Halo (LED) Tail Light DIY

[tdawson]

After looking at the meager offerings for LED Altima Coupe tail lights, I decided to try my hand at doing my own. I wanted something like a solid Halo and after a long search on Google, found this thread:

tail-light-project-t580070.html

I ordered a single tail light from eBay so I didn't ruin one of mine trying to take it apart. After toiling a bit, YoungCoupe recommended cutting through the grey plastic in the rear of the tail light assembly, rather than trying to separate the lens from the housing. I used a thin-cut Dremel cutting wheel.

I settled on an LED halo from http://www.superbrightles.com:

http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo ... -cob/1135/

The LED Halo fits almost perfectly inside the brake light reflector which is held in by a few clips and is simple to remove:



I also bought some wiring extensions to avoid having to cut into the taillight wiring harness:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/130744129648?ss ... 1423.l2649

So after a good hour of breathing in plastic dust, I managed to dismantle the tail light. Unfortunately in my earlier attempts I had put a few cracks in the plastic so I probably won't use this one in the final product.



I got the wiring figured out today and taped the whole thing together with scotch tape to see how it would look. I was worried it might look cheesy, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was hard to really capture it with my phones camera, but I think you'll get the general idea.







I'll post a more detailed, walk-through (with wiring and such) when I have them complete.

[normmynorm]

Aw, man that's awesome. I like it. Was already thinking of adding halos to the fronts next, but on tail it's looks pretty nice!

[cubaton3]

Oh man this is awesome, im totally doing this for mines, I can do it with the factory rear lights? I can take it apart easily?

[tdawson]

Oh man this is awesome, im totally doing this for mines, I can do it with the factory rear lights? I can take it apart easily?

Yup, I'm using factory tails to do this. Taking them apart can be a bit challenging, but it's certainly doable. I'm using a Dremel with a cutting disk to cut around the perimeter of the rear (gray part) of the assembly. I've done 2 so far with no issue. It'll cost extra, but I'd recommend at least buying one oem taillight off eBay so you aren't in a rush and are protected in case things go bad.

[CMBusch]

Looks Great! I'm definitely going to do this when I find the time. Would it be possible to do the same halo for the reverse light?

[tdawson]

Looks Great! I'm definitely going to do this when I find the time. Would it be possible to do the same halo for the reverse light?

I had considered that, but decided to keep it simple. It might take some creative cutting to get the halo in there, but I think it's possible. I can measure it and let you know what size would be required.

[DJ_B_Easy]

Aren't the OEM tail/brake lights operated by a single dual filament bulb? How did you integrate the two into one halo?

[tdawson]

Aren't the OEM tail/brake lights operated by a single dual filament bulb? How did you integrate the two into one halo?

Well, I first tried to tap into the brake and taillight using diodes to direct the current to prevent any shorts, but after a few blown fuses I abandoned that and spliced into the side marker instead which works, but is less ideal because the halo does not light up during the day when braking. If someone with more electrical knowhow can help out in that regard, it won't take much to rewire.

I think I had the circuit correct, but I may not have been using the proper diodes.

The original bulb is still there unchanged, the halo is just accent lighting.

[DJ_B_Easy]

The original bulb is still there unchanged, the halo is just accent lighting.

OK, this makes sense. I thought you had replaced the original bulb entirely with the halo and were driving without brake signals and/or night time running lamps.

Try and get a hold of Dangeris on this, he did a sequential turn signal thingy years ago and may be able to help. I have some ideas but not confident enough to suggest them. I haven't had my AC for a year and a half, I forgot much about it.

[bamsuhreal]

its looking dope man! can't wait to see more pics of em both done and on

[tdawson]

its looking dope man! can't wait to see more pics of em both done and on

Thanks!

Here is a preview, I have a new right-side taillight coming because I managed to mess up the first one. So hopefully I'll have the other complete at the end of the weekend and I'll write up a tutorial.

Both taillights are on, so you can see just how bright the LEDs are compared to the incandescent bulb. My phone camera really doesn't do them justice:

[JCJPark]

Definitely planning on doing this to mine. Which diameter ring did you use for this? and I'm guessing thats red LEDs, not white?

[tdawson]

Definitely planning on doing this to mine. Which diameter ring did you use for this? and I'm guessing thats red LEDs, not white?

Yup, red LEDs and the diameter is 120mm.

[yttimhcs2009]

I swear every time I say i'm done messing and changing up my car someone does something sweet like this...
*grabs tools walks out to garage*

[cubaton3]

its looking dope man! can't wait to see more pics of em both done and on

Thanks!

Here is a preview, I have a new right-side taillight coming because I managed to mess up the first one. So hopefully I'll have the other complete at the end of the weekend and I'll write up a tutorial.

