Sold on LEDs

[TomoHawk]

That's a 15 emitter bulb from SuperBright LEDS?

[TomoHawk]

This might be a little late in the thread, but what is the difference  between the CANbus LEDs and the ordinary ones, and what's it mean to S30 owners?  I read the the CANbus ones have extra resistors in the bulbs and it can load the circuit, which is contrary to whyt we are installing them:  to reduce current draw and heat, and increase bulb lifespan.

[Captain Obvious]

I don't remember if that 15 emitter came from Superbright or ebay, but yes, that's the one.

As for details on CANBus, I haven't looked into it.

[rossiz]

only details i have to offer: it's legal in seattle now.

[TomoHawk]

After reading a bit of what's on the web, CANbus LED bulbs have an extra resistor or two on the bulb to load the circuit so the vehicle's computer will think there's a bulb on that circuit. Further, putting CANbus LEDs on a non-CANbus equipped vehicle could overload the circuits heating the wires and possibly even causing  smoke or fire. 

[TomoHawk]

As for the map light, I'm still wondering why there is only the one 3W bulb inside.  Even with the faceted lens, you don't get much light on both seats.  It would make more sense to me to have a pair of bulbs, or a festoon bulb.  Obviously, it was done to keep the cost low, and a festoon bulb would probably melt the lamp housing.  But with the new LED panels and LED festoon bulbs, we can upgrade the lamp to provide the amount of light to certainly make it a proper map-reading lamp.

   The alternative would be to install a modern rear-view mirror with two reading lamps or courtesy lamps, but I think that would need too much modification.

[dmorales-bello]

You ca get an LED panel from "Datsun 240Z Electrical Upgrades" that will do a great job with the map light. Here are some pics from his site and the link:

http://datsun-240z-upgrades.net/what-s-new/

260Z / 280Z LED Map Light plates *NEW*

260Z/280Z LED Map Light $25

Introducing the new LED map Light for the S30 that replaces the standard bulb in the "Flip Down Style" Map Light housing on the 260Z and 280Z's. It has 9 High Flux Super Bright LED's on a flat plate that sits inside the Flip Down Map Light assembly.

 

This style Maximizes the amount of light you can get out of your map light, for easier viewing inside the S30's seating area.

 

The Kit comes with the 9 LED plate, correct blade style bulb adaptor with 2-pin connector. It also comes with the instructions for an easy step by step install. The pictures below show the Before and after the LED Plate.

 

These are WAY brighter and have more of a "Flood" pattern than any other LED bulbs sold by other websites. The LED bulb inserts from other sellers are simple but not nearly as bright and hardly worth the price they charge, versus my products.

 

[TomoHawk]

Cool.  I didn't think you can pop the front out out the assembly.  I was going to cut the back off and screw it back on, and solder in some new wiring with a similar LED array.

Actually, I think it'll be more like breaking off the front.

Edited April 22, 2016 by TomoHawk

[TomoHawk]

36 minutes ago, rossiz said:

only details i have to offer: it's legal in seattle now.

What do you mean? Was it illegal to install CANbus bulbs in a non- CANbus vehicle?

[TomoHawk]

They have some new LED bulbs at the AP store called Sylvania Zevo.  Has anyone  had any experience with those?

[rossiz]

On 4/22/2016 at 7:07 AM, TomoHawk said:

What do you mean? Was it illegal to install CANbus bulbs in a non- CANbus vehicle?

it wasn't legal in any vehicle - still isn't, kinda follows the same rules as ALChol.

[TomoHawk]

I'm not too keen on the design of that panel, which uses the discreet LEDs.   I wonder what the back oft he panel looks like- probably soldered leads and a bit of wire. You could make one that's much better without the hotspot the 9 LEDs will create, by using the SMD LEDs.  An array of 20 or so would flood the cabin and probably blind you.

Otherwise, if you are considering just a 194 LED bulb, you'll need a T3-1/2 or T5 size.  T5 means it's a 5/8 inch diameter bulb, and you'll need to enlarge the hole slightly for a T5, but I think it might work, and the advantage of a T5 LED would be a greater number of emmiters.    The T3-1/2 size will fit with no modifications. 

It's 40mm between the back and the front, plus about 5-8mm for the base.

Also, avoid the CANbus bulbs for this application.  I'm pretty sure the extra resistor on the CANbus bulbs gets a little warm, so  we don't need that with the brittle plastic the map lamp is made of.

Ultimately, a new design for the map lamp would be best,.  The same dimensions would be fine, with at least 2 LEDs and a curved metalized reflector shape to the back instead of how the factory made them, with just an empty rectangular inside.

Edited April 25, 2016 by TomoHawk