Headlight Filler Panel led turn signals & misc led dtrl's (bolt led's) [write-up]

A few guys have been asking me about the led's in my headlight filler panels so ima make a write-up on it, but its pretty basic and you can figure it out on yer own if you have even a little creativeness. Can be tricky to do because there's not a lot of room behind that filler panel so the led bolts need to be spaced properly. Also I'll mention that I did buy new filler panels, dont remember where but it was online, for like $13 or $14 dollars. So if it turns out you dont like it, or mess up, then it's not a set back to get new ones. I did end up powdercoating the filler panels but paint works too. This was needed for the ones I purchased as they were just a flat black primer I think and not painted.

Since I have done this, there have been more people selling these led projector bolts and now offer some different types. I purchased mine as a big pack on ebay pretty cheap from china. On ebay, type in 'led eagle eye amber'. And you'll find them. Or just 'led eagle eye' to see all the different types and whatnot. Now, there are different qualities that come from china, so you have to look carefully and get the best ones, as some will be super dim. I bought like 30 of the amber 18mm ones (I think) and they are dim as hell. Can't even hardly see them in the daytime. Probly not at all in direct sunlight. They are just sitting in storage now. And they didnt have the yellow coating in them either. My white ones dont, but they have higher powered leds in them. But yeah, they really are what you pay for, for these. Mine have been installed for about 10 months, and they are looking pretty sad. I mean that in the sense that the projector lenses on almost all of them have fallen off, and the black anodized coating has faded to a copperish color. BUT, they still work!!! Even though they have been through many washes/rain/mud/dust/dirt/bugs. And I did not install any separate fuses or anything. Except the white ones I have are still fine. I think those ones were coated in the silver. Lenses are still on though for sure. Haven't looked too closely at those yet.

***Another thing to note, Is I am using an electronic flasher.***

They make many different sizes/brands/colors/types/watts.. There's lots of different uses for these. You can even add in resistors to dim them if they are too bright for you.(Oznium explains this under the 'technical info' tab)
I'm unsure if any other reputable sites sell these type of led bolts, but these I mention are the few that I know of off hand. If you know of any please share and i'll add them. They do make other types of led bolts like license plate style ones, but those are not really applicable to this specific mod. And I'm sure there's other options for people that want to utilize a different lighting source for their turn signals so feel free to share if you want.


Links:
Oznium has a TON of pictures of theirs and a lot of comparison shots too. Check them out.
Oznium Flush Mount LED Bolt

Superbrightleds.com "Bolt Beam 12mm"



The ones at superbrightleds seem to me, to be the best ones available. Even though your options are limited. They are pretty much the same ones I used from china, but better quality. I'm assuming on this because of the warranty. I have not purchased any from them.. Yet. But I do plan on it. It's just going to be expensive. If I was to replace all the ones in the filler panels it would cost me $79.05 after usps priority shipping. From ebay they sell a 10 pack and a 4 pack (other size packs are available) to make it 14 for mine, and comes out to only $22.28!!!
As far as figuring out which ones are brighter or use better led's, that's kinda hard to tell. No sites list what wattage they are except oznium and they say they are .5 watt led's. Most also have 3 COB(chip-on-board) led's. But looking at pictures it looks like some may have only one led. All of Ozniums pictures show only 2 COB led's. On ebay they list all kinds from 3W to 9W. The ones I got were listed as 9 watt. The bigger 16mm ones in amber I got, the ones that are dim, are rated at 3 watts. So I'm really unsure what's what and if maybe they just exaggerate to get you to buy theirs over the opposition. But, from what I gather based on the ones I've used,and looking at the pictures, is that its a pretty good assumption that they are as they say they are. Like I said my 9 watt ones are ridiculously brighter than the 3 watt ones.. Also they list them as being 130 Lumens. Whereas superbrightleds list theirs as only 15 Lumens (for the yellow ones) and 50 lumens max for their white ones. So I'm a bit confused on that one. Perhaps this is where the chinese retailers eaxggerate a bit. As far as superbrightled ones go, they don't list the wattage, just the mA's, which I'll list below. And you'll see that there's a lot of what seems to be discrepencies as far as the specificatuions on these things. I would like to believe that oznium and superbrightleds are spot on with their specs, and the china retailers are just, well, wrong.
But at least it serves as a good estimate and will help you figure out which ones to look for.

A little comparison (of the yellow/amber bolts);
(All this info is from their sites too so check it out)

Superbrightleds Bolt Beam 12mm
-$4.95 each
-IP65 rated
-3 LEDs (COB)
-unknown wattage
-60 mA draw
-15 Lumens
-Limited options, same price
-WITH coating inside lens (for better brightness/daytime visibilty)
-Have a 2 year warranty!

