What am I missing here. I thought TrollHole and others already had solved these issues long ago for free. Not meaning the lights where free , but the info and where to buy plus what lights are needed for what years . I would need more info , plus why it's better than what's already available before I she'll out over 300$ on lights . I wish your venture much success and hope you make lots of money .
LED Lights for the FJ40 Land Cruiser
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Crick60, thanks for your input. These kits have been installed on three vehicles already. My goal was to have a stock look with LED functionality. Safety was a huge factor in the design. I am a fellow cruiser head and wanted something better as far as a lighting solution goes. The kit was intended to make an easy solution for those looking for a LED kit for the FJ40. We spent some time making this kit right. I can provide the technical specifications, but I was just looking for a solution when this quest began. I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way. The LED's are guaranteed for the life of the vehicle. My designer guaranteed me that. Let me know what else I can provide to the community to let them know how amazing these kits are. Thanks!
Maybe a few more pics of the internals and wiring etc.
Like I said mud isn't really a sales forum (unless it's a swap or spares thing) so usually when someone does sell something the full description of the product is in their build thread so I guess you could treat it like you would if you were someone buying something sight unseen.
We don't necessarily know that the LEDs aren't cheap Chinese hack boards or if you've soldered the joints or crimped them or how the unit fixes to the OEM etc etc.
Let's see some more pics of the guts please
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Will post today.
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Bump for the pics of these things? Do you only offer the 75 and up or do you have LEDS for the older models too?
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Hmmm.... Seems a shame to go to all that work and not follow through... 
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Hmmm.... Seems a shame to go to all that work and not follow through...
See last post. Thanks.
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Currently, Only the '75 and up models. I didn't know how much interest there would be for the earlier model 40 series. If there is enough interest, I would consider designing for them as well. It wouldn't take that long from the current design.
I think the led idea is great and a lot of effort has gone into it. The problem I have is (and not with the led part) is the cheap internal metal used in the manufacture of the front & rear light casings, water gets into these and they just rust away, I end up replacing the whole light assembly every few years, even if I paint the internals they still don't last.
The only good thing is the standard light fittings are cheap to buy so as a throw away item every few years is not a great expense, the led's will certainly out last the casings, but you have the problem of rebuilding the lights to install the led's every time.
On another note, we can already buy led water proof rear lights as whole unit to suit the 40 as its a fairly standard design, they just don't work with flasher unit without a resistor in line.
I think your heading down the right track, but a fully enclosed water proof casing with led's, sealed as a complete light unit would be the way to go, probably last 10 - 15 years and worth the investment.
The only good thing is the standard light fittings are cheap to buy so as a throw away item every few years is not a great expense, the led's will certainly out last the casings, but you have the problem of rebuilding the lights to install the led's every time.
On another note, we can already buy led water proof rear lights as whole unit to suit the 40 as its a fairly standard design, they just don't work with flasher unit without a resistor in line.
I think your heading down the right track, but a fully enclosed water proof casing with led's, sealed as a complete light unit would be the way to go, probably last 10 - 15 years and worth the investment.
The only way to make these lights flash properly without using an in-line resistor is to use an LED flasher unit, I did the research and have used these LED flasher units on my other euro cars successfully. These units are specifically made for various vehicles, i.e. Japanese cars, German, US, etc. so you must select the proper unit for your vehicle based on the flasher connector blades design and configuration.
This is where I purchased the LED flasher units: http://www.superbrightleds.com/search/led-products/flasher turn signal/page/1/
These units are plug and play, remove old flasher and replace with new LED flasher, and you are done. As far as LED bulbs I use CREE and they work great, you can purchase these from eBay
.
For off road mud applications you can find water proof LED lights here: http://www.superbrightleds.com/search/truck-trailer-led-lights/water proof led bulbs/
There are NO water proof bulbs for cars and trucks.
No affiliation with superbrightleds and cree bulbs.
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Sorry about that word but you can remove it from your post as I have done. It was the only way to make you respond, no harm no foul.
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No disrespect intended SandiaFJ40. I have put amazing amounts of time into research and development of wiring things for FJ40's. I use MUD to see what interest there may be. I was merely pointing out that for the amount of work you appear to have done on what appears to be a good product, it was a shame it appeared to have languished. Glad you are still looking into this!
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Thanks Coolerman for the insight. I will take a look into that flasher unit. Looks like a solid lead!
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Ok, Here we go... Just got back from vacation. Some pics of the LED housings with the wiring as requested.
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I should also mention that the boards can be seperated if needed. Let me know if there are any further questions...
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I see how these are better than the replacement LED bulbs that are out there. They are emitting the light from a much larger area, in the direction it is needed, and they do not rely on a reflector to focus the light back toward the viewer. I bet these are really bright in person.
Combine those design features, with the fact that the cheap after market light housings do not have reflectors like the OEM version, nor are they painted with reflective paint on the inside, and you have a really a good upgrade for the after market housings.
Now: If these circuit boards are already coated with something that will with stand salt water, post that fact, and ignore this next part.
You mentioned there was a life time guarantee on these things? On the production units, are the backs of the PC boards sealed or epoxy/silicone potted in any way? Reason I ask: An unprotected circuit board won't make it through one winter if they use salt on the roads.
I know this from personal experience building lights mounted on the rear of vehicles...
