Nice write up and video !!

 

Thanks!

I figured out how to burn-in captions, and updated the link to the new video with a running description.

 

Very nice write up! Ive converted about half of my lights to led in my 74 but havent tackled the turn signals and tail lights for the reasons you mentioned.
and I have the same cig lighter charger in red in my vette.
A bit off topic,

I laugh at folks stating that they are upgrading to leds in thier newer Can Bus controlled cars because they are more efficient, as they install ballast resistors to prevent flicker while putting an equal load on the cars electrical system as regular bulbs and negating that benefit completely.

In all honesty even though its promoted that LED bulbs are more reliable and have a longer life Ive not necessarily found that to be true both with led bulbs purchased for home, business and automobile use (and as someone whos been repairing flat screen tvs for 10 years) Too often the voltage converter circuit or one led in the array fails rendering the whole thing useless. They are the #1 failure point in all modern tvs by far with many burning out in less than 3000hrs.

 

Thanks! I hope it is helpful.

LEDs are still maturing, so there are some bad ones out there. I've encountered a few in house applications, but not for cars, yet. But LEDs are certainly brigher. More lumens and lower current is the main draw for me. So I am happy to have found a solution that works without using any ballast resistors.

 

Something that was pointed out in my other thread:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...with-drls.html

C2s, and early C3s, should be much easier to convert to LEDs than later C3s.

I only have a 79 and an 80 to compare, so I am basing this on my reading of the wiring diagrams.

C2s had no marker lights, white/amber switchbacks work as intended right out of the box, giving "driving lights" with the parking lights on, or you can inject 12V into just the front circuit in the same way I outline above.

1968 through 1971 C3s had marker lights, but they were tied to the parking light circuit, and shared a common ground. So they should work with LEDs as well, and only require the flasher mod.

Starting in 1972, the marker light circuit changes to remove the ground, and allow flashing with the turn signals. The Blinker Genie is then required for normal function with LEDs.

 

On my 74 I havent had any issue with the led interior lights I swapped in 8 years ago,(and they were cheap) Ive also been happy with the led headlights I put in a couple years back. I may use this thread and your instructions to convert my marker lights.

I should have clarified its the newer cars and trucks with canbus systems that monitor the bulbs to report if ones out where it gets tricky with new cars and adding led lights, even head lights and dome lights. I have a newer ram ecodiesel truck I bought a few months ago. well I noticed that the interior dome and map lights would only randomly come on when opening the doors at night. turns out, the previous owner put in led bulbs and the vehicles computer wasnt sensing the load correctly and only intermittently activating the lights, rather than mess with resistors as Ive been told id need, I ended up swapping in regular bulbs. I do have led headlights and taillights which came with the resistors so they draw just as much power as regular bulbs. without the resistors they just flicker and throw a bulb out message on the dash. I have a program that allows me to go into the vehicles computer and enable a setting for led lights but for some reason that doesnt work for many who tied it.
On my last truck I added led headlights and went through 2 sets in 1.5 years I also swapped out all the lights on both my campers and had a lot of interior light failures which is where I mainly based my judgement of led auto bulbs.

 

I've done interior lights in a few other cars, and haven't had issues. I only bother with exterior LEDs for the C3s as the stock lights are very lacking. My wife's 79 is demonstrably invisible, at least judging by the idiots on the road around her, so better lighting and DRLs are a must-have.

New vehicles are finally adopting LEDs right from the factory. I'm surprised it took so long, but proven tech is tough to beat when you make cars to sell for a profit.

 

Great job. I will be upgrading everything my 1980 to led in the future. I will definitely reference this threat later on.

 

Nice write up.

 

Hey Joe aka Bikespace, What about a parts list for replacing all the bulbs in a C3 to LED? Maybe you could sell a kit to us?

 

"I'd buy a set of red/white switchbacks to play with. If you separate the running lights into separate halos, you could get 4 brake lights and amber turn signals. You still might need separate LEDs for backup lights, though."

I found these little gems- going to mess with them- look like a lot of potential-

 

That's not a bad idea. SuperBrightLEDs.com does a good job of listing which LEDs are compatible with the stock bulbs. I made many changes of course.

I do have an idea of how to sell a DRL kit. If I can prototype it with my 79, you may see it for sale next year.

