Making LED lamps and installing them using the example of a Porsche 924. This article describes a method for making LED lamps at home and then installing them on any car without unnecessary interference in the design of the car itself, lighting devices and wiring.
This means that everyone, regardless of the make and model of the car, can replace failed incandescent lamps rear lights, direction indicators, instrument panel lights to new LED ones, using only the base of the old lamp.
Without going too deep into theory, We know that LED bulbs consume 80-90% less power than incandescent lamps, while having a comparable luminous flux. Thus, we reduce the load on the generator and battery, save fuel and protect environment. A small thing, but nice! Also, LED lamps have a significantly longer service life, reaching, according to Chinese manufacturers 50,000 hours or almost 6 years of continuous operation!!! In practice, this figure can be safely halved or even tripled, but still significantly more than that of Ilyich’s light bulbs.
Some might argue that automotive LED lamps are no longer news. You can safely buy them without throwing away half your salary. But it just so happens that I drive an old Porsche 924 from 1980. And I love this machine, especially since during the entire period of ownership it has never let me down. Like a woman, she requires regular care and prevention. But rarity does not suit the modern cold White light with a bluish tint. I want the right warm light with a cozy yellow tint.
Unfortunately, all the car LED bulbs I have come across have a cool white light. But there are LEDs with the right warm glow, but in bulk, that is, without a base.
So, I bought a hundred 3mm LEDs with the "correct" warm glow and 470 ohm resistors to adapt them to the car electrical system.
I admit, my conscience is not clear. One of the backlight lamps on the speedometer burned out a long time ago. To replace it, you need to disassemble the instrument panel. And this is not so easy to do. View lamp type. Reassemble the panel. Order lamps and wait a month for them to arrive. Then disassemble the panel again and change the lamps. Not a bright prospect.
My patience has run out when the rear right marker stopped working. It was a 12V/5W lamp. Especially the evening before the weekend and all the shops are locked.
So I took a burnt llama, removed the glass and the remaining glue, soldered 5 LEDs with resistors into the base and filled everything with hot glue for reliability. This is what happened.
From my point of view, it is not worth connecting LEDs in series (for example, as in the figure).
This will save a couple of resistances, but the power consumption will not change. The voltage in the circuit will simply drop. In this case, the entire structure must be placed on a small board, suitable size. And if one of the LEDs burns out, the rest in the chain will also stop working and the lamp will have to be changed again. But it will be much better this way...
The next day, I was not too lazy, removed the steering wheel and disassembled the instrument panel, got to the backlight bulbs and successfully soldered an LED paired with a resistor into each base.
Now the dashboard shines like new again.
By the way, each light bulb consumed 1.2 W of power, and there were as many as 6 of them on the instrument panel. Plus one more each in the clock, voltmeter, pressure gauge and engine indicator. In total this is already 12 watts. And I have not yet counted the 5 W lamps, of which I have replaced one so far, the trunk, interior, glove box lighting lamps, the lamp under the hood and the license plate lights.
I didn’t spend much time on all the work and had a lot of fun.
LED light today is a popular method of lighting not only in apartments, but also modern cars. Diodes can be used both for low beam and for arranging lighting in the car interior. You can learn more about what an LED represents, how to connect it yourself, and what types of such light bulbs there are from this material.
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LED characteristics
LEDs are diodes that can glow when current flows through them. The light of an LED strip or light bulb depends on what additives were used to create the conductor. For example, yellow and red lighting, as well as shades of these colors, are possible as a result of adding phosphorus, aluminum, indium and helium to the conductor. If a blue phosphor is added to the conductor, the color of the diode will be white. Today you can find lamps on sale in dozens of different colors and shades, but their color does not depend on the color of the body of the diode itself, but directly on chemical additives.
It should also be noted that diode elements in a transparent case can glow in absolutely any color when connected to a car.
Such lighting has many advantages, including:
- if compared with conventional incandescent light bulbs, then in this case the level of energy consumption will be ten times less;
- quite a long service life, which can be up to ten years of continuous operation;
- Also, such lamps are very durable and practically impervious to vibrations and shocks;
- a huge variety of colors and shades;
- ability to operate at low voltage;
- diode devices are generally environmentally friendly and safe from a fire point of view - such designs do not contain toxic elements, therefore, they do not heat up, which means fires are excluded.
Marking
As for the main characteristics and markings, we will talk about this further. The crystal of the diode component is mounted in a reflector, which initially sets the required scattering angle. This light flux passes through a special housing made of epoxy resin, and when it reaches the lens, it is immediately dissipated. Moreover, it is scattered at an angle that depends on the design of the lens; it can range from 5 to 160 degrees.
