Hey guys,
I thought I'd share the LED conversion I did on my '68.
Why use LED bulbs? Well, they instantly come to full brightness, which means your blinkers are more noticeable, and your brakelights illuminate instantly, whereas incandescent bulbs can take up to .3 seconds to come up to full brightness, which at 75mph, is 110ft/sec*.3sec= 33 feet difference in the following vehicle's stopping distance. That could be the difference between a rear-end accident, and avoiding one! I also feel the quick lighting LEDs are brighter and more noticable, which makes them even safer.
I installed 1st gen LEDs, but the new LED lamps coming out are SO much better! Brighter, and a better thought out design, all-around.
I gotta post several pics to tell the whole story.
My Charger uses 1157 bulbs in the front and in all 4 rear housings. In the front, the dim comes on with the parking lamps, same as in the rear. With the headlamps on, the dim goes out in the front, and the bright signals with the directional; whereas in the rear, the bright is the brakelight/directional.
First pic is a standard bulb, second pic is bulb on dim, third pic is bulb on bright. The darker the background, the brighter the bulb, as the camera adjust aperature to the brightness.
For in the front, I got 1157 bulbs in Amber from Mustang Project (www.mustangproject.com). I just did a search for 1157 and all their options popped up.
These 2nd gen LEDs have lamps all-around, which make them MUCH brighter and more similar to normal bulbs.
I included a pic of the invoice so you guys can see the costs involved. Some may think $100 is a fool parting with his money, but 1) They'll NEVER burn out, 100,000 hours life, 2) What price do you put on safety?
First pic is invoice, second pic is front bulb, third pic is bulb on dim, fourth pic is bulb on bright. Again, the darker the background, the brighter the light source, as the camera adjusts to the brightness.
The first pic is the new bulb installed, on dim.
The second pic is the new bulb, on bright.
The third pic is a 1st gen LED, you can see the LEDs only faced forward, not all-around like the 2nd gen.
The fourth pic is the 1st gen LED on bright, notice the camera can see the ground, that's because the 2nd gen LED is about 4 times as bright!
The first pic is the CNC milled aluminum 1157 white for the rears.
The second pic is the bulb on dim. On dim, it is at least twice as bright as the incandescent.
The third pic is the bulb on bright. On bright, the LED is 3-4 times as bright as the incandescent.
The background is darker as the bulb gets brighter, due to the camera.
The neat thing about LEDs is, they are not hot. The incandescent bulb burned me, just in the time it took me to take the pic; the LED never got even warm. . .
The first pic is the stock bulbs on dim.
The second pic is the stock bulbs on bright.
The third pic is the LEDs on dim, they are literally nearly as bright as the stock bulbs on bright.
The fourth pic is the LEDs on bright; HOLY BRIGHTNESS, much brighter than the stock 1157s!
Technology can be a good thing when used correctly. :2thumbs:
:popcrn: :popcrn: :popcrn:
I'm planning on Led's as well
You will need a No Load flasher module when converting to LEDs. I got mine from Classic Industries,
http://www.classicindustries.com/mopar/parts/2000021.html
but everyone sells them. Mine did not work when I first plugged it in. I cross wired it, and it works fine. LOL. The positive must be on the other blade on new cars vs. our old rides. Works great. I would never go back to ordinary bulbs. The LEDs are much more attention grabbing when they flash, and they're certainly brighter, I'd even call them brilliant, compared to the incandescents.
Looks pretty good!
Although there's one caveat...and I mean no disrespect to you, CJW916. LED's in a round housing usually tend to work well.
For any other non-rounded housings, bulb replacement LED's in a non-round housing will NOT work well. Bulb replacement LED's in a non-round housing will only successfully illuminate the close proximity around the bulb, leaving larger taillight housings mostly un-illuminated, with only a small area around the "bulb" illuminated.
Basically, the end result is less than a trusty old 1157 can do & may I dare say looks CHEEZY in the end. ;)
Round light housings & LED's work great, any other lens shape looks like you stepped backwards in time & are begging to get rear-ended. :icon_smile_big:
Yeah, I could see that being a possibility in an irregular shaped housing, like the '69 rear lamp housing. You know, I have a complete set of '69 tail lights in the garage, now you've got me wondering. . . LOL. I'll dig them out and experiment & post follow-up pics for you guys. I'd agree that the 1st gen LED lamps would definitely NOT work well, but maybe the all-around design of these new 2nd gen LED lamps would work well? I'll get pics up as soon as I take them. . .
Well, I wasn't that tired, and I have to pick a friend up at the airport in a couple of hours, so I ran to the garage & dusted off the set of '69 lamp housings that I had on the shelf.
First pic is all 1157 bulbs on dim. (sorry, both 1156's were burnt out)
Second pic is the 1157 bulbs on bright.
Third pic is LEDs on the bottom, all on dim.
Fourth pic is LEDs on the bottom, all on bright.
The only problem I saw, was the LEDs looked just a bit more 'orange' than the incandescent bulbs. I think this could be fixed if you sprayed the inside reflectors white, instead of the silver that they are. I would say that the 2nd gen LEDs that throw light in all directions, look better even in an irregular housing, like the '69. I'm certain the 1st gen LEDs would look like crap, they'd definitely look like a cluster of lamps in the center of the housing, with no illumination around them.
Looks like I may have to eat my words, that works better than I expected. :cheers: The different layout does a nice job with throwing light in all directions. :2thumbs:
I assume it looks just as good in bright daylight as 1157's do?
:coolgleamA: looks good :2thumbs:
like the licence plate on the 68 , A MOVER :yesnod: :coolgleamA: :2thumbs: reminded me DMCL , larry says think we got a mover here , when Hank starts tailing him :yesnod:
note here....the LED's are not very bright in the daytime...and you should be using red LED's behind the red tail lenses..you will get a much brighter red color with red bulbs
My whole youth, going to car shows with my Dad & uncle, they'd always say, 'Now THERE'S A MOVER!' whenever a car had a big block, dual-quads, a blower, a narrowed rear end, etc. They both raced in Kaukauna WI in their youth. The only old cars they liked were the muscle cars. There's a line in the Blues Brothers, too, Elwood tells Jake, 'I think we got a mover, here.' when the cops pull up behind them. I don't know if it's an old term that means police car? But, to me, A MOVER will always be my Dad & uncle talking 'bout fast cars. . .
Great write up!
Thanks MoparMan, I like to spark conversation. I find I learn more from others than I can glean through my own research, most of the time, :-).
