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LED brakeLight Project - need Help!

I'm too Busy to get Anything Accomplished!! : ) Ok - you guys have helped me already with my dream of a LED brakeLight Project for my snowmobile. There are even two people in my area willing to help me develope the controller. But, I'm sure I will not have time to do that before the snow falls! So, for this year I'm hopeing to just get the led brake light made with the design I want but have all of the LEDs light only with high, and low. Parterns for next year. two problems with just the basics.

  1. I read that if the LEDs have heat sinks they will perform better: a. I also read that the common led are built in such a way that heatsinks will not mount or work well with them, maily it is the 'Bright Star' suqarish one that use heat sinks better - true? b. I'm thinking of a round Aluminum plate to mount the leds on that would serve both as a heat sink as well as give rigidity - But, can LEDs be mounted on a condustive metal? I think the leads would short - correct?
  2. With the thousand of up and down impacts each ride on a snowmobile I worry that the basic round LEDs will shif in position, and maybe stress and evetually break the leads - Yes? No? if so, what to do? would the same be true for the more expensive 'Bright Start' type?

Thanks!!

Reply to
Chull13
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hi, i used either superglue or epoxy glue and glued luxeons straigth to the heatsink , works ok, what type leds do you want to uise ? mark k

Reply to
mark krawczuk

Thanks for getting back. The more I look at them I think the Lexeons are to big for my project. Sio far the red LEDs that put out the most light that I can find are these: RL5-R8030 Super-Red LED (AlGalnP)

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With that type rather than the ones with a flat bottom I really worry about them sifting their position With the thousand of up and down impacts each ride on a snowmobile. I think they are in less need of heat sinks - or rather a heatsink for the round leds with the leads out of the bottom would be impratical getting on any sort of heat sink. But, how to mount them without them sifting and strssing the leads? Maybe a plate overtop the fits around the outer houseing? Can these round type of LEDs with the lead out of the bottom be mounted flush to the 'plate' if the lead hole are in just the right place? But a metal plate would cause worries about shorts!

Concering actual light output for a rear facing brakelight about

2.5 inches in diameter I would think the following: A led rated at 8000 lums with a 30 degree spread will put out more light than a 12000 lumsled with an 8 degree spread or a 3500 lums led with a 45 degree spred. I'm I right?

Thanks!!

Reply to
Chull13

Yeah you are right.

All the hype about 13,000 mcd leds usually just means it is a very narrow beam led.

I put a set of four Cree 1 watt leds in my motorcycle tail lamp two years ago. No problem with the mounting and vibration. I took the original reflector out of the tail lamp housing and made a flat aluminum plate to replace it. The Cree leds have a mounting hole that looks like it would take a number 4 machine screw but I didn't have any so I put small dollop of RTV rubber down and flattened the led's heat spreader (1" round aluminum slug) against the aluminum heat sink and clamped it there overnight. For interconnections I'm using some stranded #24 awg with vinyl insulation that is held to the heatsink with daubs of RTV.

I run the leds at about 10% power for the tail lamp and 100% for the brake light. It is much brighter than the original in both run and brake modes. I think the beam angle is something like 130 degrees.

The only downside was the cost $8 each two years ago.

Reply to
default

drill a board out , poke the leds thru , then silicone or sikaflex the whole thing together. mark k

Reply to
mark krawczuk

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