LED Tails???

[Spitfire]

Ok so ive been thinking and really have decided on this. you can hate or flame if you want but im doing this to please myself i just have questions...

Ok so i am buying the all clear tails ( i know alot of gen 3 owners dont like or thing they look "rice" but then again idc lol its my car and i do what pleases me)

ANYWAYS!!!!!

I think it would look cool to do the all clear tails with custom led setup inside so u can acually see all the lil led bulbs during the day and such like some of the newer cars. (My moms prius for example) Now my question is what kind of leds do i need and what kinda board do i need to run them off of? also like what all do i need for pretection like resister wise or the such. i can solder and the such real well im just still a lil new working with leds. im more of a Sound tech lol (done for 3 years)

Ive done my searching but still come up with lots of questions... im just worryed about spending $100 on these tails and break them.. i wanna do it right the first time anyone have any good links for this type?

My plans are if i can get pretty good with this led business... i plan to not only do the custom tails. but have led boards in the reverse lights as well as parking lights and even blinkers .

Just think though wouldnt that look pretty cool to have all clear tails with the Leds showing through instead of just old lame red bulb? that would be soo cool! so please help!!!

i plan to start this in a few weeks because i just got a job at the brand new famous HARD ROCK THEME PARK in Myrtle Beach, SC. its the one and only rock n roll theme park in the world and im promised 50 hrs a week at $9 an hour. i know thats not alot but that makes me very excited cause my old job was $6.15 an hr and only 10 hrs a week.... so now i will finally have the money for my car!!! AND I AM SOOO STOKED!!! So please help!!!

Thanks in advaced!!! (god i always type paragraphs just to ask a simple question)

Chris

[Albuynp Ryeno]

I hope someone helps u out cuz i wanna do this as well.

[cykaaro]

i can understand going LED's. Like them better myself. Anyways, from the LED's I've done, yes, you need to do resistors. 12v is too much power and you'll blow them if you don't use them. If you look at, say, 194 LED bulbs to replace the stock ones, you'll see they use them as well. Just not sure what size to use.
I added LED's to my side mirrors for signal lights, although the board they are on was already made. I covered the entire board to seal from moisture so can't see what resistors are on it anymore, except there were two types. It was originally done as to having three wires/two circuits. one to give them a basic illumination to have on, and the other when on makes them brighter. Mayhap to play around with a few different ones to get what you need. This kinda of idea would work well with the running/brake light bulbs. If you have a good electronics store near you, they could probably help you in choosing the right resistors. Good luck on the project!

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by cykaaro

i can understand going LED's. Like them better myself. Anyways, from the LED's I've done, yes, you need to do resistors. 12v is too much power and you'll blow them if you don't use them. If you look at, say, 194 LED bulbs to replace the stock ones, you'll see they use them as well. Just not sure what size to use.
I added LED's to my side mirrors for signal lights, although the board they are on was already made. I covered the entire board to seal from moisture so can't see what resistors are on it anymore, except there were two types. It was originally done as to having three wires/two circuits. one to give them a basic illumination to have on, and the other when on makes them brighter. Mayhap to play around with a few different ones to get what you need. This kinda of idea would work well with the running/brake light bulbs. If you have a good electronics store near you, they could probably help you in choosing the right resistors. Good luck on the project!

Thanks for the help! im going to check out a few electronic stores today when i get off work. Whats the average price to make these tails? just curious? i guess itjust depends on how many bulbs i buy and such.

So each bulb needs a resister?

[shuluke]

If I were you, i would do a few searches.. Some people have done LEDS to their tails... If you PM me I can give you a couple of places to check out.

Shuluke

I have done cars and bikes.. here is a picture of my bike.

[cykaaro]

I wouldn't necessarily think each LED needs a resistor, but you need to bring the voltage down to where it won't blow them.
The ones I put in my side mirrors had one resistor/LED, but I've seen a couple using one as well.

[Zviator]

Blowing the bulb is not the only problem. If the housing get over heated, the glasses would melt ... Trust me, it wont look good.

And for the words, clear talights dont look rice at all, definitely a recommended mod.