A383WING, I think these new 2nd Gen LEDs are MUCH brighter than the disappointing 1st Gen bulb replacements. I tried those, and switched back to 1157s in the rear because I felt they were dim during bright sunlight, and therefore less safe. But these new bulb replacement LEDs with their all-around light source design do a much better job of throwing light and being highly visible, in all light conditions. I wish we could post video here, maybe I'll link a YouTube or FaceBook video, illustrating the visibility during day & night for guys to compare?
Another question WING, you said Red LEDs should be used in the rear? I am curious. New Cadillacs have brilliant LED tail lights, are those Red LEDs inside a red lens? I know modern cars usually use plasti-chrome reflectors, which help the lamps seem so bright, but are those white or red LEDs behind those red lenses?
Red light actually contains less energy than all of the other colors in the visible spectrum, it's the area under the sine curve, added up, that equates to energy. This is why ultra-violet light, light with shorter wavelength than purple, sunburns our skin, it carries the most energy! So, white light, a combination of all colors, actually carries more energy than red:
http://www2.ohlone.edu/people/jklent/labs/101A_labs/LightSpectrum.pdf
It's why we use white for headlamps, and red lens flashlights when we don't want to be spotted by enemies, at night. But, the higher frequency of red light, in closer proximity, actually is more visible to our eyeball's retina? (red stoplights, red storefront signs) Is this because red does not fire all of our eye's photoreceptors, with it's lower energy, and therefore wash out our ability to see? I've had too much Physics, now it's confusing me!
Are red LEDs inside a red lens more visible? When by definition, red carries less (photons) energy?
It might look better inside of the '69 housing (more red, instead of that orange shift that I observed, which I think is due to the blue content of the ultra-white LEDs), but would it technically be less visible due to the lower energy content?
Any thoughts?
What I do know, is my lamps are hella-visible when braking, day, or night. At night, the signs in my mirror light up SO red, when braking, that they catch my eye!
I believe most of the new vehicles with Led taillights, do have the red ones.
Sounds like one of us needs to visit a boneyard with a hammer & a battery... :D Smash lenses & apply juice! :laugh:
Honestly, without seeing the red vs. white in person I couldn't really form an educated opinion. At this juncture, I'd probably guess that a white incarnation of these lights would probably show up better behind a 40 year old red lens, but again, that's merely a guess at this point.
Seeing a comparison in person (no cameras allowed) would ultimately settle this. ;)
good glad some one could post some photo's , I just finished doing the rears on my 69 , I chrome plated the inside of the housing for a better reflection of light , yes I did use red led's great affect, you will need a second led flasher cam , for hazard lights ,
I used switch back leds in the front, is that what they are ? , bright white which switches to amber led for turn signal and changes back once indicator are turned off, so bright they are almost like a day running light , almost inclined to plastic chrome the housing for park lenses for a better reflection of light so they will be as bright as the day running lights you see around, the purpose of this , most people are too busy looking at the car instead of concentrating on there driving , I bet we have all had moments like this .
I will try to post my photo's on this again,
actually chrome plating the inside of housing had a great effect, then a better step again with leds
RTSE, I saw those switching front lamps on their website, on my '68 the parking lamp is on when the switch is half-way, then goes out when you turn the headlamps on, so I never considered them as daytime running lights. My '70 Mach 1 Mustang had grille mounted lamps in addition to the turn indicators at the corner of the lower valence. I had thought those white&amber lamps would've worked great in that car, and since I bought from a Mustang site, I thought that was the market they were aiming for. Is your '69 wired different (is my '68 wired wrong?) do your lower marker lights stay on with the headlamps on?
I knew someone had plasti-chromed thier bezels! I would say that Red LEDs would look best behind the '69, '70 etc flat lens, the orange shift I experienced with white LEDs in my pics above would not happen that way. Just be sure to order the more costly lamps. I ordered the 6watt $18 lamps, but I swear they sent me their 30watt $29 CNC lamps because they had no $18 lamps in stock and have yet to pull them off their site. Just my theory. I may just have to order a red LED to post a pic & settle the discussion! The thicker '68 lens does not appear orange in any way with the white LED, but I think the thinner flat lens would benefit from the red LED.
Thanks for the tip about the hazards! Mine were blinking slowly & I did not know why? Where is the second blinker module mounted? Over near the hazard switch? Somewhere else?
I have 4 LED Halo 5 3/4" headlights on back-order.
http://www.cjponyparts.com/headlight-halogen-led-halo-single-color-pair-1969/p/HLA36/
They have a cool video on their site. I just got the single color (white) halos. The multi-color were featured on Two Guys Garage. My next project. They use an H4 halogen lamp, like many new cars, so replacement bulbs will be cheap. I plan to use an interrupt switch or relay, maybe a second floor dimmer switch, to turn off the low-beams, so I can have the switch all the way up, to open the vacuum door lamp covers, so I can roll with the halos on, lamps off. If I had the electro-actuated door covers, it'd be easier yet to wire, but my vacuums still work well. I plan to put the halos on a dimmer circuit, don't hate me, I have LED halo hoops behind my brake rotors, on a dimmer. People either love them, or hate them, because so many imports do undercar lighting. I really like the effect. I've had SO many car guys ask me how I did it. An idea I had a long time ago that weatherproof strip LED lighting now makes possible.
I'll post headlamp pics when I do the install.
Great post and example of what bulbs to use. :2thumbs: I've seen too many people think all LEDs are the same, so they buy the cheap $1.00 single LED bulb then bash them cause they are not bright enough. The bigger 360 degree bulbs are the way to go and put out way more light than any other bulb out there.
I switched every bulb in my car to 360 degree LEDs (except the tail lights which have a full LED board) and I love the way they look and perform. :cheers:
I don't know about the wheel lights though? :shruggy: A little too much for me.
I'm a big LED fan...I like the way I can customize the outputs and color schemes...granted that is for interior and other aesthetics. I've been playing around with lighting since I got the Charger in 99 and then every subsequent vehicle I've owned has been treated to custom lighting shortly there after. I stated with bulb covers and spraying bulbs like the old timers told me they did...With time, know how, and technology it has turned into a bit of a staple.
My only hold up with the Charger is the limited offerings for "Orange" although many of the reds have that orange glow with a black interior.
I will probably play around tomorrow with some stuff planned for the Charger, if I have time...Valance and door locks are the priority.
I have done a lot of custom stuff to my M10 (late model Challenger) and I really like it...so much more unique than the stock look. Plus with any interior or underbody effect you can simply have a wired switch to turn it on and off.
I have to admit though, that is the first time I've seen wheel lighting on a REAL Charger, lol. I don't mind it personally, but I'm probably in the minority there...
Keep it up!
