Brake lights added

[cimmer]

I had purchased one of the replacement turnsignal/brakelights for the reflector on the travel trunk on my 89 VR and never was happy with how much light the 4 194 bulbs put out for an additional brake light. I liked the idea of it up higher and more eye level with the cars behind me but just didnt do the job in my mind in getting their attention. So I have been on the lookout for more lighting for it for a while. I finally took the plunge and tried out some 12vdc strip LEDs in red. These are what is called a 5050 LED with 3 sources of light per LED housing and has 300 LEDs per 5 meter length. I ended up filling the rear of the housing with over a 100 leds and I must say it is now bright and noticeable. I purchased them off of Ebay for $26.00 shipping included from a China location. Here is the seller and he has lowered his price it appears. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Red-Waterproof-5050-300LED-5M-60LED-M-Light-Strip-12V-IP65-LED-LAMP-Car-Auto-/120894815654?pt=US_Car_Lighting&hash=item1c25e47da6

 

I feel that the light is just as bright if not brighter then the stock brake light and comes on quicker then the stock brake light also. I am thinking the next step is to try a modulator that has the lights at 33% power to work as a taillight and then flashes the LEDs for a bit and then goes solid. I really want to get their attention of those behind me.

 

Here are some pictures of the setup. Let me know what you think.

 

File 1 & 2 is how I set them in the housing. The LEDs are waterproof and have 3M sticky tape on the backside. They are able to be cut every 3 LED and have solder pads to attach wires to them.

 

File 5 is the LEDs on but the red cover is not installed yet.

 

File 6 is with the cover installed and the LEDs on and the overhead garage lights on.

 

File 7 is with the cover installed and the LEDs on and the overhead garage lights off.

 

Thanks

Rick F.

[k9cottage]

looking good i can see them from here they must be good

nicely done

[frankd]

Fantastic!! I agree about the 4 incandescent lights not being effective brake lights. I guess I've got another project!!

 

Thanks,

 

Frank D.

[camos]

I have been thinking of doing that but keep putting it off because of the difficulty in getting the lens cover off. Seems every time I touch plastic it ends up getting broken. How did you get yours off?

[kevin5549]

That looks cool. So here is the stupid question. Do the 93's have lights in there stock? If so mine are all out. If not can you put something like this in there? And finally how did you get the lens off?

[Flyinfool]

Here is some info that may help get you in trouble....

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=41588

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=21986

[cimmer]

I have replaced my stock travel trunk reflector with an out of production aftermarket unit that had 4 194 bulbs that can be wired for either brake lights or running lights or a combo of both. It also has a pair of turn signal indicators on each side of that. Taking that about isnt too bad as you can use a heat gun to soften the glue or you can work the cover off also if you take it easy on it. I am not sure how to remove the reflector from the mount but if you could I believe that you could add these LED as brake in that also.

Hope that helps.

Rick F.

[camos]

out of production aftermarket unit that had 4 194 bulbs that can be wired for either brake lights or running lights or a combo of both. It also has a pair of turn signal indicators on each side of that.

That is the one I have as well. One of the turn signal bulbs is not working but otherwise there are two bulbs as running lights and two as brake lights.

 

Taking that about isnt too bad as you can use a heat gun to soften the glue or you can work the cover off also if you take it easy on it.

Hmmm... that is part of the problem. I have read use a heat gun and also don't use a heat gun. How did you actually go about separating the lens, heat and pry with a knife blade or screwdriver? Talk about stress, these things are now pretty much irreplaceable. In the link below Jeff mentions, apparently, using 3528SMD LEDs whereas you chose to use 5050SMD LEDs. Do you know what the difference is?

 

Here is some info that may help get you in trouble....

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=41588

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=21986

Hah! Good one.

[cimmer]

Here are some sites with a good comparison. http://www.ledropelightsandmore.com/led-smd-comparison.html

http://ezinearticles.com/?All-About-LED-Strips-4---The-Eternal-Debate---SMD3528-Vs-SMD5050&id=4670120

Hope that clears some things up.

Rick F.

[camos]

Thanks Rick, that's a big help.

[Squidley]

Rick,

These are set up to be dual intensity if I'm reading this right, is that the case What made you go with the red instead of going with a white?

[Flyinfool]

Back when I did mine the 5050 LEDs were not invented yet. So I had to use the 3528 as that is all that was available. If I were doing this over, I would use the 5050.

 

There are 2 different trunk setups out there.

One is the stock reflector, this is what I have, it is just a reflector with no lights in it at all, It is the one that is glued together with a solvent based glue and heat will not help to get it apart.

The other on is an aftermarket one with four 194 bulbs in it, I have not played with one but it is my understanding that this one is held together with hot melt glue.

 

Squid

You always want to use a LED that matches the color of the lens. If you use a white LED, It is using energy to generate all of the colors of the spectrum, The lens then filters out all but the red, Since a red LED used all of its energy to make red, it ends up being brighter once it gets thru the red lens.

[Squidley]

Squid

You always want to use a LED that matches the color of the lens. If you use a white LED, It is using energy to generate all of the colors of the spectrum, The lens then filters out all but the red, Since a red LED used all of its energy to make red, it ends up being brighter once it gets thru the red lens.

 

Man! you is one fart smeller Jeff! I never knew that, but it's good to know. I am actually thinking of doing a 1st gen tail light in this if they are dual intensity, which I think they are but I want to be sure.

 

Thanks for the heads up Buddy

[Flyinfool]

Man! you is one fart smeller Jeff! I never knew that, but it's good to know. I am actually thinking of doing a 1st gen tail light in this if they are dual intensity, which I think they are but I want to be sure.

 

Thanks for the heads up Buddy

 

With my systems everyone around me becomes one fart smeller after a while. You just cant help it.

 

Hmmmmmmmm........

I never thought of doing these in the tail light. I was looking for plug in bulbs.

 

If you go to the post that I did, (link above) it has instructions on how to do it with dual intensity and brake lights and turn signals. Your choice.

 

Almost any light is simple to make dual intensity.

Edited July 22, 2012 by Flyinfool

[Squidley]

I never thought of doing these in the tail light. I was looking for plug in bulbs.

 

If you go to the post that I did, (link above) it has instructions on how to do it with dual intensity and brake lights and turn signals. Your choice.

 

Almost any light is simple to make dual intensity.

 

My biggest thing is I want a large separation in brightness between running lights and brake lights. I have seen the LED replacement bulbs and to be quite blunt...they suck. I remember riding behind a couple of folks, one of them Marcarl and had a VERY hard time distinguishing the brake lights when they came on.

 

I know that they make an LED board for the 2nd gens that is a good contrast in brightness. This is what I want one the 1st gen, I thought that someone here did that on a 1st gen....I'll have to look for that thread:scratchchin:

[Flyinfool]

If you get the 5050 led strips to mount inside of the tail light, You can choose the contrast that you want by your choice of resistor.

 

I did a write up somewhere on how to make any LED dual intensity. I'll see if I can find it.

 

edit;

Ok I found it.

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=67531

Edited July 22, 2012 by Flyinfool

[cimmer]

The LED strip I used doesnt seem to have the ability to dim the output easily. I had thought about using one of the rows as tail light but I felt the need for more brake lights was more important. So I am looking at adding a brake light modulator such as this one.

http://www.bikevis.com/motorcycle-led-brake-light-modulators.html

It can be set up to have about 33% output for a running light and then full voltage for a brake light plus flash the brake light to alert others that I am slowing down. The main reason for the additional brake lights was to been seen in traffic and this brake modulator is exactly what I am looking for.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Rick F.

[reddevilmedic]

i just changed the trunk. im no purist, for sure.