As for marking, such diode elements can be divided into two types:
- Visible radiation. Typically used as indicators, as well as backlight sources in various devices.
- Infrared range. Such devices are used in remote control panels, sensors, controllers, as well as all kinds of transceiver devices operating in the infrared range.
In any case, such light sources are marked using a color code. First, you should identify the type of diode in accordance with its design, and then clarify it according to the markings given in the table.
Connection Guide
Now we propose to find out how the LED is turned on after connecting the plus and minus, which circuit can be used for this and which cannot.
In the case of a car, a twelve-volt on-board network allows you to implement great opportunities in terms of connecting plus and minus. If the circuit is implemented in a car, then it can be sequential with three elements. A larger number of parts, as a rule, are no longer connected to the network, since it is necessary to remember that the voltage level decreases under load. For example, if it drops even slightly, by one volt, to 11 V, this can cause a large loss of light flux. When arranging the circuit and connecting the positive, you can use a resistor, but if it is not at hand, then experts recommend using a low-voltage driver in such cases.
Its use is due to the fact that it also operates from a twelve-volt network and is also equipped with a special output voltage regulator. In addition, the driver must also have an ampere setting, which will allow optimal distribution of current and ensure high-quality lighting. In addition, its design is much simpler than when compared to connecting to a household network; such a circuit eliminates the need to use an additional transformer, only a choke.
As you know, despite the fact that a car electrical circuit has 12 volts, when the engine is running, the voltage parameter can vary around 13.5-15 volts. However, if surges occur in the system, this parameter can increase to 30 volts. When disabled power unit the voltage level should be around 12-13 volts, in this case it all depends on how charged the battery is.
So when arranging the circuit, in any case you need to use a stabilizer or a stabilized power supply. Moreover, the products made in China have difficulty withstanding power surges, since in general the quality of the conductor on the crystal leaves much to be desired. If you use higher quality, branded versions of lighting sources, then they can function without stabilizers, it is safe for them (the author of the video is the KAR AutoCity channel).
The procedure for installing diode elements in a car may differ, depending on what kind of circuit you want to arrange and how you will connect it.
Below is a universal version of the assembly steps that will allow you to do everything correctly:
- Before assembly, read the technical documentation. You must know exactly the characteristics of your light sources, specifically how many volts each LED will supply in your circuit.
- The next step will be drawing up a connection diagram. There are quite a lot of options for such schemes on the Internet, you can easily find something for yourself. When drawing up the circuit, take into account the supply voltage in the electrical network.
- Next, you will need to calculate the power consumption level of the circuit as a whole.
- When you do this, you will need to select either a stabilizer, an appropriate unit, or a driver that is suitable for your electrical circuit in terms of power. It would also be a good idea to correctly calculate the resistor in case you plan to use power with a stabilized voltage.
- Then you need to find the correct polarity on the light source elements. You must know exactly where the plus is and where the minus is. Using a soldering iron and consumables(tin, rosin), solder the wires to the plus and minus, after which you can connect the power source (that is, the cable from on-board network). The connection in this case will depend on your goals - if you want the lighting to work when the ignition is on, then you need to extend the cable directly from the ignition.
- After the wires are soldered, it is necessary to securely and tightly mount the diode elements on the radiator and fix them. Next, the assembled structure is connected to the vehicle’s on-board network. If nothing burned out when connecting, then check, just in case, the energy consumption parameter, the heating of the diode elements, as well as the current they consume. If the current turns out to be higher or lower than you planned, then this indicator should be adjusted.
Please note that although diodes can withstand vibrations and shocks, all components of the circuit must be securely fixed. This will prevent malfunctions in the operation of lighting sources, as well as the appearance extraneous sounds caused by shaking of loose elements.
Video “How to make a voltage stabilizer for LEDs with your own hands”
To prevent burnout of diode light sources, you can try to make an appropriate stabilizer with your own hands, detailed instructions shown in the video (the author of the video is the channel Created in Garage).
LEDs are widely used in almost all areas of a person’s life, especially if he is the proud owner of his own car. Every day, LEDs are increasingly replacing incandescent lamps.
They work quite simply; when current is passed through the device, it emits non-coherent light. Differ from ordinary lamps filament durability, high efficiency and low current consumption. You can use them anywhere, it all depends on your imagination.
Kinds
LEDs are classified by size, brightness, power, color and number of crystals.
Its body contains a semiconductor crystal that glows when current passes through it.
Low power (0.07W)
They are short-lived because they do not have cooling. They are used in various radio equipment.
