OK am I missing something here? Is the idea to have the light blink in the simplest/cheapest method possible? If so (although I'm not a relay fan) then wouldn't a standard singal flasher relay be the easiest?

If you want a timer circuit to leave the light on for a period of time use a small cap across the gate on a FET. Once the cap discharges (and the stray capacitance discharges) the FET will shut off - quick and dirty (and cheap and simple too!). Just use a momentary switch to charge the cap up - pico farads will likely be enough unless you want a long on time.

Which was why I was confused; the bulb for the rear fog light is, I'm fairly sure, different than whatever bulbs are used for the brake lights (in fact now that I think about it, the brake lights don't use "bulbs" at all since they are LEDs.

The bulb for the rear brake light is: 7440 W21W STANLEY 12V 4TQ 2DV

I have a feeling, however, that after doing a quick search, this may be a difficult bulb to get in the U.S. - not sure but could be an issue.

Whatever the end design I use, it's best to test using the actual hardware the circuit will be driving. So, it's useful to have the bulb I'll be driving.

A 7440 bulb should not be difficult to procure in the US. A quick google search shows them available online for $3.

While a full blown PIC18 microcontroller could be overkill for this kind of project, an 8-pin PIC16 and a couple of transistors can make this a very small circuit leading to significantly easier installations. A flasher/relay circuit is also an option, and I can build one of those immediately.

Actually, my post was the bulb for the rear FOG light; not brake light. :)

I was looking online for that bulb as well and found several variants of a 7440; I didn't find an exact match nor did the end connectors look the same as the bulb that came with the rear fog assembly.

Of course for testing purposes, that's probably immaterial but if anyone is actually looking for an exact replacement it might signal some difficulty.

+1 vote for reverse blink and fog lamp! it'd be great for daily driving. i hope the price is reasonable.

-1 for reverse blinking...lol...i see no point to it......

lol. i just envision an f1 car backing out of the garage and seeing it flash back and forth to the shape of a Z.

Since I can't see very well out of the car when backing up I want every single thing I can lit up and blinking to get people's attention. It makes perfect sense to me.

Still working on it. I haven't forgotten.

MCR has finalized their F1 blinker harness kit.

MCR - F1 Marker Harness Kit

http://370ztune.com/images/product_i...ffcc_W1200.jpg

http://370ztune.com/images/product_i...5ddf7_W300.jpg

-Hunter

Hell yea! tell MCR to make it for sure!:tup:

Personally my favorite functionality setup (which is simpler to implement, too) is that there should be a manual switch to engage the fog light as a fog light (at fog light brightness, for use in fog like intended), and regardless of the position of the switch (on or off), it should flash F1-style at fog-light brightness when the car is in reverse.

PM's Replied.

-Hunter

I am going to buy this soon, but I don't really like the look of the red, so I was thinking about just tinting over the red so it's alot darker, I have a white 370Z, and I'm trying to go for a white & black theme, what do u guys think about tinting it? And why is it so much, I know it's custom but dang, lol

Call me crazy but couldn't you just use a thermal flasher for $3-$6 connected to the reverse light get the same effect on the rear fog?.....

If you wanted an extra switch in the cabin to turn it on you could just put toggle switch leads on the signal wire to your thermal relay and a diode on the signal wire going to the thermal relay from the reverse lights (the diode would prevent you from turning on your reverse lights from the toggle switch every time you switched it on.

HowStuffWorks "How Turn Signals Work"

Sorry this just seems like an incredible waste of money. The fact that this has been under development for this long is also baffling.

Edit:
Decided to do up a quick drawing (i know it i know, it was quick).
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/396...ngfoglight.jpg
*I am not responsible for any damage using this circuit, this is a guide only*

Looks like it would work kdoske. And it would be anywhere near the 300 or so that they are charging.

:rofl2:

Kdoske!!! No!!! It is even more simple than that... I've created the following instructions that anyone here should be able to follow, and a basic circuit diagram to go along with it:

Mark the PNP transistor by cutting 2mm from its collector lead. Super glue the PNP and NPN transistors together, face to face. Glue the FLED to the PNP. The FLEDs cathode is on the same side as the PNP s collector and the NPN s emitter. Solder the PNP s collector to the NPN s base. Bend the PNP s emitter up on a 90-degree angle. Bend the FLED s cathode and the NPN s emitter down on a 90-degree angle.About 2 mm from the FLED, bend the cathode towards the transistors at a 90-degree angle. Solder the NPN s emitter to the FLED s cathode. Clip the NPN s emitter clean, but leave the FLED s cathode long. Solder the FLED s cathode to the 4700 uF capacitor s cathode. Trim up the FLED clean Solder capacitor s anode to the PNP s emitter. Cut the PNP clean, but leave the capacitor s anode long. This will serve as the motor s positive mount. Take the 3.3K and 47K resistors. Wrap the 3.3K resistor lead around the 47K resistor s lead four times. Use a spot of super glue to keep the resistors together. Now take the 0.47 uF capacitor. Super glue it down on top of the resistors. Wrap one lead around the 47K resistor, and the other lead around the 3.3K resistor. Solder the resistors and capacitor together where the parts are wrapped. Clip the 0.47 capacitors leads clean. Solder the 47K resistor s top lead to the NPN s collector, and bottom lead to the FLED s anode. Solder the 3.3K resistor s bottom lead to the PNP s base. Trim it clean, but leave about 2 mm hanging off the NPN s collector for the motor s negative mount. Remove the eject worm gear motor from the Solarbotics Cassette Mechanism kit. This requires you to unscrew it from the front and rear of the Cassette frame. Drill a 1/16 hole into the white gear near the flat portion of the gear head. We will use the gear head and this hole to mount the Turbot s flagella. If you are using Hydro-X solder, switch to Rosin Core for any wire connections. Hydro-X will weaken the stranded wires and shorten the Turbot s lifespan. On the first Fred Solar Engine, solder the motor s positive connection to the 4700 capacitor s anode. Solder the motor s negative connection to the NPN s collector / 47K resistor. Use heat shrink to ensure a solid connection, and trim the remaining leads clean. Repeat on the second Fred Solar Engine, but reverse the motor connections. Solder the motor s negative connection to the 4700 capacitor s anode. Solder the motor s positive connection to the NPN s collector / 47K resistor. Cut three power wires, one black and two red. Cut the wires long as the longer connections are more convenient when building the body. We will shorten the wires during the final construction.Solder the black power wire to the first diode s anode. Solder a red power wire from the first diode s cathode to the second diode s anode. Solder a red power to the second diode s cathode. Place heat shrink tube over the power connections. Solder the diodes to the BP-3733 solar cells. The diodes are reverse biased, with the diode s anode going to the solar cells cathode. Do this for both solar cells, wiring them in series.Test the solar cell / diode combination under a light source to make certain that you is getting the voltage. You should see slightly less than double the BP-3733 s voltage (~8 9V), and the same amount of current. As you move your hand across one cell or the other, the voltage will dip slightly.Wire the red positive power wire from the solar cells into the first SE 4700 capacitor s anode. Wire the black negative power wire from the solar cells into the second SE 4700 capacitor s cathode. Run power wires from the first to the second Fred Solar Engine. This forms the Fred popper.Test the Fred Solar Engines once more under a light source. Both motors should turn.Mechanics. Cut two sections from 3mm Blue Sintra. Drill 1/8 holes for the wire ties. This forms the top and bottom body. Feed four wire ties into the holes for the Fred Solar Engine. Mix up two-part epoxy. Place some epoxy between the wire ties. Slide the 4700 uF capacitor between the holes, then tighten up the wire ties to secure the Fred Solar Engine. Note: It is important to get the Fred Solar Engine as far back as possible. This will ensure that the body protects it. If the SE hangs out past the front, then it is susceptible to shorts and being squashed. Test the Turbot once more under a light source. Both motors should turn. Clip the wires connecting the SEs and the solar cells. Mix up two part epoxy. Glue the solar cells between the wire ties that secure the 4700 uF capacitors. In the last step, you clipped the power wires running from the solar cell to the SEs. Trim these wires to fit the size of the body, resolder and secure with heat shrink and/or electrical tape.Test to make certain that the SEs are still firing and that both motors turn.Now we will build the flagella, or the Turbot's arms. Cut two sections of 16 Gage wire, 16 cm long. I used the 5V power supply wire recycled from a desktop computer. Cover the wire with heat shrink tubing, leaving one end 1.5 to 2 cm uncovered.Remove the ejector rod from the cassette mechanism. If you do not have this rod, or if you make a mistake, then a stiff paper clip will also work. Bend it so that the tip is down 2 mm on a 90-degree angle. Place this tip into the hole drilled in the worm gear motor. Where the gear wheel ends, bend the clip up away from the motor at a 90-degree angle. This is to give the flagella room to clear the motor casing. Finally, bend the rod 90-degrees down, about midway between the end of the gear and the end of the rod.Most of the mechanical stresses will be on the gear motor, the rod, and the wire. Therefore, it is important to re-enforce these areas as much as possible.Strip the wire and solder it to the rods. Ideally, the heat shrink should start where the rod ends [note: the photograph is incorrect as the heat shrink starts before the rod ends].Cover the wire and the rod with a second layer of heat shrink. This will secure the rod to the wire, making for a solid flagella. Using a piece of heat shrink with a larger diameter, cover just the portion of the flagella where the rod meets the wire.Mix up more two-part epoxy, place the flagella's rod into the hole on the gear, and glue the flagella into place. Take extreme care not to get epoxy on the gear teeth or the gear axel.The last step attach the flagella to the body. Wire tie the motors to the body using the holes provided. Bend the flagella into shape. Place two tabs from the self-sticking cushion feet pack onto each half of the body to keep the turbot from flopping onto its solar cells.

http://www.qsl.net/yo5ofh/projects/13cmtx/tx1.jpg

lol, too funny. You do realize you just posted the schematics to some sort of television signal transmitter. Hey, im game, I think it would be cool if the fog light could broadcast some live TV strait from the car!!!

