Per request of a few people, I have written up this tutorial on how to make your own LED mirror light. There are easier ways to do this, but they aren't as fun and don't give you that sense of accomplisment once you've finished. I don't have pictures of every step, but it's fairly simple to do, I promise.

:: Materials Needed ::

-LED's
-Resistor
-Solder
-Soldering Iron
-Screw Driver
-12v Regulator (optional per end result)


:: Setup ::

We will need to figure out the resistor size needed for the LED(s). For this, I used the following website.

http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz

We will be using a 12volt regulator, to make sure the volts pushed through the truck when it's off, are the same as when it's on. You can buy a 12v regulator from Radio Shack or a similar electronics place. It should look something similar to this.


You can skip using a regulator, but the light will be more dim when the truck is off, than when it's running due to the alternator not turning. If you are going to skip using a regulator, you will want to use a multimeter to determine the voltage of the wires to the dome light while the truck is running.

You will need to find the data sheet that came with your LED's. This can also be found on the website you ordered your LED's from. Below is a picture of the information for the LED's I used on my project.


:: Calculating Resistor ::

1) Using the websites listed above we will start inputting the information to calculate the resistor size.

2) Source Voltage will be 12, since we are using a voltage regulator set to 12 volts.

3) Diode Forward Voltage will be found on the data sheet, you will look for the "MAX" for my LED's, it's 3.3 volts.

4) Diode Forward Current (mA) is found on the same row as Voltage Forward, on the right side displayed as "20mA"

5) Lastly, we will input the number of LED's we would like in our series. I used 3. After you input all your information, it should look like this.


6) Check the box that says "help with resistor color codes" then Click "design my array" as you can see from my picture below, it states we need a 120ohm resistor who's color code should be brown red brown.





:: Procedure ::

1) Pinch clear lens on the sides of your mirror light, pulling out as you do. The cover should release with little effort.


2) Locate the 3 screws holding on the mirror assembly and remove them.


3) Pinch the latch holding the power harness in place, and disconnect.



- Your Mirror should no longer be attached at this point. -

4) Go ahead and figure out how you can get all 3 of your LED's, the resistor, and the regulator, into the dome light so you have it all figured up before you start soldering things together.

5) Solder your LED's together connecting the positive leg, to the negative leg of the next LED, then solder your resistor onto the first positive leg on your first LED, it should look as follows. (My resistor in this picture isn't configured for 12volts, which is why it's not brown red brown. You can also see the tool I made to help hold the legs on the LED's in place while I soldered them. They also work as a good heat sync to make sure you don't melt anything.)


6) You will now want to solder your LED's onto the regulator now. Each regulator is different so you will have to look at it to determine which of the 3 legs does which. For me, the center leg on the Regulator was the ground, so you will solder the Negative leg onto that one. For me the leg on the right was the Positive Output, solder the resistor leg onto this leg.

7) The regulator grounds on the bracket at the top of it, so I soldered a wire to that, and to the negative side on the mirror bracket.

8) I soldered a wire from the Positive IN leg on the regulator to the positive side on the mirror bracket. I don't have a picture from this point, I do appologize, though it's pretty simple to figure out what parts are positive and negative with a little looking.

9) Once you have everything soldered up, use some tape to make sure none of the legs touch, and hook the bracket back up and test.

- The End Result -





:: The Boring Easy Way ::

1) Squeeze lens on sides, pull out gently till lens pops off.

2) Remove stock bulb.

3) Replace with the following LED bulb.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-...ge2Disp=/specs/festoonhp_3022-xHP4.htm#photos

4) Replace lens.


** I hope this write-up helps some of you DIY'ers out there who don't want to just plug and play a stock bulb. This was my first time messing with LED's and I found the over all procedure to be pretty simple and easy. Enjoy! **

 

nice write up I need to do this!
Which way did you point the LED's?

 

The LED's I bought had an output of 360 degrees, but they are pointed toward the backglass all side by side.

 

I thought for sure I'd have more feedback for this by now! Come on lazy butts! Let me know how my write-up is! ha ha! If you see something I goofed up on, feel free to let me know!

 

I'll go the easy slacker way! Got too much suspension and body work to do, to worry about this... Nice write up though!

 

Ha ha, the slacker way is more expensive, but only takes a few minutes to get swapped out. If you wouldn't mind sending me a picture of the output of what yours looks like after you swap it out, I would appreciate it! I'm interested in seeing if mine is brighter or more dim than the LED replacement bulb.

 

I'm sure you'll have someone else be able to help you out with that before I will. I am in the process of bagging my truck then I'm gonna bodydrop it, and then throw in my LS1 and then I may worry about the inside? It'll be quite a few months before I get anywhere close to that!

 

looks good dude! If you go to a SMD resistor and use PCB board you can make your own PnP LED bulbs..Either way nice job and write up

 

Bump! For anyone looking to get some extra light inside the cab!

 

Great write up, I always like a interesting mod. Gave you five stars! Can you get a picture of the LED's while they're off? I have all the tools to perform this mod, quite easy.

 

I was actually gonna post a thread in off topic since I know a few of you on here have done LED tails and headlight and what not. Where do you buy your LED (bulbs) from??? Me and a few buddys want to make a custom LED beer pong table where the table lights up in shapes and stuff and under the cups would light up but everytime we try to search LED it comes up with prefabbed lamps and light bars and stuff

Thanks

 

Your looking for loose LEDs?? or an actual bulb based LED like a 1156 etc..If your looking for loose LEDs search ebay, digikey, newark, dealextreme. There are so many places to get them..If your looking for regular ol 3 and 5mm just buy some off ebay, if you want anything special like some high powered units go to digikey and newark..

 

Yeah I'll try to remember to grab you a picture of them tomorrow when I go into the shop.

 

ill go with the easy slacker way... if i have all the tools i might go with what you taught... for now, slacker way is better. lol.. thanks tho, now i know how to remove that annoying cover..