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Old Tiger, something you may want to consider (as I have thought about this too) is you can light up the kitty's eye lets say by simply drilling a small hole and mounting say a 1.8mm acrylic rod in their and mounting a red LED behind the kitty. The wires can run through the mounting holes and into the trunk. If you are looking to light up all the way around the emblem, you simply get a piece of acrylic say 1/8" thick and cut it out to be the same size as the emblem. You then mount a 50K MCD LED facing into the acrylic and that will give you a nice glow around the edge (leave the edge with a 2000 grit sanded finish, do not make it water clear). That should give you the glow you want. The same can be done for the lettering. In this case, you can leave the edges clear and simply router out a groove on the underside of the acrylic at the edge of the lettering. This will cause the light to reflect out at the edge of the lettering, not the edge of the acrylic (there will be very minimal light at the edge of the acrylic).
If you are curious how to make the edge of the acrylic clear, you simply sand it down with say 200, then 600, then 1000 grit sand paper to get the edge smooth and then you take a product like Testor's Glosscote ( available at most hobby stores in the model section) and apply a little bit of the clear on the sanded edge. The routered edge on the underside will disrupt the light and cause it to shine out the back of the car and the clear edge will reflect most of the light back in. You can play and get the look that you want. Worst case, you will have to drill a hole in the trunk behind each letter to get power to each LED. If you are powering each letter individually, then I would recommend looking up "SMD LEDs". They come in lots of colors. They are very thin. Can be glued directly to the acrylic using super glue. Provide tons of light, and will fit in the grooves on the back side of the lettering. Some of them getting pretty fricken small (look at the size of the 0402 SMD LEDs). Thinking the 0805's would probably do the trick.
If you have other questions, let me know. I mess around a lot with LEDs and know a few tricks.
Thermo, What really good information. Do you think I should countersink the 50 K MCD back-flush into the acrylic? If it works well I'll send you a set.
Thanks again,
OLD TIGER
Originally Posted by Thermo
Old Tiger, something you may want to consider (as I have thought about this too) is you can light up the kitty's eye lets say by simply drilling a small hole and mounting say a 1.8mm acrylic rod in their and mounting a red LED behind the kitty. The wires can run through the mounting holes and into the trunk. If you are looking to light up all the way around the emblem, you simply get a piece of acrylic say 1/8" thick and cut it out to be the same size as the emblem. You then mount a 50K MCD LED facing into the acrylic and that will give you a nice glow around the edge (leave the edge with a 2000 grit sanded finish, do not make it water clear). That should give you the glow you want. The same can be done for the lettering. In this case, you can leave the edges clear and simply router out a groove on the underside of the acrylic at the edge of the lettering. This will cause the light to reflect out at the edge of the lettering, not the edge of the acrylic (there will be very minimal light at the edge of the acrylic).
If you are curious how to make the edge of the acrylic clear, you simply sand it down with say 200, then 600, then 1000 grit sand paper to get the edge smooth and then you take a product like Testor's Glosscote ( available at most hobby stores in the model section) and apply a little bit of the clear on the sanded edge. The routered edge on the underside will disrupt the light and cause it to shine out the back of the car and the clear edge will reflect most of the light back in. You can play and get the look that you want. Worst case, you will have to drill a hole in the trunk behind each letter to get power to each LED. If you are powering each letter individually, then I would recommend looking up "SMD LEDs". They come in lots of colors. They are very thin. Can be glued directly to the acrylic using super glue. Provide tons of light, and will fit in the grooves on the back side of the lettering. Some of them getting pretty fricken small (look at the size of the 0402 SMD LEDs). Thinking the 0805's would probably do the trick.
If you have other questions, let me know. I mess around a lot with LEDs and know a few tricks.
I am looking at plastic molding and lighting the rear leaping cat and possibly the large and small hood emblems.
I tried contacting the gentleman in California who was supplying these units in the past but was told that they no longer market these items.
Does anyone have any other supplier of these items before I get into the plastic molding business.