Quote from: cjw916 on August 21, 2013, 09:21:13 AM
RTSE, I saw those switching front lamps on their website, on my '68 the parking lamp is on when the switch is half-way, then goes out when you turn the headlamps on, so I never considered them as daytime running lights. My '70 Mach 1 Mustang had grille mounted lamps in addition to the turn indicators at the corner of the lower valence. I had thought those white&amber lamps would've worked great in that car, and since I bought from a Mustang site, I thought that was the market they were aiming for. Is your '69 wired different (is my '68 wired wrong?) do your lower marker lights stay on with the headlamps on?
I knew someone had plasti-chromed thier bezels! I would say that Red LEDs would look best behind the '69, '70 etc flat lens, the orange shift I experienced with white LEDs in my pics above would not happen that way. Just be sure to order the more costly lamps. I ordered the 6watt $18 lamps, but I swear they sent me their 30watt $29 CNC lamps because they had no $18 lamps in stock and have yet to pull them off their site. Just my theory. I may just have to order a red LED to post a pic & settle the discussion! The thicker '68 lens does not appear orange in any way with the white LED, but I think the thinner flat lens would benefit from the red LED.
Thanks for the tip about the hazards! Mine were blinking slowly & I did not know why? Where is the second blinker module mounted? Over near the hazard switch? Somewhere else?
I have 4 LED Halo 5 3/4" headlights on back-order.
http://www.cjponyparts.com/headlight-halogen-led-halo-single-color-pair-1969/p/HLA36/
They have a cool video on their site. I just got the single color (white) halos. The multi-color were featured on Two Guys Garage. My next project. They use an H4 halogen lamp, like many new cars, so replacement bulbs will be cheap. I plan to use an interrupt switch or relay, maybe a second floor dimmer switch, to turn off the low-beams, so I can have the switch all the way up, to open the vacuum door lamp covers, so I can roll with the halos on, lamps off. If I had the electro-actuated door covers, it'd be easier yet to wire, but my vacuums still work well. I plan to put the halos on a dimmer circuit, don't hate me, I have LED halo hoops behind my brake rotors, on a dimmer. People either love them, or hate them, because so many imports do undercar lighting. I really like the effect. I've had SO many car guys ask me how I did it. An idea I had a long time ago that weatherproof strip LED lighting now makes possible.
I'll post headlamp pics when I do the install.
That second flasher on the other side of column, one each side , one for flashers one for turn signals , with the Parker's I ran an extra wire from low beam loom to keep them on with either, the switch backs work great once you get the resistance issues sorted out, I like the look of the being on , I also used the strip lighting , but used it as a trunk light, on the under side of trunk lip seal
I like the wheel light effect , I was thinking of other uses first , like to effect in the interior , will have to wait until I get good at posting and start my restoration thread an go and post photo's from start to present day,
I have done my side marker lights , which on these cars were just reflectors only, also chrome plated the bezels , will have to wait and see what you guys think and if you can spot what I have done
I like the parking lamp ambers ON in the front with the side markers ON, too. My friend said his Coronet is that way, and he always wondered why mine went off when the headlights came on. I thought for a minute something was wrong with my wiring? I may do like you did and wire them with a relay to the headlights, so they light when the headlights are on, but I have to install the halo-lamps I just got from CJ Pony parts, first, to see what look I like best. I'll post pics of the halo-lamps install as soon as I get to it (they neglected to send me one set of ceramic insulating wiring looms, so I'm waiting on their arrival).
just connect the wire for the front parking lights to the terminal for the rear parking lights on the headlight switch..that way front lights will be on with headlights
THAT'S why I think out-loud, so people smarter than I am can point out simpler solutions to seemingly complex problems! Here I am thinking, 'Can't cut into headlight lead because I'm going to put in a 2nd dimmer switch to interrupt the low-beams for when I want to run halo lamps only; hmmm, if I want halos & parking lamps up front, how can I do that? ? ?' Answers just fall in my lap!
Thanks A383Wing!
This is how I made my halo hoops for behind my disc brakes.
I rolled some 1/2" x 1/8" steel into hoops.
Bolted them to the backside of my rotor baseplates.
Then looped waterproof strip LEDs onto the hoops and ran wiring parallel along my brake lines to the dimmer that I mounted under my dash.
My new LED halo headlights came from CJ Pony Parts. I ordered 5 3/4" lamps for my '68, same as a '69 Mustang takes.
http://www.cjponyparts.com/headlight-halogen-led-halo-single-color-pair-1969/p/HLA36/
I could have saved $40, since I ordered two pairs, if I had ordered direct from Redline Lumtronix, they made the lights for CJ Pony Parts.
http://haloheadlights.co/prodheadlights/
The lights are all glass, there are 39 surface mount LEDs around the edge of the lamp (I got plain white, multi-color is also available), and they have a dust boot on the backside, along with the leads for the LEDs.
They come with ceramic connectors to isolate our 40+ year-old wiring from the heat of a halogen H4 lamp.
Wired the LEDs direct to a battery and they are BRIGHT! I am definitely going to have to run them through an LED dimmer like I did my wheel hoops.
Second pic is 3 clicks up, third pic is half-way, last pic is full bright through the dimmer control.
Got all four lamps out and took a peek to see how they'd look at half power, and full brightness!
Standard halogen lamps off, dim & brights.
Pulled the standard halogens, took out a bucket to check the fit, the tabs fit right in the stock indents, back of lamp centers cleanly inside stock bucket opening.
The directions say that you 'may' have to trim your stock buckets. I DID NOT want to do this, it would be a serious pain. The rubber boots just barely do not fit, so i just pushed them thru, as there is nothing under them to get in the way, they slid right into place. I drilled a hole for the LED wire leads, installed the boot on the lamp, greased the boot and the bucket, and the lamp slipped perfectly into the bucket! Wiped off the grease, BRILLIANT!!!
Got them both in & wired, and wired the LED halos to my dimmer!
First pic is halos 3 clicks up, second pic is halos half-way, third pic is dim only, fourth pic is dim + half halos.
First pic is lamps on dim, halos on full bright; second pic is lamps on bright, halos on bright (this is ridiculously, intense, blindingly BRIGHT! They claim their H4 halo lamps are 50% brighter than a standard halogen, I think it's closer to 100%!!!); third pic is just the halos on bright, no lamps.
Some pics as the Sun was setting.
First pic is the halos on half; second pic is the halos on half with flash; third pic is halos on half with the parking lamps lit (this is my favorite look, so far, I just think this looks wicked kickass!); fourth pic is halos on bright with the parking lamps lit. The LEDs are CRAZY bright. That's not the headlights, remember, my parking lamps go off when the headlamps are lit!
Low beams with full bright LEDs almost looks like the high beams are on!
Low beams with half bright LEDs gives the best halo look.
High beams with half bright LEDs look very balanced.
High beams with full bright LEDs are INTENSELY BRIGHT!
I drove the car to work this morning. Tried to evaluate the visibility vs. standard halogen bulbs. The cool white of the H4 halogen is a bit different, but the visibility is definitely better.
The first pic is the dims.
The second pic is the dims + halos full bright.
The third pic is the brights + halos.
The fourth pic is I ran a 2" strip of LED under my dash, it reflects off my dimmer switch & pedals, so I can tell how bright or dim my LEDs are, or when they are on or off.
The halos remind me of the fog lights on my Jeep SRT-8. They illuminate everything from 9-11 o'clock and 1-3 o'clock like fog lights do. The halos illuminate street signs and ditches better than the headlights do, right up until you pass them. Very cool.
Some of you might be curious as to how many amps these LEDs draw.
Well, my dimmer is rated for <8Amps input @ 12Volts, or <96Watts output.
http://www.ledlightsworld.com/rf-remote-control-led-single-color-dimmer-p-138.html
The 3528 waterproof SMD (surface mount design) LED strip lighting has 30 LEDs per meter, and consumes only 2.4Watts per meter, that's 0.08Watts per LED!
The headlights have 39 SMD LEDs per lamp; so, assuming I used about 1 meter of LEDs per wheel hoop (12" x 3.14), this is 30 LEDs per wheel, 4 headlights, 4 wheels, 69 x 4 = 276 LEDs x 0.08Watts = 22.08Watts, or less than 2Amps @ 12Volts.
This makes sense, as I only have a 5Amp fuse on the lead to my dimmer, and it has never popped. :-)
Nice job! plenty of info to work with....thanks.
Wait till I show my wife I'm not the only guy that works on the car
in his pajama bottoms. :lol:
Joe
Hey, Those are House Pants. ! . ! OK, they're my PJs. Lol. :nana:
Most of my garage pics are time-stamped between 11pm and 5am, it's the only time the wife & kids are sleeping, so that I can get anything done!
WOW! Great job man! I absolutely love it! I've wanted to convert the lights on my '68 (interior and exterior) to LED's as well but am having some trouble finding the bulbs and ways to do it.
I see that you have Illinois plates... just out of curiosity, where do you live in Illinois? I live in Aurora (30 miles south of Chicago).
-Jeff
Winthrop Harbor, 45 minutes north of downtown, near the WI border, near the big puddle (Lake Michigan).
Isn't Aurora west?
You're right, haha... WEST of Chicago. It's been a long day. I know exactly where that is. You're right by Zion, cool! One of my best friends lives in Round Lake Beach, so I'm up there all of the time. Do you have your courtesy, dome, counsel, and dash lights converted as well?
-Jeff
No, I haven't done the interior lamps, yet.
I added additional under-dash lighting, 2 per side, so the carpets are well lit at night. I just used some motorcycle push in bulb sockets, bulbs very similar to the gauge cluster bulbs, flat w/ bent-over wires at the glass base. (The bulb is just visible in the last pic, above, just above my e-brake release handle.)
I have yet to research LEDs to replace all the dash bulbs, map light & dome light. (Hint, hint, guys who have already completed this.)
Also I hafta look at my side marker lamps, to complete everything.
Christopher
It looks amazing Christopher, honestly. I hope someone who has done an interior conversion responds with regards to LED bulb choices/part numbers. Even though I have a high output Powermaster alternator, incandescent bulbs will always be dimmer, use more power, and generate much more heat than LED's.
I would like to start with the interior lighting, but I absolutely dig the headlights. So if I purchased both sets together saving the $40 (roughly $300 I think), will they come with everything I need to install them? I as well would only want a single color, bright white.
-Jeff
Yeah, everything would be included from Lumtronix, the Halo Headlights .co link that I put above earlier.
Except a dimmer control, which is only ~$15, link to LED World is also above. And of course you have to wire the LEDs, somehow, so why not go the remote key-fob route like I did? I think the halos look best between 1/2 & 2/3 their brightest setting. They throw a serious amount of light at the brightest setting. WAY to bright for a cruise night parking lot, so I think the remote dimmer is key.
Two things I left out of the install:
1) They include these little foam spacers they say to put under the lamp retaining rings; they are way too thick to use. You could use adhesive felt pads if you thought it necessary, but I just omitted any padding. They're not going to crack, they're glass, not plastic.
2) The lamps will all be low+high beams (3 prong backs). When you install them like I did, the insides will only light on bright, because I used the 2 prong stock wiring. I actually removed the top wire from the ceramic insulator & plastic adapter. I like it this way because then you have inside halos on dim, and I didn't want to tax the low beam wiring by running 4 dims. I neglected to include a pic of the insulator minus the top wire.
Oh, and for wire, I used really thin speaker wire, like 24ga, I think. It only hasta support a total of ~10Watts for the LEDs; I didn't even use wire connectors, I just stripped, twisted & shrink tubed the connections. You could use telephone wire splice crimps, that's how I did my wheel hoop LEDs, I just was out of them when I went to do the headlights & I think the shrink tube looks cleaner, anyhow.
I am hesitant to replace the instrument lighting, because I believe it runs on only 5V, and I do not know if the dimmer wheel is compatible with LEDs. So I am shying away from the cluster, for now. The courtesy lighting & dome light I would not be scared to address. They're all 12V AFAIK.
Thank you for all of the information. I would love to see your Charger someday. I really do think it is the SICKEST car ever made! I'm definitely going to order the lights. I was really excited to see the wire routing you chose (as far as the halo's all lighting up in addition with the dims, looks amazing).
I'm going to try to find the LED's for the courtesy light/dome lights tomorrow. For some reason my front running lights are completely out along with one back one. The bulbs are fine, it's just that some of the hardware is well... 45 years old and it shows. The way I'm restoring my car is by tackling one system/area at a time. I just tackled the cooling system, so now I'm onto electrical. In addition to replacing the stereo system (cd player in glove box, Alpine setup, etc), I would like to replace all of the wiring harnesses and convert to LED's.
As far as the instrument cluster goes... it definitely is somewhat of a nightmare. I figured I would swap a tachometer with my clock and replace a few burnt bulbs while I had it mostly apart changing my heater core. I need to just send the cluster to someone to get it restored. The lighting is absolutely terrible. With the OEM dimmer cranked as high as it will go before kicking on the interior lighting, it is barely visible at best. And for some reason, my bulbs that screw into the circuit board do not light. So I figured if I got that sent away to get restored/re-calibrated with some white faces and LED's... I should be completely set. Of course I will have to swap the ones out in my vacuum gauge and stock radio as well for consistency. Right now though, I haven't done anything. I want to just figure out what I need to complete all of the wiring/lighting/stereo system and just get it. Knock it all out at once! I'll need a good night of sleep before that one though, haha. Extremely excited.
