- Joined
- Oct 2, 2013
- Messages
- 140
It's been a process of trial and error, but I think I've finally hit on a method of installing a strip of LEDs inside the headlight. I've ended up with 27 5050 warm white LEDs running around the inside perimeter of the light. The result is very bright, and is many times brighter than the little running light lying immediately below the main headlight. I tried to photograph the light intensity, but all it shows is my garage lit up by brilliant light. The effect is vaguely like early Audi with their circumference of LEDs in the headlight.
--Drill a small hole near the base of the metal half of the light unit, just up from the glass lens around which it is pressed. This is for the wire from the LEDs.
--Measure the inside circumference of the light.
--Cut the number of LEDs that will work. Make sure not to have more than will fit evenly around the circumference. In my case I ended up with 27 LEDs with about an inch to spare.
--I bought a very thin, very high tensile (sprung) wire from a hobby shop and cut it to the length of the LED strip.
--Pull the backing paper off the adhesive the on the back of the LED strip, and lie this thin wire, running down the centre, along the entire length of the strip.
--Now cover this with a foam-backed double edged tape. Thus you end up with a wire 'sandwich' between the LED strip and the double sided adhesive which will stick to the lens.
--Press the sandwich firmly together along the entire length of the LED strip. There will be considerable pressure on it during the installation, so it has to hold together.
--Pull the backing off the double sided adhesive.
Now it gets tricky: fishing this ramrod straight LED strip into the lamp housing and getting it to curl around and line up along the outside perimeter and then pressing it home. Patience and dexterity!
--Poke a piece of bendable wire through your new hole you made and out the main bulb hole and attach the two LED wires to the end of this wire.
--Slowly pull the bendable wire, which will pull the strip into the light housing by its electrical wires.
--As the strip goes in, you have to push it in and sort of snake it around. The trouble is that the backing of the strip has exposed adhesive and it will stick to the inside of anything. Try to keep that strip on its side, where there is no adhesive, until the whole thing is inside the lamp.
In theory, the sprung steel wire will spring the entire strip to the outer edge of the lamp, and you are done. It wasn't as neat as that for me.
--Using a piece of stiff copper pipe with a rubber bung on the end (see the photo), plus a long bamboo kabob skewer, plus one of those flexible claw-grabber tools you use to fish errant nuts from sumps, you start at the wire end and slowly manipulate the strip into place until it lies smoothly along the rim. Then you press the whole home, one segment at a time, not pushing on the LED itself, but on the gaps between them.
--Cover the old running lamp hole with a piece of tinfoil, shiny side facing into the lamp. This will do much to make the hole for the running light disappear into the mirrored surface when seen from the outside.
--Hook the thing up to your battery charger and prepare to be dazzled......
This method worked for me--but was about the fourth variation, and it is tricky. Having said that, Jean in Montreal successfully separated the two halves of the light unit and could then apply the LED strip inside without any wire to spring it into place, before then mating the two halves again. I suspect this is the ideal method, but I didn't want to risk breaking the lens separating it from the mirrored backing.
This first picture is of the finished headlight unit. You can see the LEDs running around the perimeter, on the inside. The squiggly thing is my copper pipe tool for guiding the strip and pushing it home. The rubber bung on the end is essential because the mirrored surface scratches very easily.
This second picture shows the layup of the LED strip. I've pulled off the backing tape, placed the high-tensile wire on the strip, and am in the process of adding the double sided tape.
This final photo is a closeup of how the LED strip ends up lying inside the headlamp. I think it is entirely unobtrusive and really not noticeable unless to really look.
Happy to offer advice and can post more pictures if that helps anyone.
--Drill a small hole near the base of the metal half of the light unit, just up from the glass lens around which it is pressed. This is for the wire from the LEDs.
--Measure the inside circumference of the light.
--Cut the number of LEDs that will work. Make sure not to have more than will fit evenly around the circumference. In my case I ended up with 27 LEDs with about an inch to spare.
--I bought a very thin, very high tensile (sprung) wire from a hobby shop and cut it to the length of the LED strip.
--Pull the backing paper off the adhesive the on the back of the LED strip, and lie this thin wire, running down the centre, along the entire length of the strip.
--Now cover this with a foam-backed double edged tape. Thus you end up with a wire 'sandwich' between the LED strip and the double sided adhesive which will stick to the lens.
--Press the sandwich firmly together along the entire length of the LED strip. There will be considerable pressure on it during the installation, so it has to hold together.
--Pull the backing off the double sided adhesive.
Now it gets tricky: fishing this ramrod straight LED strip into the lamp housing and getting it to curl around and line up along the outside perimeter and then pressing it home. Patience and dexterity!
--Poke a piece of bendable wire through your new hole you made and out the main bulb hole and attach the two LED wires to the end of this wire.
--Slowly pull the bendable wire, which will pull the strip into the light housing by its electrical wires.
--As the strip goes in, you have to push it in and sort of snake it around. The trouble is that the backing of the strip has exposed adhesive and it will stick to the inside of anything. Try to keep that strip on its side, where there is no adhesive, until the whole thing is inside the lamp.
In theory, the sprung steel wire will spring the entire strip to the outer edge of the lamp, and you are done. It wasn't as neat as that for me.
--Using a piece of stiff copper pipe with a rubber bung on the end (see the photo), plus a long bamboo kabob skewer, plus one of those flexible claw-grabber tools you use to fish errant nuts from sumps, you start at the wire end and slowly manipulate the strip into place until it lies smoothly along the rim. Then you press the whole home, one segment at a time, not pushing on the LED itself, but on the gaps between them.
--Cover the old running lamp hole with a piece of tinfoil, shiny side facing into the lamp. This will do much to make the hole for the running light disappear into the mirrored surface when seen from the outside.
--Hook the thing up to your battery charger and prepare to be dazzled......
This method worked for me--but was about the fourth variation, and it is tricky. Having said that, Jean in Montreal successfully separated the two halves of the light unit and could then apply the LED strip inside without any wire to spring it into place, before then mating the two halves again. I suspect this is the ideal method, but I didn't want to risk breaking the lens separating it from the mirrored backing.
This first picture is of the finished headlight unit. You can see the LEDs running around the perimeter, on the inside. The squiggly thing is my copper pipe tool for guiding the strip and pushing it home. The rubber bung on the end is essential because the mirrored surface scratches very easily.
This second picture shows the layup of the LED strip. I've pulled off the backing tape, placed the high-tensile wire on the strip, and am in the process of adding the double sided tape.
This final photo is a closeup of how the LED strip ends up lying inside the headlamp. I think it is entirely unobtrusive and really not noticeable unless to really look.
Happy to offer advice and can post more pictures if that helps anyone.
