paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

Let me start by saying this mod is NOT for everyone...I would consider this a license plate light retrofit since it requires cutting and using jb weld. Nothing wrong with having a subtle license plate light, but if you are tired of pulling up next to BMWs with really bright license plate lights that outshine yours, this mod will be perfect for you. The BMW guys have it easy, they have good aftermarket options for those which are basically plug and play as long as they are willing to spend the money, and plus the housing is mounted flush with the trunk so it glares a lot, giving the illusion that it's brighter than it actually is. The TL housing is recessed behind the chrome trunk bar so there's no glare. In a sense, it's like having projectors vs glaring HIDs in reflectors.
Anyways, on to the mod. All Hondas and Acuras that I know of use a standard T10 wedge bulb in a small housing. This is the limiting factor here, T10 LED bulbs can only be so bright due to size constraints. So first thing to do is to retrofit a new socket so a larger and brighter bulb can be used. The brightest automotive LEDs on cars are 1157 and 7440(T20) bulbs, as they are usually used for turn signals and brake lights. So I decided on a 7440 bulb since it's widely available and the socket will be easy to retrofit. I got a pair of 7440 dual chip projector LEDs from my friend who sells LEDs, he told me these are the absolute brightest he has. I wish I could give you a link to where you can buy them online but I honestly don't know where else to get these from. If you want something more widely available, a standard CREE 7440 single LED will work fine too, and still be brighter than 95% of LEDs out there.
7440 CREE:


To do the retrofit right, you need a pair of 7440 sockets available from ebay and solder them onto the stock wiring.
I solder and shrink wrap all my connections, it's the cleanest and most reliable method. As you can see, I retained my stock socket without cutting it off completely. I won't get into the details about how to solder as this DIY requires knowledge of how to solder wires correctly and cleanly.




Next, you need to fit the big LED into the stock housing, you can do so by taking a dremel with a sanding bit and cut a nice angled hole, and then JB weld the LED in.



When you position the new LED in the housing, make sure to keep the angle like how I did it so that way it will end up pointing straight down on the ground when it's installed. The reason for that is the stock light is somewhat angled so any LED you install will end up shining most of the light the wrong way. Also, besides the angle, the vertical position must be carefully measured because if it's too high up, it will hit the trunk frame and lose output from being too far up. If it's too low it will hit the license plate light outside lens.










Here is a picture of my friend's tsx vs my car. He has the standard single chip 7440 CREE led which is very bright already like I said, but this is what happens when compared to mine:

Gil'sUA5

Good write up but i dont see how somebody could be so bothered that a bmw's license plate lights out shines theirs. This is so bright that it doesnt even look anywhere near OEM, it SCREAMS aftermarket. IJS.

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Not bright enough

350

iTrader: (4)

Just curious, from a distance how easy is it to read the plate? Seems like it washes it out, might help you out if you're speeding off but some cops will pull you over if they can't read the plate, same as smoked covers or no light. I do like the look though, I have some cheapie 5 SMD 194's now, just ordered some T10 bulbs with a few Samsung 2323 chips and a small projector, should be better but not gonna match that.

I'm also curious how a 921 bulb would work, same so no wiring but you'd probably wanna put it in like you did with that bulb.

lusid

I'm still using the same LED's from 2007 give a take a year. lol

Nick216

Go big or go home, hids.

ez12a

nah it wont wash out to human eyes. They might get you for some excessive white light and treat it as a always on reverse or a hazard that kills other drivers' night vision.

but in california at least, http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d12/vc24601.htm

you could have ridiculously bright license plate lamps until they change that provision.

myron

iTrader: (4)

yea I agree with you, it's just too much

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

The lights actually don't glare in your eyes at all, the reason that it gets washed out in the pictures is that the camera cannot focus on the plates and the ground because the ground is way too bright. If I focused on the plates only it will be 100% visible. Anyone who has seen these in person before can vouch for that. Remember, the housing is recessed behind the chrome bar so they cannot glare in your eyes no matter how bright they are. I have no problem driving around cops with this.

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

Thanks for the write up.
I was really looking forward to this because I don't like how cold cathodes are fully retrofitted and take time to warm up.

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

This pic is to prove to you guys the lights arent blinding at all, it's just about where you focus the camera.

gveng

Lol, my friend just got a fix it ticket for his license plate lights being too bright. Good luck!

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

well too bad he doesnt have a TL that hides the license plate light glare he must have a bmw or something that glares like a ricer with HIDs in halogen housings

gveng

lol, he drives a 2008 TLs

Azndjay

:gheylaugh:

dandaman619

please look at my plate!

Nick216

Our license lights literally can only shine towards the floor... So unless u had like a super reflective license plate... How does it glare. And i have never seen a fix it ticket for lights that miniscule. Def missing somthing.

gveng

Nothing missing in the story, it's called living in California. He got pulled over on the 5 freeway at night and got a fix it ticket for his tint, no front plate, and license plate lights being too bright. I'll see if he still has the ticket so I can scan it and show you guys.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

wait, let me put my sunglasses on....

Well done George

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

Really doubt thats the whole story. 95% of cops wont pull you over for something so little. How do you know if your friend wasn't speeding or doing anything else to catch the cop's attention? They often use tints or no front plates as a reason to pull you over and give you a ticket if they can't get you for something else more serious like speeding.

