Custom Led Lights . . .

[Rivcyko]

Nice! Once you get all leds,.....YAY. :unsure:

[Guest TWIST'DGRIP]

Fantastic work. As an Air Force electronics technician I can really appreciate the well built components and all the research that went into it. Much more than a backyard hack project...very professional.

[V4 Rosso]

:fing02:

And thanks for the videos. It is even better than I had imagined.

With the Givi on my third gen being mounted so far back (stock givi rack), I sometimes wonder if truckdrivers have a clear view on the tail lights. I think this mod does not just look good, it is a great safety feature as well :unsure:

[N8sVFR]

Thanks for the compliments guys. In my 14 years of riding, I have found that doing everything possible to increase our visibility to other vehicles is key to our survival!! (Plus, it looks cool and give me a continual source of projects to work on!!)

And Jon28, sorry, but I'm not heading to Floridy anytime soon!! :laugh:

[1TallTXn]

I've been thinking of doing something like this for quite awhile now, thanks for the write up.

My top case is in the way when the bike is in the garage so I take it off frequently. I may have to ponder the alternatives to the plugin route.

A big thumbs up for the clean install!

EDIT:

Y'all remember the Mercury Cougar sequential turn signals? how cool would it be to setup the rear-facing portion of the turn signals to blink in sequence to the outside edge when the turn signal is on. It'd be a whole lot more work, but it'd be darn cool.

Another thought, what's the legality of having red lights flashing to the side? I doubt you'll have any LEO issues, unless you find a particularly anal one, but its some thing to think about.

I'll do some research on the TXDOT statues on this for reference.

Edited October 21, 2009 by tx_vfr

[N8sVFR]

tx,

There are other options or ways to make the top case more 'quick disconnect' friendly. The screw in connector that I used is heavy duty and works really well at keeping moisture out of the connection. However, Binder, the company that I sourced all of my connections from, has others that are 'snap-in' that have IP (or weather-tightness) ratings that are just as high. I just liked the idea of a mechanical, threaded means of cable attachment. And for me, it takes less than 5 seconds to unscrew the connector and the top case is free.

I should also post an update sometime (your comment was a good reminder). The only issue that I have had is the way that I connected the wiring harness inside of the top case to the surface mounted connector. The way that the wires were connected, there was no strain relief for the soldered connections. Over the period of about 3 months, repeatedly dropping in and taking out my briefcase ended up loosening the soldered connections. The simple fix was to install a boot from an RCA connector that you can pick up at any Radio Shack. We'll see how it holds up. . . .I am thinking about beefing that up somehow too.

Anyway, thanks for the compliment, and good luck if you take a stab at this!! Make sure that you post up pictures too!!

-Nate

Edited October 21, 2009 by N8sVFR

[elizilla]

That is really fabulous. Thanks for the link to the site with the connectors - I have bookmarked it and I'm already thinking of some other things I might do with those, besides just lights. Though some lights would be great too. And with the V-Strom gone, I will have more time this winter to do fun projects; I won't have to spend all my garage time fixing a recalcitrant Suzuki. I feel inspired!

[hondalover]

I've been thinking of doing something like this for quite awhile now, thanks for the write up.

My top case is in the way when the bike is in the garage so I take it off frequently. I may have to ponder the alternatives to the plugin route.

A big thumbs up for the clean install!

EDIT:

Y'all remember the Mercury Cougar sequential turn signals? how cool would it be to setup the rear-facing portion of the turn signals to blink in sequence to the outside edge when the turn signal is on. It'd be a whole lot more work, but it'd be darn cool.

Another thought, what's the legality of having red lights flashing to the side? I doubt you'll have any LEO issues, unless you find a particularly anal one, but its some thing to think about.

I'll do some research on the TXDOT statues on this for reference.

It sounds like you want turn signals also, but if you are only interested in the brake light, and have a Givi trunk, check out Givi part numbers Z995M and Z880.

[N8sVFR]

I've been thinking of doing something like this for quite awhile now, thanks for the write up.

