Building my own flush tail lights

[amoyer_01]

Maybe a set of LED strips for the turns with sequential and reverse. No idea on how bright they are. Then the red strip you are using.

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[Justinswidebody]

Maybe a set of LED strips for the turns with sequential and reverse. No idea on how bright they are. Then the red strip you are using.

Qasim 24inch LED Daytime Running Light Sequential Guide Turn Signal Light White/Amber 60CM-2Pack https://a.co/d/ia84r0l

That's a good idea and would work. But the reason I haven't done this way is because we would have to tap into the turn signal wire from the front fenders.

The reason being is the back turn signal is the same wire as the brake wire... The factory back turn is red and not amber therefore factory uses the same bulb and wire for both brake and turn.

If we had a dedicated turn wire in the back, I'd be throwing in sequential turns easily....

So what we need is a red led strip 33" long or cut to length that has start up animation with low and high function...

I could use the start up animation for turn sequential look, and then have the low as running light and high and turn.

There are a few of these that exist for rear third brake lights and tail gate lights... But I can't find any that are cut to length or anywhere near 33 inches

 

[Justinswidebody]

Something like his

 

[Rockabillyroy]

That's a good idea and would work. But the reason I haven't done this way is because we would have to tap into the turn signal wire from the front fenders.

The reason being is the back turn signal is the same wire as the brake wire... The factory back turn is red and not amber therefore factory uses the same bulb and wire for both brake and turn.

If we had a dedicated turn wire in the back, I'd be throwing in sequential turns easily....

So what we need is a red led strip 33" long or cut to length that has start up animation with low and high function...

I could use the start up animation for turn sequential look, and then have the low as running light and high and turn.

There are a few of these that exist for rear third brake lights and tail gate lights... But I can't find any that are cut to length or anywhere near 33 inches

Tap the 7 or 4 pin for turn function?

 

[Justinswidebody]

Tap the 7 or 4 pin for turn function?

You gave me hope thinking I had missed something....

Tail lights pin 7 is ground and pin 4 is park lamp driver.....

 

[Justinswidebody]

First attempt at printing the lens failed.... Might have to print the lens in different parts and glue together...

Will try to print it full again tonight... When the print get to the top it gets very wobbly because it's so thin.....

I'll probably take the weekend and clean up my cad files.... There's a lot to be cleaned up..

Here's how it looks with non finished lens.... Tonight I'll take pictures with lights on inside it so we can see how it will perform

 

[mstrpoz]

First attempt at printing the lens failed.... Might have to print the lens in different parts and glue together...

Will try to print it full again tonight... When the print get to the top it gets very wobbly because it's so thin.....

I'll probably take the weekend and clean up my cad files.... There's a lot to be cleaned up..

Here's how it looks with non finished lens.... Tonight I'll take pictures with lights on inside it so we can see how it will perform

I need this in my life. Great work!

 

[mstrpoz]

I honestly just hope I am at the top of the list when you are ready to produce hahahaha

 

[EddyArnold]

 

[Animal]

Could you try printing the lens rotated so the two long flat edges are on the print bed? If your printer can accommodate I think you'd have less supports and less wobble since it'd be much lower cg.

 

[USMC_1Wire6337]

First attempt at printing the lens failed.... Might have to print the lens in different parts and glue together...

Will try to print it full again tonight... When the print get to the top it gets very wobbly because it's so thin.....

I'll probably take the weekend and clean up my cad files.... There's a lot to be cleaned up..

Here's how it looks with non finished lens.... Tonight I'll take pictures with lights on inside it so we can see how it will perform

What about printing it face down flat? light sanding should take out support tree marks and also make it a more matte finish.

But, I am not knowledgeable about 3d printing and could be mis-speaking.

 

[Justinswidebody]

Yes that is my next plan is to print laying horizontally.... Hopefully it wont be too bad... We will see tonight

Great idea guys, thank you!

 

[amoyer_01]

That's a good idea and would work. But the reason I haven't done this way is because we would have to tap into the turn signal wire from the front fenders.

The reason being is the back turn signal is the same wire as the brake wire... The factory back turn is red and not amber therefore factory uses the same bulb and wire for both brake and turn.

If we had a dedicated turn wire in the back, I'd be throwing in sequential turns easily....

So what we need is a red led strip 33" long or cut to length that has start up animation with low and high function...

I could use the start up animation for turn sequential look, and then have the low as running light and high and turn.

There are a few of these that exist for rear third brake lights and tail gate lights... But I can't find any that are cut to length or anywhere near 33 inches

I didn’t realize the tails didn’t have a dedicated turn wire. So odd seems they spent more time to not add it then just running the same turn wire from the front. I wonder how other companies have made it work. Seems like more trouble then it’s worth then.

 

[Justinswidebody]

Here's one with a tiny Easter egg gladiator.... No mountain though

 

[sharpsicle]

I didn’t realize the tails didn’t have a dedicated turn wire. So odd seems they spent more time to not add it then just running the same turn wire from the front. I wonder how other companies have made it work. Seems like more trouble then it’s worth then.

Actually, the dedicated rear turn is the oddity in the States. Domestic brands have always used the rear brake as the turn indicator because it is simpler and requires less wires and bulbs. This was important going back to the early days of automotive design. Since then, the traditional design has persisted in US brand vehicles. You'll notice that those with an amber rear turn indicator are usually foreign brands. Just a result in the way the different markets evolved their standards. If memory serves, Gladiators sold in Europe have dedicated rear turns because of this requirement.

Notice, too, that trailers are built to emulate the US domestic design, and require converters for foreign designed cars. This coincidentally is the reason the trailer plugs won't help with any of this as mentioned earlier in the thread.

Today, neither is more right or wrong than the other.

Now, this does not mean you can't do sequentials. Many do with this integrated brake/turn light configuration. It sequentials on with the brake lights, but since they aren't blinking with brake, it's a one-and-done sequential transition. It actually looks pretty slick in practice.

EDIT: Video example of sequential lights on non-separated brake/turn setups:

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