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How-To: Custom LED Turn Signals

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  • How-To: Custom LED Turn Signals

    There have been a few that have requested this, so here you go! This may seem difficult, so don't hesitate to ask questions.

    Also, a general knowledge of electronic circuiting and soldering is necessary to complete this along with some mechanical inclination. This is a step by step of how I created mine. I, in no way, consider myself a "professional" so attempt this at your own risk.

    This is a How-To for making custom LED turn signals/parking lights. This is JUST for the turn signal bulb, not the side marker. Please note that these WILL cause hyperflash. This is because LEDs are much more efficient than incandescent bulbs. The flasher module sees the drop in current draw and "thinks" there is a bulb burnt out. This can be fixed by wiring a load resistor in parallell with all of your LEDs. I decided to just live with the hyperflash, because it doesn't bother me that much. If I change my mind, I can just wire in a resistor later on to the wiring in the back of the headlight rather than re-opening the headlight.


    Parts Needed
    -32 Amber Superflux LEDs*
    -( 68 ohm, 1/2 watt resistors
    -1 large perfboard from RadioShack
    -1 roll of tinned copper wire (uninsulated) (ask for it at RadioShack)
    -about 3 feet of insulated copper wire
    -jb weld (I used jb quick, i think it will hold up just fine)
    -Electrical tape
    -9V battery (for testing)

    Tools Needed
    -small needlenose pliers
    -Wire stripper/cutter
    -Soldering iron/solder
    -Torx driver (I believe I used t-20, but will have to double check)


    *This tutorial is made assuming you use Amber Superflux LEDs. The forward voltage should be around 2.5 volts. The max current rating is 70 mA. They can handle much more current than regular ebay or radioshack LEDs, and therefore are quite a bit brighter. You can buy them from here: http://www.futurecb.com/Store/Default.aspx
    You can also find them on ebay, but beware because there are a lot of fakes. I found a tube of them (60 LEDs/tube) on ebay for about $25 shipped. If you are unsure whether an ebay auction is for the right LED, pm me and I'll check into it for you.


    CREATING LED ASSEMBLY

    We will basically be making two LED arrays. Each array will have two "series". Each "series" will consist of four LEDs and a resistor, wired together in series. The first array is for the parking lights. The second array is for the turn signal.

    I have attached two pictures. They are basically the same Autocad drawing, I just turned off the perfboard holes so that you can see the details easier.

    Use this image to layout your LEDs. You will have to do one at a time or else they will all fall out when you flip the perfboard over. The lines connecting the LEDs are the wires that connect the LEDs. Each superflux LED has 4 legs on it. Two legs will be used for wiring the LED, the other two will be bent around the back of the perfboard to secure it to the perfboard. Every LED has two wires going to it, and they are on opposite corners. The other two corners need to be bent.


    1) Start mounting the LEDs one-by-one. Use the tip of the needlenose pliers to bend the legs.
    2) After all LEDs are mounted, begin wiring the LEDs together according to the below picture. Use the roll of tinned copper as wiring to connect the LEDs on the perfboard. Cut it to length, then solder one end to the leg of the first LED. Then let it cool for a minute or so. Then solder the other end to the leg of the second LED.




    3) Install the resistors wherever they will fit, as long as they are wired in the correct order. Solder them to the leg of the first LED in that series. I mounted the resistors on the same side of the perfboard as the LEDs and ran the wires from each side through the holes. This kept the back clean for all the circuiting. Also, you can't see the resistors through the amber lense

    4) Cut the insulated wire into 3 strips, each about 8 inches long. Strip the ends of each strip to expose the bare wire. Solder one wire to the leads of both resistors in the parking lights array. Solder one wire to both resistors in the turn signal array. Solder one wire in the "GROUND" location in the above pictures. It needs to connect to the 4 LEDS at ends of all four "series". I acheived this by using the uninsulated wire to connect the four LEDs together on the perfboard, then soldered my insulated wire to a point on the uninsulated wire. (as depicted in the LED schematic)

    5) Use a 9v battery or your car battery to test each array. Attach the positive lead (either parking lights or turn signal + lead) to the positive terminal, and the negative lead to the negative terminal. Hopefully all the LEDs in that array light up. This was a very exciting moment for me.

    6) Now that we have one done, Do the exact same on a different part of the perfboard to make your second board.


    MOUNTING LED ASSEMBLY
    This tutorial requires you to have your headlights taken apart. Please reference one of the numerous threads about how to do this.

