Tools Needed:
Philips head screw driver
Flat Head Screw driver
Dremel
Cut Off Bit
Silicone
Switch Blade
Safety glasses
Clear Silicone
Sand Paper (Or Sanding bit for Dremel)
Plyers
Led's (I used Item Number 840556011262, Search for that ID at http://www.coolerguys.com


First off you need to get access to the lens we do this by removing the pop on cover.

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/01.jpg
The Cover is held in by 4 plastic clips (Purple)


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/02.jpg
Get your nail between the Cover and the Mirror and pry it off.


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/03.jpg
Take your flat head and wedge it between your lens and the plug, Pull upward to pop the plug out, Be careful you can see where I broke mine. You could also give the wires a good tug to get them out...


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/04.jpg
Plug out


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/05.jpg
Now your going to remove the (2) screws


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/06.jpg
Remove your lens


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/07.jpg
Your first part is done!

Now your going to need your Dremel and cut off bit

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/08.jpg
^Cut Off bit


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/09.jpg
Now your going to cut the lens off using the Cut Off Bit, Cut right above the lip where the lens and housing meet. Be sure to ware safety glasses!



http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/10.jpg
When your cutting the plastic will melt itself back together, take a razor like so and go around the whole housing breaking the little plastic joints.


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/11.jpg
When you cut it all, the lens will come out like so.


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/12.jpg


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/13.jpg
Now we will need to remove these Leds


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/14.jpg


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/15.jpg
Take your plyers and get them under the base of the LED and break the (LEDS) off.


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/16.jpg


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/17.jpg
You need to sand the parts you plan to solder, The solder will not stick to it if you don't sand it.


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/18.jpg
Item Id: 840556011262 (I used there 5mm the 2nd time around)

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/19.jpg
Take one of the LED'S and cut a little bit off the shortest leg.


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/20.jpg

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/21.jpg

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/22.jpg
Now use that leg to bridge these together (What this is going to do is make the LED's Use the same + and -, meaing brighter LED's))


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/23.jpg
Now your going to solder in the LED'S(Green) The + Is on top(Red) and the - Is on the bottom(Purple), The Bridge is also in red.
* + Is the longer leg on the LED - Is the short leg*

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/24.jpg


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/25.jpg

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/led_signals_tc/26.jpg
Now put your lens on and seal it up using the Silicone, Let it dry for a good 8-12 hours. Recheck it for any holes, fill them in if needed. *Note* Id place a little bit of silicone under each led for extra strength.

http://www.socalpcguy.com/images/mirror2.JPG

Your all done! final finish is good except you can see the gold where it was sanded. It doesnt look bad just looks like a reflection. Led's are pretty bright, they are Ultra White so they have a hint of blueish'purple to them.

Great write up Mr. Kaeon!!!

I salute you...

-PSYCHE!!!

:loser:

Why thank you Dick. (Haha this is his name guys)

dude thats flippin awesome, its about time someone figured this out. thanks bro! ... to bad I'm selling my tC remember? lol
:(

dude thats flippin awesome, its about time someone figured this out. thanks bro! ... to bad I'm selling my tC remember? lol
:(

I give credit to The Instigator, He did it before me, just didnt write a DIY, Great member he even took apart his to show me how to wire it so its bright, The Instigator is Kaeon Approved!!! :P

pictures of finished results? I'll be doing the same to some of the xb led ones , somewhat soon. neat write up

pictures of finished results? I'll be doing the same to some of the xb led ones , somewhat soon. neat write up

Heh, Its looks no different just lights up white, I will get some night shots tonight gotta head to work right now...

Allow me to show pics Kaeon.

*Thanks for the image* ~ Kaeon

nice DIY. looks complicated lol

nice DIY. looks complicated lol

Not at all with Basic soldering skills your fine its just alot of simple steps.

dang, very nice post!! pretty complicated tho..
hopefully therez gonna be aftermarket parts coming out soon so I don't need to do any cutting, soldering or sealing...

Its really not that bad. The first one I did took about an hour..the second about 10 minutes. I have done another car since and it really is not a big deal. If you have any questions, you can PM me. As far as I know, I was the first one to do this mod and I helped Kaeon write up the FAQ.

Heres another shot of the finished product

http://socalpcguy.com/images/Mirrors2.JPG

Actually 2 other people beat us to it lol!

that looks nice, I really wanna do that but afarid i might screw up really bad. How hard is it to take the top cover off ? Can i use a flathead to pry it off ?