Ozniums
-$5.99 each.
-IP68 or IP67 rated, shows 2 different ratings??
-1 LED (although it looks like 2 COB led's from what I can tell in the pictures)
-.46 watts
-38 mA draw
-3.10 Lumens
-Lots of different options, same price!
-No coating inside lens (Not very good for daytime use)
-A lot bulkier/fatter on the bolt shank, means a bigger hole to be drilled.
-Do not see any warranty info listed. Although they have a 365 day return policy in RE-SELLABLE CONDITION.


The ones I bought were these
Ebay 10x 9W LED Amber Car Motorcycle Eagle Eye Backup Light DRL Fog Driving Lamp New
Copied straight from their description;
Light Color: amber
-Input voltage: 12V
-Luminance: 130LM
-Power: 9W x 2,110Lm,8000-10000K
- Material: Aluminum Alloy + Condenser lens
-Lamp Diameter: 18mm
-Waterproof grade: IP65
(I think these have 3 COB leds.)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10x-9W-LED-...Parts_Accessories&hash=item2a3a0fc138&vxp=mtr


They have a yellow/orange coating inside them which seam to make it a lot brighter. It also produces a cool affect in the daytime as the sun hits them. They kind of 'glow' a yellow color, and I thought that was pretty sweet on my black truck. Also they are HIGHLY visible in the daytime. At night, OMG these things are blinding!! I can imagine that people are cringing every time my blinker flashes, lol. They also have the projector lens on them which significantly spreads the light even better. Some like the ones Oznium are selling have an option of with/without the lens. For a wider beam. But I have to say that I think the lenses work better. The beam is still pretty wide. And focuses the light more intensely for a better output. They are sealed with a rubber sealant in the back of the bolt to keep out water and stuff, but they didnt do a very good job. And I didn't seal mine up any better. Maybe this is why the lenses were falling off, but I think it wouldnt have helped.

I believe the ones I got are 12mm's. I'll have to see with a micrometer. But the ebay seller lists them as 18mm. That doesnt sound right, idk. I'll have to look into this and measure the different ones I have... But it seems as though some retailers measure them by the diameter of the actual led output, or the diameter of the lens, versus the diameter of the housing. I saw one that listed BOTH. It had a 23mm housing, but a 18mm lens... So you really do have to be careful and watch what your ordering, or you may end up returning them and wasted your time. I got lucky and the ones I listed above were exactly what I wanted and fit perfect. Not too small, not too big. (That's what she said)
If you go to ozniums website you will get an idea of the different sizes. I also got a few bigger ones from china both white and some amber ones. The 2 little ones you see in the center of the bumper above the light bar are white ones and I wanna say those are probly the 16mm or maybe the 23 mm. And those ones are CRAZY bright at 10 watts. I use those as an addition to my regular running lights. You'll see below some night shots... Some may not like this setup, but I do, and it looks WAY better in person and especially at night! I may end up taking out the white ones though and relocating them to the sides of the light bar with some mesh grille inserts, and have two on each side and diagonal from each other, angled so to speak. I think that would look better.

Anyways, on to the install photos.



The first thing I did, was to make a template out of sheet metal in the shape of the filler panel. Then I used some washers about the diameter of the lights. I think I used some that were even bigger, so that i could touch each washer to each other and have them perfectly spaced between each other to mark where the holes needed to be drilled out. There's all kinds of methods to figure this out yourself, thats just how I did it. Next is to figure out the spacing of the holes you'll be drilling. First I just made the line perfect using the washers set down on top of the filler panel, and used a ruler to make them straight, marked the holes, then drilled my holes into the sheet metal, then bolted the led's in (just hand tight for fitting purposes) then placed the 'template' with leds installed in place of the filler panel and looked to see if they would fit. And this is for just one side of the truck, as the other side will be flipped and copied. They did fit for the most part, but had to re position them a little, and I couldnt put any on the very outside edge of the filler panel. They probly could fit all the way across depending how you do it. I figured it was good enough and I had plenty in there already, which is SEVEN on each side
You could get away with just 4, or even 3 if you want. They are plenty bright to be used as turn signals if only a few. So you can imagine, 7 per side is quite a lot, and hella bright!

So after I got it perfect, I used the template placed over the filler panel, and drilled. Make sure you measure twice, and drill once All i did to figure out the diameter of the shank was use a micrometer. Or you could place the bit next to the shank and eyeball it. Theres a little room to work with as the head of the housing on the bolt is much wider than the shank (in most cases).
Holes drilled and powder coated;




Led's all bolted in and ready for install;




Used lock washers on the backside^^^ Those suckers arent coming loose.
One last thing to note as far as wiring them up, I just bundled all the wires together, positives and negatives, output to two wires as one pos one neg. Then spliced into the turn signal wires. And all those wires I just ziptied together and shoved them back and ran them under the filler panel between the bumper and the headlight. Done.


