LED Turn / Emergency Strobe Lights
So I was looking for a way to enhance the turn signals and hazards on my 4Runner. I looked into LED bulb swaps, and they were OK, but had a few problems. The biggest of those problems was I was never really happy with the turn signals on my Shrockworks bumper. They were low and hard to see, especially in the daytime, or from any angle other than normal to the light itself.
In my search, I thought about making my own. I realized that option was just too time consuming, and they would not be sealed, they would be more likely to fail due to vibration, etc. I then set my sights after a commercially available product.
I came across these amber strobe/solid lights so I ordered 4 lights, grommets, and right angle wiring harnesses.
Then I had to figure out how to mount them. I eventually decided that buying some cheap pre-cut mounts was much better than making a set of my own. I found some, and for less than 20 dollars, I had mounts.
Since my 1" body lift left a pretty big gap under my headlights, I decided to mount the lights there.
After removing the grill and marker lights, I positioned the bracket and marked it:
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/a...n/IMG_3669.jpg
Once I removed the headlight, I punched the holes:
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/a...n/IMG_3670.jpg
I drilled the holes with a 5/16” bit and installed the brackets with 1/4” hardware so there would be plenty of adjustment room. It was getting dark, so I finished in a hurry and didn’t snap any more pictures. The wiring is simple: ground to the body, black (constant on) to the turn signal, and red back to the cab for a later switch for the strobes.
Here is a picture of them illuminated:
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/a...n/IMG_3680.jpg
For the rear facing lights, I knew I wanted them up high. Several positions were considered, but the only one that made sense was the one I chose, up on the roof rack.
That meant drilling a big hole in the roof of my truck.
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/a...n/IMG_3672.jpg
Lights were mounted:
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/a...n/IMG_3674.jpg
And wired:
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/a...n/IMG_3681.jpg
I ran a few extra wires up there as well for future expansion. Everything has since been sealed up with silicone, and I do not expect any leaks. Turn signals were tapped off of each light.
Finally, an electronic flasher was swapped in to keep everything flashing appropriately.
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/a...n/IMG_3677.jpg
Pictures do not do justice to how bright these are. Even in full sun you can tell that they are flashing.
I spent more money on the strobes for a reason. I’ve found myself in situations where strobes would have been nice, like alerting traffic to an accident, or traveling on dusty roads or in foggy conditions where visibility is questionable. Also, they are cool…
I also added LEDs to my 3rd brake light:
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/a...n/IMG_3682.jpg
Thanks for reading, I will update when I get the strobes wired up. I am really happy with the end result. The oval lights are a bit "commercial" but they serve their purpose well.
I should also add that im going to work on making these DRL as well. i just need to sit down and figure out the relay configuration for getting the turns to work as well.
Re: LED Turn / Emergency Strobe Lights
You should take a short video with the hazards on to show us the full effect. :thumbup:
Re: LED Turn / Emergency Strobe Lights
X2
Cool looking project. I think the fronts as DRL's would be cool as well.
For strobe do you need to run them through a strobe controller?
I drilled two 3/4" holes in my roof this weekend and it was easier and less stressful than I thought it would be.
Re: LED Turn / Emergency Strobe Lights
nope, the strobe is self contained in the light, a huge selling point for me. each light has 3 wires, a ground, hot, and strobe. just wire the strobe to 12v and they strobe. very good electronics, as they all stay together even after 15 or so minutes of running, which is alot better than some ive seen.
drilling wasnt bad at all. just worried about leaks. eventually i might get a disconnect and install it, but this will work for the time being.
video tomorrow night.
Re: LED Turn / Emergency Strobe Lights
so i think i have the parking/turn thing figured out.
look at this and see if it makes sense to you, it does to me (though that means almost nothing these days...)
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/a...n/IMG_3683.jpg
basically, the turn signal needs power and ground when the turn signal is on. when the parking light is on, the turn signal must interrupt power to the LED. all this has to happen while not back-feeding the other lights, hence the diodes.
Re: LED Turn / Emergency Strobe Lights
got the relays and diodes, still havent gone out and done it. found my headlights broken so thats a more pressing issue (more on that later)
did brave the weather and got a few vids for you though.
front strobe:
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/a...h_MVI_3722.jpg
Rear strobe(sometimes they are out of sync, sometimes they are in sync, never are they nsync...):
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/a...h_MVI_3723.jpg
Emergency flashers:
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/a...h_MVI_3724.jpg
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/a...h_MVI_3725.jpg
the strobes override the flashers. they are BRIGHT. the videos are a good representation of the brightness.
Re: LED Turn / Emergency Strobe Lights
Sean,
Great idea! I was going to do something like this when I was doing site inspections since I was sitting on the side of the road or in active construction zones all day.
Do you turn on your stobes with your hazard button? If so, how did you keep them from coming on with your turn signals?
Erich
Re: LED Turn / Emergency Strobe Lights
separate button for strokes and actually separate front and rear so I can have rear strobes only.
Re: LED Turn / Emergency Strobe Lights
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seanz0rz
separate button for strokes and actually separate front and rear so I can have rear strobes only.
I see. When I was looking into it a while back I wanted to use the hazard button, but it just turns on all of the turn signals together, so I gave up on that idea.
Erich
Re: LED Turn / Emergency Strobe Lights
should be a way to do it if there is a constant pos or ground that is closed when the switch is on. ill have to investigate.