yeah that looks really nice!

That's pretty sick....to help ensure an even brightness, you could even wire them all in groups of 4 and run them all off of one current limiting resistor since the draw's so low.

The shack sells chome led holders for 5mm leds, which if you go diffuser-less might look real sweet when the brake's okk (they like $1.40 for two so it could get pricey, but I'm suse someone has them in bulk somewhere), though they may not fit since they're like 8mm

I got mine done. I used 5 2.2v 8000mcd LED with no resistor.

Oops. Somehow, they turned very dim in the past week (I've had them for about 2 weeks). I dunno why, but I'm hooking up a 68ohm resistor just in case that's the problem.

http://superbrightleds.com/products/...ars/LB3-x6.jpg



Just throwing that out there.

^^I was thinking bout doing that! Its relatively cheap and its all on a board already lol
Anyone tried it before? And what color would be better, warm white or red??

edit 3-18: I just order the light bar in red, ill update when i get it on

UPDATE:
Just got the SuperBrightLed Light bar in. I have it say its only ok...it doesnt seem too bright but i guess "you get what you pay for"
Still debating on sanding down the diffused plastic lens to be able to see the individual lights better.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...DSC_0305Ts.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...DSC_0307Ts.jpg

Where did you find the jdm specs for the light?

+1 i would like to know

i would say ged rid of the lens

I would get rid of that light bar. I think sanding the diffuser will just lower the output of the lights even more.

get led from me :P

Cojaro, ever figure out the problem? Just got some 5000mcd 3mm diffused led's, hopefully they will be bright enough, as I don't have tint covering my light.

sweet! I will be doing this as soon as I get back from overseas.

I followed kev's lead with a couple differences. Used 18 white LED's on the rat shack perfboard that was trimmed a little smaller than the photos in the original post. Installed in two rows of nine, it filled the space across the board pretty well. Mounted the LED's so the negative side was between the rows and bent them all in line and soldered them together for a ground bus. A short wire was used to attach the ground side to the lamp socket. The positive sides were bent out to the top and bottom, soldered together in banks of three with a 240ohm current limiting resistor (actually I used two 120ohm is series 'cause thats what I had in stock). I then soldered the upper and lower banks together with short lengths of 18 gauge wire and brought them to one lead to insert into the lamp socket. Didn't replace the metal shroud that protected the plastic housing from the heat of the stock bulb, that gave a little more space for everything to fit comfortably.

Here's the result:

http://digitalcascades.com/fit/3rd_brake.jpg

Anyone selling 12 or 20 8000mcd 5mm red lcd? LMK price shipped.

i did this mod last week, 6 LEDs, two rows of three in parallel. awesome, thanks for this thread..

now there is no more third brake light delay with LED tails!

brightest LED 3rd brake light
 

OK, got rear ended 2 times! Both times while stopped at red lights! The last time, was in the right turn lane waiting for traffic to clear from the left when the lady behind me thought I went and punched it thinking she could beat the cars coming. GRRRRR!!!

ANYWAYS...... I want to make a super bright 3rd brake light that nobody will miss and will match my new LED rears (only thing good to come of this! I got LED rear tails!) but something brighter.

What are the brightest, highest powered LEDs (and how many can I fit) that do not need heat sinks and stuff to work? I am half tempted to make my own housing and make them the width of the rear hatch! Will see how this project works out first!! I really want to grab thier attention when I hit the brake pedal!

OK, after doing a ton of research, and a little investigative trip, I have a game plan all set up. I plan on using Gen II Superflux LED's Superflux 4 Chip LEDs as they offer a lot of advantages over the regular 2 prong LED's.

They sit flatter than the normal LED's do, so fitting them in the housing will not be a problem. I plan on using about 40 of them (A lot of them I know, but I DO want it bright!) still using the stock lens cover.

They have a Very wide beam compared to most round LED's with a high light output. This means not only will they be bright from straight on, but they will also give a decent light output off axis. I will be using about 40 of them at around a buck each. A little expensive, but should blow away the light output of most of the ones listed previously

They do not need any heatsink like the Gen III LED's do.




I actually went to an emergency lighting place to check out what was available and found that the majority of the LED lighting used either Gen II or Gen III. The round Gen I LED's, even the big 10 mm do not put out the light like the later ones by far.

All said and done, it looks like I will have around $40 invested in a 3rd brake light that will be equal in brightness to the lights used in police cars

They will not last if you do that, as that is only 11 volts worth of LED's and your alternator can put out around 13.8 volts. They will be really bright for awhile, then they will burn out. You need to throw a resister in the circuit to take care of the extra 3 volts