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Gauging Interest: LED Third Brake Lights


ArcTec34

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Got it already, Arc. :D

 

Looks great - I just need to get out there to put her in! Hopefully, I'll get a chance either later tonight or tomorrow.

<-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges

'16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family

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Holy easiest install EVAR.

 

:lol:

 

Granted, my '05 is a June '04 plant-date, early-make, and the panels are thus likely looser than most's ;) , but still!

 

Like y'all said, it just took a slight tug of the CHMSL housing towards the front of the vehicle, and it lifted right out. After that, simply push the red lens portion again towards the "front" (i.e. towards what would have been at the front of the car) of the assembly, and the "guts" just fall right out, with more than enough harness for one to work with.

 

Thereafter, it's a simple matter of popping off the red cover. Mine slipped right off - I didn't even need to get to its release tabs.

 

The 7440 socket-adapter worked great, plugged right in. Since orientation could be an issue, I just propped the bare board, plugged-in, up on the center headrest, where I could easily see it in the rearview mirror, and jumped in the front seat for a quick test.

 

I used some 3M Automotive Trim/Molding tape, instead of the squares of double-sided tape that Arc thoughtfully included. I had a strip of the 1/4-inch width left over on the roll, and it was a perfect length to run along the base of the LED-board.

 

Re-assembly was just as easy.

 

Seriously, this took me, including the time it took to test the unit and put on the tape, a GRAND TOTAL of 10 minutes.

 

I've got the OEM rear spoiler, with the embedded LED 3rd brake-light strip. But this just adds that much more safety to the car, and I think it's well worth the price.

 

Besides, it goes to support a fellow LGT-brother. ;)

 

Good stuff, ArcTec! I truly hope you sell more of these!

 

:)

<-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges

'16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family

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Mine came today too. Install was a snap once I came in and read TSi+WRX's last reply. I didn't want to break something since most likely each part of that stupid light is probably over $20 a piece from Subaru.

 

Hope everyone cleaned the rear window while the light was out.

 

I was wondering, the response time of the LEDs seem slower than most auto applications I am used to seeing in traffic. They seemed only slightly quicker to illuminate than the incadescent bulbs in the tails. Thus the whole exercise was lost on my wife who could notice no difference. :icon_frow Any ideas why this is?

 

All in all a masterful job my young lad and I hope you sell a bunch more of these. Nice job on sizing and shaping the circuit board for the housing, I'm impressed. Thanks again Brian.

 

Mark

It is still ugly.
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^ +1 on being impressed.

 

For a hobbyist project - particularly for someone so young, I'm floored. :) And that doesn't only include the item itself, but the thoughtfulness of the contacts that he's made through both the public Forum here, as well as through PMs, to make sure that everything's going smoothly.

 

I see a nice future for our young brother Arc. ;)

 

As for the delay - that's a good question. I honestly didn't know. With Anna being 3 and not yet able to reach the pedal ( although she astutely questioned why the heck the steering was so heavy in the '09 Imprezas :lol: ), I had no-one to help me test. And with the OEM spoiler's LEDs back there, what little reflection that I did catch off the back of my garage was overwhelmed by that setup.

 

I'll have to back up to my back door's screen-door, to give it a look-see, tomorrow.

 

Off the top of my head, though - and please remember that I'm *not* an engineer :redface: , and furthermore, took "physics for poets" in my undergrad years ( physics without calculus? that rocks! :redface: ), I'm thinking that it's either some trick of wiring or, alternatively, the LEDs themselves.

 

The latter plays in my mind the most, as there's something called "rising rate," which is what allows for IR-LEDs to be used as effective emitters in police LIDAR jammer applications. I'm not technically sophisticated enough to know about this, but perhaps there's a difference in the rising rates of different types of LEDs?

 

But quite honestly, I don't know, and I'd like to learn, here, too.

<-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges

'16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family

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looking forward to it.

