tail light problems

94SCblack5speed

Registered User
My right side center tailight is dim and i cant pass inspection checked all the wiring i guess one of the bulbs is just out. The tail light is completly sealed though. Does the whole unit just have to be replaced?
 
It is a sealed LED unit on the 92-up cars. I have seen some posts on the repair, but it is pretty involved.
 
I think I have a right side from a 94 if you're interested.
To pass inspection, just unplug both sides & tell them they're reflectors only.
 
They're not even tail lights, just for looks. As they said, just unplug them. Fixing them is a pain the arse and I'm still trying to figure out a simple way to rebuild them.
 
has anybody tried to cut a slit in the bottom and stick a neon bar in there? my buddy has the failing LED bar blues too. we are thinking of doing that.
 
The enclosure doesn't lend itself well to just slapping something in there. The back of the lens is coated in a semi-glossy silver paint. The LED's themselves (20 or so of them) are enclosed in a plastic assembly at the bottom and face straight up. The plastic enclosure has cone shaped relfective surfaces facing up that create the "look" you see in the lights where when all the lights are lit the light is pretty even.

To get neon to reflect properly and given an even appearance would take some design change of the lower plastic assembly that currently holds the LED's.

I've got a new circuit designed and working in a prototype form to replace the LED's with new ones. But I need to get the circut board to get the thickness of the assembly down so it will fit in the existing reflector assembly. The aftermarket LED's are also a little bigger in diameter so the reflector assembly needs to be modified a bit. So I'm getting samples for some plastic I can use to mold new reflector assemblies for my LED board. I'm likely 6 months out yet in developing this. I need to make something yet to make it easier to open the lens assemblies also. Using a dremel looses too much material. I'm planning on making some sort of hot wire knife that should do better.

If you check the member forum a couple of us were discussing this circuit design in a thread there.
 
Mike8675309 said:
The enclosure doesn't lend itself well to just slapping something in there. The back of the lens is coated in a semi-glossy silver paint. The LED's themselves (20 or so of them) are enclosed in a plastic assembly at the bottom and face straight up. The plastic enclosure has cone shaped relfective surfaces facing up that create the "look" you see in the lights where when all the lights are lit the light is pretty even.

To get neon to reflect properly and given an even appearance would take some design change of the lower plastic assembly that currently holds the LED's.

I've got a new circuit designed and working in a prototype form to replace the LED's with new ones. But I need to get the circut board to get the thickness of the assembly down so it will fit in the existing reflector assembly. The aftermarket LED's are also a little bigger in diameter so the reflector assembly needs to be modified a bit. So I'm getting samples for some plastic I can use to mold new reflector assemblies for my LED board. I'm likely 6 months out yet in developing this. I need to make something yet to make it easier to open the lens assemblies also. Using a dremel looses too much material. I'm planning on making some sort of hot wire knife that should do better.

If you check the member forum a couple of us were discussing this circuit design in a thread there.

You have a point.....ok, you have a ton of points. lol I see what you mean for the Tbird lights. I think it might be easier for me since my rear reflectors have a black strip in the middle, (Cougar, you know) It would serve to "hide" or mask the neon, but I need a junked one to try it out on first.

It sounds like you are well on the way to making a repair kit for Tbirds, I know many people will love you if it works out. Best of luck with it. I'll be sure to tell my best friend to keep an eye out.
 
Here is a picture of the old parts and my prototype. The replacement will use remote mounted circuit controls to keep them in a better environment. It's a current limiting circuit that should improve the life of the leds once I determine the optimal brightness to match stock lights. The stock LED's are being driven by a load limiting circuit that allows current to vary with voltage. A bad regulator on an alt can easily cause damage and early failure. Plus, as you can see in the picture, moisture can get in and cause damage to the resistor set. I was originally planning to just fix the bad leds in mine, but once I opened it I found the actual circuit board damaged beyond repair.

The stock leds are mounted on that green strip tha sits at the bottom of that plastic assembly. That assembly folds in half, and then that clear lens sits at the top. You can see I used perfboard to mount the prototype, but the connections and such just end up being too thick. The final design may also support tying in the brake light circuit and flashing the leds with the brake light if you so choose.
prottype.jpg
 
Boys and Girls, don't try this at home.

Pearl Red XR7 said:
You have a point.....ok, you have a ton of points. lol I see what you mean for the Tbird lights. I think it might be easier for me since my rear reflectors have a black strip in the middle, (Cougar, you know) It would serve to "hide" or mask the neon, but I need a junked one to try it out on first.

It sounds like you are well on the way to making a repair kit for Tbirds, I know many people will love you if it works out. Best of luck with it. I'll be sure to tell my best friend to keep an eye out.

I tried the neon in my Cougar tail bar and was not happy. any light at the back of the car and you would not know it was on. the tail light drowned it out. next i will try 2 per side on the top and bottom of the black bar to see if it helps.
 
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