Many years ago I used to make these trailer hitch brake flasher things out of these cheap Chinese bicycle flashers I got from an import company. I opened them up, added a miniature relay triggered by the trailer socket brake light wire, and fed the LEDS with the park light circuit power. I put the relay contacts across the push button On-Off switch and when you hit the brakes the LEDS on the flasher would flash in an on/off pattern, alerting drivers behind you that you were stopping. Just like the Toyota third brake light flashes now. The bicycle flashers snapped together, and had a nice rubber seal all the way around, making them at first glance, water proof.
Uh... no.... Every single one, I sold to a state that salted their roads in the winter, failed within the first year! This was due to salt water intrusion into the housing. When I opened the returned units up, the bottom of the circuit boards were covered in green corrosion, which shorted out the park light circuit, blowing fuses on these folks vehicles. So much for that venture....
Now, the OEM, and the after market housings, are not sealed to anything approaching even IP66, so they are NOT water proof. This means that a salt water solution film will eventually get inside the housings, and bye bye circuit boards. There was a post above that mentioned how the aftermarket stamped steel light housings last a few years, then rust out.
An idea would be to offer these with the lenses, or have the interested folks mail you their lenses. You could then place the boards in the lenses, embed the circuit boards in epoxy, silicone, wax, or whatever material would work making the whole assembly water proof. All the end user would have to do is route the wires out through one of the bulb bases, and then seal that one, and the other two, making the housing inside water proof. Just a thought...
Combine those design features, with the fact that the cheap after market light housings do not have reflectors like the OEM version, nor are they painted with reflective paint on the inside, and you have a really a good upgrade for the after market housings.
Now: If these circuit boards are already coated with something that will with stand salt water, post that fact, and ignore this next part.
You mentioned there was a life time guarantee on these things? On the production units, are the backs of the PC boards sealed or epoxy/silicone potted in any way? Reason I ask: An unprotected circuit board won't make it through one winter if they use salt on the roads.
I know this from personal experience building lights mounted on the rear of vehicles...
Many years ago I used to make these trailer hitch brake flasher things out of these cheap Chinese bicycle flashers I got from an import company. I opened them up, added a miniature relay triggered by the trailer socket brake light wire, and fed the LEDS with the park light circuit power. I put the relay contacts across the push button On-Off switch and when you hit the brakes the LEDS on the flasher would flash in an on/off pattern, alerting drivers behind you that you were stopping. Just like the Toyota third brake light flashes now. The bicycle flashers snapped together, and had a nice rubber seal all the way around, making them at first glance, water proof.
Uh... no.... Every single one, I sold to a state that salted their roads in the winter, failed within the first year! This was due to salt water intrusion into the housing. When I opened the returned units up, the bottom of the circuit boards were covered in green corrosion, which shorted out the park light circuit, blowing fuses on these folks vehicles. So much for that venture....
Now, the OEM, and the after market housings, are not sealed to anything approaching even IP66, so they are NOT water proof. This means that a salt water solution film will eventually get inside the housings, and bye bye circuit boards. There was a post above that mentioned how the aftermarket stamped steel light housings last a few years, then rust out.
An idea would be to offer these with the lenses, or have the interested folks mail you their lenses. You could then place the boards in the lenses, embed the circuit boards in epoxy, silicone, wax, or whatever material would work making the whole assembly water proof. All the end user would have to do is route the wires out through one of the bulb bases, and then seal that one, and the other two, making the housing inside water proof. Just a thought...
Good points there Coolerman, I like this product idea overall. I don't have ANY turn signals at all for my project so I will need some.
These are only $100 more plus or minus than the CCOT kit... so I don't see it as a bad deal given what they are.
I also like the idea of embedded modules that mount in the housing.
The problem is that embedding LEDs in anything can create heat problems. LEDs lose brightness as the get old and are exposed to heat, they never just burn out. Excessive heat shortens the life of LEDs dramatically. And the sad thing is that the degradation of their brightness happens slowly so most times people don't realize they've dimmed at all. After like 10,000-20,000 hours of use, or exposure to extreme heat LEDs can lose half of the brightness. Alternatively in cold temps LEDs actually get brighter.
I've worked on quite a few projects using LEDs embedded in acrylic for exterior signage applications. The first versions LEDs were cast into the acrylic directly. Later they moved to machining acrylic blocks and the epoxying the LEDs in place. Either way if you use cheap LEDs they run hotter and dim quickly - especially in places like an Arizona WalMart parking lot in July.
I spent a couple days last year up at the GE LED lab in Nela Park in Cleveland checking out their R&D and testing facility. I learned a lot, very interesting stuff, but also very different from incandescent land.
These are only $100 more plus or minus than the CCOT kit... so I don't see it as a bad deal given what they are.
I also like the idea of embedded modules that mount in the housing.
The problem is that embedding LEDs in anything can create heat problems. LEDs lose brightness as the get old and are exposed to heat, they never just burn out. Excessive heat shortens the life of LEDs dramatically. And the sad thing is that the degradation of their brightness happens slowly so most times people don't realize they've dimmed at all. After like 10,000-20,000 hours of use, or exposure to extreme heat LEDs can lose half of the brightness. Alternatively in cold temps LEDs actually get brighter.
I've worked on quite a few projects using LEDs embedded in acrylic for exterior signage applications. The first versions LEDs were cast into the acrylic directly. Later they moved to machining acrylic blocks and the epoxying the LEDs in place. Either way if you use cheap LEDs they run hotter and dim quickly - especially in places like an Arizona WalMart parking lot in July.
I spent a couple days last year up at the GE LED lab in Nela Park in Cleveland checking out their R&D and testing facility. I learned a lot, very interesting stuff, but also very different from incandescent land.