MooJohn
Well-Known LVC Member
Just drop-in bulbs, not a custom panel or anything, but here's the how-to for others.
You'll need an 11mm socket to remove the tail light housings. The plastic trim along the bottom of the trunk opening pulls straight up - you can figure it out from there. Use patience when reinstalling it when you're done - you don't want to bend/ break any plastic clips.
Parts needed:
4x 68-SMD red LED bulbs, socket 3157 (ebay auction 251466777460)
4x 6 ohm / 50 watt resistors (ebay auction 360736287196 )
1/8th inch rivets
As time passes, the auctions will become invalid but for now - enjoy! I have no relation to the sellers.
You'll need to use two resistors for each side, both connected to the blinker wire. I riveted two together, then combined their + wires into one wire and their - wires into another. Resistors actually have no polarity but it's easier if you think of it that way.
I then installed a pair inside each rear fender, mounting them to the inner wall in the hollow area between it and the outer fender. This means any heat given off (and they get HOT) cannot harm anything else in the car. I riveted the pair of resistors in place using an existing hole in the panel. This makes sure it can never come loose and burn/melt anything.
On the tail light circuit, strip back the insulation on the orange/blue stripe wire and connect the + wire from your resistors. You can connect the resistor's - wire to any ground source, including the black wire in the tail harness.
Here's the trick: To avoid having to use another pair of resistors on the tail circuit, we instead swap 2 wires in the harness. Using a jeweler's screwdriver or similar small object, push out the orange plastic clip in the center of the tail plug.
This will allow you to release the clip on each pin and push it out the back of the connector. You want to swap the two center pins (upper and lower). I forget the colors but it's easy to do since they're the only "center" pins. They'll snap back into place. Then reinstall the orange retainer bar to lock all the pins into place for good.
Doing this makes the lighting control monitor the small outer bulbs instead of the tail filaments. Both are powered by the parking light circuit but only one is monitored. This means you can't make the little bulbs LED but since they're on all the time, that's no big loss.
Don't forget to wipe the dust off the small outer bulbs while you have the tail light out. It will make a big difference in their appearance!
No pics of the finished product but I will have a video in the next day or two that shows one side OEM and one side LED, with the hazards on. The LEDs are so much quicker it looks like they're flashing at a different rate.
You'll need an 11mm socket to remove the tail light housings. The plastic trim along the bottom of the trunk opening pulls straight up - you can figure it out from there. Use patience when reinstalling it when you're done - you don't want to bend/ break any plastic clips.
Parts needed:
4x 68-SMD red LED bulbs, socket 3157 (ebay auction 251466777460)
4x 6 ohm / 50 watt resistors (ebay auction 360736287196 )
1/8th inch rivets
As time passes, the auctions will become invalid but for now - enjoy! I have no relation to the sellers.
You'll need to use two resistors for each side, both connected to the blinker wire. I riveted two together, then combined their + wires into one wire and their - wires into another. Resistors actually have no polarity but it's easier if you think of it that way.
I then installed a pair inside each rear fender, mounting them to the inner wall in the hollow area between it and the outer fender. This means any heat given off (and they get HOT) cannot harm anything else in the car. I riveted the pair of resistors in place using an existing hole in the panel. This makes sure it can never come loose and burn/melt anything.
On the tail light circuit, strip back the insulation on the orange/blue stripe wire and connect the + wire from your resistors. You can connect the resistor's - wire to any ground source, including the black wire in the tail harness.
Here's the trick: To avoid having to use another pair of resistors on the tail circuit, we instead swap 2 wires in the harness. Using a jeweler's screwdriver or similar small object, push out the orange plastic clip in the center of the tail plug.
This will allow you to release the clip on each pin and push it out the back of the connector. You want to swap the two center pins (upper and lower). I forget the colors but it's easy to do since they're the only "center" pins. They'll snap back into place. Then reinstall the orange retainer bar to lock all the pins into place for good.
Doing this makes the lighting control monitor the small outer bulbs instead of the tail filaments. Both are powered by the parking light circuit but only one is monitored. This means you can't make the little bulbs LED but since they're on all the time, that's no big loss.
Don't forget to wipe the dust off the small outer bulbs while you have the tail light out. It will make a big difference in their appearance!
No pics of the finished product but I will have a video in the next day or two that shows one side OEM and one side LED, with the hazards on. The LEDs are so much quicker it looks like they're flashing at a different rate.
