7" retrofit (GDAA WRX)

[satrya]

Ah, fair enough then.

In that case if you wanted to color match them I would just grab some clear orange hobby paint and paint the lens that they shine through.

With the white LED, I suspect the amber output will be much dimmer behind an amber film. I believe the white LED's spectral density is not as even as the spectral density of a clear tungsten bulb. So, while the oem headlight uses a clear tungsten bulb behind amber covers and has very good amber brightness, putting amber covers ahead of the white LED may just result in a very dim amber output. I want the aux turn signal to enhance the conspicuity when turning.

This would however give you an orange appearance in the fog lights that is not there in the headlights.

Such a film, if it doesn't adversely reduce the output intensity, could be placed behind the innermost lens. Then, the amber appearance will be hidden, just like how the diffuser hides the amber tungsten bulb in the headlights.

Would you be opposed to running a white turn signal?

Not 100%, but from observing other vehicles on the road in different time of day and weather conditions, amber turn signal is a lot easier to spot. So, between all amber and all white with the same intensity, my choice will be all amber. But between a dim amber and bright white, my choice will be bright white. (By bright I don't mean exceeding the allowed brightness for turn signals of course)

For the retrofitted headlights, I actually switched from the oem clear tungsten bulbs to amber covered tungsten bulbs just so I can have an amber turn signal. But I can always swap the oem clear tungsten bulbs in the headlights, then the color would be closer to the LED aux turn signal. I don't think I want to go as far as getting the "xenon" blue-coated tungsten bulbs to match the LED color...

[satrya]

Aquarium sealant

Read somewhere in HIDP that there exists a silicone based sealant that doesn't cause haze. Supposedly, this aquarium sealant, although silicone based, is safe.




Obviously, I'm not using this to seal the glass lens to the housing, as I've used butyl rubber already. This will be used to fill any gaps around the housing and between the housing and backpanel:


A smell test of the silicone suggests that it contains the typical acid (acetic acid?) present in other silicone sealants I've used. I thought that's what makes silicone an undesirable material for sealing.

I guess this is one way to find out, whether the aquarium safe silicone is any different from other silicone sealants for the purpose of headlight retrofits...

[gold94corolla]

Yeah I'd vote for orange LED signals (not a filter)

[satrya]

Yeah I'd vote for orange LED signals (not a filter)

But I need to find one that matches the mounting point & space designed for the existing LEDs. One thing I'm not sure of is if any off the shelf amber LED that matches that shape will be bright enough. Most amber LEDs are not as bright as white LEDs of similar spec, correct?

[satrya]

Amber LED!

Found an amber version with the same 3W rating. I don't recall seeing them around when I bought the white ones. This type uses the same shell:


Comparison of the amber version (left, with the egg yolk -ish orange phosphor) vs the white version (right, with the yellow phosphor). Also, the 3 blue LED dots aren't as visible in the amber version.


Going to test these while the silicone sealant cures.

Hopefully, the intensity won't be as disappointing as amber LEDs I've tested before.

[gold94corolla]

Yeah when you said you couldn't find them in amber I was confused lol, I think they even come in switchback!

[csjoh]

Are those the LED bolts that (among others) Oznium sells?

I bought some warm white LED bolts from them that I intend to install as puddle lights, and I remember them having a lot of colour options.

[satrya]

Yeah when you said you couldn't find them in amber I was confused lol, I think they even come in switchback!

I bought the white version from a seller on eBay. At the time, I don't see any other color offerings for that particular model. I see different variations of the "eagle eye" LED, but I went with that one because someone else posted promising results with those. I've bought random PnP LEDs before (mostly 194 type and turn signal types) and they're generally disappointing, especially the amber ones.

So, when I couldn't find an amber version of the white type I used, I expected to have to experiment with a different type, which may well be disappointing like before.

Are those the LED bolts that (among others) Oznium sells?

I bought some warm white LED bolts from them that I intend to install as puddle lights, and I remember them having a lot of colour options.