Are you talking about the painted part of the mirror? If so, you can pull it off with your hands. Get your fingernails into the gap at the top of the mirror and give a little tug...it comes right off.

does it go back in ok when you pull it off ?

does it go back in ok when you pull it off ?

Yes it goes back in fine...

What kind of bulbs did you use for your front turn signals? Where did you get them from?

FYI....as good as that looks, it's also illegal. Side markers are *required* to be amber/orange. Some states might fail your safety inspection, so be cautious.

It does look sweet though! Great job guys!

FYI....as good as that looks, it's also illegal. Side markers are *required* to be amber/orange. Some states might fail your safety inspection, so be cautious.

It does look sweet though! Great job guys!

Not 100% True, Some states allow Orange/White

I thought that was on the parking lights only....maybe I have that backwards :P

What kind of bulbs did you use for your front turn signals? Where did you get them from?

I used Raybrig R132 available for $10 each at www.racinglab.com . They have a hyper white look that match my luminics hyper whites perfectly.

i would do this, but i don't want to cut up something that works perfect.

i would do this, but i don't want to cut up something that works perfect.

LOL, Sam you will end up doing it!!

I have taken the lens out... but is cutting the only way to get to the LEDs? Can I use the leds which are used on gauge cluster? It seems to be a surface mounted LED on a metal base which is used to connect the + and -.... Thanks

The LEDs are surface mount that are stamped onto the metal inside the housing. You can try surface mount LEDs, but I have a feeling they wont be bright enough. They are also more expensive than standard LEDs and are header to get in a color you might want. If you use them, let us know how they work.

so... is using a cut bit the only way to get to the LEDs?

After doing another car and redoing mine a couple times, I dont see how else to get to the LEDs. If you come up with something let me know but I dont think theres another way in there.

Hmm ok today I noticed that my driver side leds will not light up at all, and my passenger side only lights up one LED I have no idea what happened...

did u check y it is not working?

did u check y it is not working?

I talk to The Instigator he said the same thing happened to him. He said he thinks its from the shock of the doors opening and closing. Im trying to find some better LEDs to use. Some OEM style ones.

I wonder why don't you put that whole signal casing into the oven like what people do to make angel eyes in with their headlights.

It doesnt use the same kind of adhesive. The mirror housing is put together with some kind of epoxy that bonds the halves together.

good job on the DIY. do these LEDs stays on all the time or blinks with your turn signals? suggestion: why not try mounting the LEDS into a bread board and sodder them that way it's more stable. just my $0.02.

good job on the DIY. do these LEDs stays on all the time or blinks with your turn signals? suggestion: why not try mounting the LEDS into a bread board and sodder them that way it's more stable. just my $0.02.

They replace the OEM Orange Leds, The tC side mirrors are used for turn signals, So they blink when you signal..

good job on the DIY. do these LEDs stays on all the time or blinks with your turn signals? suggestion: why not try mounting the LEDS into a bread board and sodder them that way it's more stable. just my $0.02.

I think you would have to get in there to really understand what is needed. I dont see how using a breadboard would help at all. You are soldering an LED right to the metal in the housing. Maybe you can elaborate because I dont understand how your idea would help.

good job on the DIY. do these LEDs stays on all the time or blinks with your turn signals? suggestion: why not try mounting the LEDS into a bread board and sodder them that way it's more stable. just my $0.02.

I think you would have to get in there to really understand what is needed. I dont see how using a breadboard would help at all. You are soldering an LED right to the metal in the housing. Maybe you can elaborate because I dont understand how your idea would help.

Have you located any LED's that would work better?

Since squeezing the silicone around the base of the LEDs after soldering, I havent had any more die on me and its been about a month. Im going to stick with the ones Ive been using as it seems to be working OK. I guess its just enough to help them from getting shaken around too much when the doors close.

Should i go with 3000 or 8000mcd LEDs? (Or possibly even 18000mcd...they're all the same price)

FYI....as good as that looks, it's also illegal. Side markers are *required* to be amber/orange. Some states might fail your safety inspection, so be cautious.

It does look sweet though! Great job guys!

Not 100% True, Some states allow Orange/White

does anyone have a list of what states require what... im currently living in GA and i think its legal here, but im moving to cali in 15 months. so i want to stay legal.