Both taillights are on, so you can see just how bright the LEDs are compared to the incandescent bulb. My phone camera really doesn't do them justice:

Oh man this is beauty I wish you could this for my car and price, i''m over in Miami, by your tag you seem to be in Tennessee

[JCJPark]

Definitely planning on doing this to mine. Which diameter ring did you use for this? and I'm guessing thats red LEDs, not white?

Yup, red LEDs and the diameter is 120mm.

thanks. I'm considering using 3 rings on each side, maybe 90mm, 100mm, and 120mm. using the middle ring for night time running lights and the other 2 rings as brake lights. Then hopefully i can somehow figure out how to use all three as sequential turn signals using a ripple pattern... Thanks for the idea, if I ever go through with this, i'll def give you creds

Edit: realized it would cost upwards of $200.... gonna rethink this option...

[tdawson]

Oh man this is beauty I wish you could this for my car and price, i''m over in Miami, by your tag you seem to be in Tennessee

Haha its been a bit of a pain, and there's no garauntee I won't mess up your tails :P The best I can do is write up a walkthrough when I'm finished.

thanks. I'm considering using 3 rings on each side, maybe 90mm, 100mm, and 120mm. using the middle ring for night time running lights and the other 2 rings as brake lights. Then hopefully i can somehow figure out how to use all three as sequential turn signals using a ripple pattern... Thanks for the idea, if I ever go through with this, i'll def give you creds

Edit: realized it would cost upwards of $200.... gonna rethink this option...

That's a pretty ambitious setup! You could make it cheaper if you went with the less expensive LED rings, but it probably wouldn't look as cool. Also, something to consider is that the project will take at least a few days, so you either won't be able drive your car or you'll need an extra set of taillights. Then there's all the little costs like adhesives, tape, dremmel stuff. When I get around to writing this up, I'll add pricing and materials.

[JCJPark]

thanks. I'm considering using 3 rings on each side, maybe 90mm, 100mm, and 120mm. using the middle ring for night time running lights and the other 2 rings as brake lights. Then hopefully i can somehow figure out how to use all three as sequential turn signals using a ripple pattern... Thanks for the idea, if I ever go through with this, i'll def give you creds

Edit: realized it would cost upwards of $200.... gonna rethink this option...

That's a pretty ambitious setup! You could make it cheaper if you went with the less expensive LED rings, but it probably wouldn't look as cool. Also, something to consider is that the project will take at least a few days, so you either won't be able drive your car or you'll need an extra set of taillights. Then there's all the little costs like adhesives, tape, dremmel stuff. When I get around to writing this up, I'll add pricing and materials.

Yeah I found a simple dremel that will do the job on Amazon for $30 and I'm planning on using a 2-part epoxy that I have lying around. I just need to settle on the rings and the cost and set aside a weekend to do the project and hopefully not completely ruin my lights haha

[tdawson]

Alright so I got everything together and installed.









I'll try and get some details up soon about the whole process.

[cubaton3]

Alright so I got everything together and installed.









I'll try and get some details up soon about the whole process.

AwEsome, can't wait for the how to so I can get my hands on it

[JCJPark]

Alright so I got everything together and installed.









I'll try and get some details up soon about the whole process.

Jesus that looks much better than stock. Nice work.

[DAAN.]

Love them
Too bad you don't sell them on EBAY as I want them

[YoungCoupe]

Dude! Those look awesome! Props to you for following through on a project like that. Did you manage to wire the halos into the brake lights or are they at a constant brightness? Can't wait to see the write up.

[tdawson]

Dude! Those look awesome! Props to you for following through on a project like that. Did you manage to wire the halos into the brake lights or are they at a constant brightness? Can't wait to see the write up.

Thanks man! For now they are wired into the side markers, so the brightness is constant. I found some wiring stuff online that should work for wiring up brake lights, so I'll switch over when I have the time. Hopefully I'll have time this week to write something up!

[seldomseen]

How many burn hours do you think you'll get out of those LED rings?

[tdawson]

How many burn hours do you think you'll get out of those LED rings?

I honestly have no clue, hopefully as long as I have the car! Because they are led's, I assumed they'll last forever, but we'll see.

[seldomseen]

LEDs generally seem to be long life lights, when used for night purposes. However, LEDs seem to be less reliable when used for DRLs or constant "on" purposes. Nonetheless, you should be in good shape with the modification.

[YoungCoupe]

Here's a thread that should help you should you need any: http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/showthr ... k-question. The second post shows a poorly drawn scribble of how they should be wired.

[Kingpeterson305]

What the ring size for the reverse light? And how can i open the tail light?