lets see those led light conversions...Updated 1/5/10

[Cruisinmarine]

just as the title reads...lets see them, I am sure others need ideas as well.


I'll be posting mine soon...I'm thinking of trying to reconfigure some internals from a 1w LED flashlight and fit them into a Bullet housing w/visor...


then find some LED panels small enough to fit inside a Maltese Cross taillight mounted left of the rear hub. Should be fun...Update, found some automotive interior LED panels at an autoparts store that will work. The package even has a 'try me' button. Sure enough, it uses a 12v (23a) battery for the try me. Perfect! Why 12v you may ask? Because i may eventually move to a generator light setup. Pictures..

tail light for use on a real chopper

led setup

crude mounting for mock-up, still trying to convince myself it actually belongs...hmm...

 

[aka_locojoe]

Re: lets see those led light conversions, fronts & rears

Not a conversion but a led I bought at a truck stop. Powered by a 9v.

 

[Pudge]

Re: lets see those led light conversions, fronts & rears

I don't have a pic of it on the bike yet because I just did it today but here's my conversion. A while back I bought a repop Delta torpedo light so I could take all the guts out of it to replace the corroded guts in the one on my '54 Columbia. So basically I was left with nothing but a new empty shell and realized that I had a 12 LED flashlight that fit perfectly in the front opening. I tore apart the flashlight, wired a ground into it, bought a $3 toggle switch from Radio Shack, and ended up with a light so bright 8) I can see into the future! Here's a few pics of the process:
I trashed the flashlight frame and just kept the battery holder and the LED head (the unscrewed front part with the bulbs).

I Gorilla Glued the head of the LED flashlight into the front ring of the Torpedo light:

I soldered the black wire from the center of the board where the spring used to be and attached the other end to the +pos side of the battery tray (but I don't think it'd matter which end of the battery tray to use):

I soldered the white wire from the -neg term of the battery tray to one prong of the switch and then a green wire from the second prong on the switch back up to the flashlight head. I drilled a small hole in the aluminum of the flashlight head and after passing the wire thought it I ran a screw through it to hold the wire to complete the circuit (ground).

It's much lighter (in weight) than it would have been with the old school D Cell batteries. I left plenty of wire on each end to ease changing the three AAA batteries as needed. I sandwiched the battery pack between two small pieces of styrofoam to keep it from rattling and closed it all up:

Of course it doesn't have that vintage look of a single glass bulb barely burning yellow but I'm happy with the way it turned out. You can't tell from the pics but this thing is super bright!

My apologies to those of you who know how to solder. This was my first attempt and I know it probably looks pretty bad... but it works!

 

[maddogrider]

Re: lets see those led light conversions, fronts & rears

 

[udallcustombikes]

Re: lets see those led light conversions, fronts & rears

Here's my lazy man's conversion.

I found a waterproof led flashlight and removed the pushbutton in the butt. I replaced it with a small toggle switch I salvaged from something at some point in time. The D-cell holder in the light holds the flash light after I removed the tabs and do-hickies from it. I had to flip the holder around 180 degrees to get the angle right for the light.

 

[XC204]

Re: lets see those led light conversions, fronts & rears

Here are some of the mods of lights on my Murray.First an old headlight modded with a 3w luxion led it fits on the bulb holder. The LED is the stud thing setting on the socket in the foreground.It is thermal epoxied to a 1/4 20 bolt .

By xc204 at 2009-08-18
Spyder LED conversion of cheep flasher ckt mounted in a conduit clamp nut with an indicator lamp lens.

By xc204, shot with FinePix S5000 at 2009-08-07
Mounted to carrier.

By xc204, shot with FinePix S5000 at 2009-08-08
On the bike has all the flash modes of orig flasher just split up into 2 packages.

By xc204, shot with FinePix S5000 at 2009-08-08

By xc204, shot with FinePix S5000 at 2009-10-01 The headlight has been lowered and the controls for the flame thrower cleaned up.

 

[Pudge]

Re: lets see those led light conversions, fronts & rears

I bought this 1981 Schwinn Cruiser at a thrift store for $60, cleaned it up a bit, and added a few accessories, one of them an old bullet light I bought off EBay for a $1.

My easy conversion to LED consists of a Brinkman 4 LED light that is intended to go on the brim of a baseball hat. I used a Dremel tool to cut a rectangle in the back of the reflective mirror plate and Gorilla Glued the LED light into it.

