*** hot topic *** HB Led's for automotive tail lights

[rolo95]

Hey guys
i have seen so many china aftermarket tail lights
the problem with those ,is that they are dim and the difference between the runnin light and the break light is very minimal

My question
if somebody can point me in the right direction of what type of led
for example Cadillac uses on its led tail lamps... those are really Brightttt
does anybody have been on the back of a street with a  an escalade or deville in front of you at night ..... that is bright

i want to get those type of leds to modify my car tail light
or get an aftermarket one and replace the cheap leds for the high power ones

this is not audio related i know...
but maybe someone can know some about it
Thanks
Rolo. 

 

[PRR]

> china aftermarket tail lights

Go to a good motorcycle shop.

Motorcyclists don't like to be hit in the rear, and know which lights are BRIGHT.

Yes, older Harleys and many others used 1156/1157 bulbs.

 

[abbey road d enfer]

You may start here
http://www.national.com/webench5/power/webench5.cgi?application=LED_DRIVER&lang_chosen=en_US&VinMin=15&VinMax=30&ledseries=1&ledparallel=1&lightoutput=&source=DC&op_TA=30

and there
http://www.onsemi.com/PowerSolutions/appDiagram.do?appId=701

 

[3nity]

were you able to open the complete light actually?
Cuz i tried i couldnt..

 

[JohnRoberts]

> china aftermarket tail lights

Go to a good motorcycle shop.

Motorcyclists don't like to be hit in the rear, and know which lights are BRIGHT.

Yes, older Harleys and many others used 1156/1157 bulbs.

Back when I still had my motorcycle I was never in much risk of being hit from behind...  8)

More useful for m/c to have a nuclear powered headlight so cars would see you coming and have no excuse for pulling out in front of a speeding bullet.

for the OP, perhaps buy a taillight from Cadillac service dept and dissect it...

=====

I have been noticing lately LED stoplights with dark LED segments... It seems these shouldn't be burned out already.. must be bad solder joints.

JR

 

[rolo95]

were you able to open the complete light actually?
Cuz i tried i couldnt..

well not yet, as dont want to ruin it...
i asked on the dealership about the cost of my taillights and they told me 250 each 

maybe i will get a pair at the car flea market
and practice on those..
true is that they use like an epoxy to seal the clear lens cover to the housing body
they do the same on the front lights and back

actually you need to heat them in your kitchen oven ( yes if you dont have a commercial shop oven )
so the heat gets even and the epoxy soften so you can open it

here is an article on a guy who put reflectors inside their original headlights enclosures
but cant find it right now... let me search for it and see if i got luck... as i was browsing for other things and get to that page

and this guy , hope he can share some info found really bright LEDS as you can see
http://youtu.be/QkfXQQyUT5E

 

[rolo95]

for the OP, perhaps buy a taillight from Cadillac service dept and dissect it...

that would be fine if you got the dough... i guess those will cost 600 each...

 

[rolo95]

> china aftermarket tail lights

Go to a good motorcycle shop.

Motorcyclists don't like to be hit in the rear, and know which lights are BRIGHT.

Yes, older Harleys and many others used 1156/1157 bulbs.

yes that can be...
take a look at what this guys done... thing is that they dont say how they did it

http://youtu.be/7YnuDb_EKIU

 

[rolo95]

You may start here
http://www.national.com/webench5/power/webench5.cgi?application=LED_DRIVER&lang_chosen=en_US&VinMin=15&VinMax=30&ledseries=1&ledparallel=1&lightoutput=&source=DC&op_TA=30

and there
http://www.onsemi.com/PowerSolutions/appDiagram.do?appId=701

Ohhh many Thanks Abbey
those links are awesome...!!!!
diggin trough them

 

[rolo95]

well,
i think i will need to rip apart a Cadillac tail light
mmmmm.....i think i will find one on the car cementery...

 

[andrew_k]

Cree XP-E 3W LEDs are excellent. 130° viewing angle.  Drive the reds with a 700mA constant current supply and they are PLENTY bright.  8)
If you DIY, buy them pre-mounted on boards for easy of use.

 

[rolo95]

Cree XP-E 3W LEDs are excellent. 130° viewing angle.  Drive the reds with a 700mA constant current supply and they are PLENTY bright.  8)
If you DIY, buy them pre-mounted on boards for easy of use.