I just got done with the mod not too bad with the excellent directions. One question though i was told by two people that i didn't need to sand if i used resin core solder. i used the resin core solder but i had already sanded so i am not sure if it made a diff or not anyone know?

That may be true for bare metal, but the metal in the mirrors is plated and no solder will stick to it. If it isnt sanded and you manage to get it to stick, it will all fall off the first time you close your door or go over aq big bump

The Instigator and Kaeon, Thanks! I did this yesterday and it works great!

so the install was done for the passenger side, would the same apply for the driver side meaning same way to install just in the other direction or ?

It will be the same. If you get it together and one or all of them dont light up, you would just have to remove and resolder the LEDs in reverse polarity. Hooking up LEDs in reverse wont hurt them or your cars electronics. Check it before you seal everything back together.

Hey guys...Same thing happened to me. Any suggestions? It worked before, but after a while, the lights stopped working for me. I took everything apart, check the solder, still stuck onto the Sanded metal plate. So I resoldered it again just incase, adding mre, plugged it in and its still not working. What did u guys do? DId u guys change the LED's? or what did u guys do? So confused right now...

Youll need to replace the LEDs that are dead. It seems that they cant handle the impact of the door closing a lot and are breaking. After soldering the new LEDs on, squeeze some silicone under the LEDs and it help to keep them from having the problems. It just helps to hold them in place and resist the impacts. I havent had any die for about 4 months after doing the silicone trick.

I wonder why don't you put that whole signal casing into the oven like what people do to make angel eyes in with their headlights.
same thought
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v602/Mprabidhamster/100_0396.jpg
mine

Its already been answered. The casing isnt glued together with the same kind of silicone. They are bonded by a very hard contact cement or even melted together to form a solid unit.

Its already been answered. The casing isnt glued together with the same kind of silicone. They are bonded by a very hard contact cement or even melted together to form a solid unit.

Correct...

can you put in more than 2 with this method? Also what does bridging the top and bottom do?

Right now I have mine set up with 3 LEDs per side, but it doesnt really make a difference. The bridge is there to run the LEDs in parallel to make them brighter. They come wired in series form the factory which lowers the overall voltage of the circuit.

hey i was wondering is it safe to paint those metal peices inside the turn signal. I want to paint it the whole interior black so it will seem darker than it really is.

hey i was wondering is it safe to paint those metal peices inside the turn signal. I want to paint it the whole interior black so it will seem darker than it really is.


I wouldnt do that then all you would see is two led's light up, That mirror finish is there for a reason :P


Just a little update as well, I come out of chillies last night and unlock my car my driver side mirror is hella blinking it almost looks like a strobe light! I think I need to re solder and add some more silicone to the back for a better connection.

The reason I ask this is because I want to steal this idea from them

http://clearcorners.com/products/scion/tc1/F_ssig/

The signal the converted looks reallly nice but I was wonder on the spec for this project. I really want to do this but the only problem is I dont know where we can get array LEDs like that.

The reason I ask this is because I want to steal this idea from them

http://clearcorners.com/products/scion/tc1/F_ssig/

The signal the converted looks reallly nice but I was wonder on the spec for this project. I really want to do this but the only problem is I dont know where we can get array LEDs like that.

Yeh Ive always liked those they look sweet, But like you said I don't know how they got the LED's like that...

good job kaeon!! great write up.

the only problem ive had here, as im sure ever one else has had that has done this, is that after a while the led legs break, and they stop working so you have to re do it alllll over again. after my 3rd time of fixing it, i came up with a better option. here we go......

the first thing you must do, is follow kaeons steps to take apart your mirror, unscrew the light housing, and then you must dremel apart the housing, seperating the gray back, to the clear front. you can see his diy for that here: http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=61710&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=0

then...hit up your local auto parts store and pick up a set of these or something like it.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/veeexonekay/dynamicimage.jpg
dont be arlarmed, i know its apc, but it was the only thing i can find lol.

these are leds in a little protective case, connected together by wire. they are made to go under body or what ever else, so they are strong and wont break

there are 4 wired together. the wire goes in to the led, then out to the next, the last led has no wire coming out of it.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/veeexonekay/Photo25.jpg

you are going to use both end leds from each strand, and then then another one. your going to have to strip back the white insulation to reviel the black(negative) and white(positive) wires inside of it. then wire them up just like this:
(rember use solder and then wrap your connections in electrical tape!!!)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/veeexonekay/wiringdiagram.jpg
(black is positive, black with white lines is negative)

your going to then wire the led up to the stock wires, i just cut off the stock clip, since you are not going to use it any more.

