assume they are getting power from the side facing LED group. I think those being lit would be fine, but if we find the whole turn signal board being lit is a problem, is there a simple circuit we can disable to eliminate that function but still have the side LED's lit? Just asking because I installed mine today (even though the car is not yet ready for the road) and am seeing the same as everyone else. I don't have a problem with them yet but I have not used the car yet to see if it caused confusion with other drivers. I don't think any of the LEO's around these parts could care less about the legal issues of the lights, so that is not my concern.

It is pretty simple to disable the amber LED array from the running lights and still have the side facing LEDs. The side facing LEDs alone should bleed very little towards the rear of the car.

See the attached pic for resistor R2. Remove this resistor and the LED array is disabled from lighting with the running lights. R2 is easy to identify as it is smaller in size as the other resistors.

There are 3 basic ways to remove R2:
1) Using 2 solder irons, heat both sides of the resistor and remove. If you have a single wide solder iron, it may be possible to lay the iron so it contacts both sides of the resistor at the same time to remove.

2) If you don't have a solder iron or can't get the resistor removed with a solder iron, you can simply crush the resistor with a pair of pliers. It may seem crude but it will work. The resistor is constructed on an alumina ceramic substrate which will shatter if compressed with a pair of pliers. Needlenose would work best. Just clean up the resistor fragments after breaking it and you're good to go.

3) Ship the boards back to me. You pay shipping to me and I'll pay shipping back. I will reimburse your shipping cost since this was my mistake.

BTW, those with red LEDs should not suffer from this legal infraction as the red running lights will only make the light footprint of the car larger at night.

[zambezi]

Thanks, now I know how to disable it if I don't want the amber lit. Great product either way though. Thanks again for doing these. I do like them. Now get to work on a solution like this for the front lights.

[SirAndy]

It is pretty simple to disable the amber LED array from the running lights and still have the side facing LEDs. The side facing LEDs alone should bleed very little towards the rear of the car.

See the attached pic for resistor R2. Remove this resistor and the LED array is disabled from lighting with the running lights. R2 is easy to identify as it is smaller in size as the other resistors.

There are 3 basic ways to remove R2:
1) Using 2 solder irons, heat both sides of the resistor and remove. If you have a single wide solder iron, it may be possible to lay the iron so it contacts both sides of the resistor at the same time to remove.

2) If you don't have a solder iron or can't get the resistor removed with a solder iron, you can simply crush the resistor with a pair of pliers. It may seem crude but it will work. The resistor is constructed on an alumina ceramic substrate which will shatter if compressed with a pair of pliers. Needlenose would work best. Just clean up the resistor fragments after breaking it and you're good to go.

3) Ship the boards back to me. You pay shipping to me and I'll pay shipping back. I will reimburse your shipping cost since this was my mistake.

BTW, those with red LEDs should not suffer from this legal infraction as the red running lights will only make the light footprint of the car larger at night.

Thanks for the tip on R2. I'll run it as-is for now, but it's good to know i can fix this if i have to ...
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[rmdinmd]

Installed mine yesterday. Took about one hour (yes I am slow (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) ). Used a pair of needle nose pliers to turn the small side plug-in, fingers didn't seem to want to fit in there, just be gentle. I used a little bit of Dielectric grease on the plugins for both lubrication and corrosion protection purposes.



Everything thing seemed to be working just great with no problems. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif) it to see the fireworks last night.

Spoke did a fantastic job with these. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif)

[Spoke]

Installed mine yesterday.
Everything thing seemed to be working just great with no problems.

Great to hear Rick. Using the dielectric grease on the bulb sockets is a good idea. I've plugged in various bulbs and LED boards multiple times into the sockets on my car that I don't have issues with plugging these boards in.

[Spoke]

I've now contacted everyone on this thread who indicated interest in these LED boards.

If you were interested and didn't hear from me, please check your PM inbox or contact me via PM.

Thanks to all who purchased and hope these keep you safe and happy motoring. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving-girl.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/flag.gif)

[euro911]

PM received and Paypal sent (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Rleog]

I've now contacted everyone on this thread who indicated interest in these LED boards.

If you were interested and didn't hear from me, please check your PM inbox or contact me via PM.

Thanks to all who purchased and hope these keep you safe and happy motoring. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving-girl.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/flag.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/pray.gif)

And

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Great job, Spoke.

[john77]

Finally my ladylike slender fingers come in handy...

Fitted these today, took me 15 mins - very simple install and the bayonets were a lot easier to put in than I thought they'd be (see previous ladylike finger comment). Overall, very happy with them. Great job Spoke.

Pictures were taken during the day in my parking garage.

Before:


After:

[eric9144]

Interested in a set if you are still doing them, PM sent...

[MATTYLITE]

I'd like a set of Red Driving Lights and a set of Amber Turn Signals too.

Should I PM you?

[Spoke]

I'd like a set of Red Driving Lights and a set of Amber Turn Signals too.

Should I PM you?

PM sent. We're on summer vacation now so taking a break until the fall. I will contact you later. Thanks for your interest.

[dadaDaveed]

Hey Spoke,
I installed my LED's this afternoon… easy as pie. I've only seen them in bright daylight, and I'm very pleased with the improvement. I got a big atta-boy from the wife too. She agreed it's a wise upgrade. Thanks again,

-Dave