I've been waiting to post this 'til I got some pictures, but I can't wait any longer.

I've LEDed my whole '93 Grand Marquis. Brakelights, running lights, interior, trunk, and even added PUDDLE LAMPS!

Brakelights were the first thing to go in. Found a dealer on ebay with reasonable prices (but took two weeks to get here from HK) and dove in. Grandma requires four 3157s, so it gets pricey quick.

I then changed all the running lights (including turn signals) over to LEDs. I think I did the high-mount at that time, too. Without the heavy load of incandescent bulbs, the turn signal flashed r e a l l y s l o w. I could have wired in a small resistor to increase the load, but I bought an LED specific digital flasher. You can still hook up an incandescent trailer because it's not entirely solid state, but it's solid state instead of thermal.

Retrofitted all the interior lights and used a pen to form a makeshift festoon bulb from a 194 for the back seats. Good old tin foil and hot glue! Can't see the mess because it's behind the lens though. Clean install. Installed a trunk light at that time, too.

I was really envious of my girlfriend's puddle lamps on her '01 Sable, so I modified my mirrors to include them! One high power LED on each side lights up the ground and the side of the car perfectly. Drilled a hole in what looks like should be a puddle light clip-in cover on the bottom of the power mirror and installed the LED. Wired it to the courtesy lamp on the door and wired the keyless entry to trigger the dome lamp with unlock.

Just today, I installed accent running lights in the trunk reflectors. Normally, they dont light up, but with a short strip of leds, the brakelights look like they extend into the trunk. It reminds me of a thunderbird or cougar (not sure which had the trunk accent running lights. maybe both).

Pictures of the accent running lights in my album, check them out! More pictures of the rest of the setup to come!

 

looks really good out back. can't wait to see the rest of the pics. what type of LED bulbs did you use? Looks like a good 360 degree array type instead of the spot types I see on most LED tail lights.

 

Thanks, I've got 13 chip surface mount LEDs there. Three forward firing chips and ten radial firing.

Surface mount LEDs really improve the wide viewing angle to fill the whole housing and lens.

I'm going to be an ebay seller for the LEDs I used soon. I'll report when the store is up and running.

 

Just want to let you know I posted some more pictures in the gallery

 

id like to LED some of the light on my car... maybe thatll help my head lights some..

 

Are your headlights dim?

If they're yellow, it's easy to fix.

Go to AutoZone or a car parts store. Sometimes they have it in WalMart and Meijer too, but grab a headlight restorer kit.

I used Crystal View (on sale for $14) and love the results.

You wet sand off the old yellow stuff, rinse it, buff it and go over it with a sealant. Clear as glass now and you can see at night!

Like I said, I'll let you guys know when I get the LED store up and running!

 

thier not yellow... its basically moisture and water build up in the head lights and thier not bright either... i would like them to be a lot brighter than they are now....

 

i have moisture in my driver's side headlight. I put a decent sized silica packet on a length of tape and slid it down into the headlight on the high-beam side. I put the bulb back in with the tape still coming out of the opening so it holds it in place and doesnt slide around in there, it just hangs. I almost never use my high beams except for flashing to other drivers, so i'm not afraid it'll burn and I can't see it from the outside because the bag is white.

The silica will absorb the excess moisture and when it returns, you can bake it at 250 degrees for about thirty minutes and reuse it. Take the tape off first, of course. You can find it in shoeboxes and my local shoe store will give me some if I ask nicely. The bags usually say 'do not eat' on them.

If you want a more permanent solution, take the lens apart with acetone and reseal it with silicone epoxy. That'll keep the water out of there. Make sure the seals around the bulbs are tight. If they're not, some silicone grease should do the trick.

 

To get better brightness, try new bulbs. There are so many choices, it's hard to choose, but the first tier of Sylvania Silverstars are good. Balance of Cheap and Performance. The stocks were really yellow and inefficient.

 

ok... well thank you.. i might try brighter bulbs then try and solve the moisture problem..