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LED Tail Lights
I’m changing out my factory tail lights with LED units. The factory ones were getting a little dull with some being pretty corroded inside (thanks to a shop that can’t read the word TOP on the lens).
I’m not a fan of oval lights in the rectangular factory cut out and I wanted to see if it was possible to get a good looking retrofit without custome fabrication and a lot of money. I settled on square Tail, Stop, and Turn lights but only had room for an oval backup light.
Using common tools, I was able to make this change for about $300 and a few hours of labor.
Here’s new and old. I changed the 3rd brake light some time ago.
A closer look at both.
From the rear you can see where I cut out the horizontal fill panel between the first 3 pair of factory lights. You may also notice the 3/4″ wide steel stock I added that the 3 main lights are bolted to. This was to add rigidity and better support the lights. You may notice the radius cuts for the backup light aren’t too good. Thankfully they aren’t seen when installed and don’t affect the mounting of the light. Remember, I used common tools.
Once installed I will be installing a brake light modulator for all stop lights. I already have one on the third brake light that will be removed so they all flash together.
I really wanted a different LED light that was rectangular, but narrower than factory lights. It would have required a new mounting plate, so that might be something for a later time. These, IMHO, look very good and are brighter than factory lights. Unlike factory lights, all of my red lamps are both tail lights and stop lights. Prevost lamps are dedicated for either brake or tail lights.
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18 Replies
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Gil,
Looks really good on the bus. Nice detail on your project, especially with the electrical harness.
Thanks, for putting together the project presentation.
AL
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dang now you got me thinking….
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That was what the tail lights looked like on the 87 coach I had. A few years later Prevost introduced the “stacked” tail lights and the big single Ford headlights in place of the quad sealed beam headlights (which were way better).
Owners were falling all over themselves to make their older Prevost look like the new style which went all the way to the 1999 chassis year. Now Gil is going retro.
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Nice job Gil. Here’s what mine looks like:
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I’am
Looking at your picture all the tail lights are white. Not seeing any night reflectors.
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Al…pass code and secret handshake needed to get the color ID question answered. Tom ,I am sure will supply an answer, sooner or later,right or wrong, left or right,etc. Good ol Tom may just be toying with us.
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Retro…Retro is good 😉
Tom to each their own. I’m not a fan of the oval trailer lights. I’m a bit surprised Liberty is missing the DoT required rear reflectors. It is a great stealth look.
The square school bus lights weren’t my first choice. They were the best non-oval fit I could find. I may at some later date go the custom fabrication route and end up with 5 stacked lights.
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Big Al,
Apply juice, lights are the correct color and will
knock your socks off. When I got the bus it had the same lights, but the
clear plastic was fading, so I replaced them all. You can get them red,
amber or clear, the ovals have a more modern look. -
I’m done with my LED tail light conversion. Actually, I’m done twice. I just couldn’t accept the oval trailer light
I selected for the backup lights. Given
my goal was to change the tail lights, brake lights, and turn signal lights to
LEDs, I’m okay with leaving the backup light the Prevost original. There are simply too many straight lights in
the area of the tail lights to introduce the oval lights. I personally like the conversion. I know some may say it looks retro and that
too is okay by me.The video shows the tail lights on and then the 4 way
flashers and then the brake lights. In
my opinion the 2 second brake light flasher makes all the difference in the
world in grapping the attention of the following driver. As I understand these flashers, their flash
rate and flash timer were set based on the most attention getting frequency and
only as long as necessary to capture the driver’s attention.By leaving the Prevost backup light this becomes a simple
conversion for anyone that wants to give it a try. The square LED lights were purchased from www. superbrightleds.com.
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Gil,
I like plan “B” it does flow better.
When I first saw the new panel my attention was to the tail lights.
I took someones advice on the forum pulling the brake light relay when the jake brake is engaged.
I think it was Truk4u.
He made the point that when the brakes lights go on the driver behind … will know I’am on the brakes.
It was a good idea so it must have been Truk4u…..
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Nice job there Gil. Are you gonna start a side business and install lights? Put me on the list. My 91 has been indoors all it’s life except the once in a while weekend trips out and the rear lights are getting a little faded. Might have to try this update. Looks good!
glen
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Andre,
That’s the ones. Here’s the brake light modulator: http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/strobe-controllers/brake-light-strobe-module/194/844/. If you install the modulator make sure it’s downstream from the brake light signal going to your toad.
Here’s the ones I wanted to use but just couldn’t justify the $200+/light price tag. These are commonly found on emergency vehicles because the have matching emergency strobes. The size of these would be almost perfect. http://www.whelen.com/_AUTOMOTIVE/details_prod.php?head_id=12&cat_id=74&prod_id=126
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Proof that with a little effort we all can make our coaches better than ever.
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Gil, great job on the conversion and the posts. The lights look fantastic.
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