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WRITE-UP FOR L.E.D. TAILLIGHT CONVERSION FOR 4TH GENERATION PRELUDES

In this write-up I will outline the procedure for turning your played out altezzas into unique, classy taillights with the brightness of LEDs. I chose to do my lights in one method, but you can customize yours however you see fit, there are LOTS of options here so be creative! Outlined here is how my Dad and I completed the project. First things first, you will need to get some altezza's. I used the 2nd generation "carbon fiber look" taillights. Then you will need to take them apart. This is done just like when taking the stock taillights apart, except that is it harder. I have done both, and the stock taillights are held together with a gray epoxy material that softens under heat. My APC altezza's however where held together with hot glue. In any case, you will need to cook them, cut them, or do what you have to do to get them apart. ***BE CAREFUL TAKING THEM APART!*** If you rush it, you will crack or break the outer shield and they will be worthless. This is a pain, but after they are apart, it gets a lot easier. So here is my write-up, starting after you have the lights disassembled.

YOU WILL NEED:

Altezza taillights, disassembled.

2 LED brake light assemblies for an 18 wheeler

Dremel tool (and safety glasses)

Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks

Silicone (black preferably)

Spray paint in the color of your choice

Sharpie and/or Marks-a-lot pens

Screwdriver

Spray tint

Sheet of acrylic or lexan

Wire cutters, crimpers, blue butt connectors, wire

Lighter

Modeling glue/super glue

2 straws

Painters tape (the blue stuff)

Socket set with metric sockets

Clamps

Test light

Knife

Saw

FIRST STAGE: GET EVERYTHING READY

1. TAILLIGHTS:

Ok, so you have your taillights taken apart. First thing to do is to take out the red lens inside. Just pop it out from behind and set it aside. Next, paint the housing however you'd like. Cover that gaudy chrome or unconvincing carbon fiber with a few nice coats of paint. If you like the way your altezzas look, then leave them alone and concentrate on the LED situation instead. Remember that you can do whatever you like here, so be creative. Make sure that you don't paint the silver part on the bottom though, as it will loose reflectivity and make your blinkers and reverse light very dim. It should look like this when done:

Notice that I also painted the lower left side, this was silver but it need not be...PAINT IT!

You can set the housings aside now, and leave them to dry.

2. LED's

After looking and calling forever, I got the LED's from a truck stop in my area. They are also available on the internet. They are intended for truckers with 18 wheelers, but with some creativity, they work in our cars too. They had quite a selection at the truck stop, with LED units ranging from 5 LED's to 56 LED's. I opted for the ones with the most LED's possible, 56. They cost me 48.00 for both, and my search was finally over! Here's what they look like:

Since the LED will be behind the red lens in your taillight, and the LED's themselves emit red light, the red cover that comes on them becomes useless. I wanted the LED's to be as bright as possible, so we removed it. We used a Dremel tool to cut away the top. This will also help make the unit fit behind the lens of the taillight later on. Here's a pic of the top getting cut off:

After the top is off you will notice that the backing behind the LED's is white. When we held the red lens from the taillight against it, it just didn't look right, so we decided to paint behind the LED's. We tried to think of ways to paint behind the LED's without actually painting the LED's themselves, and came up with this:

Basically what we did was cut up drinking straws to cover the LED lights, and put tape over the tops of the straws. In effect, you have a little "hat" for each LED, and you can carefully spray the backing black. Here's how they turned out:

Now the LED unit is ready to be installed into the housing, but first.....

3. ACRYLIC PIECE:

The bottom part of the housing is dedicated to the turn signal and reverse light. The background here is painted silver for greater reflectivity, but as a result it is very bright even when the lights are off. This didn't mesh well with my newly painted black housing taillights and my black lude. We decided that painting the silver part was out of the question, because then the turn signals/reverse light would just be a bare bulb, which isn't bright enough, and looks tacky. Here's what we did:

We took a sheet of acrylic, and traced the outline of the stock orange/white diffuser onto cardboard, then used that as a pattern from which to cut the acrylic. Then we cut it out and tinted it with a spray tint called "Nite Shades" made by VHT. At first we over-tinted the pieces, and you couldn't even see the turn signal bulbs flashing! picture of what NOT to do:

What you really want is to just have a very light spray on them, just enough to take the edge off. Like this:

Ok, now you have the necessary parts, and it's time for the second stage!