Thanks for everything Chris! Great choice.
-Jeff
I forgot to address your comment about the possibility of the dimmer switch not being able to support LED's in the cluster. I'll definitely have to look into that one. I was actually in Radio Shack today talking with one of the technical support guys about a 12V battery smoking those lights. He brought out a "resistance calculator" to try and figure out the right resisters to use in order to sustain the small amount of voltage required.
This is definitely a crash course in electrical for me (something I know absolutely nothing about). I'm hoping to have a few answers very soon in which I will be more than happy to post. I just hope they don't come from an abundance of mistakes! :lol:
-Jeff
When I go to restore my cluster, I'm sending it to the guy who wrote this thread:
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,37999.0.html
He's no joke, he's got like ten clusters in the background of one of the pics. Obviously he knows what he's doing!
Did you say you pulled your TicToc and added a Tach? LOL. Same here.
Did you say stock AM radio, then big system in the glove box? LOL. Same here.
I got pulled over driving to work early this morning, doing 30 in a 35 zone?
I knew what was up as soon as the officer says, 'Damn, man, where'd you get them halos & how did you get LEDs inside your wheels?'
I love cool cops. LOL.
I was early so we chatted for ten minutes, then off to work. He says, 'Let me hear it.' when I went to hop in & leave. Love it.
Dimmer switch came today. Going to mount it next to the existing dimmer, use it as an interrupt switch for the low beams. That way I can have the headlight switch all the way up, opening the hide-a-way doors, but have the lamps all off, and just the halos on as daytime driving lamps, when I want to run that way. . .
Hey, Charger_Fan,
I finally thought to take some pics as yesterday was a very Sunny day!
These pics were taken with the hazard flashers on as to illuminate the brighter circuit of the front & rear LED bulbs, as though you were turning, or braking.
I think they are plenty brilliant in bright Sunlight. Certainly, the way they 'snap' on & off is more attention commanding than the 'soft' on & off of older incandescent bulbs.
Side note: I took about ten iPhone pics front & rear each, trying to capture the illumination, it's not as though the phone responds immediately when you hit the button. LOL. Then when I looked at them on the computer, all were either fully lit, or completely out? Then, I'm all, 'Duh, LEDs turn on & off very quickly compared to incandescents, Dummy, isn't that why you started this post?' :slap:
I am still wondering if Red LEDs in the rear would provide the best results? I may still order two just to determine. . .
red LED will shine a deeper red through the lense
We upgraded to LED's on the rear of our 68 Charger yesterday using the Super-Bright Red LED's (1157R) from JamStraight. Follow this link:
http://www.jamstrait.com/1157s.htm
One JanStraight 625-LE Load Equalizer was needed for each LED or two per tail light assembly. It was also necessary to fabricate two short ground wires, one per tail light assembly. The ground wire is needed to terminate one side of each load equalizer. We used the same ground wire for both equalizers associated with each tail light assembly. Installation was quick and effective. The lights are considerably brighter and there was no need to change out the turn signal flasher. JanStraight products were purchased from our local O'Reillys Auto Parts store.
Hey cjw916, this is a great thread with tons of useful info. Thanks a lot for sharing! :cheers:
I was wondering, did you install the relay kit for the headlights to keep from overloading your light switch back in the dash or are you not seeing that significant of a draw with those lights on high? I had tossed around the thought of changing to newer headlights but this thread put that thought on steroids! :D I heard you couldn't/shouldn't run them through the stock system because of all the amps they pull. You sound like you've checked just about everything, have you verified how much of a load your pulling with the high beams?
Again, thanks for all the wonderful info! I just left Sconnie land back in July. I spent most of the last two years prior to that up there for work. I was WAY up by Rhinelander but I'm familiar with the approximate area you're in too. Had plans to move to Chicago a few years back. Have quite a few friends around there. :2thumbs:
LOVE the lights...damn.
Quote from: fy469rtse on September 01, 2013, 04:43:09 AM
That second flasher on the other side of column, one each side , one for flashers one for turn signals , with the Parker's I ran an extra wire from low beam loom to keep them on with either, the switch backs work great once you get the resistance issues sorted out, I like the look of the being on , I also used the strip lighting , but used it as a trunk light, on the under side of trunk lip seal
If I did the same with a jumper from the wire loom would I be able to run the dual light towers in the front markers and have the whites on with the head lights and the amber still work as turn signals? Just a thought.. :shruggy:
:popcrn:
Hey BLUE68RT, I just checked the thread & saw your question.
First, BEAUTIFUL CAR! ! !
Answer: No, I did not use a relay but I have experienced some 'overload' with the lamps on bright. I assumed that there must be a thermal overload protection type 'thingy' on the back of our cluster, I just hadn't researched it, yet.
If I sit idling, and put the lamps on bright, after about a minute & a half the brights DO go out! I assumed it was a current overload with the brighter H4 halogens. If you switch back to dims, they immediately come on. Then go back to brights they will come on & go out sooner. So, yeah, next I have to wire the brights to a separate relay circuit, if you want to leave them on forever.
Honestly, driving the car to work, maybe 30 times, I've never had the brights go out. I drive super early a lot (RR) and even being the only guy on the road, I just haven't had the brights 'bite me' yet, in ordinary driving, but, I'll get to it, eventually.
Hey NeedA68,
That style lamp is exactly the same style lamp as I initially had installed, you can see the a Amber one I HAD in the front prior to upgrading to the current style.
While I'll admit they do work, the newer gen LEDs are SUPER BRIGHT compared to the much less expensive ones that you installed. I would say they are 4-5x as bright! Much safer!
I could be wrong, but compare my Amber photos earlier in the post. If the bulbs you put in were not $20+ per, then I'd say they are still the disappointing ones that I had used earlier. I do see they have a SuperBright red one, maybe it's HellaBright?
Not being a jerk. Just relaying my experience as I had them. The newer, more expensive ones are SO much brighter & safer, my original intention with making the upgrade!
I'm certain Gen3 bulbs are coming that'll be HellaBright & incorporate a resistor circuit, too, so no quick-blinkering or load balancing, or no-load blinker modules, will ever be necessary.
Someone post this link to another thread about LEDs. Interesting stuff.
https://www.digi-tails.com/dodge/charger/1968
Hey Cjw, I've been trying to figure out rims and sizes. I really like the classic Cragar S/S's on your '68. Would you happen to know the sizes they are?
