well with work being slow this last week i figured i would start playing with my idea for LED side markers. i have the back ones done and now i just need to figure out how to make the front blink dim to bright. here is pictures

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/truck/LEDS1-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/truck/LEDS2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/truck/LEDS3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/truck/LEDS4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/truck/LEDS5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/truck/LEDS6.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/truck/LEDS7.jpg

Thats sweet. I love that idea. Are they hard to make? Costly?

i you made more of them they would be cheaper cause you could buy LEDs in bulk on EBAY. but i just went down to the local electronics store and bought LEDs in packages of 10 for 6 bucks. and they come with the right resistors for a 12 volt system. i will need a total of 64 LEDs (16 per side marker) so 42 bucks in LEDs and it took me 4 hours to make the 4 laminate backers, melt the 4 centers out of the side markers and solder up 1 light. i am also going to do LED reverse lights and front parking lights. but i will just buy the tail lights

I agree - those look awesome.
Where do you get the material for the laminate backing?

Lookin good! great idea! keep us posted.

I'll take a full set!

Looks nice.

To make the front's blink, you could double the lights and have half hooked up to the signal and half to the lights.

while your makeing them,,i need a set to..lol..they look good

Another thing to make them blink would be to run the power through a normally closed relay, and use the turn signal to open and close the relay.

Wow! That's sweet!:metal:

That looks great! Sounds like you need to contact the patent office now. Sale a million units and buy a warehouse full of these trucks we have come to love. :lol:

That looks great! I had all LED lights on my tow rig and it was killer not to ever change bulbs.

I agree - those look awesome.
Where do you get the material for the laminate backing?
all i used was some counter top laminate left overs i found at a job i was working at. if you notice it has a nice 'butcher block' pattern that is very stylish. if it were exposed i would have actually got a solid black color
Looks nice.

To make the front's blink, you could double the lights and have half hooked up to the signal and half to the lights.
thats kinda what i am thinking. running 4 in the middle and have them hooked to the turn signal wire.

Another thing to make them blink would be to run the power through a normally closed relay, and use the turn signal to open and close the relay.
what i am trying to do is constantly have power but the voltage change from parking to blinker to effect the brightness of the LED. now i just have to figure it out.

thanks for all the complements.

looks great... I think they would llok cool with some clear lenses

Sign me up!

looks great... I think they would llok cool with some clear lenses

i have this personal opinion about clear brake lights, thats why they are red. but my fronts are clear and i have amber LEDs.

Seriously though... would you consider selling sets once youve perfected them?

Seriously though... would you consider selling sets once youve perfected them?

they wouldnt be cheap and they wouldnt get done fast either. i would rather give step by step directions so you coulld do it yourself. they only reason i have the time to play with it now is i did not work last week.

well here are what i came up with for the front lights
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/LEDSfront.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/th_LEDSfrontmovie.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/?action=view&current=LEDSfrontmovie.flv)
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/?action=view&current=LEDSfrontmovie.flv?t=1168808927

Well personally i never look for cheap, i like paying $$$ for things that i cant create myself. But if youre thinking of selling the plans, please put me down for a set. I really like what youve done there.

as far as blinking... why not have them hooked up like factory? You wire the positive wire to the parking light, and the neg wire to the positive of the turn signals. When the parking lights are on, the turn signal wire acts as a ground. When the front turn signal lights up, that removes the ground and causes the side marker to turn off.

That is an awsome idea, this NEEDS to go in the FAQ

Ask and ye shall receive.:D Remind me to put it in FAQ after every one sees this thread.:D

Well personally i never look for cheap, i like paying $$$ for things that i cant create myself. But if youre thinking of selling the plans, please put me down for a set. I really like what youve done there.

i would suggest new lenses. and at GMCpauls they are 11 bucks a piece. and i have to buy 80 LEDs to get enough for all four (with 8 extra of each color) at 6 bucks for 10 and you are into these 92 bucks raw cost(not counting shipping) and it would probably take 6-8 hours for me to make them all up in my kitchen. so if i did sell them, you would probably be looking at minimum 150. and i wouldnt be able to give you a date i could have them done do to work and a 1 year old. right now i am only able to work on them while he is sleeping.

care to shed some light on the specifics of the wiring? I have tossed around the idea of using LED for some time but I am a little lost in the applcation of using LED...