Andrew ,
do you have any pointers on how to make a PCB to solder those in ?

 

[andrew_k]

I buy mine from cutter electronics here in Australia - http://www.cutter.com.au/products.php?cat=Cree+XPE as you can see they have a couple of mounting options in the dropdown. Those boards isolate the diode and can be attached to a heatsink with thermal adhesive. I wire them up with PTFE hookup wire due to its heat-resistance, but that's relative t how much heatsink you use.
I'm sorry I don't know of any suppliers in the US.

 

[rolo95]

I buy mine from cutter electronics here in Australia - http://www.cutter.com.au/products.php?cat=Cree+XPE as you can see they have a couple of mounting options in the dropdown. Those boards isolate the diode and can be attached to a heatsink with thermal adhesive. I wire them up with PTFE hookup wire due to its heat-resistance, but that's relative t how much heatsink you use.
I'm sorry I don't know of any suppliers in the US.

Hey andrew....
but at 700ma
i am looking at 7 amps on 10 of those things and i think 10 are a few right ?
and i need the same for the otehr side so it will be 14 amps when i break

i dont know how much amps the stock tail lights suck, but there is only one each side that turns on when i break
those 2 filament ones
http://www.amazon.com/Osram-Sylvania-Replacement-Signal-3057K/dp/B0016BB1LO


btw, i found these tail lights housings for my sentra
and they are cheap so i can play on the oven with those and open them to modify the internal structure to acomodate the
led board...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170664449556&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en

Rolo

 

[andrew_k]

You could use 1W leds instead. Drive at ~350mA.
If you're using 25W bulbs currently, you're using 2A per bulb.

I never said power LED were cheap or easy  ;D
On the up side, they'll last 10 years.

 

[rolo95]

You could use 1W leds instead. Drive at ~350mA.
If you're using 25W bulbs currently, you're using 2A per bulb.

I never said power LED were cheap or easy  ;D
On the up side, they'll last 10 years.

Hey andrew thanks, speaking of last 10 years, i will keep the stock tail lights and if i sell or trade the car in the future put those back and sell my modded ones on ebay.

is there any square or rectangular boards ready etched to solder those leds there ?
also..
what is best to control the LED brightes with resistors or with pwm as i have seen that people use pwm to control LED brightness

but i think you need some chips and circuit to make that happen...
any ideas ?
Rolo.

 

[Rochey]

I'd go with PWM and a large FET!

Whats the Diode drop of the LED?

/R

 

[andrew_k]

is there any square or rectangular boards ready etched to solder those leds there ?

I'm sorry I don't understand your question. You won't need to etch any boards. Get LEDs that are pre-mounted on 1cm square boards or similar, then glue those to heatsinks using suitable adhesive. Join the LED in series with hookup wire.

what is best to control the LED brightes with resistors or with pwm as i have seen that people use pwm to control LED brightness

I think the Maxim MAX16802 would be a suitable candidate. http://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-1381/l/the-max16801max16802-high-brightness-hb-led-drivers

Whats the Diode drop of the LED?

The 3W Cree XP-E red are 2.3V @ 700mA. In my very limited experience (only used ~30 of these diodes so far in various colours), the datasheet specs for forward voltage at specified currents are very accurate and stable.

 

[rolo95]

is there any square or rectangular boards ready etched to solder those leds there ?

I'm sorry I don't understand your question. You won't need to etch any boards. Get LEDs that are pre-mounted on 1cm square boards or similar, then glue those to heatsinks using suitable adhesive. Join the LED in series with hookup wire.
Ahhh, so those CREE came already mounted ?

what is best to control the LED brightes with resistors or with pwm as i have seen that people use pwm to control LED brightness

I think the Maxim MAX16802 would be a suitable candidate. http://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-1381/l/the-max16801max16802-high-brightness-hb-led-drivers

Whats the Diode drop of the LED?

The 3W Cree XP-E red are 2.3V @ 700mA. In my very limited experience (only used ~30 of these diodes so far in various colours), the datasheet specs for forward voltage at specified currents are very accurate and stable.

 

[Rochey]

Okay - MSP430 GPIO is connected through a current limiting resistor to an NPN transistor, emmiter to ground, collector to the bottom of a string of diodes.

Simple bitbang software on the MSP430 with a counter, that will do a rudimentary PWM.

/R