 

I appreciate this thread and comments with photos from all who've contributed. I am preparing to do my low mile '79 LED conversion - all external lights, but the headlights. BIKESPACE - did you ever complete the '79 conversion? If so, any additional suggestions?

 

The 79 is off the road right now for an engine/transmission swap. The wiring is a bit simpler, as 79s don't have cornering lights. Nearly everything else should be the same, or similar (the rear light sockets are different, but the bulbs are the same, for example).

I have a new engine harness to put in, and I'll modify when I install it with DRLs and other mods built in from the start.

 

The engine/tranny swap sounds fun. ... So far, I was able to gain enough good info from your thread to replace both flashers - the turn signal flasher with reverse polarity and ground. I have wired up the driver's side front with the Blinker Genie 2 kit from CustomLED.com and it now appears to flash both the front marker and turn signal LEDs together, with the DRLs (parking lights) on or off. I'm 75% done with the passenger side front. I found a convenient grounding bolt in the corners of each side* (EDIT) by the wiring harnesses which a 1/4" nut, an external toothed washer, along with the two grounds fit nicely. I can post photos if this is successful and there is interest. Thanks again.

EDIT: The threaded end of the small grounding bolt on the driver's side worked as a ground like a champ. For some reason the same bolt on the passenger side did not work even after I cleaned it. So I'm going run another black wire to the grounding screw that mounts a black wiring sheath right under the "point" of the body in front of the hood.

 

OK, I finished wiring the passenger side with a Blinker Genie 2 (both sides now) and here's what I ended up with:
-- DRLs off: Both front and rear LED turn signals and LED side markers flash brightly. Perfect.
-- DRLs on: Front turn signals stay on, but do not flash. Side markers flash dimly. Rear turn signals flash brightly.

I wired using this diagram, adding some colors so I could reference them (credit: Richard454):

Continued...

 

Here is my driver's side wiring before complete install:

Driver's side side marker wiring with Blinker Genie2 (before grounds were attached).

Continued...

 

Passenger side marker wiring with Blinker Genie2 (old bulb was replaced with LED):



Any ideas what might be causing interference with the DRLs (parking lights) on?

 

@Richard454 is who clued me into the Blinker Genies. I used REV 1 in my 80, but have a set of REV 2s for my 79, when I get to it. They may behave differently, I'm not sure.

How are you powering the "DRLs". I just called mine that, but C3s don't actually come with DRLs. I've seen other threads where the 1157 LED bulbs (switchback, and standard), can be really hit or miss between vendors.

Are your grounds good? Does it work if you put an incandescent bulb back in the side marker?

 

Bikespace! Thanks for the good info and questions. They made me look again at all my wiring and grounds. I'll see if I can answer the other questions in a bit.

Well, if the actual solution wasn't a simple one! Everything works as desired now! I had invited a friend (knowledgeable in electronics) over to get second eyes on my wiring and to recommend any solutions. Right before he showed up, I put the battery charger on the battery. I'd been doing everything with Ignition ON, battery power only, and thought it may need charging. So when he arrived and I went to show him how the turn signals weren't flashing with the Park Lights ON, everything worked perfectly. I had been running the battery down testing and retesting things as I installed them. My friend said it's the easiest fix he'd ever done!

To answer the remaining questions:

1. Yes, DRLs = Park Lights. I am using non-switchback, regular Amber 1157 LED bulbs as Front Turn/Parking Light bulbs. I do have to turn the Park Light switch ON to have them on for Driving Lights. So, they aren't technically DRLs which come on with ignition. But as you mentioned, some sort of DRLs are nearly essential to "be seen" on the road these days.

2. I wired the Blinker Genie2, one each, for the Side Marker Lights. I used the Blinker Genie instructions, as well as Richard454's nice diagram. Yes, the yellow Genie output wire may work slightly differently between the Blinker Genie 1 and 2. The installation instructions say what causes 12V or 0V output, depending on the red & white inputs. (see customLED.com website)

The results I have now are, with Ignition ON:

-- Park Lights OFF: Both Front and Rear LED Turn Signals and Front LED Side Markers flash off & on brightly.

-- Park Lights ON: Front LED Turn Signals flash bright to dim, noticeably. LED Side Markers flash off & on (opposite the sequence of the Turn Signals). LED Rear Turn Signals flash brightly.

Thanks again for this thread and your help! I'd be glad to do more of a sequential how-to write-up on this or a new thread, if desired. (with photos and resulting video)