Jeff
Hey Jeff,
I'm running American Racing Vintage Series polished T71R 17"x8" front p235/50ZR17 and T71R 17"x9" rear p255/50ZR17; the tires are KUMHO Ecsta SPT. I chose them bc they resemble the original American Racing TorqThrust wheels I had for over 20 years, except updated, ex, tapered lugs instead of the washered T-shaped lugs that came on the old wheels, hex centercaps instead of the old acorn centers.
My friend owns a shop, he got them direct from TireRack for me, at cost, wheels were $195 per front, $213 per rear; tires were $139 per front, $145 per rear; grand total $1,384, mounted, balanced & delivered a day later. You can go on www.TireRack.com & shop for them yourself, there was no choice in the offset, you do hafta pick hole pattern sizing iirc. I think Mopar & Ford are the same, 5x4.5 sizing.
The front could be a 225/50 (one size smaller) or the rear could be a 265/50 (one size bigger) in a different tire manufacturer, and the lip overhang would match exactly perfectly. As I wanted the KUMHO uniderictional tires, they only came in certain sizes. If you go with a more expensive tire, I'm sure there's more size variety available. I chose the KUMHO because my wrench friend recommended them as being a lot of value for the money, and he knows that I 'boil off' my rears every chance I get, and would need to be replacing them often. Lol. They have rim lip protection built into the tire, and other features usually reserved for a more expensive tire. I'm very happy with the tire he recommended. Plenty sticky, quiet, unidirectional pattern, rim lip protection, I like them.
Email me direct cjw916@hotmail.com or text me 608-692-1374 I can send you pics of clearances, lip, overhang, etc.
Christopher
I finally got my relays installed. I used two 30Amp thermal fuses, then one relay for low beams (LH yellow leads), one relay for high beams (RH red leads). Since I mounted mine under my battery tray, where the vacuum can is supposed to go, I just ran a 10gauge (30Amp wire) Red hot and 10gauge Black ground directly off the battery. I know, if I ran the hot all the way to the alternator positive it would bypass my Amp meter. I wasn't that concerned with that.
The signal wires come form the left, I used male blades to insert in original female blade leads, so I didn't hafta cut any wires, just taped everything up after making connections. Used female blades out to lamp leads that head out toward right.
Can't see anything with the battery installed. :-)
Must've done it correctly? Everything works!
nothing will work down the road unless you get rid of those cheese-ball battery cable ends....those are only for quick fix, not long term use
Man, you hit me in two places. LOLz! Yah yah. They're on 'the list'. :-)
I for sure want to do this to my parking lights up front!....mine aren't as bright as I want them to be ....and there is nothing like a almost dusk drive with just parking lights on
Anybody have just a right up for the front parking light?
or a link to the bulbs/harness I need?
These are the Amber 1157 style bulbs that I used:
http://www.mustangproject.com/ProductDisplay.aspx?ID=aedc3bb8-873b-4521-afa2-e28561255b91
They are very bright & I am satisfied with them.
The pics are the bulb, the bulb on dim, and the bulb on bright.
If you want the absolute brightest Amber bulbs made, I would get these:
http://www.mustangproject.com/ProductDisplay.aspx?ID=c3365651-c344-47bf-825b-e6ce3cd62fa5
I have these in white for my brake lights and they are REALLY BRIGHT! I love them.
I wired my parking lamps to stay on all the time, when my switch is on parking lamps or headlamps. On my Charger the parking dims go out when you put the headlights on. If you remove the connector from the back of the headlight switch, and pull the yellow wire with black stripe fom the connector with a tiny screwdriver to uncatch the tang that hold it in the plastic connector, then jumper it to one of the double black that is directly beneath it's old hole, your parking lamps will stay lit, even when your headlamps are burning bright, like in the pic. :-)
OK, drove to work last night and got to see what kind of amps the H4 headlights draw!
WOW!
Made me decide to run that hot wire over to the alternator post, after all! ! !
Parking lamps on, ammeter read about 9 Amps.
Dim headlights on ammeter read about 22 Amps!
Bright headlights on and the ammeter read about 36 Amps! ! !
Rather than burn my car to the ground, today I ran the hot over to the alternator post, and with the headlights on bright, ammeter was @ about 8 Amps. :-)
H4 lamps on bright draw almost 5 Amps per bulb! Glad I used 10 gauge wire (good for 30 Amps)! ! !
:popcrn: :popcrn: :popcrn:
great stuff thanks for sharing :drool5:
:o :o :o
Bookmarked this thread. Man, I was ready to head to the junkyard with a saw and see what I could find and make fit!
Not going to do the wheel lights, but my dash went dark long ago I'll be sure to post if my attempt is successful.
Awesome thread. I keep saying time surfing here is more important than sleep!
Hey there, just read through this thread and found it very useful and its encouraged me to try some similar upgrades on my Charger. The mechanical voltage regulator on the back of my gauge cluster recently gave up, while I had the cluster out to replace it with a more modern electronic version, I removed the circuit board and cleaned it up ( the copper plating had gone dull ) by rubbing it lightly with 120 grade sandpaper, also sanded the base of the nuts that hold the gauges in place so I could get a good contact.
Then I thought of replacing all the cluster bulbs with LED's, my local auto parts place had all the bulbs I needed, after installing and testing them, they work great. They show a subtle blue ish white glow that works very well for illuminating the gauges, as well as the parking brake warning light and direction indicators.
I used white LED's, I'm sure there'll be other colours available though.
I'll post some pics of the bulbs I used tomorrow, so you know what to look for if you want to do the same
I'm a fan of LED's as well and this thread is a big reason why. I purchased one 1157 red superbright cnc from the Mustang Project so I could try it out. They are 40 bucks a piece so not cheap. Result was awesome so I ordered 5 more. I'm converting the 2 inner tail lights on my 69 to 1157 also. I will probably convert everything to LED eventually.
I thought I'd post an update.
These are the Halo lamp housings I got from RedLine Lumtronix.
They are 39smd LEDs around the lamp housing. They are AmazeBalls bright! They are blindingly bright! They illuminate road signs & ditches like a foglamp, they are quite bright! I like that fact, but, at times, oncoming cars would 'bright' me, thinking I had my bright lamps on. . .
The last pic is just the Halos, no kidding, they're bright. LOL
So, I thought I'd try Oracle's Halo housings & new 2ndGen LED headlights.
The halo housings are 96 LEDs around the housing, they are much smaller LEDs than the RedLine Lumtronix housings & create more of a continuous halo look, and they are considerably less bright, so they're more 'subtle', if that is the look you're going for. . .
The Oracle lamp housing is plastic, vs the metal housing of the RLL offering (both have real glass fronts). It feels like 'cheaper' quality, but I'm sure the plastic is durable?