the leds have double sided tape on them, but i used glue as well to secure them to the mirror, like this:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/veeexonekay/Photo22.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/veeexonekay/Photo19.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/veeexonekay/Photo29.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/veeexonekay/Photo28.jpg

after that take the clear plastic part of the light housing and glue it to the stock mirror cover, like this:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/veeexonekay/Photo20.jpg
and this:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/veeexonekay/Photo21.jpg

then after that dries, pop it back onto your mirror, and enjoy!!!!

here are pics of the finished product:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/veeexonekay/Photo23.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/veeexonekay/Photo24.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/veeexonekay/Photo27.jpg

sweet! now give us some outdoor pics! How's the output? Also did you insulate the joints with anything?

ill get you some out side pics tomorrow, its the same as the leds, still kinda hard to see during the day. the joints i soldered and then shrink wrapped them

Good job Jerry!!!!

To glue it back on the mirror what did you use?

To glue it back on the mirror what did you use?

I used clear silicone..

It looks easy enough.

I kinda like it.

Getting ready to do this mod soon and i was curious about the stock leds that is already in there.....what kind is it and could we just use something similar...considering it doesnt have a problem with the door shutting .....it seems to be more stable....???Thanks

neat!

WOW! those look sick!

little update on my mod. those leds go bad. i give up on white turnsignals, i put everything back to amber lol.

little update on my mod. those leds go bad. i give up on white turnsignals, i put everything back to amber lol.

LOL I hear ya man! I still havent found a set-up that doesnt go bad... I only have turn signals on the passenger side...

i was thinking possibly the leds go bad, because we are using 12v leds. maby its only like 6v or something going to them? i cant really meter them correctally, since they pop on and off so quickly.

after putting amber back in, i realized i liked amber better to begin with lol

after putting amber back in, i realized i liked amber better to begin with lol

:doh: :P

I noticed last night on mine. That on one side of car the wiring is one way and you go to the other side and then wiring is exactly flipped. Meaning the negative side of the LED would be backwards. Not sure if that matters or not though. I have one LED that is not working so I am going to try and fix that today.

hmm... the wiring should be that the bottom wire is ground for both.

were you looking at the polarity of the leds themselves? because they are wired in series.... which one the leds are flipped.

nice write up .. i might try to do this next week

hmm... the wiring should be that the bottom wire is ground for both.

were you looking at the polarity of the leds themselves? because they are wired in series.... which one the leds are flipped.

It is the wiring that is flipped. For example I believe it is a pink and orange wire in there. On the passenger side the pink is on top and orange is on bottom. Then when you look at the driver side the the the pink is on bottom and orange on top. I dont know if that makes any difference or not.
On another note though. Coolerguys.com is awesome. I have a bad LED and emailed them yesterday and they are sending me a new pack of them. Left yesterday for my house. Great Customer Service in my mind.

instead of just cuttin the housing out with a dremel can i just throw the housing in the oven to soften the putty just like how you would do it for the headlight housing? or does it not work the same way?

Im so doing this

instead of just cuttin the housing out with a dremel can i just throw the housing in the oven to soften the putty just like how you would do it for the headlight housing? or does it not work the same way?

I found this on page two.


I wonder why don't you put that whole signal casing into the oven like what people do to make angel eyes in with their headlights.

It doesnt use the same kind of adhesive. The mirror housing is put together with some kind of epoxy that bonds the halves together.

if someone can do this for me ill pay them $$$$$$$$$$$$

nice DIY!!

if someone can do this for me ill pay them $$$$$$$$$$$$
hmm.... how much $$? :money:

if someone can do this for me ill pay them $$$$$$$$$$$$
hmm.... how much $$? :money:


i dont know im not really into the hole led craze so i wouldnt know how much, but if u can pm a a price u think is worth your trouble ill pay it, ive wanted to turn mines white but idk how to soder

hey guys, really quick question, i just bought a pack of 50 of these leds to change the turning signals to white and it came with resistors, how can i install the resistor onto this???

i can do the led change but for some reason the leds turned off after like 3 months maybe the resistors will help?