My top case is in the way when the bike is in the garage so I take it off frequently. I may have to ponder the alternatives to the plugin route.

A big thumbs up for the clean install!

EDIT:

Y'all remember the Mercury Cougar sequential turn signals? how cool would it be to setup the rear-facing portion of the turn signals to blink in sequence to the outside edge when the turn signal is on. It'd be a whole lot more work, but it'd be darn cool.

Another thought, what's the legality of having red lights flashing to the side? I doubt you'll have any LEO issues, unless you find a particularly anal one, but its some thing to think about.

I'll do some research on the TXDOT statues on this for reference.

Sequential blinking LED's in there would be a lot of work. The strips that I used were pre-wired . . .you would have to either build your own bank and a custom controller to sequentially light the LED's or find one that would suit your needs. There's probably something out there, but it wouldn't be that complicated to make one yourself. Probably the hardest part would be finding a way to route all of the wiring within the reflector.

I did a bunch of research regarding color. . . .I never came across anything that stated that turn signals could not be partially on the side of a vehicle. . . .if you think about it, both the front and rear stock signals are visibile from the side anyway. ONe thing that I intend to do is change the rear combination light to the clear version from the '06 and later model years and install red LED turn signal bulbs in that unit as well. Then all of my rear facing lights will be red, which as far as I have determined, is completely legal. Amber must be used for forward facing turn signals.

[Knife]

I've been thinking of doing something like this for quite awhile now, thanks for the write up.

My top case is in the way when the bike is in the garage so I take it off frequently. I may have to ponder the alternatives to the plugin route.

A big thumbs up for the clean install!

EDIT:

Y'all remember the Mercury Cougar sequential turn signals? how cool would it be to setup the rear-facing portion of the turn signals to blink in sequence to the outside edge when the turn signal is on. It'd be a whole lot more work, but it'd be darn cool.

Another thought, what's the legality of having red lights flashing to the side? I doubt you'll have any LEO issues, unless you find a particularly anal one, but its some thing to think about.

I'll do some research on the TXDOT statues on this for reference.

Sequential blinking LED's in there would be a lot of work. The strips that I used were pre-wired . . .you would have to either build your own bank and a custom controller to sequentially light the LED's or find one that would suit your needs. There's probably something out there, but it wouldn't be that complicated to make one yourself. Probably the hardest part would be finding a way to route all of the wiring within the reflector.

I did a bunch of research regarding color. . . .I never came across anything that stated that turn signals could not be partially on the side of a vehicle. . . .if you think about it, both the front and rear stock signals are visibile from the side anyway. ONe thing that I intend to do is change the rear combination light to the clear version from the '06 and later model years and install red LED turn signal bulbs in that unit as well. Then all of my rear facing lights will be red, which as far as I have determined, is completely legal. Amber must be used for forward facing turn signals.

Knight Riderz makes 12-LED sequential turn signal lights (red or amber), but they're only a little over four inches wide.

[N8sVFR]

Yup, they are a little short, and you'd have to surface mount the ones from Knight Riderz too . . .they wouldn't fit behind the red reflectors on an OEM topcase (unless you were willing to cut a hole all the way through the case, which I didn't want to do for weathertightness reasons). They might look good installed to the lower black portion of the OEM topcase (right below the reflectors) if someone was just looking to add turn signals.

[1TallTXn]

I've been thinking of doing something like this for quite awhile now, thanks for the write up.

My top case is in the way when the bike is in the garage so I take it off frequently. I may have to ponder the alternatives to the plugin route.

A big thumbs up for the clean install!

EDIT:

Y'all remember the Mercury Cougar sequential turn signals? how cool would it be to setup the rear-facing portion of the turn signals to blink in sequence to the outside edge when the turn signal is on. It'd be a whole lot more work, but it'd be darn cool.

Another thought, what's the legality of having red lights flashing to the side? I doubt you'll have any LEO issues, unless you find a particularly anal one, but its some thing to think about.

I'll do some research on the TXDOT statues on this for reference.

