~LED trans am tail lights?!?!~
~LED trans am tail lights?!?!~ After seeing people making led camaro tails, i thought i would try and tackle it myself with my trans am.
im using the lt1 style lights and removing the colored inserts. its a full board of leds, with a row going across the bottom that are amber for the turn signals. then one row above those that are red for the running lights, the rest will light up for the brakes.
for the lenses, im sanding the black plastic grids out of them, then polishing them smooth. so then they will be plain clear lenses.
im also putting h4 headlight bulbs for reverse lights.
as far as the wiring. Ill run a heavier gauge wire from the batt to the back for the reverse lights, and have them on a relay switched by the orig. reverse light wires. for the tail lights im goin to have to go in to where the break light wires go into the turn/hazard light relays and cut the break light wires goin to the relay and run those so they will only work with the breaks. then where they would have came out of the relay, run those back to the new amber lights. im pretty sure that'll work.... havnt done it yet, but thats what im planning on trying. hopefully it'll work
i havnt finished them yet tho. just posting some progress. ive got one tail light done except for the lense.....those are being a real pain.
now for some pics....
im using the lt1 style lights and removing the colored inserts. its a full board of leds, with a row going across the bottom that are amber for the turn signals. then one row above those that are red for the running lights, the rest will light up for the brakes.
for the lenses, im sanding the black plastic grids out of them, then polishing them smooth. so then they will be plain clear lenses.
im also putting h4 headlight bulbs for reverse lights.
as far as the wiring. Ill run a heavier gauge wire from the batt to the back for the reverse lights, and have them on a relay switched by the orig. reverse light wires. for the tail lights im goin to have to go in to where the break light wires go into the turn/hazard light relays and cut the break light wires goin to the relay and run those so they will only work with the breaks. then where they would have came out of the relay, run those back to the new amber lights. im pretty sure that'll work.... havnt done it yet, but thats what im planning on trying. hopefully it'll work
i havnt finished them yet tho. just posting some progress. ive got one tail light done except for the lense.....those are being a real pain.
now for some pics....
Badass man, where do you get the board to do the LEDs? I have a buddy of mine that really good with electronics stuff like this, but I don't have the patience or a steady hand LOL
More pics, I would really like to see it all done
More pics, I would really like to see it all done
thanks man, yea it took some patience soldering all of them together.
thats all the pics i have as of now, ill update with more pics as i go along. hopefully ill finish the lens soon and completly finish one of them and get it on the car.
ill pm you where i got the supplies, non sponsor
thats all the pics i have as of now, ill update with more pics as i go along. hopefully ill finish the lens soon and completly finish one of them and get it on the car.
ill pm you where i got the supplies, non sponsor
Copy & Paste Moderator
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 9,764
Likes: 208
From: Eastern MA
Great work! 
What kind of perf board did you use to get that bend? How is it secured?
How did you secure the H4 bulb in the reverse socket? Also, why H4? You don't need dual filament there. You could have used a single-filament bulb like a H7 or any of several others.
What kind of perf board did you use to get that bend? How is it secured?
How did you secure the H4 bulb in the reverse socket? Also, why H4? You don't need dual filament there. You could have used a single-filament bulb like a H7 or any of several others.
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thanks man, yea it took some patience soldering all of them together.
thats all the pics i have as of now, ill update with more pics as i go along. hopefully ill finish the lens soon and completly finish one of them and get it on the car.
ill pm you where i got the supplies, non sponsor
thats all the pics i have as of now, ill update with more pics as i go along. hopefully ill finish the lens soon and completly finish one of them and get it on the car.
ill pm you where i got the supplies, non sponsor
Good luck with removing those grids as well. They're laminated to the outer plastic lens, and from my experience are nearly impossible to separate without breaking the outer lens. Do you have any plans to somehow cover the LED's so it's not just a clear lens showing the board and LED's?
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their just called PCB project boards. i just used a paper template. then cut the boards out, and used a heat gun to slightly bend them real easily. their just siliconed in. seems to be doing great tho.
yea i know i dont need a dual filament, but i had them sitting around after i had put my hids in. so i just used them instead of buying more. right now its just siliconed onto the tailight from the back, since the base of the h4 is so big it was easy.
hah yea their just about impossible to seperate them. im having to slowing sand/grind the grids down. as far as covering them up, my lenses are blacked out with nightshades so you wont see them.
now for the costs, i dont know somewhere around 100$ so far i havent added it up yet. but i still have to order more leds for the other light. there 170 red leds, and 28 amber ones just for that one. but ill get everything added up for a total cost of everything after i order everything.
oh yea, and ive already made the led third break light and a led board the my license plate thats already on my car.
ill try and get some pics of them as well.
ill try and pm everyone by this afternoon.
thanks
yea i know i dont need a dual filament, but i had them sitting around after i had put my hids in. so i just used them instead of buying more. right now its just siliconed onto the tailight from the back, since the base of the h4 is so big it was easy.
hah yea their just about impossible to seperate them. im having to slowing sand/grind the grids down. as far as covering them up, my lenses are blacked out with nightshades so you wont see them.
now for the costs, i dont know somewhere around 100$ so far i havent added it up yet. but i still have to order more leds for the other light. there 170 red leds, and 28 amber ones just for that one. but ill get everything added up for a total cost of everything after i order everything.
oh yea, and ive already made the led third break light and a led board the my license plate thats already on my car.
ill try and get some pics of them as well.
ill try and pm everyone by this afternoon.
thanks
Looks to me like you could have quite a business selling these tails on here! Maybe team up with 6LE for the production hook-up.
Seriously, though, absolutely great job so far. I can't wait to see some final pics.
Seriously, though, absolutely great job so far. I can't wait to see some final pics.
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Joined: Dec 2007
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From: Between Bowling Green/Owensboro
This is a great idea.
Also since there is no chrome on the inside it wouldnt be that reflective in the day.. I have mine VHTd because of this..
Just a thought..
Good luck with removing those grids as well. They're laminated to the outer plastic lens, and from my experience are nearly impossible to separate without breaking the outer lens. Do you have any plans to somehow cover the LED's so it's not just a clear lens showing the board and LED's?
