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Puddle Light Upgrade

14K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  Yooshaw 
#1 ·
I wanted more light output from the puddle lights, so I swapped out what's in there with four 1533L2s LEDs at 5K from exLED. I had bought a lot of these for my DRL project (ordered too many), so thought these could work here.

Best thing about these LEDs is they operate at 12-14V, meaning you don't need any resistors or LED drivers to make them work. You simply connect them to power and they work.

The stock unit consists of one LED sitting on top of a PCB board with resistors, etc. I simply unplugged the board (quick connect), then cut the quick connect off, peeled back the wire, and connected my home made module. The lens was tricky to get back on. In fact, I couldn't figure out how the lens remains in place - seems to be tension, but I couldn't get it right no matter how long I tried. I ended putting a bead of clear RTV sealant to get it to stay back in place.

I've been running this now since October, and no issues to report.

Anyway, video below, I estimate the brightness has increased 3 fold. I've made the driver side module, but haven't installed it yet.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCHa8rlULcw
 
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#3 ·
Yes - will have some pictures when I install the driver side. If you can solder and have patience, you can build this "module. It's not pretty by any stretch, but functional.

I ran across these yesterday (lots of this type on Amazon), they may be a good fit if you can figure a way to secure them in the housing. They may be too long though, but it looks like you could modify the thread by cutting it. Don't know about brightness, but theoretically these will be as bright or brighter than what I built. If I hadn't already had the 1533 LEDs laying around, I would try this route.

 
#6 ·
It's easy, you'll see how simple and crude it is when I post the pic

This is awesome! Great creativity and looks awesome with the brighter LEDs.
Thanks! Any word when the CANBUS module will ship? This is the next mod I really want to tackle!
 
#9 ·
Here's some pics of the home made light module using 4 1533L2s from exLED. Only used wire and solder to make necessary connections on the positive and negative side of each LED. On the back, the black is where I coated it with liquid tape, and the two wires sticking up are the connections ready for the puddle light.

Last pic is to just show size next to a SD card.





 
#12 ·
Going off memory, try to find a tab in the clear plastic. Try prying from there and it should come loose. I messed up the second time I did it, and ended up breaking the clear plastic piece. Ended up making a new one from the plastic that covers the overhead florescent tube lights.

I really never figured out how to put them back on. Ended up securing them back on with some clear silicone adhesive. So far, so good.
 
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