Sequential blinking LED's in there would be a lot of work. The strips that I used were pre-wired . . .you would have to either build your own bank and a custom controller to sequentially light the LED's or find one that would suit your needs. There's probably something out there, but it wouldn't be that complicated to make one yourself. Probably the hardest part would be finding a way to route all of the wiring within the reflector.

I did a bunch of research regarding color. . . .I never came across anything that stated that turn signals could not be partially on the side of a vehicle. . . .if you think about it, both the front and rear stock signals are visibile from the side anyway. ONe thing that I intend to do is change the rear combination light to the clear version from the '06 and later model years and install red LED turn signal bulbs in that unit as well. Then all of my rear facing lights will be red, which as far as I have determined, is completely legal. Amber must be used for forward facing turn signals.

Sequential lights would be cool, but I don't think they're worth the time and effort required to make them work.

The biggest thing I dislike about the screw-in connectors would simply be the time, and yes, its not much time, I'm just lazy ;-)

I looked at the TX Transportation code and the only thing I see regarding turn signals is that they can be white, amber, or any color in between on the front. Red or amber, or anything in between to the rear. No mention of the sides.

The area where it would start being a problem would be something about flashing red lights to the side ie emergency vehicles. I seriously doubt you'd run into many problems with LE. Just thinking out loud.

It'll be awhile before I get around to doing this, but its on my to-do list. Along with the rear shock, GPS, new seat, etc etc

[1TallTXn]

I'm assuming you used a reduced feed to run the running lights and a full feed for the turn signals. I'm curious what ohm-rating of resistors you used to make this happen.

Thanks!

While I'm thinking about it, do you happen to have a complete parts list? I know, I'm asking the nearly impossible for a home-engineer, but I figure I'll be picky, worst case is I don't get it

Edited October 26, 2009 by tx_vfr

[Tightwad]

I need to look more into this myself. I made my own using regular LED, but turned sideways. Surface mount LED are not very bright generally, and my setup was more of a Proof of Concept. It works, as proven I guess....but not nearly as bright as I would like.

I love the connectors, and will certainly look into them...I opted for a Cat5 cable so I could use a M/M connector and easily unplug.

As far as making them run, blink, etc...a chip would be the way to do it, and would make it a bit more complex...the worst part is there are so many different trunk styles that each one would be a custom design, and most don't want to spend $200 for parts + custom labor.

[Jon28]

I need to look more into this myself. I made my own using regular LED, but turned sideways. Surface mount LED are not very bright generally, and my setup was more of a Proof of Concept. It works, as proven I guess....but not nearly as bright as I would like.

I love the connectors, and will certainly look into them...I opted for a Cat5 cable so I could use a M/M connector and easily unplug.

As far as making them run, blink, etc...a chip would be the way to do it, and would make it a bit more complex...the worst part is there are so many different trunk styles that each one would be a custom design, and most don't want to spend $200 for parts + custom labor.

:blink: I spent about $230 for my custom LED's installed and with a 5yr warranty. I have Whelen LED's all around my E52 topcase and it is quite bright. I can change the flash pattern with a magnet (which my fellow riders appreciated at tmac!). And the job looks factory---very good work. I've been very pleased with them and it will last years.

[Tightwad]

I need to look more into this myself. I made my own using regular LED, but turned sideways. Surface mount LED are not very bright generally, and my setup was more of a Proof of Concept. It works, as proven I guess....but not nearly as bright as I would like.

I love the connectors, and will certainly look into them...I opted for a Cat5 cable so I could use a M/M connector and easily unplug.

As far as making them run, blink, etc...a chip would be the way to do it, and would make it a bit more complex...the worst part is there are so many different trunk styles that each one would be a custom design, and most don't want to spend $200 for parts + custom labor.

:biggrin: I spent about $230 for my custom LED's installed and with a 5yr warranty. I have Whelen LED's all around my E52 topcase and it is quite bright. I can change the flash pattern with a magnet (which my fellow riders appreciated at tmac!). And the job looks factory---very good work. I've been very pleased with them and it will last years.

Any details on what was installed? Are they on the case or in the case? Pictures?

