LED backlight for fender vents
 

I looked all over and couldn't find anything close to what I wanted. So being slightly adventurous and having an engineering student for a roomate, I've decided to design this myself. I should have pics up in the next couple of weeks. The basic idea is to have a unit that mounts behind the after-market fender vents with the screens. I installed the vents with the aluminum screens and realized that hey open into the fender. By mounting the unit behind the screens with LEDs, it should light up the vent from behind and splash light down the side of the car. This will be either wired into the controls for the headlights/side marker lamps or a seperate circuit with a toggle switch that can be controlled from under the dash. LEDs are directional bulbs, so the should point the light only in the direction they are pointing. I will be able to do this in an color or size of LED. It's kind of hard to describe well in words. It will be much easier to show pics. Once I have a good prototype installed, I'll be able to offer anyone interested a set with whatever color thy want for very little money. Let me know if your interested!

It has been done before, but don't let that stop you. I would suggest having it hooked up to a switch because I don't think cops would like most of the colors worth doing.

Which aftermarket vents do you have? Personally, I'd make it more functional and use amber LEDs and connect to the turn signals. Looking forward to seeing this.

I didn't see a brand name. I got them from the www.rx8strakes.com website. They're the black vents with three aluminum mesh recesses. Not the super glossy ones. After working on the design with my roommate, the only problem we have run into so far is the depth of the recesses. Without actually building the prototype, we're not sure if we will be able to "splash" the side of the vehical with light. It may be too sharp of an angle, and will be blocked by the side of the vent. I'll know more in the oncoming days. Pics will be up asap!

i had that on my car b4 but got pulled over by cop n got a fuken fine

how bright were they?? i made mine bright but not tooo too bright and ive had mine for about a year now and no tickets and ive passed plenty of cops and as far as needing an engineer all you need is to chose the light desired where to mount and parallel wires from the corner lights and your done took me about 30 minutes each side with making little mounts and wiring it in my friends freezin garage


http://www.carpron.com/multisite/d/3...2/IMG00376.jpg

post pics though i havent seen too many pictures of it i think it looks sick red cause its not too to flashy but everyone stares though which is what i wanted

Daed, check out this thread here - https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-exterior-appearance-body-kits-27/fender-grill-lights-diy-171763/

It looks pretty good. I've been planning to rig this up like Aipex mentions, with Amber LEDs in there, wired to my turn signals, for quite some time. I just haven't had the time to dedicate to it yet.

In that thread, the OP uses foil in his "housing" to help spread the light around, but I would worry about corrosion with that setup. Once I find a suitable backing material to spread the light (I haven't looked yet, to be fair), I plan on giving this a go. I might use halved PVC pipe to make the "housing".

The only other question I have is how I am going to attach it on the inside of the fender - canderson used zip ties on his strake clips, but I don't have strakes (and don't particularly want them). Keep us up to date on your progress!

my friend did his with amber lights they looked amazing.

Yeah. Every state has different regulations on lighting vehicals. It's always best to check first before doing mods along those lines. What state do you live in?

I'm getting my roomate involved for one reason. You have to be careful when wiring LEDs into an existing circuit. If there is too much power, you can burn the bulbs out. Which can also cause a short, resulting in a fire. It's pretty I
portant to install the correct resistors in the circuit to prevent this. I'm letting him do all the math for me :)

Thanks for the link! He did a great job on his. Very clean install. I'm planning on placing the toggle switch under the dash. I really dont like the idea of cutting a hole in my headliner. They're very touchy, and a mistake would be an expensive one. Instead of using foil, I'm thinking of mylar film. It's glossier than foil and won't corrode. I'm really going for a different look. He's using LEDs with a very small angle of light distribution, the one I'm working with are much less directional. More like a flood light. Without looking at the spec sheet I would say maybe a 60 degree of dispursion? I'm hoping to have the reflected light spill out. Kind of a glow more than the distinct dots of light.

Daed, I have been checking out the VLEDs strip lights for my fenders - http://www.v-leds.com/Exterior-LED/C...74245-1-3.html

I don't think I am going to connect them to a switch, instead I'll just tap into my flashers. I want to find a way to get the diffuse light as well, rather than just points of light. Be sure to keep us up to date!