What are your thoughts on the quality levels of LED lights? Is there a good better best? Or is the life expectancy out of an Led Strip a crap shoot no matter who they are from, or what you paid for it? The question originates from having to choose between two different spoiler manufacturers for my wifes Subaru. It's a $45 difference, but the expensive one offers a 5 year guarantee on its LED, while the cheaper one only offers a one year guarantee. They are both constructed out of the same material, using the same process, so the only real difference is the light itself. They are both white lamp, with a red strip of LED's in them.

Just so I'm not hiding anything, for the record I did PM Raptor and ask his opinion, but thought it might be interesting to have an open discussion on the matter anyway.

Any thoughts are welcome.

 

I recieved your PM, but I'll type my answer here:

As with anything in life, there are products with differing quality levels. Jiff versus Great Value. Coke versus Tab, etc etc. Just about every component in the LED level will have varying quality levels. The PCBs may have copper contacts instead of silver. The manufacturer may have (or skipped out on) a voltage regulator/PWM (both of which greatly increase lifespan) and even the LEDs themselves. All of my projects use Philips Superflux LumiLEDs. They are one of the best name-brands out there and I love them. However, there are chinese companies on eBay that sell carbon-copies (without the quality control) under the name Pirahnah Superflux (SP?) at half the cost. These are what most chinese eBay sellers use in their cheesy taillights and the like. As far as the Subaru, if you are buying online, you most likely will not be able to identify the varying components. What you would have to go on is name quality. Are those two manufacturers known as great sellers in the Subaru world? (As Rigid, Hella, and Osram are in the truck world?) If so, you can go on it. But beware, OEM components (usually buy the high-quality stuff) can break. I've seen Mazda6s, Toyota Corollas, etc with out LEDs on their CHMSL.

To sum up the answer- if this is a car you care about and $40 is the determining factor for two identical spoilers, I would just spend the extra cash, especially for an extra 4 years of warranty coverage. Or you could save the $40 and build it yourself with pride and know it'll last

 

I hadn't considered building my own, until you mentioned it. Do you have any good reference points or websites to coach a rookie on the "how to's for building LED brake lights for dummies"? I kinda like the idea, although electrical is quite honestly my weak point. I understand most of the basic fundamentals of electrical, but can quickly get confused when we start talking voltage regulators, and diodes etc......

Anyway, if you know of a good place to start, I would appreciate any suggestions. There is no guarantee that even the more costly light carries any better products. They are both manufactured offshore in Malaysia, so I'm not holding my breath on the quality of the light "ingredients" in either option.

 

For such a small light it would be a difficult process for a beginner. Im on numerous LED forums and do nothing but read, read, and read. I was learning for a few months before I tackled my first project- my LED tails. You want to start with a bigger housing to learn on and move smaller as you larn to conserve space. The CHMSL retro was the times as hard as the main tails. But to answer you're question, head in over to www.hidplanet..com and read the stickies in the LED section. That is the quickest way to get started

 

Well, I thought I was an electronics idiot before I started reading some of that stuff. 2 web sites later I have officially confirmed it. I am not cut out for the LED building world. I know my place , and that ain't it. Gimme a frame machine, a mig welder, or a can of bondo, and I'm in my sweet spot. One of the links that I read was in the "LED Basic Technical Info", at http://www.gizmology.net/LEDs.htm and got completely lost in a hurry.

BTW, your link has too many dots. Thanks though.

 

All I can say is - if Craptor can do it, you can too.

And that's a compliment - Alex was, not so very long ago, a complete neophyte. He's made an enormous effort - and the result is an enormous accomplishment. This IS a bona-fide success story. And he's gone on to help many others.

If you were closer, CE, I'd be soldering in my shop and you'd be buying the suds

Good luck!


MGD

 

Yeah sorry for the typos. I'm on vacation and was on my Droid sitting on the john

 

Hmmm, crappy message.