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LEd Lights, the fun way

16K views 53 replies 10 participants last post by  Arne 
#1 · (Edited)
So I got those 1 watt led lights, so far just hooking them to battery and pointing across road. They light up fence a bit with lots of streat lights so rather impressed impressed. But lets face it these thigns (http://www.plasmaled.com/high_power_module.htm h) arn't black and don't have mounting brackets. Also my bike is on a all black diet, even the reflective tape is black :thumbup: . So off to princess auto I go, and found these driving lights (http://www.princessauto.com/surplus/electrical/8283301-driving-lights?keyword=driving+lights) which also have a neon green ring that lights up around the light COOOL, useless but cool bling bling. But more importantley they are big enough for the led lights to fit in, are all metal and all black. So back home and its time to break out the mill, make a hole for the led lights and then mod the ligths to fit so the screw holes for the light casings can remain. So far I think they are looking good. Its not finished yet but here is some teaser shots I took. I will update later. O and since the caseing is still waterproof and the led lights are watterproof in there own right I think I am covered :hurray:

 

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#4 ·
20$ for the lights form princess auto so its cheap lol. Just need to be good with atleast a dremmel or a mill if you got one. They can be painted but lets face it this way will look cooler and more protection for the light. and as I know they only come in green, Honestlay don't care if they lightup green, I want the metal casing, its a nice one
 
#5 ·
I am in the process of making some mounting brackets for two of the red waterproof 3W LED's. Going to mount them as running lights/turn signals. These things sure are bright, but the waterproof ones are also very directional. These things, according to the manufacturer, are rated at 14VDC max. Since the charging system outputs more than that at speed, I made a little voltage regulator to make sure they do not see more than about 13VDC. Just something to be aware of. Overdriving LED's is a sure way to fry them.
 
#10 ·
I set the LM317 to limit the voltage to 13VDC. At 14.3VDC in, the voltage I see @5000rpm on my battery, the LED sees 13VDC. At 12VDC in, the led sees about
10.5VDC (the tradeoff for the design being simple, but you dont see much difference in output between 10.5 & 13VDC). What is interesting is the fact that these LED's draw max current at less than 12-13VDC.
At 13VDC at the LED, the current draw is 130mA, so about 1.7W, with a mere 0.17W dissipated in the regulator so no heatsink is needed.
At about 7VDC or so the current draw is about 220mA, so about 1.54W.
They turn on at about 5VDC@70mA.
Again, I do not know if it is 'absolutely' necessary, but it wont hurt anything and it is trivial to do.
 
#16 ·
Not a kit. Completely DIY. They are pretty bright . I was not about to pay $100+ for LED turn signals, that's way overpriced. Same idea used, LM317 to get correct voltage for these LED's, wire as many as will fit in parallel. I added a 10W resistor to keep the flashing rate the same since I did not want to replace the flasher relay and I didn't care about saving watts. Was a fun little project and hey, they still work fine. It really is not that hard. This is was meant to be a crude trial version but since they work rather well I didn't bother making a nicer looking board with more LED's.


 
#18 ·
:confused:I've been reading your thread and this is WAY over my head. I am too cheap to pay big bucks for LED trun signals, but want to mount LEDs on the front forks, add LED turn signals and add some LED brake lights. Can you give real dumbed down instructions for keeping the voltage down and do you have suggestions on where to get the lights, especially for the turn signals? Thanks
 
#20 ·
Big trick

The big trick (if there is one) is to get the proper output voltage on the voltage regulator. After that, you just add as many LED's (in parallel) as the voltage regulator can handle, current-wise. A heat sink can be added if pushing the regulator to keep temps in check. Always thought that running lights could (should) be operated at around 20 or 30 HZ with a 50% duty cycle, which would allow you to run at higher peak current without overheating, and give a strobe effect to viewers if the light was scanning across the visual field, bound to get attention better than a steady light. Been plenty many years since I dabbled in electronics, so I'm not sure what method would provide the easiest switching.
 
#21 ·
Mounted Plasma.led led's

Finally got a chance to mount 3W versions of the led's shown in the first post as well as the 10W Solstice led's. Two 3W red led's (waterproof version with lens) on the cans. A diffuser alleviates their directionality a bit. The pictures turned out a bit dark. I also mounted two of the 009 wide angle version led's on the frame to provide 'accent lighting' (I had them laying around and wanted to use them). Made waterproof by adding a plastic ring and colored acrylic cap. Color left: purple color right: green :biggrinjester:.The picture didn't turn out. I need to touch up on the paint. The voltage to all four 3W led's is regulated by one LM317.

The rear of the bike (can you see me now?). Taken at an angle to prevent the CCD sensor in the camera from being overwhelmed. Wired to function as running lights/turn signals. Not applying the brake in this image.


Closeup to show what the diffuser looks like. It is acrylic, turned round and to size on a lathe.


Solstice led's, these things are amazingly bright.


I am going to add one of these glow lights (green version) and wire it to run off the 12V bike system. I use it on my commuting bicycle and they do get attention.



Whatever it takes to be seen by these clowns out there.
 
#26 ·
Oops...I was thinking of only one light. A pair of the Clearwater lights and custom brackets comes in a a whopping $800. interestingly they don't list power draw on the web site, just that they pull 1/5 the power of Halogen lights. So, I am guessing about 10w. They also do not list output in lumens or light pattern. For that price I want a little more info.
 
#30 · (Edited)
Modified glow light:


The switching voltage regulator (output 3.3V):


available here: http://www.dimensionengineering.com/DE-SW033.htm
you can design little switchers like this yourself for less money but this is so much more convenient.

Wiring connections (you will need external flux and a decent soldering iron)


backside, I just used the hole that was already there, no clue why there is a hole there, a drain maybe? :green_lol: (this thing is so not waterproof as is):


Additional waterproofing (gasket maker):


Once this cures I will put the cover back on, tape it up or heat shrink the whole thing. Still a little worried about the waterproof-nes of that exposed switch.
Why I do this you wonder? I hate having rechargeable batteries die on me at the most inconvenient times and now I also don't have to worry about remembering to recharge them (and I just like little projects like this:thumbup:).

Probably just as good as shrink wrap:


Hooked to computer PSU, it still works :mod_cool:


It remains to be seen how vibration proof this contraption is.
 
#32 ·
Continued:

Take piece of tape, sticky side up. Put on a small piece of tape sticky side down. Tape the smooth side of that small piece over the switch. Tape around it and the switch should be pretty much waterproofed yet wont stick to the tape. The yellow arrow points to where the switch is.

 
#34 ·
Glow light mounted. These things are next to invisible in daylight but become pretty noticeable in the dark. I like the visibility but I am not sure I like the location on the crash bars, might move it elsewhere later. I zip tied the leftover strand to a nearby cable for now. Might clean it up later.
http://s206.photobucket.com/albums/bb91/abiermans/?action=view&current=steady.flv

blinking at the slow rate (one more push of the button makes it blink faster than this).
http://s206.photobucket.com/albums/bb91/abiermans/?action=view&current=blink.flv

Controller location (left side of the picture is the front of the bike), a strip of double stick tape on the side which also acts as somewhat of a vibration damper (not visible in the picture):


What do you think? Useful? Retarded? :biggrinjester:
 
#35 ·
Glow light mounted. These things are next to invisible in daylight but become pretty noticeable in the dark. I like the visibility but I am not sure I like the location on the crash bars, might move it elsewhere later. I zip tied the leftover strand to a nearby cable for now. Might clean it up later.
http://s206.photobucket.com/albums/bb91/abiermans/?action=view&current=steady.flv

blinking at the slow rate (one more push of the button makes it blink faster than this).
http://s206.photobucket.com/albums/bb91/abiermans/?action=view&current=blink.flv

Controller location (left side of the picture is the front of the bike), a strip of double stick tape on the side which also acts as somewhat of a vibration damper (not visible in the picture):
What do you think? Useful? Retarded? :biggrinjester:
interesting, all you need now is the suit and desi arnaz jr :green_lol:

 
#47 ·
I realize I'm making most here roll their eyes :eek:rig_rolleyes: , but I want to make sure I'm seeing this correctly.

- The resistor labeled R2 is going back to the battery's neg (-) connection.
- R2 is also connected to R1 resistor. The other end of the R1 resistor is connected to the (now voltage reduced) positive (+) connection going out to the LEDs.
- Finally the third pin of the LM317 is just connected to the source positive (+) connection from the bike.

Do I have that right?
 
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