DIY Color Changing Halos for Under $20

[Gator6977]

RGB_Halos.pdf

So, you’ve decided you want multi-color halos without the absurd price. Ever wonder what makes the various products on the market tick? After a bit of looking, I found that it’s nothing more than a controller, a few resistors and the right LED. A little more looking found that you can buy the stuff needed for fairly cheap. While the method I will detail does involve baking your lights, I’ve done three sets and they’ve all survived, but I do believe that with enough determination, the JDP method will work as well. The price, not including the adhesive sealant, wire, tape and butt connectors is about $16.45 all shipped to your door and ready for assembly.
Things you will need:
3W 4-Pin RGB LED w/ Platine base (x2 and available on eBay)
RGB LED Controller (available on eBay)
10W 10 Ohm Resistors (x3 and available on parts-express.com)
A Tube of Adhesive Sealant (I prefer the type that fit in a caulking gun as they’re much easier to use and make sure it for use with plastic. Most silicone based ones are and I found work best)
Soldering gun/Solder (If you are one of the few that don’t know how to solder, watch a few videos and get to practicing.)
Wire (smaller the better, I used 18ga)
Wire Crimpers/Butt Connectors
Small zip ties (The black ones tend to hide better.)
Double Sided Sticky Tape (Just a little is needed)
A Drill with about a 3/8” bit (doesn’t have to be exact, just has to create a hole large enough for wires to pass through)

Removal of lamp assemblies:
(FYI there are 4 10mm bolts on each side, not 3. The fourth one is close to the side marker. There is also a 7mm near the side marker as well.)
Disassembly of lamp assemblies:


RGB LED Controller from eBay

RGB LED, again found on eBay

Start by cutting the end off the controller and strip the wires back a ways. (The little black part is the optic the IR remote communicates with, leave it alone.)

Solder or otherwise connect the red, green and blue wires to a 10W 10 Ohm Resistor. Connect the black wire to a length of wire that is easier to work with/connect to. Be sure to mark which color each wire is at its end. Also be sure to use plenty of electrical tape here. I wrapped each connection then wrapped them all together as it becomes easier to hide once installed.

Solder wire to each RGD LEB. Each wire controls a color with the fourth giving it power. For reasons of simplicity, I used a length of about 4 feet per connection on the one for the driver’s side. I used about 18” for the one on the passenger’s side. Be sure to solder them in the directions shown above. That way the wires will be out of the way and go on each side of the heat sink. Don’t forget to label which color is which at the end of the wire!

At this point, you’re ready to throw your costly assemblies into the oven!! Take a breath and watch the videos a couple times. Remember, 220 degrees for 20 minutes. A minute or two longer does make it easier to open, but as with this whole DIY, do so at your own risk. I’ve now done three sets. It’s really not that bad once you get the first one in and can get yourself to stop staring through the little window with the light on.

Once inside, and after you unplug the only plug that connects the lens from the rest of your assembly, there are only six torx screws you need to concern yourself with. The four in red secure the halo to the assembly. The two in blue secure the heat sink to the halo.

Sorry for the bad picture. This is the plug in that holds the lens to the assembly. It is also the plug for the weak factory white LED that powers the halo. Cut the end of one off and connect the positive and ground wires to the stripped power/ground wire of your controller. This will later plug back into your factory harness inside the assembly and power your halos on using the factory switch/auto lamps on function/any aftermarket harness to run your halos with your drl/fogs.

As I am very unoriginal, I stole the basis for this idea from Ofer (2SSRS). Shiny side down I wrapped the portions of the halo that aren’t able to be viewed with tin foil.

I then tightly covered the foil with electrical tape. No sense wasting light that can be better reflected to viewable area.

If you’re not sure of the viewable area, place the halo back inside the lens. There are raised areas that block the areas wrapped in foil/tape.

Next is the installation of the RGB LED. Note, the bulb protrudes more than the factory one. Meaning the two screws that hold the heat sink onto the halo DO NOT TIGHTEN ALL THE WAY DOWN. This will destroy the LED. Simply snug them in place. I also use a small dab, and I do mean small, of super glue to hold the LED in place against the heat sink. If you wired your LED like I did mine, it should go in place with minimal effort as the wires will be on either side of the heat sink.

Now, simply drill a small hole and run your wires out.

Don’t forget the plug for the power. It attaches to the same plug that the factory LED was plugged into, the one you had to detach to completely separate the lens from the assembly. Run it through the same hole as the wires leading out.

Almost done. Once both RGB LEDs are installed and the wires are ran, it’s time to button things up. Use your adhesive sealant to re-affix your lens into place on the assembly. Also, use a dab on the wires/hole that you drilled into the housing. Now for the hard part. Let your assemblies sit for whatever amount of time you can take to allow the sealant to cure.

Again, sorry for the blurry pic. But, time to put it all together! I always run my wires to the passenger side, personal preference. Running the wires under the top member, use the factory holes to put zip ties through and hold those wires in place.

Here’s where I fired the camera man. Since you were smart enough to label each wire either R, G, B or P, this is just a matter of connecting the like wires! Red/green/blue/power wires from each simply attach using butt connectors to the wires coming from your controller.

Now the part you’ve been dying to see, if it worked! Before I replace one screw/bolt/push pin, I test it out. All is good, moving on!

Neatly tuck your wires and use a little double back sticky tape on the back of the controller. Affix it up and out of the way on the top support bar near the radiator and run the little black “eye” back out the small area next to the radiator.

Now, put it all back together and start turning heads. The first time I did this, not including the time my assemblies sat curing, it took me about 3-4 hours to completely for the first time ever tear everything down and put it all back together. This last set took me a couple hours, mainly because one lens didn’t want to come apart. The hardest thing to get over, for me at least, was gathering the cajone’s to throw my stuff in the oven. Beyond that, it’s not all that difficult. Enjoy!

