gearbox

iTrader: (95)

kinda neat, even tho they are still too dim and expensive. $78 per bulb if you wanna order. they come in red, amber, or white light and so far three cars have them. 08 chevy malibu, 08 mercury sable, and mountaineer. the bulb itself is clear. its a standardized bulb with rear firing leds and a chrome reflector to direct light to the sides. at night they are fine, during the day it washes out since there is no direct illumination, only reflected light. but a good start.

greeen01civic4d

iTrader: (7)

cool idea, expensive, but very cool, good find +1 for u

Jp7

iTrader: (2)

I have a special hookup and I have these bulbs. Only mine are the better, brighter version (Called "L1224R"). I modded them into my DD, which is a 2004 Ford Ranger Edge.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

wow great pics. from the look, those are from the mercury mountaineer i think. i had this idea a while back but they wanted $85 for one led piece without the harness. how did you get these?

Jp7

iTrader: (2)

yes, they are from the mountaineer. - Like I said I have a "hookup".

2005EM2

iTrader: (7)

I've seen many of those new chevy malibu's and those lights are bright! I want one for my rear turn signals.

Jp7

iTrader: (2)

Message me while I still have a few left if you are interested. I have the blubs, harnesses and the backing housing to make it mount and attach in. I have been doing these in Ford Rangers for a few months now and people love them.

And don't worry, price is WAY less than the 78$ a bulb you see above.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

just curious how did you wire them up to act as both park and brake light?

Jp7

iTrader: (2)

the bulbs have 2 positive wires, one for the running light, and one for the bright mode (brakes/turnsignal)

obviously it has 1 ground.

(so there are 3 wires on the harness total)

2005EM2

iTrader: (7)

PM'd!

Jp7

iTrader: (2)

response sent. let me know - i check my pm's a few times a day....

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i need to check space behind my lights. would really be cool if i can fit these in stock tails and have double brakes instead of just the outside pieces. this is with park light, and with brake just the outer piece lights up brighter. and they are not very bright at all. are the joule leds already internally resistored and everything for 14v?

Jp7

iTrader: (2)

Everything is "resistored" internally and ready to go at car voltage.

Just to test the strength of these bulbs I ran a pair on a power supply at 16 volts for 3 days straight. They did not fry. The voltage your civic puts to the tail lights will not hurt them.

On some vehicles where you have a tight space behind the tail light the sure way to make them fit is to tap the metal back with a rubber mallet. You can also place a thick mousepad on the back of the body where the lights are and hit it with a regular hammer to give it more than enough clearance. The back of the LEDs is very thin and does not need much room for clearance anyways. If you are not sure how much room you have I suggest taking off your tail lights, and sticking a big piece of playdoh on it. When you press the light back in with the playdoh it will show you how much room there is between the back of the lamp and the sheetmetal.

The rubber mallet, or hammer and mousepad trick has worked for me every time. Take your time doing it. If your concerned about the paint, you can spray black primer on the body if you mask it off so that you don't accidentally get paint where you don't want it. I have never had to do this and I have done 20+ sets of tails with these bulbs.

Jp7

iTrader: (2)

Oh, I forgot to mention, not only are these brighter than stock incandescent bulbs, but the color is much more pure red compared to the dingy pinkish orange you get with stock incandescent bulbs.

They are also much much safer because when you hit your brakes, they come on instantly instead of having the filament heat up before they come on. This is a BIG difference. Imaging hitting your brakes while going 70mph while a car is closely following you. The delay of the stock bulbs to turn on makes for a 24 foot stopping distance delay for the car behind you (assuming he sees them when they come on) - so basically your adding 24 foot (at 70 mph) of stopping distance from the car behind you - MUCH safer for avoiding getting rear-ended.

Here is a video to demonstrate - this is not my truck, it is someone who got these bulbs from me.

The drivers side is L1224R led, the passenger is stock incandescent - notice the delay for the stock bulb, notice the brightness difference how the LED is brighter, and notice how good the color looks.

http://s243.photobucket.com/albums/f...t=P8260102.flv

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

thanks for the suggestions. im gonna see if i can get some extra space around there. its mostly all sheetmetal everywhere. i guess i could trim them but i dont wanna make this a huge project lol

Jp7

iTrader: (2)

sheetmetal is so easy to push back, I bet you only need 1/8" clearance. A rubber mallet from walmart for 2$ will do the trick, thats where I bought mine. If I can mod my Evo to work with these, you can mod your civic. Took me 1/2 hour.

Jp7

iTrader: (2)

any updates?

TRIZ

iTrader: (14)

Why, in the video, do the lights light up from left to right, is this due to a resistor issue or how it wired?

Jp7

iTrader: (2)

The left one is an LED, the right one is a stock bulb.

The LEDs turn on immediately when power is applied, bulbs have a delay.

Think about it..... do you want that kind of delay when you hit your brakes? What about the guy following you? If he sees the brakelights come on quicker he will hit his brakes and wont run into you.

Yes, the delay is really that bad...

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i notice it on my car too. i changed the top 3rd brake light to the led one from the newer model civic, and it comes on almost a second faster and looks 2x brighter than the stock tail filament bulb. and thats only 6 Snap-leds with a focusing lens. i need to snap pics. but yeah i really want these joule leds, i need four of em and dont really have the money now. im selling alot of my old car stuff so lemme see where i stand in a week or two. what is the total cost for FOUR joule leds?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

the stock tails are embarrasing. pretty much the top mount leds are saving me cause the side bulbs are really dim. the leds hurt my eye to look at the the tails are just meh. pics dont do them justice. its 6 red-orange snapleds. the bulbs also look very washed out and orange compared to the bright red leds. the outers look like theyre gonna be real easy, theres just foam back behind the socket. the inners are gonna be tough cause the metal is touching the back of the light and around the socket so major bending or cutting will be involved.

off



brakes



leds up close

Jp7

iTrader: (2)

Gearbox, PM sent!

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

replied.

Jp7

iTrader: (2)

Bill sent. Please post a video of one side LED and the other side stock so the forum can see the difference! - thanks =)

If you can pay it tonight, they will ship tomorrow morning, and I'll send a tracking number.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

for sure yeah i will be taking lots of pics including side by side with stock. sending payment now...

sniperscout

iTrader: (8)

in for pics

2005EM2

iTrader: (7)

Hey, Gear. Was it a direct bolt-on or did you have to modify the part off the 8thgen civic?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i took the old one off, the new one physically had the same dimensions and contours so it goes in without any gaps, but you have to use a small bead of silicone between the deck and brake light to glue it together. theres no way to use the stock clips and hooks cause its made differently. then you just splice wires to the brake light harness.

2005EM2

iTrader: (7)

Thanks, Gear! repped you!!

Jp7

iTrader: (2)

LEDs shipped!