Insanity strikes again.

LED Turn Signal Markers.

Ok.. Ok.. This isn't an attempt at ricification.  They ain't blue, they are red.  This is an idea to improve a weak spot in the ZJ and to help the unmitigated thousands of moronic drivers identify when the ZJ is trying to change lanes even if they are in my blind spot or ten inches off my ass.

1) (8ea) RED LEDs (Radio Shack 276-330) 1.8V 20mA 120mcd
2) (2ea) 7805 Voltage Regulator (Radio Shack 276-1770)
3) (8ea) 200 Ohm Resistors
4) tools, wire, solder, etc.

First off this isn't a step-by step.  It's just for ideas.  I haunt rec.autos.makers.jeep+willys.
 
 

Here is the original view from the passenger 
side showing absolutely nothing done.  I just
wanted to put a picture here for no reason.
Same with this text.  It's not doing a dang
thing but taking up webspace.  Consider it
flotsam and keep on reading.  That's right,
ignore this text and read right on ahead.

 
 
The hole these LEDs take is 3/16"  But before you drill anything test with a blank scrap of wood.  The LEDs you get might not be the same size and this fit is rather critical.  I put the LEDs 3/8" apart and angled up and out.  The angle is the HARD part to get right.  I messed up on the driver side and didn't get the angle out enough.  You want the center line of the LED to be right about where traffic will be.  Further out on the driver side and not so far on the passenger.  Think in relation to where the other driver will be.  These LEDs have a 40 degree visibility angle.  Accuracy isn't too critical but still.  I tried for 20 degrees out and 15 degrees up.  Remember to drill a pilot hole and take your time.

 
Next step was connecting the ground leads (I put the ground leads toward the vehicle reasoning that if the two ever should touch, who cares. :)  Ground is ground.  You can also see the resistors, 200 Ohm (Red Black Brown) soldered to the LEDs.  note the overlap.  This is needed for mechanical support.  Do remember to put a heat sink by the LED while your soldering or you could melt it.
Next I had to measure where to put the voltage regulator.  I suppose they could be fed directly by 12V with the proper sized resistor but then you have to account for charging +14V and lower battery levels.  The regulator keeps it at 5V and therefor the LEDs all at the best brightness level.  (you can use 150 Ohm resistors and get a pinch more brightness, but I had 200 Ohm resistors on hand)
Your going have to drill to screw the regulator in. Don't drill too far or you will go through the trim plastic.  Use a short screw and you might even have to grind off a bit if it's too long.  I also took some aluminum to make a strain relief for the wire that feeds this creation.
Now the wiring comes together.  The voltage regulator pinout is (input, ground, output) ..yes, it's that simple..  Ground gets tied back to the ground bus and the output gets tied into the buss that feed the resistors.  I just bent the lower resistor lead up, soldered the others to it and ran the top one across to the feed.  That keeps it all nice and sturdy.
Here you see the project ready to be installed (well, one of two)  That's right, you get to do it all over again with the other side.  I put on some PVC tape to keep some debris out but for the most part this will be exposed to the elements.  A covering of RTV would probably be a good idea.  I plan on messing with them so the RTV is out for now.
OH NO.. Did you think you were done?  Oh he.. no. :)  Now you have to run that wire to a turn signal source.  Fortunately JEEP left a tiny set of holes where the plastic clips hold the panels on.  Run the wire through there and into the door boot.  Fishing this wire through is fairly easy on the driver side but will require drilling through the plastic mounting box on the passenger side (sorry, no pics of that so I put in a pic that wouldn't fit anywhere else.)

 
Here is where you find the wires.  They are on the dash connector block just above and to the left of the brake pedal.  Your looking for two wires.  One Tan and one Light Green.

Tan = Right Rear turn signal feed
Light Green = Left Rear turn signal feed

I just soldered a jumper to the pin and went from there.  Ground was a tap
from the dash ground.


 
This is the concept drawing section.  Doodles before I actually started doing anything.  Decided the LEDs wouldn't fit above the stripe so I moved them below the stripe and they fit perfectly.  The little white dot was going to be a marker LED but trying it out only produced something that didn't look right.  Need a larger field of vision for the LED.. Like 100 degrees or greater and it wouldn't work properly with
the power supply that only functions when the blinkers are on. :)

And finally.  This pic was in partial sun.  I may replace the LEDs with brighter 800mcd version.  Need to get some more opinions.


Well, that's it.  They look fairly bright even in daylight, going to have to wait till dark to see if they actually do any good.  There are brighter LEDs out there (800+mcd) that draw the same power but they tend to look like tiny glare points than larger dots. :/
 

This project is rated (MGB)*
*Many Good Beers

Ok, maybe not that many, but figuring out all the 
details WILL drive you to drink.

--DougW--
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