LEDs Brake Lights

[Willie Hank]

The other night we were moving cars around in my driveway, and I noticed when my wife back outed my '93 STS, the right 1/3 of the LED brake light band was burning bright, but the left 2/3 was burning dim when she applied the brakes.

Based on this and some experience with LEDs, my hunch is that the rear lightband is made of three strips that are either individually powered off a transformer, or it is one continuous strip that has resistors added on the board at specific places, which varies the voltage across the entire length to compensate for voltage losses due to resistance, thus balancing the light output, and even illumination.

I know Logan is in this business, and may make a good recommendation. I suppose the lightband needs to be replaced, anyone know the procedure, how long it takes and the approximate material costs? Or is it something more simple?

[Logan]

There are 3 electronic versions of the LED lamps.

Early versions have 3 internal boards. Over time vibrations in the lamp cause the solder joints to fail. 100% failure.

The popular repair procedure is to hack open the lamp...and resolder the joints. Problem is, it doesnt last very long. Also, the boards have circuits on each side. So its easy to short out the boards while resoldering.

The first trick is access into the lamp. With a deticated jig this is fairly easy.

Second trick is to modify the electronics for vibration.

Third is to seal the lamp back up with new plastics, then check vacuum for leaks etc.

Broken studs can also be repaired. See pic.

http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/376867...547569_leds.jpg