indicators - led's

[VeeDubGTI16v]

ill just get a handful and play with them then cos they only cost about 20p each from uni, and resistors are about 15p


and which lights would you peeps put the indicators in, the headlights or inner spotlights

[JMallows]

Yeah, thats true, except it wont be 12V it'll be the voltage that yo want to use, hence the resistor to drop it from 12V??

And they need to be the right way round... hence forward voltage

Thats what i meant about "the right way round" My non-technical version!! Although i did say they can't be reverse biased, which is the same!

which lights would you peeps put the indicators in, the headlights or inner spotlights

Both!! If you do go for one, then the inner, or better yet..... the fog lights, if you have big bumpers?

[jazzygm]

No, the supply voltage is 12V!! take away the forward voltage of the LED and you have the voltage you need to kill off with a resistor  

[VeeDubGTI16v]

nope fogs have been smoothed too

i think i might do the outside ones as there is the most length difference between them so they will be more distinguishable when im indicating. spots might be a bit too central i like the idea of having them in bith tho

[JMallows]

No, the supply voltage is 12V!! take away the forward voltage of the LED and you have the voltage you need to kill off with a resistor  

You sure?? I'll trust you, as this is ne of those electronics things i often had trouble with!!   I suppose if its tested before its put in, it wont be a problem.

i like the idea of having them in bith tho  

  At least someone likes my ideas, don't happen often!!  :'(

If your going to get the diodes cheap from somwhere, i'd grab a load, test a few different circuits (keeping them, so you can compare) and then with the final circuit happy, get some high intensity ones, just to make sure! The forward voltage shouldn't be much different, but will obviously need to be considered. Glad to help!
(if its helped!)

[JMallows]

nope fogs have been smoothed too

Shame, thats personally where i think they'd be best!!

I suppose, you could drill a few holes down there, say 6 in a nice pattern, and mount the diodes behind a black membrane stuff, so it looks black with no lights, then lights up behind it. Cool!! Saw something similar on a camper, had a totally black front end, headlights were hidden behind it! (it was a newer camper, D,E?, so had the flat front end)

[VeeDubGTI16v]

im gonna just drill out 4 holes in the ehadlights (outers) and have 4 led's for each indicator bulb i think.

i dont want to put anything into the big bumpers cos they need to be smoothe i think relocated indicators (indicator units) looks a bit naff to be honest, thats why i want to hide them in the headlamps.

will 4 high intensity led's be visible when the headlights are on? or will i have to make the headlights flash with them? and is this legal??

[jazzygm]

it might be worth you going down the scrappy and getting a spare light, to play with, so you can find out if four high intensity's will be bright enough with the lights on.

I also havent thought about how more than one LED in series will affect the resistance. I can't at the moment because I've not done any work for my degree in whats approaching three months and have forgotten most of it. will ponder it slowly for a while and get back to you if anything strikes me!  

[Mixologist]

ok cheers for help jmallows. im not gonna do it just yet, ive got loads of stuff to do first before i relocate the indicators (like finish the bumpers :-[ )


cheers

Yeah man you been doing them for ages now!!!

[Mixologist]

I had the same thought as you jazz, i reckon they would be better in parallel because then they'll all be the same brightness!  But that might make the wiring loom a mission to build.