Thanks in advance,
OLD Tiger
Why do you think that gentleman in California stopped selling those illuminated items? My guess is that the District Attorney threatened to bring criminal charges against him for aiding and abetting the impersonation of a police, fire, or rescue vehicle. That's why you haven't been able to find any vendors.
Before installing any DIY illuminated ornaments, you should check your state laws and make sure that what you're planning to do won't make your car appear to be an emergency vehicle.
The OEM Jaguar Growler grille ornament has a red plastic surround. It's legal because it's not illuminated, but light it up and you'll become a cop magnet.
Old Tiger, you would not need to except for a clearance issue. This is where I would not focus so much on the size of the LED, rather on the number of MCD that it puts out. Sure, size is going to play into this some. The big thing is you need to get the light going in perpendicular to the surface of the clear part. What I mean by this is that you would have to point the LED straight at the body of the car if you are going to keep the acrylic flat. If you are going to mount the LED sideways (ie, parallel to the acrylic, you are going to need to build a ramp and then make a face in the ramp to get the light to shine into the ramp at a 90 degree angle. You don't do that, the light is going to reflect off and go to waste under the emblem. This is where the SMD LEDs are going to be of much interest to you as they have a very slim profile and their light shines in the direction that you would want to maintain maximum clearance. An example of what I am talking about is: https://www.ebay.com/itm/10PCS-Pre-S...sAAOSwCypWneKX
The lens of the LED may be clear, but the light it emits is red. I would get a few LEDs like these and play with them to see how the light is going to work. You can then get a better final product.
As for the legality of things, you should be fine as long as you are keeping the intensity down and you remember that anything in front of the rear tires has to be either white or yellow in color and anything on the back of the car has to be red or yellow (can only be white if it is lighting up the license plate or the car is traveling in the reverse direction). I am sure there is a cop here or there that will try and give you grief. But, as long as you keep it tasteful and not creating something that is a distraction to other drivers, you should be fine. Look at some of the semi trailers and pickup trucks that drive around with all the extra lighting on them. What you are talking about should be just fine. Granted, I am sure there are spots and states that are going to be less friendly than others.
Old Tiger, it is my understanding that only 4 colors of lights can be on a vehicle. You have the 3 obvious ones: Red, white, and amber. The little known one is green. This one is rather interesting as it gets tied to the gas pedal. It is there (should you so desire it) to indicate that you are maintaining speed. It is on if you are either driving at a constant speed or coasting. Now, why you would want this light, I have no idea. But, it was one of the interesting things that I have found in a few states as I have researched various lighting projects.
You start getting into being a reserve officer, then you have other limited options for lights, but they are normally reserved for use only when you are filling the officer duties. The same can be said for say emergency services and the like. The one exception is that you are allowed any color light on any part of the car as long as the car is parked in a parking lot or driveway and not near a road to cause a distraction.
In the USA, automotive lighting that is not regulated by Federal law (the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration - NHTSA) is subject to State regulations. Regulations vary depending on the state.
"While [NHTSA] Standard No. 108 mandates the installation and design of required lamps, it does not prohibit the installation of auxiliary lamps. However, the use of auxiliary lamps is subject to the restriction in paragraph S5.1.3 (as well as the general prohibitions on flashing lamps in S5.5.10(d)). Paragraph S5.1.3 reads:
S5.1.3 No additional lamp, reflective device or other motor vehicle equipment shall be installed that impairs the effectiveness of lighting equipment required by this standard.
... [Following are] some examples of interference with required lamps.
Off-color lamps, such as red lamps in the front of a vehicle, would be considered to interfere with the standardization of highway signals set forth by Standard No. 108.[3],[4]"
Install colored flights on your car at your peril, especially if they are intermittent or flashing. State laws vary, and violators could be fined and have their vehicles impounded. Know the law so you don't regret adding auxiliary lights.
The symbol of Rolls Royce - The Spirit of Ecstacy - is no longer legal in Europe if it is illuminated.
10-02-2020, 04:26 PM
Lighted Trunk and/or Hood leaping cats