Powerful (1-3W)
Durable. At correct use can work for more than 10 years. Practically not subject to overloads.
LED modules (0.7-0.9W)
This is an aluminum plate containing several diodes. Its main difference is its very expensive cost.
LED strips
Low-power LEDs that can be used to illuminate the glove compartment in a car or the instrument panel, nothing more. Such configurations are usually short-lived.
How to do it yourself?
In this video, you will be shown how to make bright LEDs and install them on your car.
The main thing to remember is that an LED is not an ordinary incandescent lamp. When replacing a device with a lamp, you need to be very careful, since your incorrect actions with the electrical part of the car can lead to very serious consequences.
Unlike conventional incandescent lamps, they consume 80% less power, while having almost the same luminous flux. This reduces the load on the battery and generator.
From the right choice voltage will depend on the brightness of the illuminator. Also, different colors have different voltages, for example, red and yellow have 2-2.5V, and green and blue have 3-3.8V. For proper operation of the diodes, you need to check their operation with the engine off and on.
If you are going to replace a regular light bulb with an LED one dashboard, then you need to use narrowly directed diodes; they have a magnifying lens at the end. You also need to pay attention to the type of lenses.
At correct installation, it can last up to 2500 hours with continuous use. Connecting them is not a labor-intensive task, since there is no filament on them, so it will not take much time. And you don't need to have knowledge of radio engineering.
Another advantage of the LED is that you can install it in any position, color and size. If you simply plug the diode into the car's network, it will simply burn out.
They are connected to the battery through a nine-volt stabilizer, which will provide a series-parallel connection. Under no circumstances should you connect directly, since the voltage in the car’s network is 12V, and they have an average of 3-3.5V.
Connecting LEDs
From this video clip, you will learn how to connect an LED strip to the brake lights of a VAZ 2109. Let's watch!
- The easiest way to connect an LED to your car is to use a cluster(LED panel), which are designed for 12V. You simply connect to the car's network and rejoice at how easy it all is and how beautifully they burn.
But there is one very big “but” - as the engine speed increases, the brightness of the diodes will change. The clusters will work well only if your car has 12.5 V, if less, then they will burn dimly; - The second method is a little more complicated. Here you will have to connect the clusters together, that is, make a series circuit, connecting the plus of the first LED to the minus of the second, and make two outputs to the car’s power supply. But they need to be calculated. For example, if they are designed for 12-14 V, then you need 3 LEDs, in total 3.5 Volts each LED, there are only three of them, 3.5 * 3 = 10.5 Volts. You don't need to connect them yet. Connect a quenching resistor of approximately 100-150 ohms into the series circuit. With a power of 0.5 W. You can find them in radio parts stores.
But it has the same drawback that was mentioned earlier: as the speed increases, the brightness of the lighting device changes. But if you put more than three diodes in the circuit, you can avoid this drawback.
They need to be connected in parallel, that is, connect several chains (three diodes, one resistor - one chain), and here the plus needs to be connected to the plus of the next LED, and the minus, respectively, to the minus.
When connecting one LED, you need a 550 Ohm resistor, with two 300 Ohms, with three 150 Ohms, if you know Ohm’s law, then everything should be clear. Next, you will need a multimeter. For example, you have a 3.5V LED with a current of 20 mA, and you want to connect it to a car. You need to measure the voltage with a multimeter in the place where you are going to install it.
This is what baseless LEDs look like
The voltage may be different on different parts of the car. Let's say after measuring you have 13 V. Next, subtract 13 V from 3.5 V (LED voltage), you get 9.5 V. In the formula, the current should be measured in amperes, 20 mA = 0.02 Ampere.
Now, using the formula, we calculate the resistance: 9.5V/0.02A = 475 Ohms. To prevent the resistor from heating up, you need to determine its power. To do this, 9.5 V (voltage quenching the resistor) * 0.02 (current passing through it) = 0.19 W. You need to take it with a small margin, about 0.5-1 W.
Next, switch the multimeter mode to current measurement in order to measure the current in the circuit in the gap between the LED and the resistor. Set the multimeter to 10 A, connect the positive of the battery to the positive of the device, and the negative of the device to the positive of the LED. The multimeter should show approximately 20 mA; it may be less, since there is a slight scatter in the parameters on the resistors and LEDs.
The more current flows into the lighting fixture, the brighter it will shine. But the brightness affects the service life of the LED, to avoid, do not set the current above 20mA, optimal value 18 mA.
A video about gluing a car with carbon film is in this, also here there is very interesting and useful material!
There is a detailed table of customs clearance of cars from Germany.