^^ that is what i am thinking. but i'm going to make leds line up to make lines! w00t!

you don't need resistors.

the voltage going to the mirrors are already ~3.3V

my only guess is a poor solder joint killed the led. i've seen it happen... the one's i've done just like the diy's have lasted for a long long time... no issues yet.

other designs i've done have been fine too.

but yea... i'm working on an array setup too... i just need to find time

im guessing to make a str8 line of leds would be to just keep aligning them on the board right? or am i supposed to connect them onto the other leds?

.. huh?

lol i will try and figure something out if i have time, i meant i wanted to make a line of leds for the mirror turning signals on each side

you can't just line up leds... it will just shine brighter. you have to make something to isolate all the leds from each other to get an array affect.

shine brighter....?

you two are confusing me..... i'm thinking blah blah lining up all the leds in series.... which will cause the leds to not light up bright enough at all because there isn't enough voltage to push thru the entire series...... then there's wiring them all in parallel... at which then is what i think phiquach is trying to say..

here's something i made that works...
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b28/SquallLHeart/LED%20swaps/169_6983.jpg
testing..
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b28/SquallLHeart/LED%20swaps/169_6979.jpg

yeah yeah... the whole current thing i didn't calculate anything for... i knew the voltage coming to the mirrors was enough to light them up so i wired all of them in parallel... this would be the non-engineered way of doing it... and yeah.. the leds aren't as bright as they could be because of it... current is going everywhere....

but hey.. i was bored and had ALOT of amber leds from all the led swaps i've done..

that looks nice if it's in white!!! i had 4 blown up already... the driver's side is now not lighting up.... i haven't fixed taht... but if u can get them all light in series like that, i would like to do that instead of 2 3mm LEDs...

yea squallheart thats what i was trying to do, but i mean if there isnt enough voltage to go through all the leds to brighten them up a bit than i will try and find something maybe from autozone or something that lights up in a str8 line and white :)

You should always have a resistor in line with an led unless you are running below its threshold voltage all the time. An led, when reaching its threshold voltage, turns into a practial short. They are not like a linear resistance. So if you have one led with 3.3V applied, you are right on the edge of creating a short and killing the led.

If you have multiple in series here, it is not as much of an issue since you are adding to the threshold voltage you need. But then you end up too dim.

I havent messed with the turn signals yet. What type of power is coming into the housing? Dont measure across the leds, measure right where it comes into the housing. On a 3.3V led, you will always read 3.3v across it, even with 5v applied. The led will only drop so much and the rest is dropped across the rest of the circuit (or the leads of the led, in which case you are soon to burn it out).

So basically, what voltage is actually being applied from the car to the mirror turn signal circuit?

To clarify even more, disconnect the bulb from the circuit, stick a meter in its place and read the voltage applied when they blink

when i try to measure the voltage on the side (with a bulb but not blinking), i got 2.36, 2.36, 2.36, 2.48, 3.18, 4.45, 5.82, 7.14, then go back to that series again approximate...

:rofl:... yeah dave.. it's kinda stupid trying to measure a voltage that's goes in and out... :doh:

for me.. it's about 3. something.. 3.2.. 3.5.... :question:

but looking at the stock leds themselves and the diagram that goes with it there's two of the amber snapleds (that are tackwelded on there :eyebrow:) in series..

and then there's a mysterious resistor after that somewhere that's not inside the mirror housing... which i have no idea where it is.. but it's on the cathode side.

so in a sence you have a general idea or range where the voltage is..

the mirrors are resistored at least already for those 2 leds in series... and then via the DIY here.. the voltage running them in parallel with white leds seems fine as i've done the same exact mod in another car and the leds have lasted so far.

hmm... though i have seen some individuals not having the same luck...

and then my array that just takes that voltage and splits the current to yea... sorry if i disappointed you... i did say i was bored..

hey.. it works... :P

the passenger's side's LEDs are still working for me while the drivers' side's LEDS have blown twice already...

Depending on how it is made, you should be able to jumper the flasher module. That will leave the signals on full time and make measuring the voltage easier. If someone has an analog meter (MUCH better for measuring transient voltage) you can make a better measurement. But, my old analog died a long time ago :P Different digital meters will change values faster or slower. It sounds like itstdt's caught it at a higher value.

Sounds to me from some of the examples you guys gave that there is 8V supplying them.

