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Thread: Finished a couple more LED projects

  1. #11

    Re: Finished a couple more LED projects

    Keep it up and I'm going to park my truck next to yours if we're setting up camp at night
    [glow=blue,2,300]2002 4WD TOYOTA TACOMA "TURTLE TACO"[/glow]  <All the goods listed here>

  2. #12

    Re: Finished a couple more LED projects

    ok ken, you're skimpin' on the details, holmes. i think i can speak for alot of people here: WE NEED A WRITEUP!

    And yes, the picture of ken's hatch light is exactly like it shows. that little sucker is bright!

    bob





  3. #13

    Re: Finished a couple more LED projects

    paddlenbike,
    ok damnit, you NOW have to do a full write-up, with pics

    thats awesome, I just replaced my cargo bulbs with LEDS, and they are JUNK......

    can you wire them into the stock switches ? so that they work like stock ? (come on with the door opening)
    Buy cool Wheeling shirts: http://www.cafepress.com/Rix_Designz

  4. #14

    Re: Finished a couple more LED projects

    Im wanting to do this to the cargo area this is what I wanted when I bought them stupid things off FleBay
    Buy cool Wheeling shirts: http://www.cafepress.com/Rix_Designz

  5. #15

    Re: Finished a couple more LED projects

    yea there is zero light in the inside of my truck, the stock dome and cargo lights SUCK. this is exactly what i need!!! write up PLEASE!!!
    2005 Lexus LX470 - Stock for now...

    1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4x4 + a bunch of goodies. Lifted, Locked, Illuminated and Armored. Winner,"Best Offroad Truck" - 2010 Pismo Jamboree. It's been upside down and still drives me to work.

  6. #16

    Re: Finished a couple more LED projects

    Alright, here's the quick and dirty.

    The fixture:
    Go to a wrecking yard and pull a door panel light out of your car of choice. I used an Acura Legend light assembly but Honda Accords use similar fixtures. Toyota is too cheap to put lights in their doors; even the high-end Toyotas had nothing. If you like ugly/tacky, I found plenty of American car light housings trimmed in fake chrome and gold. There isn't more than about 3/4 to 1" of room between the hatch panel and the steel structure of the hatch, so cut the incandescent stuff, leaving basically a 1/2" deep plastic housing with the lens. Screw an aluminum plate to the housing. This will give you a place to mount the LED and to dissipate heat.

    I used thermal epoxy (and a bit of superglue) to adhere the star-shaped LED to the aluminum plate. (See photos above.) Remove the plastic panel from the inside of the rear hatch and cut a hole to accomodate the light housing.

    Wiring:
    On the driver's side of the hatch is a relay box to control the rear wiper, rear window as well as the keyless entry. Probe the wires to find one that is hot all the time. The powerpuck has four wires coming out of it. Wire the + of the powerpuck to a fuse then to the always-hot source. Find the single wire that runs down to the door latch, tap it and connect it to the ground of the puck. When the hatch is opened, this wire will give ground to your circuit and provide power to the puck and the LED.

    The remaining two wires on the puck go to the LED. Solder the LED + to the positive solder pad on the LED and solder the LED - to the negative solder pad on the LED star. (You can see the plus and minus symbols on the star in the photos above.) That's really all there is to it. If you want a separate switch like I installed, put it inline with the ground.

    I think you'll like the next LED project, but I won't spill the beans on that one just yet. :P

  7. #17

    Re: Finished a couple more LED projects

    One other note. The two most common high-power LEDs you will find are the Luxeons (made by Philips) and the Cree LEDs. You will probably want the 1 watt variety, which typically require 3.5 volts and 350 milliamps. Before you order LEDs, note the recommended current requirements and simply order the Leddynamics PowerPuck with similar ratings.

    In my case, I used a Cree XR-E LED that will handle from 350 milliamps to 1,000 milliamps. I bought a 500 milliamp PowerPuck, so I am running the LED at half of its potential power to keep the heat down.

    LEDs come in a variety of color temperatures and "bins", which determine their brightness and color tint. You'll have to investigate these on your own because they do vary by manufacturer.

  8. #18

    Re: Finished a couple more LED projects

    How much do we need to beg to get turn key kits from you???

    Might be an easy way to make beer money.
    &#039;83 Truck 4x4 - 4&quot; lift, downey header,, lots of stickers.<br />&#039;90 Runner $600 project ,32&#039;s on black Steelies,Optima Red Top, 1.5&quot; Balljoint Spacers, 80 series Coils, Sleeping/Storage Platform extravaganza<br /><br />You know enough to be dangerous, get out the way before you break something i can&#039;t fix- Pops

  9. #19

    Re: Finished a couple more LED projects

    paddlenbike,
    on the Hatch set up, do you mind posting the part # of the LED and any other info that may be useful to us noobs maybe a parts list ?
    That thing is crazy bright and I want it, lol but Im going to replace the cargo and dome lights.
    Buy cool Wheeling shirts: http://www.cafepress.com/Rix_Designz

  10. #20

    Re: Finished a couple more LED projects

    Of course the company I ordered the parts from no longer carries everything you need, so the one-stop shopping idea is out, unless you can find another retailer.

    From www.cutter.com.au (an Australian website with 6-8 days delivery time), do a search for Cree XR-E and select "star MCPCB" and select "Q5 WH tint". The MCPCB stands for "metal core printed circuit board" and if you don't select this option you'll get the emitter only and you'll have one heck of a time trying to solder to it. The Q5 is the brightest one on the market right now, you can order a lower bin and pay less if you don't care about ultimate brightness. The WH is the color temperature, which produces a warmer white color as opposed to the cold blueish tint you often see with LEDs.

    You can order the pucks here: http://www.ledsupply.com/powerpuck.php
    If you order the Cree LED I spec'd above, you can run them at 350mA to 1000mA. I am running mine at 500mA, but I see this distributor only offers the 350mA and the 700mA. Either will work, but keep in mind that running this LED at 700mA will produce a serious amount of heat. Just be cautious putting a hot device into a small space or a location where you have something else that may combust.

    Most of the high power LEDs will ship from another country. Australia recently outlawed incandescent lighting for efficiency reasons, so they have a lot of product to offer.

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