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LED Strip lights for additional brake lights

6K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  dao270 
#1 ·
I bought 10 very cheap LED strip lights from China about a month ago on ebay. They arrived the other day and i added them to my top box as an addition to my brake light visibility.



My Givi E45 top box was very bland from the back. I had added some blue reflective stickers to it, but wanted to add some additional brake visibility as well. I could have used some Truck lights, but was having a hard time sourcing out something locally that would fit, and being very lazy, i just ordered these LED lights online.

I first glued 4 of them together using rubber cement. I then used an old aluminum ruler and cut out a suitable size to use as a backing plate, and mounted that to the bike. I then attached Velcro to each half and stuck the lights on. Seems to be holding just fine. After wiring them into the brake lights, this is what i ended up with.





Since i also have a brake light flasher, it also works with these brake lights;

MOV06043.MPG - YouTube

I will need to test the velcro fastener to see if it will hold up with a few bumps or not. If not, i may need to find some other way to attach this.
 
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#4 ·
Here are some inexpensive running lights if you have more time than money; two $6 red running lights from the local auto supply; use a dremel tool to cut out just the circuit board; RTV it into the turn signal lens; wire the (+) to switched 12 volts and the ground to the hot side of the turn signal; it will be on when the turn signal is off and off when the turn signal is on!

Something to do on rainy day and if you have absolutely nothing else useful to do! the F650 left of the Wee has amber lenses and it works just fine (still looks red as ever); a riding buddy from Wisconsin put me on to this, so I can't take credit or accept blame!







 
#6 ·
I was thinking the toggling might get other drivers to look up from their texting and just maybe not run over me!

I don't know how it might work with other leds; The best I could determine from the wiring diagram was that when you connect the LED ground lead to the hot side of the turn signal the current ground path to ground is the front and rear turn signal bulb elements and the turn signal indicator in the instrument cluster! I could be wrong but didn't see any other way it could be getting back to ground!

I measured the current draw of these particular LEDs to be 55 mA (0.055 Amps); likely there is a pretty low threshold limit on how much current you can push through the filaments and still get the LEDs to work?
 
#7 ·
One thing about putting LEDs in the Wee lens; I could not get them in without slightly touching the bulb; the gs had square lens with more room; But apparently since the turn signal is not constantly on there is not enough heat build up to affect the board; been in 2k miles and no sign of damage the LED boards or bulbs.
 
#11 ·
Nice! Just wondering about weather proofing - Will your solution hold against rain/etc.?

I did a similar thing with my coocase, now the bike has a smiley face when braking.. :mrgreen:

 
#13 ·
Nice! Just wondering about weather proofing - Will your solution hold against rain/etc.?
The LED's are sealed with just wires coming out the end. I will have to see about the holes i drilled into the case. I may need to put a bit of rubber there to seal it if it leaks. It does have an aluminum plate on top. Somehow i doubt it will leak.

I like what you did with the LED's in your case. Despite the smiley face apperance, it looks nice.
 
#14 ·
I got a few extra LEDs in the rear end, I installed a box that make some of them fash off and on, I also just installed a unit that is like the old knight rider car, It flashes from side to side then blinks off and on when the brake light is hit,, way cool.
Very good people to deal with, My unit is the LB22 Knight riderz light bar,,
Custom Dynamics Motorcycle LED Lights Motorcycle LEDs Lighting Accessories
Mike
 
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