Thread: LED Tail light conversion

I've been wanting a decent set of LED tail lights for my 200SX for a long time. However, if you manage to find any tails that are LED, they are usually hideous, or cost a small fortune. So I decided to make my own using the stock tail light housings at a fraction of the cost. I'll document my progress and make sure to take plenty of pictures, so anyone will be able to do this.

Here is what I am trying to accomplish:

Marker lights only--


Brake lights on (this pic also shows reverse lights)--


These pics are from a set of Maxima tail lights. The layout for the 200SX I'm working on will look like this:
(Stole this pic from Will. Couldn't find a good pic of this )

The marker and brake LED's will be arranged the same as the pics of the Maxima lights, but the turn signal for the 200SX will be 3 LED panels wired to flash in sequence like the newer Mustangs.

I'm going to try red and white LED's in 2 different bulb types.

These are pretty standard white 5mm LED's:

They will provide sharp, focused light, but have a narrow viewing angle of about 20-50 degrees.

So I'm also going to try these flat top LED's:

They provide the same amount of light, but have a much wider viewing angle of about 180-200 degrees.

I'm going to try both to get the best look and visibility.

I'll be adding more pics and information as I go, including what all you will need to do this yourself. I will also include all the details as to what type LED's, boards, etc..

Incredible!! I cant wait to see the finished product.

oh man they look sick

This is awesome! Can't wait to see the outcome!

Awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hurry up and update this! Sorry man I know it hasn't even been 24hrs yet but I'm anxious to see the outcome of this

I'll update soon. I'm working on the sequencer circuit for the turn signal at the moment.

Getting them to flash on/off in sequence (chase) is fairly easy. Getting them to light, and stay on in sequence, is a little different story though. I'll get it figured out.

Here is the first design I'm working on:

At the lower-left corner, this will show the sequence for the LED panels in the turn signal. However, I'm trying to figure out how to get them to remain lit until the sequence is finished. In this schematic it shows single LED's, but they will be separate panels of multiple LED's wired in series. That way each panel will light at once. Also, I might try a 4 panel design to reduce the load on the circuits. 4 smaller panels would require less than the larger 3 panels. The CD4017 IC (the chip that provides the switching) can operate up to 15V DC. The LMC555 IC (the chip that provides the timing) can also handle up to 16V. However, when using panels of LED's wired in series, it tends to draw too much through the CD4017 chip. While the chip can handle the load, it decreases the life expectancy of the chip, resulting in pre-mature failure. Everything I've read has pointed this out, so I'm not willing to push it. So that's why smaller panels.



I have everything on a test bench right now. It's all being tested on Breadboard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia at the moment. I'll try to get some pics or videos of the testing phase up as soon as I can get it working reliably.

UPDATE:------------------------ 11/15/11 -----------------------

One problem I'm still working on is the turn signal's blinking function on the vehicle. With my current design, the on/off of the turn signal circuit would prevent the chaser circuit from working right. I may be able to remove the timer chip, and somehow use the on/off of the signal contact to trigger the lights via the switching chip. Basically, you could use the turn signal circuit itself as the clock to trigger each step in the sequence. I have looked at conversion harnesses for vehicles that have more than 1 tail lamp. They will turn any multiple tail lamp setup into a sequential setup. These are for incandescent bulbs, but with the right resistors and other stuff, LED's could be used in place. These harnesses seem to use the turn signal cycling to trigger the sequence for the lamps like I mentioned. If I can figure out what components were used exactly, then the sequential issue will be solved. Otherwise, I'll have to go with a non-sequential tail.

I'm no engineer; so if anyone here is up to par on electronics, a little help would be appreciated to make the sequential tails a reality.

Sorry for the delay in updates. With the holidays here, it's put a little damper on my free time. I have some more pictures to upload from the testing phase, and I am awaiting another complete set of tails before I finish up with the test fitting.

Right now, I'm working on a suitable colored board to fix the led's to. The basic brown perfboard doesn't look to great inside the lenses during the day. I might try to hit the boards with a light coat of some kind of reflective paint, or maybe even use formed lexan or some kind of resiliant plastic. If I could find some chrome plated plastic that I could form with subtle heat, that may look best. That might give a better look in the daytime, and visibility at night.

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