<VV> Re: LED taillights

[Mike Kost]

There really should be another diode on the tail light side to prevent 
back driving the light circuit.

Mike Kost

JVHRoberts at aol.com wrote:

>Since I have been getting MANY requests for this, here goes: 
>By the  way, my boat taillights have these in them, and this is exactly how I 
>wired  them. 
>
>Crap, I can't find the drawing, but with four components, it's easy  enough 
>to describe. 
>You need:
>1- Luxeon 3 watt Star, either red or red orange. Don't get the Luxeon  
>emitter, they are far too troublesome to heat sink properly. 
>1- Diode, 3 amp, 50 volt. Radio Shack has these. 
>1- Resistor, 10 watt, 10 ohm
>1- Resistor, 10 watt, 50 ohm
> 
>Connect the 10 ohm resistor to the negative end of the LED, and the other  
>end become ground.
>Connect the 50 ohm resistor to the positive end of the LED, and connect  the 
>other end to the taillight wire.
>Connect the end of the diode with the band to the positive end of the LED  
>(pointing toward the + end of the LED), and the other end to the brake/turn  
>wire. 
>That's it! 
>The LED will not draw it's max rated current of 1400 mA (yes, these run  at 
>over 1 amp!) but 1100 mA when you hit the brakes, and about 200 mA when the  
>taillights are on, and  the diode will bypass the taillight resistor when  you 
>hit the brakes! 
>Well, almost. You'll need to find a flasher that'll work properly on the  
>lower current. They're out there, and are used on the cheesy LED brake lights.  
>
>You can also use an amber Luxeon, and do the same thing with your front  
>lights! The Luxeon part numbers are:
>
>LXHL-LD3C Red. These have the intense red light we all see on LED  
>taillights. 
>LXHL-LH3C Red Orange. These are a little brighter, and actually have a  color 
>closer to the stock taillight color. 
>Either of these will look about the same brightness through either a red or  
>clear lens. 
> 
>NOTE! These are eye stabbingly bright. Do NOT look into the beam of  the LED 
>directly for any length of time. They are fine with a lens in front of  them, 
>but a naked Luxeon is a SERIOUSLY intense light source. 
> 
>LXHL-LL3C Amber. If you're interested in doing your front lights as well.  
>The output is truly amber, and it'll shine through either a clear or amber lens  
>with about the same intensity. 
>
> 
>See the Luxeon link to choose what you want. They also do ordering  online. 
>One other word of caution: The back plate of these LEDs is NOT  electrically 
>insulated. As such, make SURE it is electrically insulated from  the body. Also, 
>these make a bit of heat, so mount them on a  piece of aluminum with epoxy, 
>and mount the bracket on insulated  spacers. These work best when the LED is 
>placed behind the lens in  approximately the same position as the filaments in 
>the stock bulbs. 
>
>Have fun!
>


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