[Jon28]

Tightwad- they are inside the case and you would never notice them until I hit the brakes or the running lights feature is engaged. I haven't got around to taking pics---call me lazy! I'll post up when I do.

[N8sVFR]

I'm assuming you used a reduced feed to run the running lights and a full feed for the turn signals. I'm curious what ohm-rating of resistors you used to make this happen.

Thanks!

While I'm thinking about it, do you happen to have a complete parts list? I know, I'm asking the nearly impossible for a home-engineer, but I figure I'll be picky, worst case is I don't get it

I did use a reduced feed or the running lights, in-line resistors, as you suspected. I ran the calculation and came up with the ohm-rating that I needed. I'll post that up later. I can get you a pretty complete parts list too, but it will take a bit of time. I can probably pull it all together sometime this weekend.

[N8sVFR]

I need to look more into this myself. I made my own using regular LED, but turned sideways. Surface mount LED are not very bright generally, and my setup was more of a Proof of Concept. It works, as proven I guess....but not nearly as bright as I would like.

I love the connectors, and will certainly look into them...I opted for a Cat5 cable so I could use a M/M connector and easily unplug.

As far as making them run, blink, etc...a chip would be the way to do it, and would make it a bit more complex...the worst part is there are so many different trunk styles that each one would be a custom design, and most don't want to spend $200 for parts + custom labor.

Tightwad -

The SMLED's that I used were the brightest that I could find in a red SMLED that would fit behind the reflectors. I was actually pretty pleased with the brightness - easily visible even in full sunlight. Perhaps the video's and photos don't do the lights justice. I'll have to work on that. The reflectors also help to spread the light from the LED's over a greater area as well.

Binder connectors rock. Great quality, selection, and super service. Couldn't ask anything more from them.

My limited understanding of wiring for control of the LED's would require individual wiring to each LED or groups of LED's that were to be controlled separately. That would be a ton of wires to pack into the topcase, and coule be great for looks, but would defeat the purpose of the topcase for me -- room to take stuff with me!! My setup is obviously specific to the OEM topcase. You are absolutely right that other cases would require specific / custom installation and fabrication. Honestly, I was shocked that I couldn't find anything out there that was already being manufactured and I just wanted to put this out there for anyone who has an OEM case so that they would know that it was possible. It's not a cheap proposition, but definitely worth it for me. When I was first fabricating my lights, I was thinking about going into production if there was enough interest. It has taken forever for this topic to even reach two pages, so that idea went out the window pretty quick. There are economies of scale of course - buying in bulk would bring the cost of the parts down, but not that significantly (I was thinking 15%).

Edited November 4, 2009 by N8sVFR

[DVIII]

Shortly after receiving the strips, I took apart the top case and started attaching the strips to the white pieces of thick paper behind the wrap-around reflectors and the thin plastic piece behind the center reflector.

VFR OEM Trunk Lights 001.jpg

As you can see, my first take on the arrangements of the LED's behind the center reflector was too sparse. When lit, they just didn't have the punch that I was looking for.

VFR OEM Trunk Lights 006.jpg

Here you can see what the LED banks ended up looking like. There was a fair amount of soldering involved for the center LED but the wrap-arounds were fairly straightforward. I also found that I had to cut relief slots into the plastic backer for the center LED in order to allow the whole assembly to settle down over the ribs that are formed into the top case behind the lens. If anyone is wondering, I used 18 ga stranded wire that I bought from Radio Shack.

2008 VFR OEM Trunk Lights Part 2 017.jpg

2008 VFR OEM Trunk Lights Part 2 016.jpg

Since I wanted the entire assembly to be waterproof, I used clear silicone to cover the solder joints. The silicone I used was a GE product that you can pick up at any home improvement warehouse.

2008 VFR OEM Trunk Lights Part 2 021.jpg

After getting all of the LED banks installed back into the OEM top case, I used more of the same silicone to seal the holes that I drilled to allow the wiring to enter the case. I wanted to be able to remove the LED's if necessary, so the silicone can be cut out and replaced in the future if removing the LED's becomes necesary.

