Hi i am trying to do the led mod in the DIY but...i'm not sure what type of led's to buy since i want to go with a different color. I emailed some companies but none got back to me so i was hopeing someone here could help me. I went to www.superbrightleds.com and i was going to buy some there but not sure the difference in the 7 different RED colors. They all have different MCD, viewing angles, and wave lengths. Anyway i just want one that is going to have a nice deep red color. If someone could help that would be great so i can go ahead and buy them soon. Also if anyone knows what kind of resistors to go with them please let me know.

Thanks
JD

 

Here's something I picked up about resistors on the 'net, but I wouldn't mind a nice explanation from tibby01 about LEDs laugh.gif .....



Each resistor has different resistance which is measured in ohms. To get the correct resistor with the right resistance for your LED, use this modified version of Ohm's Law:

Ohms = ( V.bat - V.led ) / Amp.led. where V.bat = voltage of battery, V.led = voltage of LED, Amp.led = Amp of LED

When you buy the LED bulb, it will tell you the voltage and amp used. Just plug them into the equation to get the Ohms value. In my case, I have a 12V car battery and a 3.6V LED with 20mA (or .02A). So, I used a resistor of 420 ohms [(12V - 3.6V)/.02A]
You can use a lower ohms resistor, eg 220 ohms, to light up your LED. In fact, it will make your LED brighter because a low resistance allows more current to go through the bulb. I have been doing this for 5 months now and still have no problem yet.

Also, you must attach the resistor to the positive terminal of LED bulb, which is the longer of the 2 terminal legs. I suggest that you attach a wire to the LED bulb first, and then attached a resistor at the end of the wire on the positive terminal.

 

i just went to a wholesale electronics company in town and said what i wanted to do, then they gave my the right led's and the right resistors to match.

it cost me $2.77 CDN per led w/ resistor. im sure if i have a company in my redneck piece of shit town, im sure you'll have a comapany that does the same.

 

i use 470 ohm resistors. if you use one with less resistance than you are supposed to, it will burn out quicker(in theory). the resistor doesnt have to be on the positive lead, it can go on the negative lead also.

if you are replacing a led in the car, you wont even need a resistor, because the resistor is already in the circuit for the old led. you will only need a resistor if you are replacing a bulb.

MCD=brightness
wavelength, you want about 660 for a deep red.
veiewing angel means how wide the beam will be. do you want a narrow, more focued beam(like a laser), or a wider(more bulb-like) beam?

 

Tibby01, the highest that superbrightleds.com has in wavelength is 470 for the color blue. Is that ok? What are we really looking for?

 

well, you dont want to go any lower than 440 or you'll start getting purple. any higher than 490 and you will start getting green mixed in making it a torquise or cyan.

470 seems like a good value, but if you want it darker(more navy blue), i would go with 455 or 460.