Terrano high stop light - DIM.

[danielbeek]

Hi All,
I've got a '95 WD21 wide-body.
The other day I failed the WOF on my high stop light "not working".
Pulled it out and checked for power at plug - all good. Checked LED bar on big charged-up battery and it lit up, but was pretty dim (evenly across all LEDs). Then reconnected to car, and no surprise, worked exactly the same.
I'd say it's less than half as bright as the L/R stop lights.

I found a similar issue on a Nissan G35 forum - it referred to a bad solder connection of cable to the LED PCB - but WD21 ones are fully external (the barnacle mounting is not water proof), so the lens case is fully sealed by plastic welding, ie unlikely to be common issue.
Anyone else seen this issue? Maybe it's as it should be, but I expect it to be brighter. Can someone confirm if there's is approx. similar brightness to tail lights?

[CLUMZ1]

remove it... not legally required.


and yes, usually similiar brightness to your L & R tails.

[slide]

Led lights can be quite directional. That is if you look straight at it then its full brightness, if you look at an angle they can appear dim.
If it works it has to be able to be seen 100m away in normal daylight.
Otherwise make it not work (eg unplug it) and its sweet for wof (doesn't need to be removed under current rules- even tho that would be optimal)

[danielbeek]

thanks guys.
Never realised that MC class (4WD) don't have to have 'high-mounted stop lamps'. Maybe WOF inspector didn't think my Terrano met the class requirements, like descent angle and 200mm ground clearance.
Think I'll keep it fitted though, more work to plug the holes properly... ok I admit, it's a bit of a shiny.
On directional aspect - yep, checked at all angles, and definitely crap output at best. "Visible at 100m", not a chance!

..still hoping someone has had same issue and fixed it easily?

[kiwipete]

What part of the country are you in? I am thinking it may be possible to separate the unit using a dremel and checking the solder joints etc?

[danielbeek]

hey Pete,
In Auckland.
yeah, I think I'll try that. Hopefully not the type of plastic that fuses together again after the cutting disc has passed through (been there on another job, poor result). Guess I won't know more till I crack it open.

[kiwipete]

You need to use a slow speed and cut slowly too. I see hella sell a led lamp similar so i will do a measurement tonight and see if it fits.

[CLUMZ1]

Thats a point - you could pop into Ripco and buy a Hella LED high stop, about $25 from memory, just wire up and stick on with provided 3M sticker. Done burgers?

OR: cheap option: http://dx.com/p/hs-04000-56-6-72w-280lm ... red-193297

[danielbeek]

that 'cheapie' looks dimmer than my existing light

cut it open nicely with my dremel. Cut at the lens side of the weld, as opposed to the black backing. Gotta take care not to cut too deep - only 2mm or so all the way round or you damage the pcb tracks on one side (I just nicked it in a couple of spots). Original is well made, and the 2 PCB strips have conformal coating on them. 68 LEDs are split in to 14 parallel groups of 4 LEDS, which are in turn series connected with a 160ohm resistor. One diode provides polarity protection. Easiest way to replace the whole setup if broken, is just to knock out some supports in the back case, and stick down some of that self adhesive LED strip. Will see if I can fix first though.