[driyac]

wow man that is great work! a great great great write up as well!

[jeepguy_1980]

Do you think that a spray on mirror paint, followed up by some black paint would work/look/last better/longer than the tin foil and electrical tape? Or at the very least, tin foil and shrink wrap?

Originally Posted by Gator6977

As I am very unoriginal, I stole the basis for this idea from Ofer (2SSRS). Shiny side down I wrapped the portions of the halo that aren’t able to be viewed with tin foil.

I then tightly covered the foil with electrical tape. No sense wasting light that can be better reflected to viewable area.

If you’re not sure of the viewable area, place the halo back inside the lens. There are raised areas that block the areas wrapped in foil/tape.

[Gator6977]

While a bit more messy, sure. As to how long the tape will last, there's not much heat and hopefully no moisture issues. So, it should last for a very long time. I should have mentioned to make sure the tape overlaps just a tad onto the halo. Ofer used an aluminum type tape typically used in duct work if I remember correctly. All should work.

[My Caroline]

I was JUST looking at these LED controllers for a footwell light project I've got goin. I'm glad they work well for you, I was a little worried they might be too cheap to work.

I will be ordering this controller!

Also, Nice job on the lights!


Oh, and question. How would I power these from the interior? Is the control box powered or is the LED itself?

[Gator6977]

The box is powered. Simple two wires, one power and one ground. I will say that I did have an issue with one controller not working correctly. Fortunately I had an extra. I would recommend buying a second if for no other reason than to have an extra for your next project.

[My Caroline]

Originally Posted by Gator6977

The box is powered. Simple two wires, one power and one ground. I will say that I did have an issue with one controller not working correctly. Fortunately I had an extra. I would recommend buying a second if for no other reason than to have an extra for your next project.

Awesome. And yeah I will probably buy multiple, they are pretty cheap.
So simply black and red, a no need for any sort of inverter or resistor? or is this box ok for 12V? If I wanted to power this off of a 12V with an add a fuse, what amp fuse do you think I should use? If you are unsure that is fine, just curious.

[Gator6977]

Not sure of a fuse size, but it connects directly to a 12v wire. It also sends out 12v so make sure whatever you're hooking up either has a resistor already in place, typically they say something like plug and play or simply attach whatever, or you add one.

[My Caroline]

Originally Posted by Gator6977

Not sure of a fuse size, but it connects directly to a 12v wire. It also sends out 12v so make sure whatever you're hooking up either has a resistor already in place, typically they say something like plug and play or simply attach whatever, or you add one.

Great! Thanks for the help and great info. Even though I won't be making halos, the info is relevant to my project.

One, last question (maybe, lol). How is the IR range? Do you pretty much have to be pointed right at it?

[lscamaro]

Do you have any pics of the halos in white?

[Gator6977]

Originally Posted by My Caroline

One, last question (maybe, lol). How is the IR range? Do you pretty much have to be pointed right at it?

The range isn't bad. I can get back upwards of 15-20 feet, but IR works line of sight. So, yes it needs point directly at the little eye. RF works, or is supposed to, over a greater distance within range of the receiver.

Originally Posted by lscamaro

Do you have any pics of the halos in white?

I just took this pic this morning. There is a noticeable pinkish hue when on white. It's more noticeable if you're right on top of the light looking downward onto it. Keep in mind this is three colors trying to make white. There are other controllers out there that do a better job or allow you to set custom levels. For instance, there are ones on eBay that come with a much larger remote and DIY settings built into it. Just a word of caution, I have found that those can have a little trouble when turning pink of all colors. It tends to like to stay there for several seconds and not let you change.

[hapisok]

great write up BTW.

only thing i would suggest is to use the correct OHM resistors to ensure proper color mixing. one of the key factors to making sure the colors come out distributed evenly involves some simple math using OHM's law or an LED calculator. even if the numbers are close...24 for R and 27 for B & G, it WILL make a noticeable difference. so be as exact as you can.

http://ledcalculator.net/

you have to look at the data sheet to get for the information you need, but its really simple. generally the G & B channels will use the same OHM resistor where the R channel needs more or less resistance in comparison. you have to do the calculations for each channel (R G B) to have the proper set up.

for instance:

12v SUPPLIED POWER
LED: 3W RGB
PT #: VL-H01RGB00302
.................................................. using max fwd V
...........FWD CUR.........FWD V.........MAX FWD V.........RESISTOR OHM/WATT
R...........400mA.............2.5................. 2.8.........................24ohms/4W
G...........350mA.............3.4................. 3.8.........................27ohms/3W
B...........350mA.............3.4................. 3.8.........................27ohms/3W

or...

12v SUPPLIED POWER
LED: 1W RGB
PT #: PM6B-1LFS
.................................................. using max fwd V
...........FWD CUR.........FWD V.........MAX FWD V........RESISTOR OHM/WATT
R..........150mA..............2.2................. ..3.1.......................62 ohms/2W
G..........150mA..............3.5................. ..4.1.......................56 ohms/2W
B..........150mA..............3.5................. ..4.1.......................56 ohms/2W

MAX FWD V will be brighter but the trade off is a shortened life expectancy of the LED. FWD V will still be bright enough for most conditions including daylight use when using a 3W LED.

it doesn't hurt to have a Resistor with a Wattage rating higher than suggested where a 5Watt resistor would be more than sufficient for heat dissipation. anything smaller than the recommended resistor wattage and it will burn/melt/magic puffs escape.

OP...the reason why you are seeing more of a pinkish tint when in white light mode is due to the mismatch of resistors where R resistor doesn't have a high enough resistance and is putting out more light in comparison to B & G.

[JCO2185]

great write up

[anglwngss]

This is fantastically awesome!!