To prevent engine speed from affecting the brightness of the LEDs, you need to turn them on through a stabilizer. It limits the amount of current supplied to the LED, you can connect a kilowatt there, this will not affect the brightness.
If you have lighting installed wherever possible and this is not enough for you, then connecting LEDs to speaker wires is just for you. The terminals of the device are connected in parallel to the speakers. With such a connection, it is important to take into account the resistance of the speakers is often 4 ohms, but there are speakers with 6 and 8 ohms.
When connecting the tape parallel to the speakers, the load on your radio is reduced to avoid overheating. But the efficiency of the speakers themselves will also decrease; they will not produce all the power. To avoid this, you need to use an electrical circuit like (LM 3914).
It will reduce the load at the output to the radio due to its own high resistance. The signal must be pulled from the amplifier output, and not from the speaker wires. For proper operation you will need the correct connection and one resistor.
You will also need to use a slide switch, which will set the backlight activation level according to the input signal level.
Of course, all this can be bought in a store, but why pay more?
Many car enthusiasts want to replace conventional incandescent car bulbs with LEDs. Their advantage is determined by durability, low current consumption, high light output and lack of heating.
What are LEDs
Lamp device
An LED is a semiconductor device that is capable of emitting light when an electric current is passed through it. It is generally accepted that first light emitting diode(LED) was made in 1962 at the University of Illinois. However, it has recently become widely used. This is due to the relative cheapness and the fact that our lamps convert current directly into light radiation, unlike incandescent or fluorescent lamps.
Device diagramLEDs are mechanically robust and extremely reliable. Their service life reaches 100 thousand hours, which is 5-10 times longer than that of fluorescent lamps, and almost 100 times longer than that of incandescent lamps. After all, this is a low voltage, safer device.
Varieties
There are the following parameters by which types of LEDs are classified, namely:
- size,
- number of crystals in the case,
- power,
- brightness,
- emitted color, etc.
As a rule, the LED housing contains only one semiconductor crystal, which begins to glow when electric current flows. In the case of multi-color lamps, instead of one crystal, several are inserted. The crystals themselves emit different light, as they are made of different materials.
Color palette Application
Two-color light bulbs (red and green) are usually used as indicators. To create light screens, three-color LEDs with the following basic colors are suitable: blue, green, red. When mixing the latter, you can get a display of photos and videos.
For increased brightness, several crystals of the same color are sometimes installed in the body of one lamp. In this case, the brightness is a multiple of their number.
Rules for installing LEDs
The first thing you need to immediately understand is that an LED is not a lamp. You must be careful and careful during the replacement procedure. Repairing the electrical part of a car due to incorrect actions is not a pleasant thing. However, there is nothing complicated in such a replacement, the tuning of which you have already thought about can be installed yourself.
Voltage and current are two fundamental characteristics. In the car's on-board electrical network, the voltage is usually 12-13 V when the engine is off, and when the engine is running - 13-14.5 V. The supply voltage for our lamps ranges from 2-3.8 V depending on the color (to be confirmed with the manufacturer). The current value for a low-power lamp is limited to 20 mA, high-power LEDs reach 350 mA.
It is also necessary to take into account that not all LEDs can illuminate the space around them. When buying new lamps, pay attention to the type of lens, which indicates the dispersion angle. For example, narrow-beam light bulbs have a small lens.
Connection
Available for sale led panels(clusters), which are designed for 12 V power supply. You can immediately connect them to the mains and enjoy the wonderful lights. But as the engine speed changes, the brightness of their glow will change. In fact, they will normally glow at a voltage of about 12.5 V, low voltage will lead to a dim glow of the clusters.
Each cluster consists of LEDs and a resistor. There is one resistor for three lamps, which is needed to dampen excess voltage. LED Strip Light is designed in a similar way, and if you need a piece, you can cut it at a certain place.
Serial connection
Our lamps can be switched on in series, thereby making a homemade cluster. To do this, you need to connect them to each other, and connect the remaining two terminals to the on-board electrical network. For example, for a voltage of 12-14 V you will need three white LEDs. As you know, LEDs of different colors have different supply voltages. Thus, in this example we get the following supply voltage: 3.5x3 = 10.5 V.
For an LED, one terminal is considered “plus” (cathode), and the second is considered “minus” (anode). A serial connection means that the “plus” of one terminal is connected to the “minus” of the next and so on until the end. But they still cannot be connected directly to the network. We connect a quenching resistor (resistance) of 100-150 Ohms with a power of 0.5 W in series with the resulting chain.
This circuit also depends on the voltage of the on-board network. However, using it, you can connect any number of LEDs in chains of 3 pieces in parallel with a resistor. A parallel connection means collecting several identical chains, where the plus of one chain is connected to the plus of another chain, and the minus to the minus. The nominal resistance is calculated according to Ohm's law.
Remember, if you just take and connect an LED to the car’s electrical network, you are guaranteed to burn it out.
Installing LEDs on cars
Illuminated door handles in a car
For a clear example, let’s look at how car doors can be made, in particular, we’ll install lighting for the pockets of the interior door handles.
The installation location was chosen to be the inside of the handle itself. At this point the LED will not be visible, and at the same time will illuminate the entire pocket.
Car door handle For this illumination, a bright LED with a resistance of 1 kOhm was used. Additionally, the lens was ground down, so we get uniform light. The lamp itself was secured with hot glue.
Mounted lamp If you doubt your calculations, you can use one of the calculators for calculating LEDs that are available on the Internet.
Handle illumination LED lighting for music lovers
If you have installed the backlight and it is still not enough for you, then you can connect our lamps to the speaker wires. This way the LEDs will shimmer to the rhythm of your music.
The LED leads can be connected in parallel to the speakers. With this connection, you need to take into account that the resistance of all speakers is standardized and is usually 4 Ohms, but there are exceptions in the form of 6 and 8 Ohms. By connecting the tape parallel to the speakers, you will increase the load on the speaker, which can cause it to overheat or break. This will also cause a decrease in the efficiency of the working speakers, which will only produce a fraction of their power.
To avoid this situation, there is an electrical circuit (LM 3914), which, due to its own high resistance, reduces the load resistance at the output of the connected radio. The signal to the input of the microcircuit does not come from the speaker wires, but from the low-power output to the amplifier. To operate such a microcircuit, you only need one resistor and, accordingly, the correct connection.
Electrical diagram connections The output transistor is the power control element. It is powered from it (at a negative potential of the transistor base). To set the backlight turn-on level corresponding to the level of the input signal to the microcircuit, we use a slide switch. If the volume is reduced, then the potential from the 1, 17, 18 or 16th leg is supplied to the base of the transistor through the indicated switch; when increasing, you should switch to one of the following legs: 15, 14, 13, and at maximum volume - to 12, 11 or 10th.
There are many ready-made solutions on sale, but whether it’s worth paying 3 times more for them is up to you to decide.
Almost all motorists are familiar with the problem of rapid failure of LED lamps. Which are often placed in parking lights, daytime running lights(DRL) or other lights.
Typically, these LED lamps have low power and current consumption. What, in fact, determines their choice.
The LED itself can easily serve in optimal conditions for more than 50,000 hours, but in a car, especially a domestic one, it is sometimes not enough for a month. First, the LED begins to flicker, and then completely burns out.
What explains this?
The lamp manufacturer writes the marking “12V”. This is the optimal voltage at which the LEDs in the lamp operate almost at maximum. And if you supply 12 V to this lamp, it will last at maximum brightness for a very long time.So why does it burn out in the car? Initially, the voltage of the car’s on-board network is 12.6 V. An overestimation of 12 is already visible. And the voltage of the network of a running car can reach up to 14.5 V. Let’s add to all this various jumps from switching powerful high- or low-beam lamps, powerful impulses voltage and magnetic interference when starting the engine from the starter. And we get not the best network for powering LEDs, which, unlike incandescent lamps, are very sensitive to all changes.
Since simple Chinese lamps often have no limiting elements other than a resistor, the lamp fails due to overvoltage.
During my practice, I changed dozens of such lamps. Most of them did not serve even a year. Eventually I got tired and decided to look for an easier way out.
Simple voltage stabilizer for LEDs
To provide comfortable operation for LEDs I decided to make a simple stabilizer. Absolutely not difficult, any motorist can repeat it.All we need:
- - a piece of PCB for the board,
Stabilizer circuit
The circuit is taken from the datasheet for the L7805 chip.
It's simple - on the left is the entrance, on the right is the exit. Such a stabilizer can withstand up to 1.5 A load, provided that it is installed on a radiator. Naturally, for small light bulbs no radiator is needed.
Stabilizer assembly for LEDs
All you need to do is cut out the required piece from the PCB. There is no need to etch the tracks - I cut out simple lines with a regular screwdriver.Solder all the elements and you're done. No setup required.
Thermal blower serves as the housing.
Another advantage of the circuit is that it is fashionable to use a car body as a radiator, since the central terminal of the microcircuit body is connected to the minus.
That's all, the LEDs no longer burn out. I’ve been driving for more than a year and forgot about this problem, which I advise you to do as well.