 

I dont care if people cant tell its LED by the illumination speed. I like the comfort of knowing that its not a bulb thats gonna just burn out.

if anything multiple LEDs will fail eventually.. but it will keep working for some time.

 

I drive to work often and see people w/ no brake lights at all..

"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato
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hey guys, sorry I havent been on here.. phone lines/internet have been down all week.. its been awful.. stupid verizon

 

anyway, glad you guys are happy with them, and that the install was easy!

 

The LEDs that I used are rated at close to a 100,000 hour lifespan, and I made them so that the voltage they receive is way less than their maximum, so they should never burn out.

With the LED "response" time, I didn't notice any delays with that and still find them to light up quicker than a bulb. For my LED tail lights, there is a little more complex LED regulation circuit that I have built that includes some capacitors.. that might speed up response time, but for a little third brake light it would have been overkill

 

and yeah Tsi, there is a "rising rate" and actually the Vf for red LEDs is extremely similar to the IR LEDs used in the lidar jammers. I'm still working on the tails, have them 95% done! but I'm going to Florida tomorrow =) so I'll finish them up when I get back. I'll try to post a pic before I go, I painted the perf board black, so it kinda gives a dark tint look to the tails, from the inside out! still not sure if I like it..

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Hanger - http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2466229&postcount=27 ;)

 

Bro, I *seriously* did this in the 10 minutes between taking out the trash for our Friday AM collection, and rocketing back inside the house to get ready to put Anna to bed, starting with her nightly bath. That includes *all* the steps that I took in that little write-up, and with the garage/car being well above 90-degrees yesterday afternoon, I didn't even break a sweat (and those who know me know that I'm a total polar-bear of a guy, and sweat like a pig any time the temps. are above just 70).

 

Seriously easy install.

 

I would even go so far as to recommend this as a FIRST MOD, to mod-virgins who've never even replaced a bulb in their cars, in their entire lives, before. It's really THAT easy. Heck, I think that given another year (she's 3, now), Anna would be able to do this, with me beside her, coaching!

 

-----

 

Arc, pillboy and All -

 

My in-law's place has a nice picture-window facing their driveway. :)

 

From what I can see - and please keep in mind that this is with my eyes, which are decidedly poor, given the Coke-bottles that I wear for glasses :redface: - Arc's LED-retrofit fires at the same rate (the same "response-time") of the OEM/factory CHMSL LEDs that are embedded in the factory rear spoiler option.

<-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges

'16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family

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Hey Arc

Sorry i havent contacted you about the light.

I got into an accident. My fender front lights and bumper are all messed up.

This is like the 3rd no fault accident that hapen with my legacy.

There for I wont be doing any more mods to it and will get a new car :-(

I will post some pictures soon

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So here are the Tragic pictures. :mad:

This car is really bad luck!!

 

 

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b362/bigcityballa65/DSC00247.jpg

 

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b362/bigcityballa65/DSC00249.jpg

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Oh man, RAyala, that sucks! :(

<-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges

'16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family

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:D

 

 

bulb

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=68976&stc=1&d=1244158666

 

LED

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=68977&stc=1&d=1244158666

 

Finished

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=68978&stc=1&d=1244158666

the tape didnt work, heat must have killed it. When I pulled it off the wax paper the thing basically tore in half. Doesn't look like I need it tho. I'll just keep an eye on it.

 

This came just in time too, the bulb is burned pretty bad on 1 side, looks like it may have been on its way out soon.

bulb.jpg.d1c82ce219f11fb31fa5ec5093986a60.jpg

led.jpg.50006828f8a3bc7f8081de4b562ba1f1.jpg

finished.jpg.0dd14dc3b4c066326fa7a34e80e2c2a1.jpg

"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato
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Arc -

 

Try supplying small pieces of 3M Automotive Trim/Molding tape instead - its high-temp qualities should pair well.

 

The problem would be getting some kind of wax paper for its off-roll side, as it is double-sided by nature, and as you peel it off the roll, one side obviously will not have the wax-paper backing.

<-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges

'16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family

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