    1) Remove the turn signal bulb from the rear of the headlight.
    2Use the torx driver to remove the two screws holding the amber lense and chrome reflector assembly for the turn signal.
    3) Use the amber lense to trace around your LED assembly onto the perfboard. This is your template for cutting the perfboard.
    4)Cut the perfboard around your marks. Tip: Leave a little extra around the circle, as it is always easy to re-trim the perfboard, but impossible to add some if you cut too much.


    What we will be doing is jb welding the perfboard to the back of the amber reflector. Simulate this by pinching them together as they will sit when finished so that you can test fit. Use the lines on the amber lense to help line up and center the LEDs. Find what needs to be trimmed on the perfboard and trim it up.

    5) Now that you have your perfboard cut to the right size, whip up some JB weld using the instructions on the packaging. Line up the amber lense and LEDs again and start JB Welding all around the amber lense. Don't worry about being too neat, only the front of the amber lense can be seen when the headlight is assembled. You should have this:



    6) Allow sufficient time for the JB Weld to set up. Then, start putting the headlight back together. Stick the wires from the LEDs through the hole where the original turn signal bulb was. Then use the torx screws to re-attach the amber lense and LED assembly.



    7) turn the headlight around so that we can finish up the wiring. You should have the old bulb holder flopping around the back, without a bulb in it. Notice that there are 5 wires going into it: Two black, Two grey, and one purple. Cut all 5 of these off, but hang on to the bulb holder.


    8.) Now strip the ends of all 5 of the loose wires that you have. Take the signal wire from the LEDs and twist it with the purple wire. Take the parking lights wire from the LEDs and twist it with BOTH of the grey wires. Take the ground wires from the LEDs and twist it with BOTH of the black wires. Now solder all three of these connections up. Use some electrical tape (or better yet, shrink wrap) to cover all of the bare wires. Now that you have everything covered, bundle up all of the loose wires and use the electrical tape to tie them all together to clean it up a little bit.

    Cleaned up,


    9) Now, take that bulb holder that we cut off in step 7. Use this to re-seal the back of the turn signal housing. You may have to cut a little notch in it so that the 4 wires have room to pass through. This may take a little bit of effort.

    In this picture, you can see the 5 wires coming out of the bulb holder that were cut off.


    10) Before sealing the headlight back up, plug the headlight plug back into the harness and test the parking/turn functions to make sure everything works.

    11) Assuming it does, seal the headlights up and re-install!



    And my vids:
    Parking only:


    Signal Only


    Parking and signal:
    2008 Cobalt SS/TC

    14 flat @ 30mpg

  • #2
    Re: How-To: Custom LED Turn Signals

    this is a super how-to and I think I will try it when it warms up some and I paint my headlights. BTW When I mess it up do you take pay pal? joke LOL
    DONE: debadged, cold air intake, Crimson Crab, red painted calipers and black painted rotors, painted engine and battery cover, eyelids, black emblem overlays, 235/55R16 tires, Raceingline engine mounts, Raceingline strut tower brace, Black recessed upper grilles.

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    • #3
      Re: How-To: Custom LED Turn Signals

      I must say that looks pretty damn good. Pontiac could learn a thing or two from you. But I didn't see any hyperflash? I had LED bulbs in my taillights and had bad luck with the load resistors. They worked, but melted a hole into the inner casing of the light
      -Mike #1

      ||2006 GTP Coupe - Gone but not forgotten||

      'Black cars denote an aggressive personality or someone who's an outsider or rebel.'

      Current Ride: 2009 White Hot Pontiac G8 GT with Onyx/Red Interior

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      • #4
        Re: How-To: Custom LED Turn Signals

        creative, very nice

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        • #5
          Re: How-To: Custom LED Turn Signals

          Originally posted by GTPGuy82
          I must say that looks pretty damn good. Pontiac could learn a thing or two from you. But I didn't see any hyperflash? I had LED bulbs in my taillights and had bad luck with the load resistors. They worked, but melted a hole into the inner casing of the light
          haha, I cheated when taking the videos. If you put on the hazzards there is no hyper flash. I too did not want to use a load resistor on the headlights because of the heat. You could also wire in the LES in parallel with the original turn signal bulb, but then you have to hide the bulb.

          The best answer is to change the flasher module, but I have no idea where it is nor do I care THAT much.

          I need to get some videos of the flashers with the amber reflector. The videos above were taken just of the board. The amber reflector skews the light just a tad, but you can def still tell they are LEDS.
          2008 Cobalt SS/TC

          14 flat @ 30mpg

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