ISO Custom LED Rear Tail Light 2000 Limited | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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ISO Custom LED Rear Tail Light 2000 Limited

Joined
April 10, 2019
Messages
22
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3
Location
Indianapolis, Indiana
City, State
Indianapolis
Year, Model & Trim Level
2000 Explorer Limited 5.0
I am looking into purchasing single piece projector bulbs for my '00 Limited but I have not been able to find a set of rear taillights that look good with them. If anyone knows where I can buy Custom LED Rear Taillights that look like the 2013 Explorer lights that would be great. I think it would look amazing.

Thank you!
 






If all else fails you could just carve up the original housings and throw in a circuit board with LEDs you mount on it in any pattern you want. I don't see how you can get tail lights that look like a 2013 when they aren't the same size or shape housing.

Above what I mean by carve up the originals is get a pair from a junkyard so if it takes some time to get it right, you still have functional tail lights.

First I'd look up the stock bulb lumens to see how much LED power it's going to need to get equal or better brightness, then choose red or violet colored LEDs (former for max light transmission, latter violet for a visual effect) where a series of about 5 create enough light, see how many watts that is and choose the drive current, probably using under-driven 3W LEDs mounted on star mPCBs, and heatsink grease between them and thick copper clad circuit board.

You could even drill holes around the perimeter of each LED's mPCB, stuff something like 12ga solid core wire through the holes, and solder it to each side for the effect of thermally dissipative vias to the other side of the copper clad board. One way or the other this should easily be enough heatsinking from ~5 or more LEDs to each equal or higher light output than the stock bulbs.

Seems like a lot of work to me, reinventing the wheel for only a cosmetic result so personally I'd just stick with the stock bulbs. It's a tested and proven design where if a bulb burns out, it's $1 to replace it.
 






I don't see how you can get tail lights that look like a 2013 when they aren't the same size or shape housing.

I don't mean the shape. I just mean the look of the lights inside the housing so at night they look similar.
 






They make an outline around the perimeter right? You can DIY, just placing the LEDs in those positions. I am not aware of any aftermarket ready made product for 2nd gen that does this.

As far as the circuit board material, I'd look for something like 3oz FR4, 0.060 thickness in whatever dimensions you need to cut it down to contour-fill the tail light housing.
 






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