White LEDs everywhere

[kb1cir]

98 stock sport.

I bought 100 5mm white leds off ebay. Leds vary greatly in brightness so buy the brightest you can. RadioShack has lousy ratings. I think there about 4000mcd (millicandellas) for $5 each . I bought 100 with a 55000mcd for ~$15 from Hong Kong

Almost all leds were wired series/parallel to avoid resistors. The exception is the led in the vanity mirror lights(330 ohm) Four in series allows a safe margin for automotive voltages. At 13.8 VDC each led gets ~3.45VDC. Typical rated voltage is 3.4 with max 3.6. Entertainment reveals they cook at about 3.9.

The vanity mirror lights, front overhead and read overhead had electrical connections made by forcing a tinned wire into the exsisting connections. or under the bulb. I left the original bulbs more for a color balance then anything else. The white leds are harsh by themselves and I like the directional lights in the front overhead.

The puddle lights have an electrical connection similar to another project I saw here. (credit where credit is due )A piece of perf board with wires four holes apart will just fit into a #194 bulb socket. Quick connection!. I replaced the puddle lights with a piece of clear lexan I cut to fit using a band saw and belt sander. The 6x6 array was sealed and adhered to the lexan with fish tank silicon but any clear should do. The problem with this is removing the original bulb socket exposes some electrical connections. Silicone is the answer.

The front overhead is a 4x4 matrix and the back is a 4x8 matrix. A touch of super glue fixed them in place. Be careful aiming the lights to avoid glare. The front is amed forward and the back is amed backward. Trial and error here. I had them floating before I fixed them solid and the glare was too much. Placing them as I did directs the light.

The vanity leds were a trick. Two hemostats and some dextadity and patience. The connections are made by placing the wires in the original bulb clip and pushing the bulb in to compress and hold them.

More projects to come. The leds are wired into the perf board on a diagonal to increase density. In hindsight I think I would use soft white leds to tone down the color a bit.

Have Fun!
bat


http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u194/kb1cir/IMG_3526.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u194/kb1cir/IMG_3529.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u194/kb1cir/IMG_3532.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u194/kb1cir/IMG_3515.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u194/kb1cir/IMG_3522.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u194/kb1cir/IMG_3523.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u194/kb1cir/IMG_3500.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u194/kb1cir/IMG_3502.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u194/kb1cir/IMG_3503.jpg

 

[FROADER]

Any pictures of the whole interior with some on?

 

[Jason94sport]

I just used 12V LED bulbs in my X. They are bright enough.
Plug & play as well.

But yeah some night pics of how bright those are would be cool.