Not trying in any way to bash the way you guys have done it.. just trying to help out.

my dad still has an analog meter... i'll try to do it again this afternoon if i have time

Depending on how it is made, you should be able to jumper the flasher module. That will leave the signals on full time and make measuring the voltage easier. If someone has an analog meter (MUCH better for measuring transient voltage) you can make a better measurement.
yeah... me have no analog... but jumping flasher module... hmm...... didn't think of that...

gotta double check when i get the time.

but measuring directly... i didn't get more than 4V using a digital and looking at the transient.... measured across the circuit, not of the led... or whatever... i'm brain farting right now.. you know what i mean.

but yea... gotta double check... there's the put-it-together-it-work's way.. and then the engineer's way... i'm caught in between those right now... lol.

i have another array setup that's done the right way.. but haven't finished it... and then the plcc array was the other way.. but didn't finish that one either... :doh:

im planning on doing this soon.

i will be using 5mm leds. do u guys think 18000 mcd is too bright? they cost about the same as 3000 mcd. does anyone know what type of leds these mirrors use stock?

stock uses snapleds.... which are tackwelded in...

uhm... pics on the 1st page.

OMG all that just to change the color ____.

^lol its not hard at all, the only hard part is cutting open the plastic. i didnt have a dremel, so i used a acrylic cutter knife, took a while that route.

i wouldnt do it.

this thing is basically fool proof, even if u dont have experience u can do it B-)

^^ Really? Didnt yours stop working after 3 months? :D Sorry, had to call out on that one.

LEDs are fairly tough, meaning they will run super hot for a while sometimes before dying. But to do it right (And bright) you will not want more than 3 leds in a series branch (and that is only if they are hitting battery voltage.. I am guessing they are getting 8V, which means only two can really be run in each series branch without them being fairly dim) with the supply from the car. 4 Maybe.. but they will be super dim when the car is off. Any more than that, and you will never get them very bright, or at least not with white or blue leds.

Get me the voltage during the "on" time and I will design a circuit to do it brightly and without ever having them burn out again. I dont really care to do this to my car, so I am not cutting it up to test it all, but I am more than happy to come up with a solution.

^^^lol i knew someone was gonna say that, i think my leds broke because of how bad i drive here in miami with its nasty pothole roads, most likely they came off from that, but now it hasnt happened for a while :)

So now i hear that the side turn signals have to be amber or you can get pulled over? WTF. Why cant the damn cops just leave us the hell alone? I can understand the FRONT turn signal in the head lights but most cars dont have turn signals in the side mirror so why would this be illegal to change? W/E.

Seems like ppl cant have an interest or hobby any more these day, always getting told cant do this and that.

Yeah its me venting he he, sorry. So everything I want done I cant do . :nope:

its illegal to have white leds on the side mirrors????????????? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO OMG I WILL B!$&H AT THEM, lol our cars look so good with white turning signals, i had a lot of cops in front of me and i had my signals on and they never said n e thing?!?!?!? sigh, cops and their so called power.

Yes, it is illegal. Was researching this. It would be a PIA to get pulled over,and also the whole issue of not passing inspection... Wouldn't want to redo the whole process.

most cops won't pull you over though unless they are a cop that needs to meet their "quota"

loool

hey i was wondering, what do u think about putting this in the side mirrors?

http://www.oznium.com/led-flex-strips

it'll work.... but it won't be bright.

nice!!!

can the side mirror lens be oven off? how many degrees should I use?

Sweet mod.. Looks awesome !

can the side mirror lens be oven off? how many degrees should I use?
read the thread.

no.

They aren't illegal...the signal markers on the front/back are required to be amber in color. Most cars don't even have side signals on their mirrors...and as I remember, some trucks have red flashing arrows shown through the glass on the side mirrors.
:nope:

^very true

I didnt think so, that was my point. 1/2 the cars and trucks dont have the turn signals in the side mirrors like that, and as long as the front and back are amber who cares...

Its a pain tho to try and change them. I really want to but there is no one i know that can do that.

They aren't illegal...the signal markers on the front/back are required to be amber in color. Most cars don't even have side signals on their mirrors...and as I remember, some trucks have red flashing arrows shown through the glass on the side mirrors.
:nope:
but the light emitting from those arrows are pointing REARward... not to the sides..

yeah yeah....well that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

I won't be changing them out anyways...looks too hard. I was in there, taking them apart to smoke-out the glass, and couldn't figure out how to get inside until I saw the posted instructions.

Nicely done, by the way...

I know that this write up is mad old, but it still works for the '07's too (big surprise - it seems they are not changing the design for a while... but if it works, why fix it right?)