I went ahead and did up another drawing to include the brake light. This circuit would Blink the Fog light and the Brake Light when in reverse or the toggle was switched. (Depending on how the brake light system is wired it may actually blink the brake lights in the tails as well).

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/810/b...ghtandbrea.jpg

LOL, I know, its literally 99% cheaper! Well after tax and the diode its probably 95%...

kdoske... thx for having a sense of humor about it... i found it very amusing when i posted my version after a few glasses of wine! :) your diagram makes sense and +rep for taking the time!

kdoske, I added another diode to prevent the brake lights from flashing when in reverse. Hope you don't mind.

http://www.the370z.com/members/cbric...ure4775-f1.jpg

One question I have though is this: Do the brake and reverse lights always have 12V and just ground to activate? If so this would need to be changed a bit.

Where does this item tie into?

Why so expensive ?

This honestly looks dumb.
I would prefer to find or make a rubber block to cover said hole, in the same color as my car.
That would look much better

That post was one of the greatest contributions in the history of THE370Z.com. :shakes head:

In any case I'm working on a drawing right now and seeing as I'm no electrical engineer maybe you guys can give me some decent feedback on it.

Check My Work
 

This is the setup I plan to use for my fog light. Let me know if this just plain won't work as I expect it to and why or if this can be simplified while retaining all functions I have designed. This should cause toggle or brake to result in solid fog. Reverse to result in flashing fog. Reverse with either toggle or brake on flashing. Thanks for the help guys.

Sample Parts:

3 Pin Electronic LED Flasher: Virtual Village - US
Bosch Style 5 Pin 30 - 40 Amp Relay W/ Resistor
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...68&tab=summary

http://www.the370z.com/members/cbric...32-flasher.jpg

You think you don't know anything, well my head must be in a paper bag then.

Question:

What is the purpose of a Diode?

Why a resistor as well as the flasher? I understand the flasher...

Are the pictures of the brake, toggle and reverse the lines that go into the tail lamp assembly.

All I was trying to do was to have the fog lamp blink 3 or 4 times when I brake then go to a solid RED until I let my foot off the brake pedal. The addtional blinking while reversing would be nice but not essential.

This is a good thread for most of us :)

i agree, and priced accordingly

A diode keeps the current from bleeding back to the other side. Otherwise activating the toggle switch turn on the brake and reverse lights. There is no resistor, it is a 5 pin relay. This allows the setup to default to a solid non blinking form until reverse is activated. At that point the current from the reverse lights throws the switch inside the relay directing the current toward the flash. The results is that by default the toggle switch and brake lights activate a solid light while reverse throws the switch resulting in a blinking light.

Flashingbrakelights.com has a nice module which will blink six times and then stay solid upon braking. If this is all you need you can purchase from them. In addition to what they have I am also wanting to add external control for a solid fog and blinking in reverse, not just six times but until I am no longer in reverse.

I just learned something.

Thank you. :tiphat:

holy **** CBRich..is there ne way we can get a DIY for thiis set up for the noobs?

Body Control Module (BCM)
 

At this point I'm not even sure my setup would work as I'm just learning about this stuff as I go. But I plan to order the necessary parts and try it out.

A couple points about your parts list and plans:

1) You're linking to a Zener Diode, which is probably not want you want. You probably want a regular old diode. Zener diodes are designed to allow reverse current flow when the voltage potential exceeds a certain preset, in the case of the one you linked, 12V :).

2) That 3-pin flasher module you've linked sounds like its intended to flash at the same rate as typical turn-signal flashes, which is significantly slower than what an F1 rear blinker would flash like.

Thanks wstar. If you look I edited my post with the correct diode soon after posting it but it had already been quoted. Do you see any issues with the new diode?

Also, I was just looking for a standard blink rate but if you have a link to one with a bit quicker flash I wouldn't mind checking it out. Thanks for the feedback.

Edit: Possible Flasher

Oops, guess I was looking at the quoted copy :)

Yeah that diode looks good, assuming 1A is enough current. You might double-check the current draw of the flasher + the LED tail-light to make sure that 1A continuous is plenty for the both of them. I have a feeling with how bright the LEDs people use in car lights are, it might be an issue. If it is, just pick another diode in the same series with a higher current rating.

I may be using the standard bulb that comes with the light which is not LED. In that case would a no load flasher still work fine? I'll have to check the draw of the standard light also to see what it looks like.

Just did some calculations on the bulb that comes with the lamp. It is 21W at 12V so 1.75A is what that comes out to. So using a 3A diode should be sufficient. Such as this:

3 AMP 100 V FAST-RECOVERY RECTIFIER | AllElectronics.com

Don't forget you're driving the flasher from the diodes as well, so add the flasher's current draw too. And don't ask me anything about automotive bulb flasher modules, I have no clue :)

Is there any kits out now where it keeps the stock black look, but keeps flashes red when I am braking & backing out?