LED Brake Lights

[7783911]

any update on my fogs?

Bob

[spoke]

Originally Posted by 7783911

any update on my fogs?

Bob

Yeah, I tried heat on the reflector to see if it would loosen but no luck. The reflector was heated to 100C but didn't budge. As Canada Kev pointed out, these 2 may be bonded together. I was at the point where I putting so much pressure on the junction of the glass and reflector with a screwdriver that the glass might break.

Unless someone can figure out how to separate the reflector and lens this project may be a non-starter. I was thinking about a chemical bath to dissolve the bonding agent but that could be detrimental to the reflector. Likely I'll be sending back your fogs as they arrived. This was a real bummer.

[7783911]

Ok\, we tried, send them back to my US office, i ll pm the address

[spoke]

Yeah, it's a real bummer. I don't like it when the machine wins.

If anyone has an unused early foglight enclosure that they would like to donate, I do want to try to separate the reflector and lens by chemical, heat, or force if necessary.

[7783911]

i am willing to risk their loss and if need be replace down the road,,something for you to consider, if lenses crack Ican replace with 1 parts pieces instead of 3 if mount holes are equidistant between units?

[PabloX]

Anyone have any thoughts on this, with regard to fog lights as DRLs (didn't want to hijack this thread).

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/1035310-thoughts-foglight-wiring-problem.html

[dyerkes]

Any updates as to when you will have LED lights for front fog lights for an ‘87 911?

Thanks

[tdw28210]

Spoke,

Just completed an order for a 3rd brake light board. I assume these will work OK with an LED specific pulse/pattern flasher - yes/no?

[spoke]

Originally Posted by tdw28210

Spoke,

Just completed an order for a 3rd brake light board. I assume these will work OK with an LED specific pulse/pattern flasher - yes/no?

Yes, should work with brake flashers. Thanks for the order.

[Ctopher]

Originally Posted by spoke

Yes, should work with brake flashers. Thanks for the order.

Spoke,
Do you have a recommendation or preference for a 3rd brake light flasher?


CTopher

[PabloX]

I just wanted to follow up on Spoke's LED fog lights. In short, they've very nice and no problems so far.

The install was very easy. I have an 86 with the tapered lenses and the board and 3D printed spacers fit very precisely. The only slight issue I had was that the wires coming off the board really need some sort of protection as they go through the reflector where the bulb socket used to be. I used some shrink tubing but wire loom would be a good (maybe better) solution. Spoke mentioned he was going to do something about that for the production pieces.

My main reason for wanting them was as DRLs and I think for this, they're pretty ideal. The LEDs definitely stand out in daylight. Color wise, they're a bit warmer than the LED bulbs in my Euro H4s, but they don't show when looking at them, only in the light thrown.

Speaking of the reflectors, when you reinstall, just make sure the drain hole is on the bottom. They look symmetrical but they aren't and won't install correctly unless the hole is on the bottom.

Overall, I think they're very nice and a great solution for maintaining the looks of the car but getting improved lighting at a lower electrical load.

[tdw28210]

Originally Posted by Ctopher

Spoke,
Do you have a recommendation or preference for a 3rd brake light flasher?


CTopher

I went with this. It is pretty small and hoping it will fit behind the board in the housing. Plus it is made in the USA, unlike 95% of the others out there.

Universal Brake Light Flasher/Strober - M1 model [FLSHR_M1] - $19.95 : 3rd Brake Flasher Web Site

[spoke]

Originally Posted by PabloX

I just wanted to follow up on Spoke's LED fog lights. In short, they've very nice and no problems so far.

The install was very easy. I have an 86 with the tapered lenses and the board and 3D printed spacers fit very precisely. The only slight issue I had was that the wires coming off the board really need some sort of protection as they go through the reflector where the bulb socket used to be. I used some shrink tubing but wire loom would be a good (maybe better) solution. Spoke mentioned he was going to do something about that for the production pieces.

My main reason for wanting them was as DRLs and I think for this, they're pretty ideal. The LEDs definitely stand out in daylight. Color wise, they're a bit warmer than the LED bulbs in my Euro H4s, but they don't show when looking at them, only in the light thrown.

Speaking of the reflectors, when you reinstall, just make sure the drain hole is on the bottom. They look symmetrical but they aren't and won't install correctly unless the hole is on the bottom.

Overall, I think they're very nice and a great solution for maintaining the looks of the car but getting improved lighting at a lower electrical load.

Thanks for the feedback. I am making some changes based on your install.
1) The wires will be encased in shrinkwrap tubing to protect them.
2) I've changed the type of glue used to keep the LED lens holders on the board. I was using superglue gel but will change to epoxy as you suggested.
3) Will be changing from 5000K LEDs to 5700K for a cooler white look.
4) Will mark the boards LEFT and RIGHT as the small clips determine which side the board goes on.
5) Will be adding a shade on top of the LEDs like the 914 fogs below to help cut off the upper light pattern. These LED lenses do not have a very sharp cut off on the upper side.
6) I'm thinking the board should be black color. Not sure I like the white PCBs. These are very noticeable on the 914 as the foglights are round. In the picture below, the passenger side board is white and the driver side has been photoshopped black.