NIGHT SHOTS! Pic1)No hazards, just the running lights Pic2)Hazard lights activated



VIDEO!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cda8vTi6ZG8

 

Needs more led

 

Nicely done OP.. It's not for my truck, but looks good.. That's a lot of wires!! Lol

 

Sweet thanks for the write up

 

Holy crap! Never seen a raver that was a truck before!

Nice write-up.

 

Bumble bee is that you?! Cool idea man.

 

Yeah it is a bit much. I'll admit that. I've grown to wanna change it up and clean it up a bit. Do fewer leds. I was thinking about getting the oznium 6mm ones as that's the only place I've found that has such small ones like that. and retro fit them into the headlight in place of the built in 5mm cool white ones. Kinda don't like those 5mm ones in there. But figured I'd leave them wired up since they were there. I've got a whole new set of the same housings and new projectors too, just haven't got around to doing it yet. Was also thinking of removing these filler panels leds, and putting some of the same leds into the corner lens spot for turn signals instead. Idk yet. But I think it would look cleaner for sure.
I could even swap out the 5mm cool white leds for some orange ones and wire those up for turn signals. But they are just too small and not bright enough for me.

 

Good job man! Actually may be doin this soon, PM'd you and chatted a while ago about jt. Getting the itch to have some running lights under my headlights

 

Matt here was wondering if they ebay ones I have listed are actually orange, but they are in fact yellow like the current ones I have installed. I don't mind. I do wish they were a little more like orange, but no biggie. I still love em. Maybe when I purchase more from superbrightleds or somewhere else they'll actually be orange. Anyways just thought I'd make sure and share this in case you decide to go the cheap ebay route.

1st pic is in indirect lighting. Kind of a shadow effect with the glass lens making them appear to be orange. 2nd pic is in direct light from a flashlight and this is how they actually look. They do also produce the yellow light and not really orange. It's close enough for me though.

(Edit: this is just the light not powered on btw. Just showing the color of the coating inside.)

 

Pretty sick !!! I like it.

 

Thanks again man. I kind of want to put white ones in my old license plate holes now, but I'm not sure of how its gonna look

 

Oh in the front like I have mine, but farther apart? Yeah Idk either. I personally don't think it would look good when u have the oange raptor look up top. Mine looks funny in pictures, like a single blob of white light, but it looks a LOT better in person. I'm wanna take them out but I'll have two big holes left in there. I guess I could try some plastic weld and fill em in but meh, too much work when I'll eventually be getting rid of the stock bumper anyhow. I'll see if I can do a mock up pic of where I want to redo the white ones. See what you guys think.

 

I would like the out wider personally, like clearance lights.

 

Might actually use some as side marker cab lights or something. I need a way to attach some clearance lights to my bed area with a tonneau cover on.

 

Looks good. You can go cheap/fast with adhesive backed as well. But it doesnt look as good.


Small enough to not be too noticeable, keeps the truck legal and cost a couple bucks + 5 minutes. Works in a pinch, or like me when im feeling lazy.

 

Yeah that works. Except those strips just aren't bright enough in daytime use for me

I also thought about buying filler panels and cutting out cool designs and/logos and using a backlighting effect to have it glow. That would be fucking awesome. Except I don't have a plasma cutter. Maybe a dremel would get it but it would take forever and go through bits like crazy in that thick metal So bummed when I get awesome ideas but don't have the capabilities to get the job done. Oh well.

 

Heh, I'm really liking this look now that I'm messing with it and can't wait to do it. Orange matches the other ones, but these will be used as dtrl. Vs the other filler panel ones which are for turns only...
Hmmm, white or Orange? And whatdya guys think? Am I going overboard as it kinda already is? Or does it help blend in the final look a bit better versus not having them?

 

Another method to space a drilled hole is to make a drill block. I use 1" square aluminum bar stock. You can buy it at HD or Lowes or if you're lucky like me and have a metal supplier locally.

Mark your center to center and drill your 2 holes in a drill press, this way they are square to the block. Then all you need is an extra drill bit of the correct size and a small c-clamp. Drill your first 2 holes, then use the extra drill bit to space out the remaining holes.


This is an awesome idea by the way, I will be doing it, just maybe not as many lights per side.

 

Where did you get those headlights from OP??? I've been looking for something VERY similar to those but have had no luck! Any links/comments/opinions for those would be super helpful!

 

Also, great writeup and idea! I think I might have to look into doing something similar to this