Ah, I didn't even check their site. Having done just that, it looks different. Yes, they have bolt type LEDs, but the shell construction / shape is not exactly the same as the one I got. And I'm glad I didn't know about Oznium's bolt shaped "eagle eye" LEDs; the prices are quite higher than the ones I got. Plus their pictures suggest that the intensity of the amber is noticeably less than the white.

[csjoh]

Yes, well.. but how bright do you need them to be? If they are to be used as indicator lights, IMO they only need to be bright enough to be seen blinking during the day - at night they'll be seen anyway.

I've only bought the white ones as I only intend to use them as puddle lights, but they were plenty bright to leave me with pink elephants on my retinas for what felt like days (so, probably just a few minutes) after lighting them up. If the amber ones are half as bright, other drivers should have no problems at all seeing them during the day.

[satrya]

Yes, well.. but how bright do you need them to be? If they are to be used as indicator lights, IMO they only need to be bright enough to be seen blinking during the day - at night they'll be seen anyway.

Brighter than corner or sidemarker lights, but no brighter than oem turn signal. The turn signal on my aftermarket headlights aren't that much dimmer than others I spot on the road, but they are definitely dimmer than the originals, using the same spec tungsten bulbs. The oem headlight has a rather large portion of the housing dedicated to turn signal reflector (which a lot of people ironically paint flat black) compared to the aftermarket I'm using:

I've only bought the white ones as I only intend to use them as puddle lights, but they were plenty bright to leave me with pink elephants on my retinas for what felt like days (so, probably just a few minutes) after lighting them up. If the amber ones are half as bright, other drivers should have no problems at all seeing them during the day.

I see. Either way, I'm going to give these a try. Thanks for bringing up an alternative (should I drag this retrofit even longer).

[satrya]

White vs amber PnP LED comparison.

Comparing the amber vs the white I had planned to use. Intensity of the amber seem less jarring, but from a distance (indoors), it looks like both are almost as noticeable.

Pictures are taken mostly under exposed. The white version looks very blue here, but not in person. My guess is a 5000K HID bulb will be quite close to the white one; or 6000K at most.




With divider to block light overlap, relatively low exposure (1/100 sec, ISO200, f/5).


Lower exposure (1/400sec, ISO200, f/4)

[Mattrox1221]

I really like the amber one!

[gold94corolla]

Nice, yeah amber LEDs have come a long way in terms of brightness, they're pretty much on par with other colors at this point (unless you go oldschool LED)

[satrya]

I really like the amber one!

I agree. My hope was to get amber LED for aux turn signal to begin with. It's just that the generic SMD types I've tried have been disappointing.

Nice, yeah amber LEDs have come a long way in terms of brightness, they're pretty much on par with other colors at this point (unless you go oldschool LED)

Apparently. I didn't expect there exist a phosphor formulation that can colorshift the blue LED that much into amber territory and still be visible. I'm glad it exceeded my expectations.

[satrya]

Replacing the aux turn signal base mount method

The LEDs for the aux turn signal are currently designed to be serviceable via a twist lock mechanism like so:


The machine screw + nut on the smaller acrylic tube affixes the sheet metal LED mount, and doubles as a means to secure the LED to the bigger acrylic tube via the "L" notches on both sides.

Since the sheet metal also doubles as a rudimentary heatsink fin (granted, aluminum that thin would have very small heat capacitance..), I kept it as large as possible. This however, resulted in one unintended consequence. See the problem?


The sheet metal makes it almost impossible for the twist lock mechanism to rotate when it comes to time to service/replace the LEDs. Time for a redesign.

Since the 2nd LED seem to have contributed very little, I decided to go with 1 LED, and forego the twist lock mechanism. Instead, I'm using a simple friction approach. Bend two sheet metal like so; with a curvature that is slightly larger than the larger acrylic tube's inner diameter. This allows for an interference fit. The holes are for the LED.


Bend the center portion:


Add a spring-like mechanism by bending the side flaps, so that the nut in the back of the LED sees a constant compressive force. This helps minimize thread play that might loosen the nut over time.


So the simpler base goes in with the LED like so, and service/replacement should be easier.