First of all, many thanks to the OP for this write-up! It is the only thing on the web that I have seen that even remotely addresses what I want to do, and at this point I am going to emulate this set up.

I'm just going to do the center brake light. And that's why I have cut down the original post to just these sections and pictures.

I have some questions for those who have done this mod, or even if the OP can answer:

1. Why can't the LED strip be run horizontally for 7-8 rows?

2. Can the LED segments of 3 lights be cut down further into segments of one or two lights to a segment for more precise fitment?

The answer to this may answer #1, and explain why the OP chose his lay out.

3. Are the slots cut in the white backing absolutely necessary? Is the issue that the LED strip does not fit between the reflector and the case because of these ridges?

Which may be another reason for the lay out.

Thanks, I know I dug this up from the dead, but hey, that's what we're supposed to do, right? Plus the info on this thread is amazing, thanks again, so much!

[DVIII]

I finished my install, to help anyone else interested in this project, it cost me no more than $65 (though I did use it as an excuse to buy a new soldering iron and a couple other items not included in this amount), but I also added a programmable modulator to the brake lights as well that looks awesome, found on amazon. Gives it some more pop.

I did run my strips horizontally and this was only possible by shaving down the plastic ribs the OP made slits to accommodate. Not to hard to do, just be patient and check and recheck fitment about 20 times.

The led strips I bought were white backing with red led's and had silicone covering for water proofing, which in sum is 2.5mm thick, and that's what you have to shave down on the plastic ribs.

Segments are 2" wide and cannot be cut in the middle of a 2" segment.

I bought DC jacks from radio shack for quick disconnect which ran a lot less than the OP's cool connections to the top case.

I did NOT do the side led's, props to the OP for the patience to remove those ribs. I am not that patient.

Anyways, let me know if you guys have any q's

Edited January 18, 2014 by DVIII

[1TallTXn]

I'm just going to do the center brake light. And that's why I have cut down the original post to just these sections and pictures.

I have some questions for those who have done this mod, or even if the OP can answer:

1. Why can't the LED strip be run horizontally for 7-8 rows?

2. Can the LED segments of 3 lights be cut down further into segments of one or two lights to a segment for more precise fitment?

The answer to this may answer #1, and explain why the OP chose his lay out.

3. Are the slots cut in the white backing absolutely necessary? Is the issue that the LED strip does not fit between the reflector and the case because of these ridges?

Which may be another reason for the lay out.

Thanks, I know I dug this up from the dead, but hey, that's what we're supposed to do, right? Plus the info on this thread is amazing, thanks again, so much!

Judging by your later post, my answer is too late to be useful.

The strips require multiples of three LEDs to work. Voltage I beleive is the reason.

In theory, as long as they're connected properly, it *should* work so long as theres 3 individuals wired together.

I'm about to wire up my GL1200 with LEDs and while I'm at it, I may go ahead and do the VFR as well.

One thing I discovered is that While superbrightleds.com has everything I want, they're about 10x more expensive than ebay or even Amazon.

The trick is to get the model of the LED chip itself then search for that in the config you want.

For example, a 300-LED strip of SMD 5050 LEDs in Red runs $160 from Superbrightleds.com http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/led-strips-and-bars/weatherproof-high-power-led-flexible-light-strip--wfls-x3-wht/1622/

You can get the same lights from Amazon for $16 http://amzn.com/B00BMHP960

If you don't mind waiting for things to ship from China, they can be cheaper on ebay as well.

[DVIII]

Thanks for the info.

For just the third tail light the 40-inch section is available for $26 shipped and was perfect length for my application.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/led-strips-and-bars/wfls-x-series-weatherproof-high-power-led-flexible-light-strip/1466/

that's what I used.

Please ignore my TERRIBLE soldering, I thought it would be much better after buying a better soldering setup, apparently no matter the equipment I still suck.

[Switchblade]

Soldering what soldering, we call that gluing .

I hate the new solder ...

[Dutchy]

Soldering what soldering, we call that gluing .

I hate the new solder ...

You are obisously old enough to remember this eh?