SVX LED Taillights - Page 9

Coan · #**121** 02-08-2010, 01:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seraphinwolf

What do you mean wait to see installed? Didn't you see the vids and pics of them on my Bordeaux?

What I meant was I can't wait to see some pictures of the whole thing installed in different lighting scenarios (overcast, evening, nighttime etc.) with the trunk closed so you can see the set up as a whole. And as mentioned before, a video driving behind them would be nice too if possible.

Seraphinwolf · #**122** 02-08-2010, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coan

What I meant was I can't wait to see some pictures of the whole thing installed in different lighting scenarios (overcast, evening, nighttime etc.) with the trunk closed so you can see the set up as a whole. And as mentioned before, a video driving behind them would be nice too if possible.

Well I'm hoping soon.

apkarian100 · #**123** 02-08-2010, 05:44 PM

The taillights should get to Macguyver a week from now.

WestCoastSVX · #**124** 02-17-2010, 10:56 AM

Update! I got the tail lights end of last week and the center section yesterday evening!

I haven't opened up the box with the center bar, but the tail lights look great! Very professional job and they basically look stock, with just a hint of something different when you look closely into the lens.

I can't wait to install them today and see what they actually look like lit up!

I'll take lots of pictures each step of the way* and hopefully have some posted up here soon.

* Remember, mine are the prototypes so they are already put together by Chris, so I'll only be able to speak to and have pictures of a fully assembled product, not the entire process.

apkarian100 · #**125** 02-18-2010, 10:41 AM

I can't wait to see the lights installed on your car!

WestCoastSVX · #**126** 02-19-2010, 12:54 PM

These are so cool!

I got all 3 pieces installed this morning, but took pictures along the way for comparison of stock vs. LED also. Eventually hope to get another SVX over here for a photo/video side by side comparison (yes, including some driving footage too). But for now hopefully these will do.

Before I start getting into pictures a quick rundown of my impressions....

The Good

- In the end (after you put it all together), the finished product will be 95% plug-n-play and stock-looking. Of course since this is a DIY kit, there is room for customization or dare I say errors in putting it together, but the kit takes care of the hard part (the electrical) and I think if you can follow instructions well, you should end up with what I have.

- The light output is fantastic! You'll see some side by side comparisons in daylight, unfortunately I won't have any from night until I get another SVX over here. But if I can notice a big difference in overcast daylight, then there IS a difference! You need shades to stare straight into them.

- They are much brighter, but they are not radical, extreme, or ricey. They look like they came on the car from the factory. On my version Chris left the diffusers in, which hides the LEDs when they are not on - if you look really close you can see something is different in there, but it just has a "crystal" type effect and actually "updates" the look of the taillights, while again still looking SVX-correct. The fact the diffusers are still in I think helps spread the light correctly as the engineers intended, and they look great. If someone wanted a more extreme custom look, they could easily just leave the diffusers out, but not sure how that would look or if it would distribute the light in all directions as well. Something I may experiment with down the road. With the way Chris makes the light boards, I think it may also be fairly easy for him to completely customize the LED arrangement, but I think what we have here now goes well with the SVX.

Needs Improvement

- The turn signals work 100% perfect, timing does not change at all......... but I get a "Stop Lamp" warning light on the dash when hitting the brakes. This is a bit of an annoyance, we'll have to get our heads together in this thread and see if we can work out a solution.

- You have to connect the center light section to both side sections for it to work. It is basically piggybacking off the controllers that are built into the side lights. In my prototype version there is plenty of wiring to route it in the trunk lining and down into the tail light covers, with minimal wiring showing on both sides by the trunk hinges. My concern is that wire being crimped - if I tie it to the strut, it is outside the trunk seal and has to cross it to connect to the tail lights. I have it like this for now, but ultimately may move it through the grommets on the passenger side the same route the stock wiring goes for a full OEM (and crimp-proof) look. The other solution would be to have 2 more controllers built into the center tail section, but I'm not sure the implications of that. EDIT: This is now a non-issue as the kits will have the additional controllers built in.