So, to reiterate:
The TL housing is recessed back, so light ONLY shines downward, and has ZERO glare. It's the exact same concept as having projectors in your headlights, it keeps all the light low and produces no glare in anyone's eyes. If a cop is going to give me a ticket for bright license plates he better be ready to give a ticket to every single car on the road with projector headlights. There is no law specifically stating that bright license plate lights are illegal.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d12/vc24601.htm
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d12/vc24252.htm

24601. Either the taillamp or a separate lamp shall be so constructed and placed as to illuminate with a white light the rear license plate during darkness and render it clearly legible from a distance of 50 feet to the rear. When the rear license plate is illuminated by a lamp other than a required taillamp, the two lamps shall be turned on or off only by the same control switch at all times.
24252. (a) All lighting equipment of a required type installed on a vehicle shall at all times be maintained in good working order. Lamps shall be equipped with bulbs of the correct voltage rating corresponding to the nominal voltage at the lamp socket.
(b) The voltage at any tail, stop, license plate, side marker or clearance lamp socket on a vehicle shall not be less than 85 percent of the design voltage of the bulb. Voltage tests shall be conducted with the engine operating.



Now, gveng, can you tell me which one of these laws I am violating?
Since you are so adamant on saying you're right I would like you to post up the pic of your friend's citation, I really want to see what the cop wrote. As far as I know, there is no specific CVC(california vehicle code) that he can write you up for.
However, I do believe there is a CVC for some kind of lights that cause distraction to other driver's but that will only apply if there is glare.

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

I'm going to quote myself to bring to attention again the fact that these lights do not glare, they provide a nice even bright light that makes your license plate lights extremely visible(good for cops, they will like it). All you gotta do is focus the camera on the plate and the picture will come out without glare.

gveng

lol... How am I being adamant on being right? You really need to stop being so defensive. I simply stated that my friend got pulled over and received a fix it ticket for tint, no front plate and his license plate lights. That's the story, I don't understand why that is so hard to believe. If you never get pulled over for them, great!

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

Sorry if I came off too harsh, I just wanted to make sure new people who read this thread understand that this mod will not blind other drivers on the road.

mike_ua6

thats bright as hell, nice

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

thanks!

asianspec

iTrader: (1)

It seems to be a cool mod, but my first assumption being in Cali was the attention that cops will spot out and if its worth the time and money just to cause you more money and headaches in the long run. Even though it doesn't blind other drivers, I can see dumb cops pulling over people who have it and tally more crap wrong with the car. Just IMO.

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

i agree it does attract attention due to the floodlight on the ground. I do believe that if you drive safely, you should be fine in terms of cop hassle. however if you want to drive less than safely, the bright light may give cops a reason to take a second look at your car

eastcoastguy

I am not sure I understand the obsession with putting in insanely bright lic plate lights?! I did switch mine out to the LED's and they are whiter and brighter. They make it look more upscale and adds to the rear of the car. I would think with super bright lights you are drawing peoples attention to your lic plate rather then the car itself. Also, why have it super bright in the first place? Just my opinion.

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

I respect your opinion, when I first did this mod, I already knew it's something that not everyone will like. However, I'm still a bit young and like to go all out on lighting so I was like hey why not do the craziest setup I can think of?

Scott_Stylez

Morci's Type-S

Nice job on the lights paperboy, They are extremely bright!!!!!!

eastcoastguy

And thats what it is, just my opinion, thanks for seeing it that way. :-) I am all about lighting, I always have been, thats why I myself am upgrading certain lights throughout the car myself. You are younger, enjoy it!! :-)

Jackieee_TL

Paper, I was wondering how the modified stock housing and JB weld is holding up? I have some extra 3w Cree leds that I was planning to install for the license plate (make brighter than the current 8 smd bulbs), but after running them on my power inverter for 30 mins. The metal heat shrink on the bulbs were pretty damn hot.

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

Don't worry, I did my research on issues with heat, JB kwik will definitely hold up. Spec sheets for jb kwik says 300F, and even higher if you opt for the even stronger(unnecessary) JB weld.

Just to double check, when I first installed it, I would drive for awhile, and check the epoxy afterwards. The bulb did get pretty hot, like it'd be pretty uncomfortable to keep your hand on it, but it wouldnt burn you severely. And after couple months, the glue is still perfectly intact

ciscopath

iTrader: (1)

Man, good work on the write-up for anyone wanting to do this mod but I gotta fall into the category of nay-sayers. I mean "being tired of BMW plates being brighter than yours" sounds more like you're trying to make your car like someone else's rather than making it unique. Honestly, when I saw "custom retrofit", I thought you found a new way to illuminate the plate. This mod says less "cool lighting mod" and screams more" LOOK AT MY PLATE. IT'S BRIGHTER THAN A BMW NOW. I WIN!!" Probably just my pessimistic side but license plate lights serve a "function" and really don't have a need to be exaggerated. It's like having an INSANELY BRIGHT glove box light.

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

I understand what you mean. Maybe it's just the young side in me, I may grow out of this eventually.

However, this mod can be used for other purposes too. Lets say you want to fit a different color bulb that doesnt come in the stock t10 size, this mod could work for you.

2000tlp

Hey paperboy. Just wanted to say that I do like this mod. Possibly its the young in me as well, 21, but it looks great... and technically it is unique btw. I wanna try this one soon

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

Has anyone tried out this mod yet?

I'm planning to use a single Cree opposed to the 2 Cree one Paperboy has (mainly because it won't be as intensely bright as his, but also because I can't find his double cree version online)

I'm just worried how long the cree will last because supposedly they get really hot, and I drive a lot at night so it would be on for a very long time.

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

In my opinion, it will be fine. I have had this setup for about a year now with no issues. But I have seen a couple crees that are not designed to be on constantly and will overheat, but those are the minority.

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

since many people seem to be getting into the bright license plate light game, I gotta step things up a notch. What do you guys think about retrofitting these?

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/off...l#.U0WlVl6ppuY

for this application I'd be using 2 pod1's instead of pod2's