The install starts by inserting an H4 adapter housing to accept the universal Oracle LED lamp.
Then, you install a rubber boot similar to the RLL housing.
The Oracle LED lamps come with a heat sink attached (and a real fan to cool them) with an in-line LED driver box (that's what they call it, it's not a transformer like an HID lamp uses, I think it's mostly just a 'cushion' in case of voltage spikes) and a single blue plug that inserts right in your existing wiring plug.
The lamp inserts in the adapter, and turns clockwise to lock in place.
The lamp does stick out the back just a bit, I am anxious to see how close it comes to my headlight door bars. . .
The single CREE LED lamp is surprisingly bright. It appears to have a bluish-white tint, similar to the HID 6000k lamps. It is very similar to the color of the Oracle halo LEDs.
To be clear, each Oracle LED headlight lamp has 2 CREE LEDs, one for dim & one for bright, opposite each other on the lamp. One lights for dim & the other is on when on bright; they are never both on. . .
(edit: When on bright, BOTH CREE LEDs light! Sweet! More light!)
I'll post an update once I install the housings & lamps. (please clear the door bars!)
:2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs:
Hey CJW, did you get the LED's to work? They look like a better alternative.
The headlights? Haven't installed them, yet. It *just warmed-up here. :-) I'll post the install & night pics, soon!
Wow, it must of been a long winter there then. :o . We're expecting a ton of pics and a report back to us soon ASAP. :2thumbs:
I got the new Oracle Halo housings in along with the Oracle LED headlights.
First pic is to illustrate how disappointed I am with the Oracle Halo housings. They are $150/pair, so $300 for the 4 of them, and they don't friggen sit in the detents, not at all! ! ! There's 3 tabs on the back of the housing and there is NO WAY to get all 3 to line up in the tabs. After trimming 2 tabs completely off (leaving the flat raised area, so the lamps will atleast sit 'square' in the housing) AND trimming the 3rd tab so half of it's gone, I was able to rotate the housings so they sit square. The first pic is to show how the right one sat, before trimming & rotating it so it would sit square. Also, to get them in the factory buckets, there's a vent hole in the housing at 12 o'clock, that had to be trimmed down nearly flush with the back of the housing (I used a Dremel & cutoff wheel, from the taste of the dust, I'd say the housing is a kind of fiberglass resin, it's definitely not just plastic). Also, the round extension with the rubber boot on, is of larger diameter than the circular opening in the stock bucket; so, I had to employ a sharp pair of red-handled right-hand Wiss tin snips to enlarge the opening approximately 1/4" all the way around the hole. I believe MANY will object to carving up their 45 year old classics!
Second pic is just the Halos on.
Third pic is with the Dim headlights on. You can see the slightly yellower appearance of the lights.
Fouth pic is with the Bright Headlights on.
The Oracle LED headlight (which I love, LOVE LOVE!!!) clear the stock hide-a-way headlight doors by plenty. Lots & lots of clearance. The lamps have integrated heat sinks & little fans even, to keep them cool, should they get too warm (sitting in traffic?). You cannot even hear the fans when they're running, they're computer fan quiet.
The only connection is to wire the Halo leads to a separate power source, and to plug the blue connector into your stock wiring plugs. The inside lamps plugs into the 2 prong hi-beam plug, leaving the low beam lead exposed, if you wanted to run all 4 lamps as low-beams, you could run a jumper wire over & connect the exposed tab to the other low beam lead. The LED lamps draw such low current, the stock wiring is plenty to run all lamps. I might connect my inside lamps & run 4 low-beams in the future? ? ?
Pics are doors open (lights on) then doors closed; passenger, then driver's side.
Installed. After removing the tabs & rotating the housing, they sit square. (pic 1)
Pic 2 is all 4 housing installed.
Pic 3 is daylight Halo housings turned on.
Pic 4 is a detail view of how the Oracle housings look more like a continuous Halo, because they have 96 smaller LEDs around the perimeter.
1st pic is Dims.
2nd pic shows how the top CREE lights to reflect off the top of the reflector.
3rd pic is Brights.
4th pic shows how BOTH the top & bottom CREE are lit to reflect off both the top & bottom of the reflector, and throw the most light.
The Oracle LED headlights can be slightly rotated in their adapter housings so that they're perfectly square to the road. Looking at the last pic, it appears I need to turn the left lamp just a couple degrees clockwise. :-)
Looking at the headlight pattern on a building, the dims are equally balanced and dispersed. The brights are a bit more center-focused and higher, to see further up the road.
On road pattern evaluation reflects what's shown on the side of a building. The dims are down & wide as to not blind on-coming drivers. The brights reach further and illuminate more.
The light is brilliant white. The visibility is greatly improved over Halogen H4 lamps!
Road signs, while driving, are certainly more visible further away than with Halogens. And the Halos also illuminate road & traffic signs longer, when they normally get dim as your headlights fall past them, the Halos help to keep them ultra-visible right up until you pass them. Driving downtown Milwaukee last night was kinda trippy! It was like you had an LED flashlight shined at every traffic pattern sign! Super safe, super visible.
I'll try to post a traffic sign pic, sometime when I'm out driving.
In summary. . . I love the RedLine Lumtronix Halos! They fit perfectly, no trimming to make them fit. And they are plenty bright! I would prolly recommend using a dimmer, the one I linked earlier has memory, so once you set it where you like it, it'll always come back on at the same level, when you power it on.
I also LOVE the Oracle LED headlights! The install is SUPER easy. The lamps are BRIGHT and definitely increase visibility tremendously over sealed halogens, or an H4 Halogen conversion.
The Oracle Halos are terribly over-priced for the quality. The RLL Halo crushes the cheesy Oracle Halo. They look good, once you make several concessions to get them installed, but the headaches are not worth the effort, in my opinion.
Have I said how much I LOVE the Oracle H4 LED headlights? Man! They are bright! It's kinda weird, they click on, stay on, don't dim, not at all, at idle; they don't even dim when the car stalls (cold this morning, snubbed her backing out my driveway) they don't dim when you're cranking the engine! (Must be the little Voltage box inline w/ the power lead?) They really must be stingy w/ their power usage! (I did the headlight relay upgrade, so the Voltage comes straight off the Alternator post, through a fuse & the relay to my headlights; doesn't go through my dash Amp gauge). I'm interested to put a MultiMeter on a lamp to see the current draw! My old Halogen H4 bulbs on bright drew about 7Amps per lamp (I've read that a standard H4 puts out 1100-1500 lumens and draws 55-60watts, 5Amps, to do so, so I'm in the ballpark). I wouldn't be surprised if these LED are less than 2Amps each, on bright! I just checked their website, they advertise 2,200 lumens per bulb and 30,000 hours life w/ 2 14W CREE LEDs per bulb, so 28Watts per bulb (28/12V=2.33Amps per bulb x 4 bulbs = 9.33Amps for all 4 on bright!) That's CRAZY for the light these things throw!