The switch is on the side. I just open the hatch to turn it on and off. It's only 4 LEDs so it doesn't illuminate my path as well as it allows for oncoming cars to see me. Not bad though.

 

[onelesspedestrian]

Re: lets see those led light conversions, fronts & rears

another one here that's not a conversion, but a re-purposing:

LED tail light on my RRBBO4 entry:

this was made from a Princess auto LED worklight. I smoothed and painted the housing, and painted the inside of the lens with the clear red "anodized look" spray paint.

It is glued into the end of the seatpost with 2 part epoxy, and simply twists to turn on.

It started out with this light, which would likely be good for many other adapting purposes:

 

[Markm]

Re: lets see those led light conversions, fronts & rears

got any inside pics of the tailight??

 

[lobsterboyx]

i use these little pods with 4 led's in them - ive done 4 conversions so far (for my friends bikes and mine). this is my x-53 from last years buildoff - i decided i wanted a 2 way switch to make the light either white or red

the 9 volt powers it pretty good

switch in the tank ( i kind of regret this, in my more recent conversions, ive put the switch on the light housing.

i glued the pods in the old light housing

the results:

 

[Lazy Lightning]

i use these little pods with 4 led's in them - ive done 4 conversions so far (for my friends bikes and mine). this is my x-53 from last years buildoff - i decided i wanted a 2 way switch to make the light either white or red

the 9 volt powers it pretty good

the results:

Impressive result! What is that light from, old motorcycle?

 

[lobsterboyx]

i got it on ebay, the only thing it says on the whole thing is the word "tractor" thats cast in to the glass.

 

[Bettleguise]

The bottom light is a converted glass reflector with a flexible led strip curled up behind it. The top is just two pieces of brake line housing sandwiching the flexible led strip.
I got the LEDs from Strauss auto for about 8 buck each. Nice and bright and they can be cut down to whatever size you need. As you can see the lights run off a 12v drill battery. I have a blinker switch wired in as well.
It's extremely bright when the battery is fresh.

 

[Bigcam59]

Cut a dollar store booklight at the stalk,

Unscrew and you get a cool little led light with reflectors and pigtails.

both these headlights have been converted...

the stretch has a 3 led setup gutted from a dollar store flashlight and 2 booklight tailights in the rear

Gotta love the dollar store!

 

[deorman]

just as the title reads...lets see them, I am sure others need ideas as well.


I'll be posting mine soon...I'm thinking of trying to reconfigure some internals from a 1w LED flashlight and fit them into a Bullet housing w/visor...


then find some LED panels small enough to fit inside a Maltese Cross taillight mounted left of the rear hub. Should be fun...Update, found some automotive interior LED panels at an autoparts store that will work. The package even has a 'try me' button. Sure enough, it uses a 12v (23a) battery for the try me. Perfect! Why 12v you may ask? Because i may eventually move to a generator light setup. Pictures..

tail light for use on a real chopper

led setup

crude mounting for mock-up, still trying to convince myself it actually belongs...hmm...

So comeon man, tell me :? are you runnin' LED's off a tire scrubber or not? :idea: :arrow: :|

 

[Ace]

 

[BarelyAWake]

Two 'Nite Ize' LEDs ("standard" replacement bulb for 6-12v flashlights/lanterns - part# LRB-07-PR), one ea. for taillight & running light (high beam uses incandescent), powered by a Sturmey Archer X-FDD 6v, 3w dyno & drum brake hub (part# HKSDD3SS00BX). Bullet headlight cobbed out of two vintage ones & w/batt case removed, taillight made from vintage red glass reflector w/backing removed & flashlight housing used as bezel & mount, flared copper line used to route/hide wiring;

Forgive the lack of pics of the lights in action, it's hard to spin the wheel and take a pic at the same time lol

 

[outskirtscustoms]

Mine was probably the easiest LED conversion to date! I found these single LED clip on lights at the local Save-A-Lot store.
Chop the clip off the light, unscrew the top, remove a beauty ring and stick it through the light bulb hole of my headlight,
Replace the top on the other side of the reflector, and put it back in the light. To work it you just open the headlight press
the switch and close it back. Simple as pie.

Pretty bright for only one LED

 

[Critter1]

Thats exactly how i did mine ^^

Now its on this bike

 

[outskirtscustoms]

cool, sweet bike by the way. got any full pics of the copper-tone Schwinn? I got a 24" frame and fork that is the same color trying to decide what to do to it.