Anyways. Thanks! :clap:

They aren't illegal...the signal markers on the front/back are required to be amber in color. Most cars don't even have side signals on their mirrors...and as I remember, some trucks have red flashing arrows shown through the glass on the side mirrors.
:nope:
but the light emitting from those arrows are pointing REARward... not to the sides..

Just FYI - the lights on the mirrors that are red are legal because, as stated, they face towards the rear.
Though the law does change from state to state, the general idea seems to be the same. Most laws clearly state the any lights facing towards the front must be white or amber. Any lights facing towards the rear must be white, red or amber. Thus you can have white turn signals in the front and rear and be ok - even if the glass for the bulb is blue, as long as the bulb emits white light.

Furthermore, lisence plate lights are supposedly supposed to be white. But they can technically be red because they face the rear. I am not sure I want to try and argue this though because some cops like to pull you over for that kind of stuff (been there - done that) and I am not sure how well this will hold up in court. If you are going to get a lisence plate light, I would suggest you leave the factory light in place and install a light around the lisence plate that can be turned off by a toggel switch - or even better, a toggle switch that allows you to choose what light you want.

But I am getting off the subject - the law does not state anything about the color of side lights other than they can not be destracting to other drivers. I am not bothered by turn signals... are you?

i know i know, this is probably a nOOB question, but how do you get all of your lights to come on??? hi's and low's and parking lights (blinkers and s uch)??? it looks sweet, i have blue, but they only come on when u lock and unlock, how do i make them stay on?
thanks

the lows stay on when you turn on your high beams..

i know i know, this is probably a nOOB question, but how do you get all of your lights to come on??? hi's and low's and parking lights (blinkers and s uch)??? it looks sweet, i have blue, but they only come on when u lock and unlock, how do i make them stay on?
thanks
I dont think that you can, well from what I was told. I think though they would have to be re-wired into our head lights, and you would just leave your head lights on all the time. ( thats what I do since the shut off by themself after you turn off the car and open the door :) )
But you then wouldnt have use of your turn signals and would have to find out how to disconnect the front from the side markers with you from the front and rear.

awesome diy...took me about an hour or so...thanks

i kinda want to do this. do you think putting in some luxeon LED would be ok?http://www.luxeonstar.com/item.php?id=2213&link_str=1431&partno=5027-PW14
or
http://www.luxeonstar.com/item.php?id=5534&link_str=1430&partno=7007-PWC-05-3
i also want to clear out the mirror lens so the LEDs can double as roadside luminate as well

^^ that would be nice to find out if it works, lemme know if you di it, and getting clears lens sounds cool, how would u go about this?

^^ that would be nice to find out if it works, lemme know if you di it, and getting clears lens sounds cool, how would u go about this?

this has been done on the HID forums many times. what you do is start with 100grit sand paper to sand the inner texture side of the lense until smooth. then you wetsand working your way up 220>400>600>800>1500 grit sand paper. finally, buff it with a polishing compound using a rotary tool with a felt wheel. it should look like glass now.

but before i even consider it, i really want to know if the circuit will handle a luxeon LED since those things are about 1watt give and take some. i plan on using 2-3 on each mirror. 2 aiming directly 90 degrees and the 1 aiming at 45 degrees.

Yeah, those should work. But from what I have read about the luxeon, I am not sure that the link is what you really want. Those particular ones don't seem to provide too much light as per the lumens rating.... but I could be wrong. I know that some luxeon LEDs can get pretty bright.

However, the majority of your problem will come from the lack of power. The turn signals are designed for a superflux LED, so you are prolly only getting about 3 v.... the higher end luxeon require about 5 v for max output, but will still work with lower voltage only not as bright. Thus, you might be better off just going with regular LEDs.

But, like I said, they should work. At least they shouldn't mess up the circuitry so feel free to try it. Let us know how it goes.

are there only 2 wires at the mirror? if i can get to these wires from the kick panel or fuse box, i can run a relay circuit where i can use it's lower voltage to control a higher voltage circuit. then all i need is a 5v voltage regulator to limit current to the mirrors.

updated: i just check the wiring diagram and it looks like there's a resistor inside the mirror lense housing. can someone run a voltage test on the 2 wires that goes into the housing? i suspect they are 12v since that's before the resistor if i am correct. if that's the case, then luxeon's will work by swapping out the resistor for something else or a VR, no relays required.


also... does baking the lense work to open it? i think this was already asked, but i don't think it was answered. thanks a lot!

