Back-up light

rangercarol

J installed a review camera and monitor (Back up camera) earlier this year and now want to add some additional lighting to improve night vision.

It seems possible to add a clear LED light where the blanked fog light opening is. Has anyone done this and can recommend a suitable light?

Thanks,

Ranger

MattP725

How about LED reverse lights in the tails? Maybe a big enough output would help.

rangercarol

thanks for your interest, but I want to illuminate down low so that we can benefit from the camera. The standard back-up lights are bright but they can't reach down low close to the car.

ranger

Spacedog

When I installed LEDs in the license plate lights, I noticed a major improvement in vision at night with the back up camera--especially the ground behind the bumper up to about 3-4 feet out. Finding a curb or parking block is much easier with LEDs.

rangercarol

Spacedog

Sounds like just what I need. Can you post some details?

Thanks,

rangercarol

370ZilverZ

I changed my license plate lights to LED's from JWMotoring and they made a huge change in brightness.

Stock bulbs

New LED's

Attached Images

	Stock license plate lamp.jpg (149.1 KB, 466 views)
	JWMotoring White LED.jpg (156.4 KB, 857 views)

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370ZilverZ Journal

BMW Z4

Spacedog

Nissan 370z LED Light

I bought my bulbs locally, but these should work.

If you search for led license plate, you will see a how to.

It is a no tool, 5 minute job! There's a tab on the side of the license plate bulb housing. Pop it out with your finger, pull it out, twist the socket out, replace the bulb, make sure you have the polarity correct by turning on the lights (if not, the bulb will flash or not be fully lit), just reverse the bulb in the socket if this happens, put everything back in. I am seriously not exaggerating about the 5 minutes. It was 90+ outside the day I changed mine and I didn't even break a sweat.

I haven't changed my reverse lights to led, but that may help a great deal as well.

DIGItonium

I recently replaced my triple Luxeon Rebel bulbs with a single Cree XM-L. These bulbs are still in great condition, and it's stupid bright. It's brighter than most of the DRLs out there. PM me if you're interested in purchasing my Luxeon bulbs.

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JWMotoring

Thanks for suggesting us guys. The tag light leds are a big improvement.

We'll be testing a few leds for backup lights here soon. In my experience with other vehicles just replacing them with a plug n play bulb doesn't do much for brightness. They just look cool.

We'll see.

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nmjaxx9

Changed my license plate bulbs to leds as well and they made a significant difference, plus it looks better than the boring yellow.

bushman66

Digitonium...can you post your source and part number for the bulbs? That looks like just the ticket for increasing the use of the backup camera at night...

batman_4

+1, those bubls are BRIGHT!!

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'09 6spd. Touring: Eibach / SPC / Motordyne / Berk / Z1 / Oneighty / Mines / SSR / Stillen / CFE

DIGItonium

I have a used pair triple Luxeon Rebel white running at 600mA (from video) in excellent condition. PM me if you are interested in buying. Simply swap the bulbs and test. No need to rewire. Below are pictures of it in action.



You have to see them in person. The video is recorded in daylight so it doesn't overwhelm the camera. I had my friends stand behind me, and they're like "Dude! Turn it off!" Haha. These are handmade bulbs. Below are quick part numbers for information purpose, but I actually source the parts from various sites like Digikey (heatsinks), Superlumination (plastic bulb base), Future Electronics (LED Driver), Luxeon Star (custom premount LED), and Deal Extreme (Cheapest Cree XM-L).

The Cree XM-L can be driven at 3000 mA, but needs CPU heatsink.

Wire the Puck drivers inline with the bulb wires. You will need to shuffle the drivers around to get them to fit properly, then held them down with RTV.

Heatsinks are MANDATORY! I sourced whatever I could from Digikey, but you really need some solid aluminum parts cut and drilled to dissipate heat. Just be creative. Some of my bulbs got so hot the solder melted because of inadequate heatsinking.

Amber @ 700mA
700mA, Non-Dimmable, PowerPuck Driver - With Leads
Amber (591 nm) 20mm Tri-Star Rebel - 396 lm
Carclo 44° Frosted Tri-LED Optic With Holder

White @ 1000mA
1000mA, Non-Dimmable, PowerPuck Driver
XM-LT6 885LM LED Emitter 6000K White Light Bulb (3.0~3.5V) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme

White @ 700mA
700mA, Non-Dimmable, PowerPuck Driver - With Leads
Cool White (6500K) Rebel LED, Pre-Mounted On A 20mm Tri-Star Base - 480 lm @ 700mA

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bushman66

OK, thanks...I thought these were drop in bulbs. Fabricating LED lamps is a no-go for me, LOL.

DIGItonium

Haha, I thought you wanted the part numbers to make the bulbs.

Well they're handmade bulbs that are drop in replacements. Then the driver is wired inline with the bulb wiring to properly drive them.

But, the bulbs I'm selling is a simple drop in replacment. Still in great condition and plenty bright compared to the stock bulb. In fact, it's brighter than some DRLs (like on an '06 Civic).

PM me and we can discuss further and I can e-mail you pictures of the bulb.

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