I am going to put led's into my car (I've already tested thenm out and checked the numbers with SSDAN numbers look good. But I had a rats nest of wires going to the trunk and it just looked nasty. so in the process of cleaning up that area I decided to male a mod that is sorely needed on the 66 darts. only my 2 outside light were turn/tail and stop. the 2 inner ones were just tails/running lights and it just loked weird to me. I wanted all 4 of them to light up as turn tail AND stop. so I did.

here it is

the designhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ReNMcPi-yY&feature=plcp

This conversion is a real rarity: a homemade LED conversion done right. The build thread (including detailed discussion of safety performance requirements, how to measure them, lumen maintenance, etc.) is here; it's the thread I point people at who ask about how to do an LED conversion right.

Condensed version of the rest of the needed knowledge:

1. "LED bulbs" (no matter what brand/type/configuration) do not work anywhere near safely or effectively; they're illegal and really dumb.

2. The "LED retrofits" offered by a few different classic/hotrod type vendors are mostly unsafe and inadequate, too.

3. Without the tools, expertise, and equipment to make your own safe and effective LED lights, depending on the size/shape of your lamps you might fit ready-made truck/bus LED lamps inside the original lenses. They need to be upright, facing straight back at the back and front up front. My favorites are these, in clear-lens variety when available; their performance is excellent and they aren't expensive:

http://www.levineautoparts.com/vali6ovledla.html
http://www.levineautoparts.com/sttutareled4.html
http://www.levineautoparts.com/truckliestt.html

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Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

This conversion is a real rarity: a homemade LED conversion done right. The build thread (including detailed discussion of safety performance requirements, how to measure them, lumen maintenance, etc.) is here; it's the thread I point people at who ask about how to do an LED conversion right.


whohoo thanks Dan.
I really was having problems getting the lighting to look good, then in comes Slantsixdan with the instructions and a chart schematic so I could find my way to the light! It made it so much easier using your info that me just hunting around and trying things. plus it looks darn good to now.
thanks again (now to see if I can get the front's looking as good (light wise) as the rears do)

Here's a link to the wiring mod I had to do in order to get all 4 to work as tail/stop/turn instead of the stock outsides working as tail/stop/turn and the trunk inner light working as just tails only.
I like the look better even if I had just used bulbs (which I did at first) instead of led lights. gave me all 4 light working as stop tail turn.


here' the splice point

this is just a simple change that makes a world of difference and all ya gotta do is make a splice into your right and left turn signal wires.

Add the harness and add good bulbs "1157" or ???, plug bare spade (using your old cover connector) into the taillight connection in the trunk and BAM your done. of all the hard parts to do on the dart this is an Easy fix, it's hard to find correct sockets that will fit at all but still an easy fix.

Problem with this idea is that you are now throwing 100% more load on the wires than they were specified for. You probably won't have a fire, but you definitely will make the brake lights dimmer and slower to light up -- not a safety improvement. If you want to do this kind of "all four" modification safely, you need to run a larger-gauge wire from the brake light switch to the rear of the car, and a larger wire upstream of the brake light switch, too.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I had already done that when I re-wired the lighting circuit and went to leds. I went 1 step gauge larger in all rear lighting and 10 main power to /12 gauge switching the headlight that were upgraded to relays following your instructions about wiring it correctly (took a while to find the correct connectors locally for the new headlight sockets to fit 12 gauge ,the next one I do I'll just order your setup on the website. it'll actually be cheaper to do it that way. direct power (fused of course, now going into the distribution center) I still have to go from the brake light switch to the power but haven't been able to locate 14 gauge pink wire yet (found 16 pink with black tracer).

I started out at the headlight and worked my way back using heavier gauge wire on all lighting. I did put in an extra 15 amp inline fuse with a led wired in the line after the fuse and going to the dash for the rear light indicator. That way I know if the rears have power.
I was also worried about the fuse block and used a different power distribution center but I am unhappy with that one. I have a 99 caravan power distribution center that will go into the engine bay and bypass the ammeter and bulkhead connections altogether along with giving me a place to hide the relays for the headlights. I found a weather pack 21 wire connector that is (supposedly)weather proof and accepts up to 12 gauge wire that I will be using in place of the bulkhead connector. I don't want any bad connections or brittle wires causing problems for me down the road. I've mostly got everything re-wired with the correct color coded wires in a heavier gauge (marine grade) and not the cheapie harbor freight wire either. I found a talking to distributor that will sell me different colors with traces that I need in small (25ft) length and not hit me to hard in shipping as long as I buy 4 different colors.

keastab... umm ya gonna keep yer source secret? I have hunted high and low for a wire company that makes all the goofy wire color combo's without much success... AND can be bought in lengths less than 10k+ feet of the stuff...

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MRO....

Cheap, Fast, Reliable.... Pick 2...

http://www.waytekwire.com/products/1454 ... Color=Pink

I think the best source for odd ball wire colors is probably junkyard cars. I have a complete harness out of a 88 lebaron and it has every color imaginable in 16 and 18 guages. Most yards realize that nobody is going to want the harness from a 25 year old car and will sell it to you cheap if you pull it yourself.

Instead of a bulkhead connector have you considered a rubber grommet and having a pair of connectors on the interior side of the firewall. That is how they do most cars made these days.

oops sorry I thought i had posted it. of all things it's a harley shop (selling on ebay)that will sell me the colors , but only 16 gauge and up without killing me on shipping. (not the marine grade but "gxl" "txl" and not cheapie stuff either.
hmm lemme dig the ebay post out

ok got it,
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251139939687?ss ... 1423.l2649
I also like the marine grade wires and found a guy that will cut me a plastic piece that I can pull the normal colored primary through and paint on my own stripes by using a paint brush mounted over the slit cut out. that way I can get normal good quality wire and use SEM plastic paint to make the tracers in black or white.

thanks I just ordered 100 ft of the pink 14 gauge , 200ft of tan,red,black,brown,purple and yellow 12, 14, 16 gauge, and 100ft of grey 12 gauge.


since I do an occasional re-loom on old gold wings 1975-1979 for a friend of mine it's always good to have wire.
I'm waiting on that piece to be made for me. but I'm working on a multi gauge wire tracer setup that will allow me to do multiple wires at once and be able to do different gauges.