Yeah, there are only two wires that go in there, and I haven't seen a resistor yet - if it's in there, it's hidden pretty well... unless they are using the abundance of metal as a resistor. But I am going to be doing this mod for someone coming up soon, so I will look in there for the resistor and I will check the voltage for you.

Also, the only method that I know of to open these things is by cutting. It's not quite the right material to bake.

Yeah, there are only two wires that go in there, and I haven't seen a resistor yet - if it's in there, it's hidden pretty well... unless they are using the abundance of metal as a resistor. But I am going to be doing this mod for someone coming up soon, so I will look in there for the resistor and I will check the voltage for you.

Also, the only method that I know of to open these things is by cutting. It's not quite the right material to bake.

thanks a lot! keep us posted :D

Ok, there is no resistor in the light, and the voltage is about 4-5 volts. This is kind of an average because it's hard to tell the voltage with a multi meter while the lights are blinking. LoL.

Either way, I know it's not 12v.

yeah.. definitely... def... definitely not 12V.. :P

i just put the puddle lamps that i had under the car and used them for the turning side mirrors, its very bright and beautiful :)

The TC lokks Insane. How come you said the second time around I used 5mm LEDs? And also where did you buy all of you Headlights turn signals lights from?

I think the first time he used 3mm. Second time was 5mm... a little bigger, and they are supposed to be brighter. But IMO, in the turn signals, they are just about equal.

You can get the turn signals for the headlights at autozone, pepboys, ebay, etc... just got to look around

Cool, thanks. I will probably give it a go this weekend.

i plan to but some blue led's on the mirror side markers and i keep reading that it is legal and it is not legel...any one now if it be ok in cali???

blue lights outside of the car are illegal ,
side markers are suppose to be orange only.
When i saw cops around, i don't even dare to use white turn signals.

And U will get pull over in CA faster than any other states.

oh..ok......id like to put blue iv seen it in some tc's but wasn't sure about it...wat about white?

Yeah, blue is def illegal. Especially if they are blinking. White is not completely legal, but it's not something that most cops are going to say anything about - unless of course you are in a town with bored cops, or CA. :lol:

The law (in most places) states that any light shining from the front of your car will be white or yellow. And light shining from the rear will be red or yellow, with the exception of the license plate light which is required to be white. This is how people get away with white blinkers - technically it's legal.

Other than that, no light may be visible from the car. Many people will argue that no light BULB may be visible but the "glow" is allowed. However, this is really up to the cops discretion. At the very least, the cops could give you a ticket for being a distraction on the road.

hey
if water gets into the turn signals after install
does that screw everything up as far as harnesses?
or do i just re-solder and do it again
i didn't silicone it well enough the first time =/

ehh.. things get wet... oops... dry it off and re-seal... hopefully there's no water damage.

If the thing was soaked in water and you used the blinkers then the possibility of messing something up exists. However, the first thing to go would most likely be a fuse.

Trung is right, dry it off and try again. You should be good to go.

okay so basically just check the fuse box?
so i guess i'll do that and check the bulbs

nice write up.

how much will this set me back to do ?

leds are like $.80-1 each? you need 4 of them.. plus a tube of silicone or other glue.. and tools..

costs like 10 bucks IF you have the tools

i did mine TWO times yet they keep burning out, am i not putting enough silicone? or should i use a circuit board? donde?

I know it's an old thread, but I'm about to do this, and I was wondering if there was ever a solution to the led's burning out... I think I'm going to put three in instead of two, maybe that will help.

I know it's an old thread, but I'm about to do this, and I was wondering if there was ever a solution to the led's burning out... I think I'm going to put three in instead of two, maybe that will help.

^ x2 i want to do this did anyone get theirs to work long term?

ill take that as a no?

using the methods on this one, it doesnt last for long.. the solder gets weak with vibration especially shutting of the door.. using a real circuit should solve the problem

Excellent how to to the original OP I just want to add when you take the mirror cover off to pull the top loose, then pull the bottom loose, do not try and pull the cover off just by the top or the bottom as some of the 7 plastic clips will break off, I know I just found out the hard way as my mirrors are showing their age now on the top from the sun and I think a nice hydro dip in a carbon pattern will look nice.

good write up, i been looking around on how to redo the turn signal light to LED now thanks to you i can do it now