All in all, I'm very pleased with these tail lights so far. I can't wait to see them tonight after dark and give them a full road test tonight as well.

These are the prototypes, so chime in with your thoughts now and I will definitely keep things updated as I use these in the real world on my daily driver.

WestCoastSVX · #**127** 02-19-2010, 03:44 PM

Okay, to start off, a few pictures before the install to compare the look of the housings with the lights off....

LED on top, OEM on the bottom.

OEM on top, LED on the bottom.

Finished product from the back - the white plug connects to the center tail light (FINISHED KITS WILL NOT NEED THIS), the gold resistor makes the turn signal flash correctly.

OEM power plug still powers lights and functions normally - nothing is cut or altered, my other lights could be back in like from the factory in 5 minutes.

Center taillight section - extra wire/plug goes from each side down to main brake light/turn signal assemblies (FINISHED KITS WILL NOT NEED THIS).

apkarian100 · #**128** 02-19-2010, 06:09 PM

Awesome writeup! The addressed issues will be fixed. I plan to put 2 other controllers in the center section os future customers won't need the extra connector and wiring. I will also investigate hte brake warning light.

92 SVX · #**129** 02-19-2010, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by apkarian100

Awesome writeup! The addressed issues will be fixed. I plan to put 2 other controllers in the center section os future customers won't need the extra connector and wiring. I will also investigate hte brake warning light.

I can help you with that brake light warning.
The filament bulb has power pass through it at all times, unless the filament breaks that is how the car knows the bulb burnt out. To fix the problem use a small resister, 3.2k I think in the circuit to allow the current to pass through.

svxcess · #**130** 02-19-2010, 11:17 PM

The stop lamp checker (which controls the brake light warning in the dash) uses the amperage difference between the trunk panel and the two body mounted stop lights to determine if a bulb is bad. Very similar design to a GFCI outlet in your house.

If you have unmatched wattage bulbs, the difference in amperage can be enough to trigger the checker even if all four bulbs work. Bulbs are dirt cheap so if one burns out, I replace all four with the same brand and amperage.

The rear stop light sensor works by separating the stop lamps into two circuits, each with two bulbs. The two center panel lights are one circuit and the two outside lights are the other.

The two circuits each go into a sensor and each current draw is measured. If it is not in balance (ie, one circuit has two bulbs, the other only has one working) the "stop lamp" on the dash comes on.

The manual tells you the only "fooled" instance. If one bulb from the center panel is burned out and one bulb on an outer light is burned out, the "stop lamp" indicator will not come on.

It has a fail-safe provision so if all four bulbs are burned out (zero current flow) it triggers the light.

If you put higher wattage bulbs in the center panel but regular bulbs in the outer lights, the imbalance will trigger an indicator, even though all four bulbs light.

If you replace your lights with LEDs, the light will trigger because the LEDs use next to no current, so the sensor thinks all four bulbs are burned out.

I wonder what the current draw difference is between the center panel tail lights and the ones in each fender. Hoe many LEDs are in each one?

.

apkarian100 · #**131** 02-20-2010, 09:59 AM

Each LED arary for the parking/brake lights uses 0.5A of power, way less than the standard bulbs, which use around 2A of power.

WestCoastSVX · #**132** 02-22-2010, 09:53 AM

So just to summarize what John (svxcess) says (and see if I get this right)...

On the SVX, the brake bulb warning system works in 2 ways:

1) Difference in voltage between bulbs

2) Secondary failsafe if ALL bulbs are unplugged (because system 1 wouldn't catch that as they would all be the "same", ie, 0 voltage).

So in my case, I think we are good on 1, because as far as I can tell all four brake light panels have an identical amount of LEDs, is that right, Chris?

But we run into trouble on 2, because the amperage is so much lower than the old bulbs, it is registering as no bulbs installed.

Not that this gets us any further, but just to clarify things for anyone trying to think up solutions. This is probably different than a lot of other cars.