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the LED tail light thread

urban yan said:
Keeping the stock halogen for your reverse is a good move.
You'd regret using LEDs for that application.
Click to expand...

Not if you are using one of these -

DUALLYLED-2.jpg
 
CherBear said:
Has anyone thought about taking existing LED tail lights for other vehicles, taking the guts, and stuffing them inside XJ tail light enclosures.

After looking at some other vehicles lights, the actual LED portion seems to be rectangular most of the time, even if the enclosure is more rounded.

Have a look at some of these:
http://www.seresautomotive.com/index.php?cPath=63

The Titan/armada tails are very rectangular:
86491d1251759888-seres-led-tails-ttn_led_04_up.jpg
Click to expand...

I would absolutely love a pair... did anyone ever finish a pair?
 
Hammered said:
as often as the tails get cracked / smashed you may as well get junkyard OEM tails - or THOR style LED boxes for the money
Click to expand...
I agree; this wouldn't be the best investment if you go offroad allot.

I may still looking into these tail lights (my Jeeps a dd), but not until ,my front markers are complete... Than again, I'm starting to get bored with LEDs now that they're everywhere.
 
Ehh still cool, I found a company that makes water proff led strips and connecters I talked to the tech department people have done conversions using it but you have to make a converter so that you can run 2 leval brake lights.
 
LED's will always be cool. They're just better in every conceivable way, besides sheer brightness (which isn't necessarily what you want all the time). Draw less power, don't dim or dull, have a million times the service life, can be waterproofed easily, better optics (variable degrees of visibility), quicker power response time, can be strobed, and the list goes on. The only downside is they still produce heat, and a good bit at that.

Urban, those tail lights look spectacular. If they were going for $200, I'd jump all over it. Shoot I'm even tempted to hit up your man at $350, but there's a semi-smart voice inside my head screaming that it's not the best choice.
 
I really need to get John to join naxja so he can field some of these questions.. especially since he just picked up an XJ.

I just double-checked my email. Last time we spoke about these tail lights John told me he had a firm quote - $350 with the euro style look. He mentioned that price would include complete units. He already completed the circuitboard design work and got quotes from the new place, the lights would be all red for the upper 2/3, and clear reverse at the bottom 1/3. There will no longer be an individual turn/brake, it will just be dim for parking, bright for brake/turn. There will also be side leds for marker lights.



.
 
Last edited:
Sean I don't quite understand your question. But no, there is no "drop in" solution. You can't take a dual filament, non-polarized bulb, and expect one polarized diode to act the same. For this you need a pulse width modulator to brighten and dim the lights, creating your blinker effect.
 
DanMan2k06 said:
LED's will always be cool. They're just better in every conceivable way, besides sheer brightness (which isn't necessarily what you want all the time). Draw less power, don't dim or dull, have a million times the service life, can be waterproofed easily, better optics (variable degrees of visibility), quicker power response time, can be strobed, and the list goes on. The only downside is they still produce heat, and a good bit at that.
Click to expand...

I agree with him!
 
DanMan2k06 said:
LED's will always be cool. They're just better in every conceivable way, besides sheer brightness (which isn't necessarily what you want all the time). Draw less power, don't dim or dull, have a million times the service life, can be waterproofed easily, better optics (variable degrees of visibility), quicker power response time, can be strobed, and the list goes on. The only downside is they still produce heat, and a good bit at that.

Urban, those tail lights look spectacular. If they were going for $200, I'd jump all over it. Shoot I'm even tempted to hit up your man at $350, but there's a semi-smart voice inside my head screaming that it's not the best choice.
Click to expand...

But they are comparatively very expensive. Throw very poorly, have massive heat issues, and certain ones like the ones most likely used in tail lights have a much lower MTBF than you would think.

Don't get me wrong they definitely have there applications and they are getting better every day. LED's probably have the fastest improving tech at the moment. Way more than computers now a days. Everything is a trade off. I see people in the desert with $3000.00 in LED's on their rigs and I just shake my head.
 
What's MTBF? Mean Time Between Failure?

Agreed, everything has it's tradeoffs. With LED's I'm a firm believer in using the right part for the right applications. Putting 250 5mm superflux LED's in your headlights is dumb. Using them for side markers, brake lamps, and hazards is a great idea.

The other thing I forgot to add, they're vibration proof. Of course that all depends on your connections but there's no filament to break or glass to shatter.

I dont' have much experience with replacing "bright" lights with LED's yet. (fog lamps, driving lights, offroad lighting, light bars) but I'd definitely like to get my hands on some and check them out.
 
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