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LED tail lights

Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 5:33 pm
by sigma008
I think the only thing missing from these cars that would make a dramatic difference in appearance would be LED tail lights.. Who can we contact to get some for our cars.

These would be great...

Re: LED tail lights

Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 5:41 pm
by nytq
Well I have changed all the bulbs to LED. But I haven't seen anyone selling actual lamp housing replacements yet.

Re: LED tail lights

Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 7:13 pm
by sigma008
do u have any pictures and what bulbs did u use???

Re: LED tail lights

Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 10:44 pm
by nytq
I don't have any pictures right now, I'll try to get some up. The Brake lamps are:

1157 BAY15D 68 SMD LED Red

The turn signal lamps are PY21W with an offset notch. I modified the socket so I could use the 1156 BAY15S Amber 68 SMD LED

The Back Ups are 1156 BAY15S White 68 SMD LED

The license plate are 39mm Festoons with 6 smd white leds C5W

Front Turns Signals Are:

1157 BAY15D 68 SMD LED Amber

Position, Side Marker are T10 5 SMD LED Amber

Keep in mind the turn signals will flash faster with all LED's unless you add a load resistor. I liked it so left it flashing faster.

Re: LED tail lights

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 4:06 am
by jblanchard5
Where are you getting your LEDs ?

Re: LED tail lights

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 3:20 pm
by nytq
Most are from various sellers on Ebay. 1st ones (Brake Lights) were from www.superbrightleds.com (also the most expensive but warrantied)

Re: LED tail lights

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 5:04 pm
by jblanchard5
Cool, I also buy from superbrightleds.com for motorcycle LEDs that I install for people. Thanks.

Re: LED tail lights

Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 11:23 am
by LanHarjochee
Before doing cutting, study its printed circuit layout to see the cut might open the power links. Solder back the open copper trace if it does occur.flexible led strip Cover the exposed copper trace with silicon glue.
If the led strip lights was connected in series mode, the power supply requires to reduce its voltage to match the loss of total LED Light Bars voltage. Without doing that shall burn the strip with over voltage.
:mrgreen:

Re: LED tail lights

Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 5:19 am
by KuroNekko
The problem with LED bulbs is that they don't light up the tail light housing too well. They have a light output that is more focused and does not spread out well. This makes them look like dots in the housing instead of really illuminating it. I've experimented with LED bulbs for turn signals and back up lights, but came to the conclusion that they were not good for light output.
The reason why LED bulbs make your turn signal faster is because they consume too low of a voltage in the circuit, therefore the car thinks the bulb is out. The faster blinking is a feature many car companies use to alert the driver that a turn signal is out. You have to install a capacitor as another post mentioned to prevent this. I personally think it's more hassle than it's worth.
Personally, I think the way to go is to wait until someone makes custom aftermarket LED tail lights for the Kizashi. I had smoked LED tail lights in my Mazda3. The light output was much better than stock tail lights because it was built to be LED. Unlike "black out" tail lights, smoked lenses don't really reduce the light output of the LED or bulb, but still look great.
Here's a picture of my Mazda's smoked LED tail lights:

Re: LED tail lights

Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 5:40 am
by murcod
Even the 3's LED lights look very dim compared to the high mount centre brake light. Most likely due to a reduced viewing angle compared to the stock units?

Regarding the flasher operation, it's the lower current draw of the LED's that can cause older style flasher units to speed up. (Both the old style filament bulbs and direct fit replacement LED bulbs operate off the same voltage.)