[PabloX]

Originally Posted by spoke

Thanks for the feedback. I am making some changes based on your install.
1) The wires will be encased in shrinkwrap tubing to protect them.
2) I've changed the type of glue used to keep the LED lens holders on the board. I was using superglue gel but will change to epoxy as you suggested.
3) Will be changing from 5000K LEDs to 5700K for a cooler white look.
4) Will mark the boards LEFT and RIGHT as the small clips determine which side the board goes on.
5) Will be adding a shade on top of the LEDs like the 914 fogs below to help cut off the upper light pattern. These LED lenses do not have a very sharp cut off on the upper side.
6) I'm thinking the board should be black color. Not sure I like the white PCBs. These are very noticeable on the 914 as the foglights are round. In the picture below, the passenger side board is white and the driver side has been photoshopped black.

I think all of those would be good things. I still tend to think that wire loom might be a bit better than shrink tube, but both will work.

Yes, I should have mentioned the light pattern. For my main purpose, no cutoff is probably better but for fog lights, it's a good idea.

Black PCBs are a good idea if you want to standardize, but on the 911's fogs, I don't think it's a big deal one way or another. The fluting in the lenses and position of the lights makes it difficult to really see.

[PabloX]

Originally Posted by PabloX

I think all of those would be good things. I still tend to think that wire loom might be a bit better than shrink tube, but both will work.

Yes, I should have mentioned the light pattern. For my main purpose, no cutoff is probably better but for fog lights, it's a good idea.

Black PCBs are a good idea if you want to standardize, but on the 911's fogs, I don't think it's a big deal one way or another. The fluting in the lenses and position of the lights makes it difficult to really see.

Should have included a picture.

[spoke]

I had a request from a '79 911 SC owner see if my LED boards would fit in a fiberglass taillight fixture distributed by these guys:

https://www.f-s-h.com/Tail-light-housings-for-911

Has anyone heard of them or used their products? The fixtures do not have sidemarker lights and the reverse is a very small opening. Turns out the rear turnsignal board fits right in but the brake board will have to be custom sized to fit in the fixture.

[spoke]

Originally Posted by dyerkes

Any updates as to when you will have LED lights for front fog lights for an ‘87 911?

Thanks

David, thanks for your interest. I am getting parts to build some more boards. The plan is to build out the remaining 3 sets of white boards I have. I want to get a few of these in people's cars to see what they think. Really interested in the light pattern as it's not as ideal as I'd like to see as they bleed a bit upward.

I will price the first 3 white sets at $100/set. After that the price will be $165/set. If you're interested, you could be first in line for a white set. I have another guy interested so one more white set is available.

[Canada Kev]

You might also want to consider offering a warmer colour temperature LED in the fogs in addition to the 5700K. Some people like fog lights in the more yellow colour spectrum.

[spoke]

Originally Posted by Canada Kev

You might also want to consider offering a warmer colour temperature LED in the fogs in addition to the 5700K. Some people like fog lights in the more yellow colour spectrum.

That could be easily done. The ones on my 911 and PabloX's are 5000K and we both thought they were a bit warm. I don't have a real good feel for what would be ok for a warmer white. I'm open to suggestions.

[Canada Kev]

Originally Posted by spoke

That could be easily done. The ones on my 911 and PabloX's are 5000K and we both thought they were a bit warm. I don't have a real good feel for what would be ok for a warmer white. I'm open to suggestions.

I just picked up some H1 bulbs which are indicated to be in the 2500K colour area. I haven't used them while driving, yet, but in the garage appear pretty yellow but not orange. In my opinion, a decent colour temperature range for yellow fog lights might be in the 2500 to 3500K range. I don't know, as it can be pretty subjective; for the most part it doesn't matter (for illumination) if they're yellow or white.

As you probably know, higher colour temperatures do not mean brighter light. Most factory HID headlights on European cars seem to be about 4400K, so your 5000-5700K would be on the cool/blue end of the spectrum and may possibly cause some of what our eyes may interpret as glare.

Fog lights with fog lenses will never be good or even acceptable as driving lights. And your LEDs have lenses with fluting to spread the light in a wider pattern which would be consistent with a fog beam pattern. On top of that they are mounted behind the lens of the factory fog light, which will further spread and diffuse the light. Covering the top of the LED lenses as you have done should somewhat help alleviate the diffusion upward.

For me, I like the look of yellow fogs, and in a heavy snow fall after dark, I much prefer them over white. But I somehow can't ever envision driving my 911 in those conditions. Otherwise, I typically will only use my fogs on the highway so I am more visible to other traffic at higher speeds. I rarely use my headlights unless it's actually dark so the bulbs don't burn out prematurely. It's not the cost so much as it's rather a PITA to pull and replace the headlights to switch them out.

I suppose I could just get some yellow lenses to do the job if it was so important...