Is there a step by step guide to doing LED tail lights??? Is there a kit, or do you just do one at a time..I have read a couple post on them, but still am not clear...Thanks, Tom

 

Do you mean like putting in an LED version of the light bulb or making something like an LED panel to fully light up the lens? I really want to get some sort of panel to cover the full back side of the lens instead of a bulb with fake chrome paint to spread the light. I think it'd look a lot better and modern. There is no kit that I know of, if there was one I'd buy it.

 

there's someone on the board that did it i can't remember who though it'll come to me though. but he drilled all the holes and had like 200 led's in each taillight. would have been better if they leds were behind the lense but to each their own thegreatj is his name i just searched for it. i just dont have a clue how to wire up that many led's! once i figure it out im doing it

 

Yes, I meant a panel or something along that line...Thanks for the answers guys...I would like to see some of the things people have done to there tail lights...I think it would look better if more of the light area was lit up when the tail lights are on..I think I will make a post to see..Tom

 

You just can't put in LED bulbs and call it good. Need to install different flashers too, flashers that are designed for LEDs, or use some kind of alternative circuitry. The stock flashers (stock setup) work off of a resistive load and that resistive value changes a lot when you replace light bulbs with LEDs.

There are no kits for a camaro/firebird that I know off. It would have to be custom made. Radio shack sells circuit boards with the holes pre-drilled in them(for mounting LEDs, resistors, caps, IC's, etc.) but everything has to be soldered/wired up.

Don't buy the LEDs from radio shack, for anyone looking at buying 100s/1000s of LEDs. Look into digikey.com or jameco.com, they are electronic parts distributors and offer discounts when parts are bought in mass quantities. Ebay even has deals on LEDs every once in a while.

 

The problem with our tailights is the lense.Its too thick for the LED light to penetrate evenly.Also they are made to distribute light over the grids.Late model cars with LED tailights have a smooth surface on the tailight lense so the LED are clearly visible, even when they're off.When the liights are on you can see the individual LEDs or small round lights & very bright too.Not a out of focus type of red dot.Which is what youll probably get with a 3rd gen.Even with 100 or so LEDs.Thats not to say i would give it a try if i had the materials on hand.Although Id rather start with some OEM LED taillamps.

 

What if you were to wet sand the lens?

 

The area in question Im refering to is the inside of the lense.Its not smooth & flat.Its bumpy,every grid is a small little bump.So if you run your hand across the inside surface it feels like some type of reptile's skin or something like that!Also if you look thru the lense you would not see a clear, but multiple images like a kaleidoscope, sort of how a fly sees an image!I though about having the inside machined flat, but that would probably make the lense too thin......If you look at your tailights corner lense.That is what you need.That section is smooth & flat.Both inside & out.It does have a reflective lense inside, but its not molded in.Its an insert that pops out easily once the halves of the tailight are seperated.

 

i've sanded the insides of a spare grid i have. the light outout is great but it's a whole lot of work. trying to make it look the same throughout. I have maybe 30 hours or so in 1 light. its a spare though and not in that great of shape it has some spider cracks in the side where it was already smooth

 

The link below leads to a site with products that will allow you to mold taillights.

http://www.alumilite.com/index.php?page=show_how&id=68

Anybody feeling daring could make some new taillights, and end up with a flat surface to shine through.
Hmm...A completly flat taillight(no grid, nothing), red turn signal, and 200-400 led's shining through sounds pretty cool.

Also, I'm curious if there is some equation to determine the mcd of the led's you would need to maintain legality and safety. Viewing angle of the led is another consideration.

 

Great product!Too bad our lenses are that small.It would take alot of that stuff to make a mold.

 

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...gi?product=CAR

 

not sure who's it is, but here ya go....i want this too!!!!!!

 

those are the ones i was referring to as thegreatj's

 

cool....glad to put a name to those. So he drilled all those holes in the lens and then stuck LEDs thru them? I didn't think that was how he did it at first when I saved that pic, but now that I look at the side marker section I see that the LEDs do in fact stick out of the lens?
Just for fun I may buy a few LED boards and see what I can come up with like this for mine and post anything useful up. Hopefully it will come out looking similar to this, without all the holes.....

 

I remember this one.Someone had said this was a photoshop though.Has this person ever posted anymore info on this?

 

i put led lights under my dash

 

This thread was 4 years old, and had nothing to do with underdash lights. That being said, I like the look of the LED tail lights made by thegreatj. Im sure if you did something like that but recessed the panels into the light and then vacumm molded a clear peice of acrylic to cover it, it would look awesome and not have to worry about the LEDs poking out.

 

I am looking at doing this to my car...I would love it if I could just buy an LED assembly tail light and mod it like the one in this pic...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1987-...Q5fAccessories

 

modding something like that to fit and look like a 3rd gen camaro tail light would be more work than just building one from scratch. wouldnt be much work for a bird though.

 

On an older thread, i think a company called spaghetti engineering already sells these.....

 

http://www.digi-tails.com/1986-92-Ch...l-Tail-Lights/

There not cheap but they are really nice. Ive got a set of these on my Grand National and absolutely love them.

 

nice, too bad they didnt carry the seq turn across the whole tail instead of just the one grid.

 

I don't like the idea of "up dating" a third gen. The more antiquated an older car is, the better IMO.