Date:         Wed, 29 Sep 2004 22:52:23 +1200
Reply-To:     Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject:      Re: Piranha LED taillights
In-Reply-To:  <004f01c4a575$f741ae50$51c279a5@epoch77>
Content-type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=us-ascii

>Many thanks to Andrew for the great lead on the plug & play LED lights!
>Or whom ever it was, if I caught this posting late in the game.

I also read a website on fitting LED cluster-"bulbs" as replacements
for bulbs in stock lights. They said they don't work well and also
that due to voltage irregularities they will last at best 10000
hours, not the 100000 advertised by all sellers (ie that 100000 is an
optimum figure, estimated for an LED left sitting at EXACTLY 12V,
with no fluctuations in voltage or current. Circuit diagrams were
included for making drivers to remove irregularities... as apparently
resistors don't do a good enough job:
<http://faq.light.tripod.com/signal-leds.htm>

I don't know if this applies to the ready-to-fit integrated light
units sold for trucks (all of which are 12V... most run at 12-15V or
so); these may well have drivers built-in.

Certainly if you like round or square lights, or elongated ovals,
these lights should do a good job... all are DOT-approved (as if that
means anything!). Some brands have white units for reverse, some have
only red & orange... some have those confusing red-only 3-way lights
(red indicator? silly... could be a malfunctioning taillight).

I am thinking of fitting a flasher into my brake circuit, knowing how
easily I seem to miss brakelights... in the late 70s/early 80s there
was a "Cyberlight" marketed in the US for motorcycles... the harder
you braked the faster it flashed... mercury switches? Good idea,
anyway. I might set the flash (electronics rather than mechanical
switch ie mercury) at several times/sec. This is once I have LED
taillights installed!
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin
New Zealand
Fossil preparator
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut