# Need LED turn signal help



## smithdrummer95 (Jan 16, 2013)

I want to replace my turn signals with LED bread boards. Just wondering what is involved with a project like this; I know the individual LEDs need to be in groups of a certain number, and that I'll need a certain value resistor but other than that I'm kind of in the dark about this whole process. Any advice and/or knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all!


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## LiveTrash (May 24, 2015)

smithdrummer95 said:


> I want to replace my turn signals with LED bread boards. Just wondering what is involved with a project like this; I know the individual LEDs need to be in groups of a certain number, and that I'll need a certain value resistor but other than that I'm kind of in the dark about this whole process. Any advice and/or knowledge would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks all!


What do you mean by LED breadboards? When you say that I'm instantly thinking of the typical breadboard I use to test electrical circuits. Something like this: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/400_points_breadboard.jpg

There are LED bulbs you can buy from manufacturers that are directly compatible with the OEM light assembly on the Cruze.


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## evo77 (Sep 5, 2011)

If you have no experience or knowledge with building an led array then I recommend against it. 

For one, a thru hole LED does not have enough power to match the brightness of an incan bulb. Even if you grouped together two dozen. But that would take too much room in the front or rear (you didn't say).

High power smds would be the better option without needing nearly as many but they need a proper driver system. And they need decent aluminum heat sinking. 

I suggest the easiest drop in solution. And it's the brightest on the market. VLEDS Triton V3. They contain 3 high powered Philips Luxeon Rebel PC Amber chips. And they sit behind a special optic lens that properly distributes the light in a 360° spread. 

I have them in the front and rear and love them. 

My pics don't quite capture the brightness of high mode.


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## LiveTrash (May 24, 2015)

evo77 said:


> If you have no experience or knowledge with building an led array then I recommend against it.
> 
> For one, a thru hole LED does not have enough power to match the brightness of an incan bulb. Even if you grouped together two dozen. But that would take too much room in the front or rear (you didn't say).
> 
> ...


Those VLEDS look promising. That's the problem I had with LEDs I tried before for my turn signals, the light wasn't distributed evenly enough and they were barely noticeable during the daytime. Would you mind taking a picture or brief demo video of the operation of the lights during the daytime?


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## smithdrummer95 (Jan 16, 2013)

I'm talking about the headlight turn signals, my apologies. Not sure if breadboard is the right name, but I'm thinking of a board that i can attach single LEDs to in whatever configuration I want. But from the sounds of it, I won't be able to use LED's due to the output problem you mentioned. Do you think you could link me to the LED's you are talking about? Thanks for your help!


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## evo77 (Sep 5, 2011)

I will try some video this weekend but it's hard to capture the intensity seen in person with a smart phone camera. But I can assure you they are the brightest amber leds for the Cruze signal housings. I bent back the wire pins on the bulb bases so that there is no low mode or parking light. At night I didn't like the fact that it flashes between low and high modes. It's much more noticeable when it flashes on/off in high mode so that's the way I set it up. 

http://www.vleds.com/v3-kit-a-7443.html


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

evo77 said:


> V3 TRITON GEN 2.5 AMBER LED SYSTEM 7440 7443 | 1 SET


Yowzers. That's pricey. I think I ran across a video you did of some Diode Dynamics turns signals and being underwhelmed. I notice they don't sell that model anymore. They've got two models they claim are brighter than OEM.


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## evo77 (Sep 5, 2011)

Yes the VLEDs are pricey but they are worth it.

Here is the problem with most LED replacement bulbs on the market -- they do not fully utilize the stock reflectors. Since LEDs are directional they fire light straight out. And if you line up a couple of rows of LEDs around a base it still ends up firing this light in straight lines in a circle. Sure it'll light up a reflector but it does not make use of the reflector optics. The source of the light has to illuminate at just the right point to which the reflector will spread the light out in all of its glory.

This is where the VLEDs Triton is unique among all bulbs. It utilizes an optic that takes the light and spreads it out in a very similar fashion as an incan does. Another reason the amber light is bright is because of the high quality Luxeon Rebel chips. These particular chips use the color "PC Amber" which is different then every amber led bulb on the market. PC stands for *phosphor converted*. This special process makes this particular color brighter and more efficient than other so called amber leds. 

VLEDs usually has promo codes all the time so you can get a pair of the Tritons for under $100.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

evo77 said:


> These particular chips use the color "PC Amber" which is different then every amber led bulb on the market. PC stands for *phosphor converted*. This special process makes this particular color brighter and more efficient than other so called amber leds.


Ah, so the light probably has a broader spectrum so it appears brighter to the eye.


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## evo77 (Sep 5, 2011)

Here is a vid of my car with the VLEDs Tritons. The amber color on the video is a little lighter than what it truly looks like in person and its more intense in person as well. Hard to capture it accurately on my phone.

http://vid44.photobucket.com/albums/f27/evo77/Share 1/20151127_122840.mp4


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

evo77 said:


> Hard to capture it accurately on my phone.


I'll bet. At some point it starts to overexpose and tends toward "white" washing out the color.

I'm keeping an eye on other cars. I think a number of cars with stock LED brake lights are still using standard turn signal bulbs. My car's turn signals seems bright enough. I think the only advantage is going to be the crisp on/off that LEDs give.


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