Glow logo on car

[Necrix]

I knowww I haven't finished the Tron suit yet, but I started on this project.

Goal: Cut the Lexus 'L' into the back of my car, add a piece of glass or acrylic or the like behind it, light it up with white LEDs wired to my license plate light.
Also, perhaps make some kind of interrupt circuit connected to a red LED wired to my brake lights so that the logo will be a 3rd brake light.
I'm not sure how the interrupt will work, but one thing at a time.

Getting the logo off was surprisingly simple and fast. I used some fishing line, wound it around the logo and pulled. It came off in under a minute...makes me wonder that people aren't stealing them for sale on Ebay.


Second, I tried figuring a way to align the logo for when I'm ready to trace it onto the car.


The idea of vinyl popped into my head. That stuff doesn't come off unless you want it to. For $15 I got a custom vinyl from a local shop and done from a scan of the logo.
I cut some holes so that I could align the stencil correctly.


Now, you might be able to tell that the logo is a bit high. In the past, when I've have things done "good" and tried to make them "best", they ended up "worst". I didn't want to worry about tearing the vinyl and besides that, it's aligned pretty well horizontally.


The tool I'm using to remove the majority of the material is called a Nibbler tool. For $15 at Radioshak, this thing is BEAST! It makes smooth cuts and does it like the metal's butter.
I got some clear electrical tape to help protect the vinyl and applied it to both the tool and the vinyl.


I'll be using a Dremel tool and a hand file as well to do this job.
Of course, I won't be able to do the whole logo or else the insides of it will be off of the car and I will end up with an oval hole. Thankfully, the Lexus logo is designed with those connecting pieces.


This'll leave me with two (surprisingly) flimsy pieces of metal so I'll have to be careful working on this until I'm ready to put the glass behind it.

This project is going to take alot of patience to get it right. If it doesn't come out smooth looking it'll just look like crap in the end. Worse-case scenario, I can just put the logo back on. But, I'm hoping this'll come out looking near-stock. So far this project is mostly intuition and resourcefulness..like any other project I suppose lol.



By the way, some people simply put LEDs behind the emblem, but it was too easy to me.
ex:

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http://p.lefux.com/61/20110523/A25450000Z/InsetImage/Car-LED-Light-Badge-Logo-Emblem-Mark-for-Mitsubishi-Lancer-EX-Lioncel_2.jpg

Thanks for looking! I'll update as I go!

P.S. I'll be getting the car painted black after a while! So it'll look better then.

[lonewolf]

It is going to be pretty slick when you are done with it.

[bergmann]

hey necrix that is a cool idea .
you got there

[DNR]

I am sure you know to put a resistor on the line to protect the LEDs from 12vdc.

Other cool things to add - Strobe lights to a vehicle security system. Criminals can't see shit in the dark and people will be attracted to look at a car strobing. You put a strobe in the trunk and inside the car. You can also attach a strobe inside the backup lights - this warns people you are backing up, and its triggered in a alarm event.

i did the undercar neon. You have to do the full kit - four bars, one on each side of the car, then four bars - one in each wheel well. I faded my pickup truck from blue to white. It uses a 7500volt transformer, and it does not like any wiring to get wet. It will light up the world in the winter time. cops do not like cars moving with neon lit.

I did lots of vehicle security, so pin switches on hoods, trunks, gas fuel doors, ghost switches (where you have to push something in to start the car) I rigged a ciggerette lighter to enable a relay to start the car. If you remove the ciggerette lighter from the car - no key! The ciggerette lighter just completed a circuit so the car could be started.

I haven't tried it yet - but I always wanted to try a SHOCKER - a capacitor rigged to the security system to shock an intruder. I would rig it for the passenger seat, if someone enters the car to jack me from that side, I press a button to shock them. The problem is - can the volts jump from the seat frame through the cushion - like a taser?

DNR

[floodhound2]

Nice idea and cant wait to see it.

DNR is right about adding a resistor and the calculation is as follows for those that are interested.

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R = (Vs - Vled) / I 

where:
R - resistor
Vs - supply voltage of car typically 12V
Vled - LED voltage, check data sheet
I - LED current, check data sheet

[Necrix]

Thanks guys!

Thanks for the info, DNR and Flood. I actually didn't consider the voltage difference.

Hey Flood, any idea how I would make it so that the LED wired to the license plate light would turn off when the red LED connected to the brake lights turns on?

