I just started working on LED tailights for my 88GT today... I had ordered the parts some time ago but with a 1 year old, a wife that works second shift and a first shift job of my own... there has been little time for fartin around with the car.

So anyway... I got up today let the wife sleep in and when the kid went down for her nap I headed over to where I work. I don't normally like the drive to work but today was different somehow... oh yeah, I was doing it for fun.

We have a laser engraver that we use for making custom parts and engraving customer equipment. I got permission to use the scrap plastic and my own time to do what ever I wanted. That made this a doable thing for me as I couldn't see doing this all by hand.


So anyway... I had started making a template out of foamboard, like you would use for a trade show display, but it was looking too thick. And it looked like arse with the hand cut edges and it was too difficult to make two identical pieces, left and right, ya know? So here is what I started with:


And after two hours of trying to figure out how do make the damn engraver cut my lines in tagboard, two hours getting the design layout right and an hour of waiting for the thing to go through the file at cutting speed, twice. I had this...


So I ran out of time today but I have half of my fixture done and the second half is just a matter of mirroring the first. I am quite please with the progress...

Oh and the LEDs that I am using are from Best Hong Kong. It took almost two weeks to get them but I could not find a decent place for 10mm LEDs that I wanted to use and Golden86 had a good experience with them. Everybody and their mother carries 5mm and smaller LEDs but that wasn't the look I was going for.

Speaking of Golden86... I had wanted to do this mod ever since I saw the design of the Fiero GT tail lights, but I never realized how great it would look until I saw Mike's car last year at the Dell's run. Mike, sadly, has sold his car recently and I do hope that he, his S.O. Beth and brother Joe will be around for the Dells this year even without a Fiero. I think that Joe still has his Fiero as well.

I will try to be a good boy and continue to update this thread...

Subscribing because I can't wait to see the finished product!

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-Chris
'85 V6 SE 4sp (SOLD)
'88 GT Auto (fun car)
'03 Sentra SE-R Spec V (Daily driver)

Keep us up to date on your progress.

I am also subscribing. This is going to be good.

have been getting ready to do the same thing . looks like ill bookmark this one and wait for a bit to see how it all comes out

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DONE: 86gt 5 speed 4.9 complete rebuild with buds outback northstar pistons , delta cams E303 cam , full ported , polished , stronger head springs, and flow tested heads and manifolds. rockcrawl's custom chip , polished crank . too much to list

88 coupe t-top #656 1 of only 339 base coupes made
85 t-top
87gt parts car
86 and 87 fiero database www.geocities.com/cwandall/fiero.html

I strongly suggest you test every LED that goes in your taillight or make them easy to replace. I also buy from that place and end up with a 15-20% failure rate of their LED's because they sell grey market, rejects and overruns. I build a smallish test jig and power 10 led's at a time at 100% operating voltage and current over night and throw away the dead ones in the morning.

Last thing you want is to light up the tail lights and 1 week later have 5-6 of them dead.

Lol and dont wire them in series...

"Goad-immit!!! one goes out and they all go out!!!"

quote Originally posted by timgray: I strongly suggest you test every LED that goes in your taillight or make them easy to replace. I also buy from that place and end up with a 15-20% failure rate of their LED's because they sell grey market, rejects and overruns. I build a smallish test jig and power 10 led's at a time at 100% operating voltage and current over night and throw away the dead ones in the morning. Last thing you want is to light up the tail lights and 1 week later have 5-6 of them dead.

Oh sure... brighten up my day...

quote Originally posted by 86GT3.4DOHC: Lol and dont wire them in series... "Goad-immit!!! one goes out and they all go out!!!"

Count the holes... its going to be a series/parallel combination as I don't want that many wires and I dont want a huge resistor on each... Dude. Christmas Vaction kicks butt.

This little project may take me a while as my time is limited but I will do my best... I want to be able to drive this thing when the salt is gone.

any updates?

updates?

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DONE: 86gt 5 speed 4.9 complete rebuild with buds outback northstar pistons , delta cams E303 cam , full ported , polished , stronger head springs, and flow tested heads and manifolds. rockcrawl's custom chip , polished crank . too much to list

86 gt 350 4 speed
85 t-top BEING PARTED
86gt 4.9 highly modified
86 and 87 fiero database www.geocities.com/cwandall/fiero.html

quote Originally posted by timgray: I strongly suggest you test every LED that goes in your taillight or make them easy to replace. I also buy from that place and end up with a 15-20% failure rate of their LED's because they sell grey market, rejects and overruns. I build a smallish test jig and power 10 led's at a time at 100% operating voltage and current over night and throw away the dead ones in the morning. Last thing you want is to light up the tail lights and 1 week later have 5-6 of them dead.

x2!!

I bought some LEDs from them to test out, and they were junk. Absolute junk. Of course, I don'tk now what I was expecting for 2 cents per LED!

LOL! And I thought it was just me.. I bought a ton of thier SMD LED's, and out of 60 or so have 3 dead ones I think. Pain in the butt when they're in series, because you know one is dead, but which one? LOL "One goes out, they all go out!" (<- in "12 pains of Christmas" voice, of course..)

Do you plan to regulate the voltage to them or are you wiring them for 14.4?

Also, how do you intend to run park lamps/brakes on the backend?

Talk to me if you need a PWM module/regulator.

ttt

wow... am I lousy or what... I cannot believe that it has been this long since I started this thread... sorry to say I don't have much of an update other than I am probably going to take a crack at this again this off season... I have been so busy with travelling for work that most of my free time for this stuff is taken up by my little girl and wife when they get to see me, no complaints from me though.

Originally I was going to use a dimmer circuit to do brakes/tails... so that all the LEDs were lit all the time like the stock dual filament bulbs... then it occurred to me that it would be easier and perhaps more unique to just light a few for tails and light the whole shebang for the brakes, we will see.

I will try to be a better steward of this thread from now on... I don't expect hugely speedy results though, yet.

Man i would love some L.E.D GT tails for my car i got to replace them soon well when the motor is done that is

This might help

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/A...070315-2-078206.html

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There's no shame in not owning tools.
Just like there's no shame in holding your wife's purse for a minute.

PETE GT

IMO, LEDs flush against a tail light lens looks like horrible ass. like being at the beach and checking a girls tooshy out only to see big red zits. farkin gross. lol

having the leds against the reflector and being at the curvature of the reflector would look a millions times better. and light would be shining out at all angles. im no DOT expert, but having light coming out like that rather than strait out seems like that would be more acceptable to DOT standards.

just my opinion though.

cheerio!

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1987 Fiero GT built by my brother, merlot566jka, 3500 LX9 from 06 Malibu, WOT-TECH.com 1280 grind stage 3 cam, LS6 valve springs, 1227730 ECM conversion, Darrel Morse solid aluminum cradle mounts, Truleo headers modified to fit the 3500, 36# inectors, 70mm 4.3 throttle body adapted to 3500 intake, ported heads, upper and lower intakes, lightly polished, tcemotorsports.com crank trigger wheel, CenterForce dual friction clutch, Flowtech Afterburner muffler, 2.5" piping, cat deleted, EGR deleted, SinisterPerformance tuning, C6 Corvette exhaust tips. projected to be 35 MPG with a guesstimate of 250 hp at the motor

quote Originally posted by americasfuture2k: IMO, LEDs flush against a tail light lens looks like horrible ass. like being at the beach and checking a girls tooshy out only to see big red zits. farkin gross. lol having the leds against the reflector and being at the curvature of the reflector would look a millions times better. and light would be shining out at all angles. im no DOT expert, but having light coming out like that rather than strait out seems like that would be more acceptable to DOT standards.

Umm... that is what I am doing. Don't know about the zits thing... And yes, to the poster of the thread above, Golden86 was where I got this idea from and I stated that in my first post... that is where I got my PWM circuit from. I have the parts for the PWM module and I just need to start building this thing. Sorry for the let down on the build...*shrugs* two kids and a full time job and freakin cold MN winter limits what I can get done on the car... not that the LED stuff needs to be done outside.

I came up with this following Golden86.

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Christian
87 Pontiac Fiero GT Burgandy/Silver 5.7L ZZ4 5spd, 88 suspension, C6 polished wheels, C5 Z06 brakes, Konis, poly'd, Spec Stg 3, LED taillights
Next Mod: LT1 fuel injection with Megasquirt II
301rwhp/345rwtq
Stovebolt Powered!!!!!
06 Cobalt SS/SC w/ LSD (the slow DD)

Awesome, very nice... see thats how slow I am, I get trumped in my own thread...

Where did you get your LEDs?

[This message has been edited by carbon (edited 03-31-2009).]

Same place, besthongkong.com. I noticed they changed their prices dramatically and also the output rating of their 10mm LEDs. The ones I got were 60,000mcd for the reds and yellows, I don't know the exact number but the ones there now are rated lower.

NOTE: I wired mine in strings of 6. At 2.1V each, that was pushing it for a sitting fully charged battery. I am rewiring it for sets of 4, so as to not cut it so close. I originally designed it to run on 14v (engine running), but I want perfect light operation even with the car off.

[This message has been edited by CTFieroGT87 (edited 04-01-2009).]

Yeah... mine are designed for 12V supply in sets of 4 as well... with the design voltage at the high end of 'typical' so that when the voltage drops there will hopefully be enough to keep them on. I am also doing the turn signals and possibly the reverse lights but I am not sure on the durability of the white LEDs that I purchased from them. The now have their low degradation white LEDs for significantly higher prices.

Thanks for the info. I had bought my LEDs from them back when I started this thread and I am working on it again... hopefully all will go well.

[This message has been edited by carbon (edited 04-02-2009).]

Why don't you use a voltage regulator on the circuit? Run at 10v this should be good key off and whith it running would reduce system voltage to 10v constant.

Working on something similar but I am placing the white LEDs into housing and NOT using the inner lens. Making a clear cover insert into the black area surounding the clear part and eliminating the PONTIAC lights. Looking for cracked damaged lens in the mall.
Found two lens donors.


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Why fight to be accepted by people you don't actually want to be like?

[This message has been edited by fierocarparts (edited 04-04-2009).]

looking pretty good

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First LX9 Fiero GT, 1987 | My Fiero Fuel Economy | MPG Display for OBD I
Youtube Videos of My GT | 87 GT Inside Test Run | 3500 Fiero GT Test Run 01
3500 Fiero GT Test Run 02 | 3500 Fiero GT Test Run 03 | 3500 Fiero GT Test Run 04
If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem
Fiero's are people too. We pay just as much attention to them, if not more than our loved ones
screw paying those bastards. im not going to become rich by paying for things.....

NO updates?

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Why fight to be accepted by people you don't actually want to be like?

What can I say... I suck. I have been real busy with work and family recently and I haven't had time to get this done... I just need to get some parts ordered, and hope that all the bad press about the Hong Kong LEDs above is just a luck issue Which of course means I am screwed.

Nick,

If you want any help with the LEDs, lemme know.. My LED conversion is in and running. I just have to alter the way the lights display now.

god i love those LED tail lights

You let work and family interfer with Fiero projects? What kind of Fiero owner are you? Call in sick and lock yourself in the garage and scream at the kids if they come into the garage! Get a loaf of bread, 2 cases of water and a jar of Peanut butter and hide in the garage!
Some people will come up with ANY excuse not to work on their poor car.
Can't wait to see the progress.

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Why fight to be accepted by people you don't actually want to be like?

my only excuse is its too cold in the garage. i cant move as well and i am always angry when its cold. so i wait till its warm. and when i can find a decent space heater that can warm a 1 car garage well.

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First LX9 Fiero GT, 1987 | My Fiero Fuel Economy | MPG Display for OBD I
Youtube Videos of My GT | 87 GT Inside Test Run | 3500 Fiero GT Test Run 01
3500 Fiero GT Test Run 02 | 3500 Fiero GT Test Run 03 | 3500 Fiero GT Test Run 04
If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem
Fiero's are people too. We pay just as much attention to them, if not more than our loved ones
screw paying those bastards. im not going to become rich by paying for things.....