Note: 2,200 lumens is not twice as bright as 1,100 lumens. (Well, it IS, and it isn't) Lumens are a measure of light intensity over distance, so yes, they're twice as bright 1" from the bulb, but light intensity falls w/ the square of distance; similar to how loudness of sound drops intensity w/ the square of distance. The actual equation in I = P / 4πr^2 or Intensity = Power divided by 4*3.14*D*D where D is the distance. So, for the lights to be visibly brighter, yes, they are brighter & have greater visibility, but 2x the lumens does not = twice the viewing distance; it basically just means you can see better, at any given distance, which you can.
Looks great! I just did a similar LED headlight install and the output from the bulbs is amazing. :2thumbs:
Good information :2thumbs:
Some guys asked about interior and dash bulbs. . . I finally got around to doing my interior. This chart was pretty accurate. I just went to www.superbrightleds.com and searched for each bulb by the number listed on the '69 bulb chart. Several options come up for each lamp. I chose similar lumens for things like dash illumination, but chose greater lumens output for lamps like interior lighting & the dome light & trunk light. I also got an IVR4 5V solid state voltage limiter for my gauges from http://www.rt-eng.com/rte/index.php/RTE_limiter
For the dash gauge illumination, high beam indicator, and the turn signal indicators, I used the BA9s and 194. They put out 25 lumens and 35 lumens, a similar amount of light as the stock 4300k incandescent bulbs, but in a cool white light, around 6000k.
I used the BA9s-5 LED lamp for the Brake System red lens lamp. It puts out 96 lumens, which is 4x the light of the standard BA9s. This bulb is super bright and would be too bright to use to illuminate the gauges.
I have 4 (2 in each footwell) 194 blade style lamps under my dash to illuminate the floor as you enter. I wanted MORE light here, so I used the 194-6 blade lamp, it puts out 106 lumens, which is about 3x the light of the standard 194. This bulb is super bright and would be too bright to use to illuminate the gauges, but illuminates my floors great!
I used the 1142 as the map light, dome light, and trunk light. It throws off 167 lumens, which is definitely more than the stock bulbs in these applications, but, I wanted more light from these sources.
I used the BA15s as the license plate lamp. It throws 70 lumens, which is prolly twice the light of the stock bulb. I had to trim the little plastic protective surround in order to fit the lamp inside the rear housing, but a Dremel made quick work of it.
So, here's my before and after pics.
The two main gauges, before and after. The LED lamps definitely put off a whiter (almost bluish hue) light. It makes the gauges a bit brighter, in my opinion.
The four gauge cluster, before and after. All of my gauges work, I didn't have the car running for the pics. They could use a good cleaning, though. . . another day. :-)
Yes, my damn Tach crapped-out on me and is stuck at 5k rpm. Russ is going to rebuild it for me for $60.
The map light and courtesy lights I have installed under my dash, before and after. The LEDs are MUCH brighter.
The dome light, before and after, you can see how much 'whiter' the LED lamp is.
Driver's & passenger's floor shots, before and after.
The courtesy lights I installed REALLY illuminate the interior MUCH more with the LEDs than with the standard incandescent bulbs.
I like the overall look. It takes a couple days to get used to the brighter WHITE light from the LED lamps, and you lose a bit of the 'nostalgia' by replacing the warm incandescent lamps with the cooler white LED lamps, but I like my LEDs. As an added bonus, I could leave my interior lights on, for a week, and the car would still start right up, because the LEDs use almost NO power compared to an incandescent bulb.
I just want to confirm as I am really considering doing this soon for my Challenger and down the road when my Charger is on the road. If you did it today with what you now know, you would go with the RedLine Lumtronix Halos and led h4's? It looks like there is a gen 3 or 4 now without fans. I like the plug and play and lower current draw, win win!
http://www.mustangproject.com/ProductDisplay.aspx?ID=cf97093e-5dd2-41da-86bd-a5bbebfa6da1
Yes. That is what I like. The RLL Halo fit better than the Oracle Halo does (and you don't have to trim the headlight housing). The RLL are *super bright, though; I would definitely consider running an LED dimmer w/ them.
I myself am still running the Oracle Halo + LED H4 headlight. (I gave my RLL to a friend.) They're both still working great for my application. The Halos are less bright (less blinding) and have that more continuous look, that I like.
Maybe you want to call Tony Giametta @ RLL direct? He can customize housings for you? Like, putting Mopar (V) M on the front center reflector? Or maybe he can do the more continuous LEDs around the outside, that are less bright? His # is (855) 852-6435
CJW
Quote from: cjw916 on September 08, 2016, 10:54:00 AM
Yes. That is what I like. The RLL Halo fit better than the Oracle Halo does (and you don't have to trim the headlight housing). The RLL are *super bright, though; I would definitely consider running an LED dimmer w/ them.
I myself am still running the Oracle Halo + LED H4 headlight. (I gave my RLL to a friend.) They're both still working great for my application. The Halos are less bright (less blinding) and have that more continuous look, that I like.
Maybe you want to call Tony Giametta @ RLL direct? He can customize housings for you? Like, putting Mopar (V) M on the front center reflector? Or maybe he can do the more continuous LEDs around the outside, that are less bright? His # is (855) 852-6435
CJW
Thanks for all your research and development! :2thumbs: I like the non-fan LED headlights, but I wonder if the quality is as good as Oracles. I like the idea of the brighter halos, I live in Berwyn, a few miles West of downtown Chicago and drive primarily where there are city lights and like the idea of just running those full power at night most of the time w/out the actual headlights at all.
So I pulled the trigger back around Christmas on the RLL halos and LED headlights. I am finally getting around to the wiring. What I would like to do is have 3 or 4 options depending what is possible with the halos. 1) Off (easy!) 2) all 4 on whenever, regardless of ignition. (easy!) 3) all 4 when ignition is on and inside halos (high beam) on each side function with the turn signal (not sure if this is possible). If I can't get the high beam halos to be on normally AND function as an extra turn signal, then I would use the outside 2 all the time and use the inside 2 as auxiliary turn signals.
I also got the harness to use all 4 headlights as low and high beam, should be a HUGE upgrade over the stock lighting.
So is it possible to have the inside halos on during regular driving and function as a turn signal or am I stuck with one or the other? I also need to figure out how to wire this mess up.
Just wanted to say thank you for all of the great information. Figured it would be a good idea to do some research before we start our LED conversion.