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LED Taillights.....can I???

KBMWRS

KBMWRS

sad
Donator
So I'm installing the LEDs from MustangProject. I dis-assembled the taillight housing and doing the "while-I'm-at-its" I should clean up the small amount of rust, spray paint it, replace the rubber gaskets and..........

Its so much easier to work/assemble the housing outside of the car but the MP LEDs need to be plugged into the recepticle to install, requiring the housing unit to be 'in' the trunk and then assemble the lense and gaskets.

Can I cut and splice in a male/female spade connector just upstream of the plug? That would be okay wouldn't it? Would there be any electrical problems with doing this?
 
In the electrical board, I totally rebuilt my taillight housings...except for cleaning and painting. i no longer use the stock plugs, that have a tendency of not making good contact, on the back of the housing. I'm using a set of weather-pack connectors on each side.

-rob
 
As long as the connectors are making good contact, you should be able to splice them in anywhere along the wire. I went with the weather-pack connectors, cause they are water tight, and they are two prong connectors. I could have used spade or bullet connectors without any ill effects.

Cut away. Just make sure that you use the insulated connectors. Don't want them to ground out.
 
Another connection point is not going to hurt you as long as you take the time to do it right. That means soldering and the use of dielectric grease on the plug contact surfaces. If you just grab a packet of cheap crimp-on stuff then yes, it could be an issue down the road.
 
Hey Mike before you install the taillights spray paint the inside the taillight housing a white or silver color. It will make the lights brighter. Seriously it actually works. I had some chrome color spary paint laying around in my parents garage and that's what I used.
 
OKay great on the use of connectors. I'll solder them and tape them up good. It will be inside the trunk so weather protection won't be a concern.

I'll chrome paint the inside too...not sure of the purpose since LEDs won't reflect back towards them but hey it couldn't hurt.
 
"KBMWRS" said:
OKay great on the use of connectors. I'll solder them and tape them up good. It will be inside the trunk so weather protection won't be a concern.
Click to expand...

Get some heatshrink tubing
 
Actually, what I typically do when I need to cut a wire is to slip a piece of shrink tubing about 1" long over one end, strip back both ends (about 3/8") and then slowly butt the two wire ends together, allowing the strands to blend together. Don't twist them but just press them in alignment and then solder the connection. Slide the shrink tube over the bare wire and shrink it down. You can't get a better connection and doing it this way all but eliminates any chance of future corrosion, etc.
 
"Horseplay" said:
Actually, what I typically do when I need to cut a wire is to slip a piece of shrink tubing about 1" long over one end, strip back both ends (about 3/8") and then slowly butt the two wire ends together, allowing the strands to blend together. Don't twist them but just press them in alignment and then solder the connection. Slide the shrink tube over the bare wire and shrink it down. You can't get a better connection and doing it this way all but eliminates any chance of future corrosion, etc.
Click to expand...

There's no unified answer to the question of whether a butt crimp splice or solder splice is better. The solder itself contains a flux compound which does promote corrosion unless you apply an alcohol bath to the solder joint. Butt crimp splices are equally good as solder for electrical resistance, but don't have the strain relief characteristics needed to keep the wire from flexing and breaking as it enters the butt crimp. Both methods are good for several years, however, and both need shrink tubing.
 
HF sells a great assortment of the heat shrink tubing for $1.99 on sale. It also comes in an assortment of colors and is good stuff!
 
I also did a LED conversion from Mustang Project and came to the same issue.
I used a bulb socket from the rear taillights of a 67 cougar .They are pressed in the taillight housing before i painted it white inside.I had a pigtail connector for those socket and soldered to the exciting wiring harness after cutting the orig sockets. shrink tubing is a must and use pieces that extends far longer the the weld is.So it holds/supports the insulation of the wire also.You also need to ground the housing .
Hope this will help.
 
Second (or is it 3rd or 4th) on the heatshrink - w/o it, either joint will likely fail in the future - the heatshrink stabilizes the joint from vibration. I learned this the hard way with boats, where vibration kills a crimp joint 5x faster than a car. Crimp it, seal with good HS tube, and no worries.

FWIW, I've found the HF stuff to be crap - thin and easily damaged or punctured. The Radio Shack stuff is better. The best is double wall adhesive lined:
http://www.delcity.net/store/Shrink-Tube-!-Dual-Wall/p_327.a_1
 
"David67" said:
Hey Mike before you install the taillights spray paint the inside the taillight housing a white or silver color. It will make the lights brighter. Seriously it actually works. I had some chrome color spary paint laying around in my parents garage and that's what I used.
Click to expand...

Mike,
VHT makes a great chrome finish paint. I used it on Shag's housings.
 
Painted last night. I had chrome. Only did one side because one was dull and the other the metal still had a good shine. I need new rubber though so I'm waiting on final install until I get back down to NPD....heading there on the 5th...need anything?
 
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