SECOND STAGE: MODIFY THE HOUSING

This part will be tricky, but not all that difficult. You will need to modify the housing to hold the LED unit and the acrylic piece. We used a Dremel to hack out a smiley face shape in the housing, in order to hold the LED unit straight. Here's a pic of the hacked housing next to one that isn't:

A closer pic of what it will look like hacked:

You will have to cut out the smiley face shape, then shave it down until the LED unit fits under the red lens. Just keep shaving it down with the Dremel until it fits nicely (this may take a while)

Next you will have to shave the middle part of the lower housing down to accommodate the acrylic piece. Cut it away until the acrylic fits. Here's the part you need to cut down:

Your housing is ready for the LED unit and the acrylic piece!

THIRD STAGE: ASSEMBLE

Now you have to put it all together. Start with the LED unit. You are going to be adhering the unit in with a hot glue gun, so get it warmed up. Then simply put the LED's into the housing and hold the red lens in place. Turn over the housing and let the LED rest against the lens. This will align the LED and hold it in place. Now glue like mad on the back. Don't be shy with the glue, use a lot to make sure that the LED unit stays put. here's a pic:

After you have it glued in well, it will look like this:

Now glue the red lens back on using modeling glue or superglue. Here's how it will look:

Now you need to mount your acrylic piece on the bottom section. Just glue it into place with modeling or super glue, and let it dry. Here's what it looks like with the smoked acrylic but without the outer housing:

I took pics of some other options or ideas that you could use too. *Remember that these pics were taken without the outer housing, just to give you an idea of some other routes to go.

This one uses the stock deflector, which is half amber and half clear (you may have this hanging around after clearing out your stock tails, I did!) The stock piece would take some modification (cutting/sanding) to fit in the aftermarket housing though.

Here's what it looks like without anything over the bottom part. Some would say just fine...too bright for me:

Now that you have the acrylic piece glued in, you're almost done!

Now you need to remove the white plastic backing with the wires from the car. the piece looks like this:

As for wiring, you will wire it the same as stock, and the back of the LED has electrical connections for Ground, Tail, and Brake. This pic is the back of the LED when its mounted, with the three wires going in:

On my tails, there were 3 wires going to the brake light: orange, red, and black. We cut these and then used other wire and butt connectors to lengthen them and connect them to the LED backing. We used the metal piece inside of the blue butt connectors (use a lighter to get the rubber part off) to connect the wires into the back of the LED unit. Crimp one end onto the wire, and the other end just slides in. If you can't figure out which wire is which, then use your test light to figure it out. On my 4th gen., the black wire is the ground, orange is for the brake light, (it will get power only when brake pedal is pressed) and the red is for the tails (this only gets power when the lights are turned on) Wire them directly in, making sure that they are secure. Now screw the white plastic backing back onto the housing.

Now all you have left is to put the clear outer housing back on. *NOTE, make sure to clean the inside of this VERY well, because once its on, there's no going back!* We used a combination of black silicone and hot glue to make it hold. Here's a pic with the silicone:

We also used clamps when it was drying to make sure that there would be no leaks later on. Here's what the finished product will look like:

Make sure that you get a good seal and let it all dry completely!

Now you simply have to mount your new taillights on the car, and reconnect the harness to the back, and your done!! This project takes time and patience, but in the end it's all worth it! Use the Sharpies to touch up anyplace that needs it, (i.e. hot glue, edges, etc.). Special thanks to my Dad, for his wisdom and for the extra hands!

Here are some pics of my car when it was finished: