Jump to content
SAU Community

Leds For Centre Brake Light

GeeDog

By GeeDog,
in V Series (V35, V36, V37 & Infiniti)

 Share

Recommended Posts

GeeDog Experienced

GeeDog

Posted
Posted

2 of the Lumiled LEDs in my centre brake light are dead. Because of the way the LEDs are wired, this means that the centre brake light didn't work at all.

I've tried a few places to see if I can buy replacement LEDs, and the best I can find are tri-coloured LEDs from Jaycar. These have 4 legs - one being a common, and the other 3 being for the 3 different colours. I've cut off the blue & green legs, and soldered the LEDs to the board, and they work. The problem is that they just aren't as bright as the original ones, so I've got a dull bit in the middle of the light.

Has anyone managed to find a supplier of suitable LEDs in oz? Or does anyone have a broken centre brake light they don't want?

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/408902-leds-for-centre-brake-light/
Share on other sites
port3s Enthusiast

port3s

Posted
Posted

I replaced the centre rear break light on my 33 a few months back... I went out to autobahn and got some SMD LED lights and replaced the old panel with them. I found that because the plastic housing is red, buying white SMDs gave me the required brightness. SMDs are basically super bright LEDs... give them a try if your up for it... worked of me xD

The Max Mentor

The Max

Posted
Posted (edited)

SMDs are basically super bright LEDs... give them a try if your up for it... worked of me xD

Not necessarily. SMD stands for Surface Mount Device and makes no reference to the performance characteristics of the LED in question.

Therefore, be sure to pick out LEDs which have the appropriate brightness, measured typically in candela (cd) in luminance terms (intensity) or otherwise lumens, in illuminance terms (flux). The difference between the two measurements is the luminance is the perceived light from the LED whereas the illuminance is the perceived incident light on the surface of the object that the LED is shining on. That's why you typically find luminance measurements for LEDs intended as indicators as opposed to illuminance measurements for LEDs intended for light globes and torches.

Obviously, the higher the number, the brighter the LED.

You'll probably find that port3s' recommendation might be the more cost effective way to go. Not having seen these tail lights myself, I don't know what the direct replacement is for these things so I can't make any recommendations but if I were to start looking for bits, I'd look to the auto parts guys first too. Failing that, I usually look at guys like RS Components and Element14 as they generally have what I'm looking for, though at a premium.

Edited by The Max
GeeDog Experienced

GeeDog

Posted
  • Author
Posted

The LEDs I got from Jaycar are SMD, just not as bright as the originals. I'll try Autobahn. Did you buy a complete light panel from them? Note that my lens is clear, not red, and the existing LEDs are definately red - this is the centre light (the one on the rear parcel shelf), not the combo taillights or a spoiler mounted light. I don't have a spoiler (unfortunatly).

The Max Mentor

The Max

Posted
Posted (edited)

The other suggestion I forgot to make as well is that if you are unsure what the luminance characteristics are of the existing LEDs, you would be best advised to replace them all so that you don't wind up with any hot/dim spots in your LED array when they're active. Do you have the Jaycar catalogue number of the dimmer LEDs you bought?

Edited by The Max
The Max Mentor

The Max

Posted
Posted

Looking at the specs, they're 200mcd, which is not all that bright. Also, they're tri-colour which means you've paid for two other colours which you don't need in your brakelight since it's a clear lens. Had it been a red lens, you could then use all three colours to achieve white.

Nevertheless, you'll need more than 200mcd luminance, it seems. The perceived brightness is logarithmic so for double the brightness, you'll need around 450mcd, quadruple brightness is around 670mcd and so on.

sonicii Veteran

sonicii

Posted
Posted

Listen to Tony.. what is says is correct.. there should be plenty of high intensity red LEDs available, you just might need to look further than Jaycar.

I also suggest you replace all of them while you am there, even if you can get the same spec LEDs, the older LEDs will have lost some of their intensity, and you could end up with a 'hot spot'.

Does the center brake light really use SMD LEDs? I expected they would be normal 5mm LEDs.

t5iv Grand Master

t5iv

Posted
Posted

Listen to Tony.. what is says is correct.. there should be plenty of high intensity red LEDs available, you just might need to look further than Jaycar.

I also suggest you replace all of them while you am there, even if you can get the same spec LEDs, the older LEDs will have lost some of their intensity, and you could end up with a 'hot spot'.

Does the center brake light really use SMD LEDs? I expected they would be normal 5mm LEDs.

Im stealing that part of the quote :P

GeeDog Experienced

GeeDog

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Definitely surface mount - there are 6 LEDs arranged as 3 pairs (each pair in parallel), then each pair in series with the other 2. There is also a diode (for rev polarity protection probably, not sure why though as the LEDs will do that) and a pair of current limiting resistors. I've got the old ones here somewhere, but physically they are the same size & shape as the Jaycar tri-colours, but only 2 legs (obviously - 1 colour).

It's in & working now, I'll keep my eye out for more suitable LEDs & change them if I find some.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • RP1421
      S15 Spec R

      By RP1421 · Posted

      As discussed in the previous post, the bushes in the 110 needed replacing. I took this opportunity to replace the castor bushes, the front lower control arm, lower the car and get the alignment dialled in with new tyres. I took it down to Alignment Motorsports on the GC to get this work done and also get more out of the Shockworks as I felt like I wasn't getting the full use out of them.  To cut a very long story short, it ended up being the case the passenger side castor arm wouldn't accept the brand new bush as the sleeve had worn badly enough to the point you could push the new bush in by hand and completely through. Trying a pair of TRD bushes didn't fix the issue either (I had originally gone with Hardrace bushes). We needed to urgently source another castor arm, and thankfully this was sourced and the guys at the shop worked on my car until 7pm on a Saturday to get everything done. The car rides a lot nicer now with the suspension dialled in properly. Lowered the car a little as well to suit the lower profile front tyres, and just bring the car down generally. Eternally thankful for the guys down at the shop to get the car sorted, we both pulled big favours from our contacts to get it done on the Saturday.  Also plugged in the new Stedi foglights into the S15, and even from a quick test in the garage I'm keen to see how they look out on the road. I had some concerns about the length of the LED body and whether it'd fit in the foglight housing but it's fine.  I've got a small window coming up next month where I'll likely get a little paint work done on the 110 to remove the rear wing, add a boot wing and roof wing, get the side skirt fixed up and colour match the little panel on the tail lights so that I can install some badges that I've kept in storage. I'm also tempted to put in a new pair of headlights on the 110.  Until then, here's some more pictures from Easter this year. 
    • joshuaho96
      R32 GTS (RB20DE) Injectors Replacement

      By joshuaho96 · Posted

      I would put a fuel pressure gauge between the filter and the fuel rail, see if it's maintaining good fuel pressure at idle going up to the point when it stalls. Do you see any strange behavior in commanded fuel leading up to the point when it stalls? You might have to start going through the service manual and doing a long list of sensor tests if it's not the fuel system for whatever reason.
    • perry_r33
      R34 GTR Vspec Garage Sale - All must go!

      By perry_r33 · Posted

      Pm sent 
    • Robot
      Skyline v36 350GT sedan hunting on idle

      By Robot · Posted

      Hi,  Just joined the forum so I could share my "fix" of this problem. Might be of use to someone. Had the same hunting at idle issue on my V36 with VQ35HR engine after swapping the engine because the original one got overheated.  While changing the engine I made the mistake of cleaning the throttle bodies and tried all the tricks i could find to do a throttle relearn with no luck. Gave in and took it to a shop and they couldn't sort it. Then took it to my local Nissan dealership and they couldn't get it to idle properly. They said I'd need to replace the throttle bodies and the ecu probably costing more than the car is worth. So I had the idea of replacing the carbon I cleaned out with a thin layer of super glue and it's back to normal idle now. Bit rough but saved the car from the wreckers 🤣
    • GabsReDeal
      R32 GTS (RB20DE) Injectors Replacement

      By GabsReDeal · Posted

      After my last update, I went ahead with cleaning and restoring the entire fuel system. This included removing the tank and cleaning it with the Beyond Balistics solution, power washing it multiple times, drying it thoroughly, rinsing with IPA, drying again with heat gun and compressed air. Also, cleaning out the lines, fuel rail, and replacing the fuel pump with an OEM-style one. During the cleaning process, I replaced several hoses - including the breather hose on the fuel tank, which turned out to be the cause of the earlier fuel leak. This is what the old fuel filter looked like: Fuel tank before cleaning: Dirty Fuel Tank.mp4   Fuel tank after cleaning (some staining remains): Clean Fuel Tank.mp4 Both the OEM 270cc and new DeatschWerks 550cc injectors were cleaned professionally by a shop. Before reassembling everything, I tested the fuel flow by running the pump output into a container at the fuel filter location - flow looked good. I then fitted the new fuel filter and reassembled the rest of the system. Fuel Flow Test.mp4 Test 1 - 550cc injectors Ran the new fuel pump with its supplied diagonal strainer (different from OEM’s flat strainer) and my 550cc injectors using the same resized-injector map I had successfully used before. At first, it idled roughly and stalled when I applied throttle. Checked the spark plugs and found that they were fouled with carbon (likely from the earlier overly rich running when the injectors were clogged). After cleaning the plugs, the car started fine. However, it would only idle for 30–60 seconds before stalling, and while driving it would feel like a “fuel cut” after a few seconds - though it wouldn’t fully stall. Test 2 – Strainer swap Suspecting the diagonal strainer might not be reaching the tank bottom, I swapped it for the original flat strainer and filled the tank with ~45L of fuel. The issue persisted exactly the same. Test 3 – OEM injectors To eliminate tuning variables, I reinstalled the OEM 270cc injectors and reverted to the original map. Cleaned the spark plugs again just in-case. The stalling and “fuel cut” still remained.   At this stage, I suspect an intermittent power or connection fault at the fuel pump hanger, caused during the cleaning process. This has led me to look into getting Frenchy’s fuel hanger and replacing the unit entirely. TL;DR: Cleaned and restored the fuel system (tank, lines, rail, pump). Tested 550cc injectors with the same resized-injector map as before, but the car stalls at idle and experiences what feels like “fuel cut” after a few seconds of driving. Swapped back to OEM injectors with original map to rule out tuning, but the issue persists. Now suspecting an intermittent power or connection fault at the fuel pump hanger, possibly cause by the cleaning process.  
×
×
  • Create New...