volcon
New member
I'd been thinking about LED tail lights for while but, I was not satisfied with the cost, performance, or reliability. SoI planned to make my own.
The original plan was to solder thrity or soLEDs and a dozen resistors to perf board to make the light. But, then... the guy a Lee's Electronics showed me these LED modules.
And a new much simpler plan was hatched. I'd use two moduals and make it plug and play.
First I used an 1157 lamp and soldered my wires (and other parts) to the contacts on the lamp base. Then I filled the lamp base with 5 minute epoxy to hold the wires.
Bent a piece of sheet metal and used the sticky backing of the modules to hold them on.
I put a blocking diode in the circuit, I'm not sure if I really needs it but, it can't hurt. The resistor limits thebrightness of the "Tail Light" , increasing its value will decrease brightness. Wire colours are for "old" KLRs.
Results:
Factory tail light:
Factory Brake Light:
LED Tail Light:
LED Brake Light:
It's hard to see in the pictures but the LED lights are a lot brighter than stock. Also, (in case you couldn't tell) the colour is different. The LEDs are a lot whiter than the incandesent lamps.
Overall, I very happy with the results and I'll confirm brightness and visability the next time I find a KLR.Current is about 0.2A for tail light and 0.5A for brake, roughly 1/3 of stock.
Price is $35 with taxes :tup:
Lee's Electronics: http://www.leeselectronic.com
The original plan was to solder thrity or soLEDs and a dozen resistors to perf board to make the light. But, then... the guy a Lee's Electronics showed me these LED modules.
And a new much simpler plan was hatched. I'd use two moduals and make it plug and play.
First I used an 1157 lamp and soldered my wires (and other parts) to the contacts on the lamp base. Then I filled the lamp base with 5 minute epoxy to hold the wires.
Bent a piece of sheet metal and used the sticky backing of the modules to hold them on.
I put a blocking diode in the circuit, I'm not sure if I really needs it but, it can't hurt. The resistor limits thebrightness of the "Tail Light" , increasing its value will decrease brightness. Wire colours are for "old" KLRs.
Results:
Factory tail light:
Factory Brake Light:
LED Tail Light:
LED Brake Light:
It's hard to see in the pictures but the LED lights are a lot brighter than stock. Also, (in case you couldn't tell) the colour is different. The LEDs are a lot whiter than the incandesent lamps.
Overall, I very happy with the results and I'll confirm brightness and visability the next time I find a KLR.Current is about 0.2A for tail light and 0.5A for brake, roughly 1/3 of stock.
Price is $35 with taxes :tup:
Lee's Electronics: http://www.leeselectronic.com
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