What resistance resistors did you use? did you use one resistor for each LED...

Thanks for the input

I can see the voltage change to be a good one to figure out, but that's what keeps the fun in these things.
I forgot last time, nice job looks great.

i would suggest new lenses. and at GMCpauls they are 11 bucks a piece. and i have to buy 80 LEDs to get enough for all four (with 8 extra of each color) at 6 bucks for 10 and you are into these 92 bucks raw cost(not counting shipping) and it would probably take 6-8 hours for me to make them all up in my kitchen. so if i did sell them, you would probably be looking at minimum 150. and i wouldnt be able to give you a date i could have them done do to work and a 1 year old. right now i am only able to work on them while he is sleeping.

I understand completely, I'll PM you and we'll talk about it further there. thank you.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/truck/frontLEDwiringdiagram.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/truck/rearLEDwiringdiagram-1.jpg
i used a resistor for each LED because i got those resistors with the LEDs. you can go out and buy a higher wattage resistor so you would only need one then.
As for the front there will need to be diodes on the wires feeding the resistors so it wont back feed. i dont have my truck here but i do believe parking lights and turn signals are on different fuses. is that clear as mud?

PS. WERE GUYS ABLE TO SEE THE VIDEO WORK OF THE FRONT SIGNAL???
PSS. sorry for it being small

that's the way the factory did it... yes, theyare on seperate fuses

replaced every piece of weatherstripping on the cab, doors, and vent window, and replaced the door controls. now everything in the doors is brand new including the doors. cab doesnt whistle anymore going down the road!!! also replaced the heater hoses that run to the vents b/c they were deteriorating and replaced the vents.

well do to the PMs i have recieved i will go into more detail about LEDs.

A diode only lets current flow one direction. A Light Emitting Diode is just a diode that gives off light. the current only flows from positive to negative. the positive lead of an LED is the longer lead.
All LEDs have an operating voltage. the ones i bought had an operating voltage of 3.2v-3.6v. there are 12v LEDs available. LEDs also are available in different sizes. i know of 3mm, 5mm, and 10mm
LEDs are ratted in milli-candela (mcd) the higher clamed number the brighter the light emitted. the LEDs i bought for the reverse lights are 50,000 mcd.

For resistors for LEDs that operate on 3.2v-3.6v you shouldnt go any lower than 470 ohms, and shouldnt go any higher than 1000 ohms. the less ohms the brighter the light, more ohms = less light. BUT with lower resistance means higher current and shorter life. so pick a resistor that will give you plenty of light but not give your LED a short life span. you can buy one high wattage resistor for all your LEDs on your LED board or you can put the free 1/4 watt resistors on each LED, your choice.

A little lesson in electronics, when you wire in parallel each load gets voltage equal to the source. but if you wire in series (and the loads are equal) then the voltage gets divided by the number of loads EX. if you wire 4 LEDs in series on an automotive system where the voltage is 12v-14v then you divide by 4 and have a voltage at each LED would be 3v-3.5v.

now for the task at hand.

For the backer boards for the LED panels i used counter top laminate, cut to the shape of the side marker/reverse light and drill your holes (3/16 for 5mm) for however many LEDs you want (i put 16 per side marker and 24 per reverse light)

when all the holes were drilled i put in the LEDs and soldered them together, then insulated with hot glue (you could also use liquid electrical tape).

Finally i mounted them on the truck

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=226179
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/truck/1170732023.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/truck/1170731404.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/truck/reverselight4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/truck/1170731957.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/truck/LEDS2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/truck/LEDS1-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/ben68chev/truck/LEDS7.jpg

great post.

by using hot glue, what are the chances it will melt in the summer day heat?

i live in oregon, it doesnt get that hot over here. but i am sure the melting point of hot glue is higher than the hottest day we will ever have ( since i got a blister on my finger from getting hot glue on it)

Great info! Maybe one day I'll get up the nerve to build some of the backup lights for my trucks.