[lonewolf]

For the switching of the lights I would use a small 12V cube relay. single pole double throw and the connections would be quite easy.

I am going to use a generic 12v cube relay from any auto part supplier for an example because I have the terminals memorized. and it is easy to explain. you have five terminals on one of these relays 84,85, 30, 87, 87A.
84-85 relay coil circuit
30 power, common
87 normally open
87A normally closed

Tie one color of your led lights to terminals 87 and the other color to 87A.
Remember that 87A will remain on when the relay is off and 87 will be on when the relay is on.

Power to terminal 30 use license plate lamp power

84 Ground to sheet metal in trunk and led ground

85 use brake wire to activate the relay and change your led's

That should work with no problem

[DNR]

right on - I frequently used those relays. Everything is 12vdc - then at the point of the LED - the resistor. Those automotive relays should be about $5 each or cheaper. Auto parts stores commonly carry these.

The relay is triggered by the brake light circuit to disconnect the power to the LED circuit.

Floodie gave you the formula to figure out which resistor you need to kill 12vdc down to 3vdc. If you hook up those LEDs to a 9v or the 12vdc - watch them get REALLY bright, and then melt!

Floodie must have a relay in his hand, I was impressed he listed the #s for the relay plugs by memory!

DNR

[Necrix]

Finals week is over and I made more progress.

I had to make a new hole to work out of:


I thought this project would be all hand-filing..then I found this bit which ate away the metal...almost too well:


Oh no! What happened?! Just kidding lol. I realized early on that since the metal is so flimsy I'd have to resort to cutting the pieces out completely and gluing them to the glass.:


I have alot of hand filing to do yet to make it as close to perfect as possible...though...I'm slightly tempted to do this:


Like I said...only *slightly* tempted. I'm still going with the original plan. I prefer to have a glowing 'L' than just have the insides of the logo glow. I think it'll look tacky...but I'm curious to know what you all think.

That's all for now!

Edit: I have to mention the feel of working cutting away metal. It's a mixture of suspense, excitement, and impending doom. Once you cut it away, you can't put it back.

[DNR]

yea that is why i experimented with older cheaper cars of my day.

The worst fuck up I had was replacing the door on my 1980 monte carlo, after a month of reworking, bondo, paint - it slipped from a crate while I was trying to install it and fucked up all the work I did.

DNR

[floodhound2]

Thanks guys!

Thanks for the info, DNR and Flood. I actually didn't consider the voltage difference.

Hey Flood, any idea how I would make it so that the LED wired to the license plate light would turn off when the red LED connected to the brake lights turns on?

There are a ton of ways to do this. One way involves a couple of relays, or a few transistors. The basics is to create a circuit that when high the output goes low. Tell me what parts you have laying around and ill draw up a circuit for you to follow.

[Necrix]

Thanks Flood! I don't have any parts laying around, though there's a local RadioShak .

I think I got the inside pieces as good as necessary:


All that's left to do it to remove the vinyl, smooth out and match the hole in the car, find a clear material that'll work well, and apply.

As for the clear material, I'm thinking I don't want the LED itself and housing to show so I'll want something maybe translucent..maybe etched glass?

[computathug]

You could also try just using something simple like a lighting filter. You can get these in different colours, glass, laminate and would do the job you want it too.

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http://sldlighting.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=101&cat=Glass+Filters+for+Display+Lighting+Fixtures+%28various+sizes%29

[Necrix]

Thanks Thug! I think I figured something out that'll work pretty well.

In the meantime, I was ready to take the vinyl off of the car:


Putting the pieces next to the hole, I realized it's definitely not...perfect...though I'm hoping that once it's all together, it'll be alright. I bought some adhesive remover, but I can't seem to find it at the moment.

I suppose anyone who's worked with bodywork on a car would already know this, but I HIGHLY recommend wiping the area down with a wet rag or protecting it from the beginning. The metal flakes will stick to the paint and rust, possibly damaging the paint.
Luckily for me, most of the rust flakes wiped off and I have plans to get the car painted anyway.

Also, beware of sharp edges XD I cut my thumb on the hole in the car.
Cover the hole with something waterproof...black tape won't stay.

[DNR]

coat the bare metal asap with rust preventative or primer.

You will likely have a two piece design - one half inside the car, the other half outside - use a sealant to sandwich the pieces to protect the metal edges. The trunk itself has humidity issues and can cause rust from the inside.

DNR