Valenti LED tail lamps modified with EU fog lights

In post Inside the Valenti LED tail lamps - PriusChat Forums I showed the PCBs that carry the white reverse LEDs for the drivers side. Removing the PCBs is very easy as each one is held by one screw. These white LEDs are very bright and with the 181 ohm SMD resistor they draw ca. 36mA.

When replacing them with red LEDs for the fog lights the proper devices should be chosen. I tried 3mm and 5mm ones. The 5mm are your choice as they fit properly and have a wider angle. But the standard red LEDs are rated on a lower current of around 22mA. Using them the resistor must be changed too. To avoid this I have chosen 5mm LEDs with 5 chips rated at up to 100mA. Using the installed resistor drives them with around 40mA (measured) what results in a very bright light.

Unsoldering the white LEDs is easy with a vacuum desolder gun as the PCBs are only single sided. Just watch the wires the PCBs are connected to each other. I then inserted the red ones (watch the notch on one side, it must align with the drawn shape on the PCB and reinstalled the PCBs. Finally the middle PIN on the MOLEX plug with the green/black wire must be pulled (it's the reverse + wire) and insered on the lower port (the fog light +). Done !

I'm very happy with the result. The LEDs are very bright and the effort to change them was marginal. If I relly want I could also make them brighter by changing the SMD resistors but then also a higher wattage must be choosen. But I doubt there is any need for that. I really like the fact that the part of the tail lights is white and clear and become bright red when switched on.

Sidenote on the Valenti tails: The drivers side isn't perfectly flush with the rear side panel. I don't know why as I removed it twice and the yellow clip is at the right place. But it's only a few mm, I guess I will not notice it after a few weeks

 

Thanks In fact, it doesn't really matter where it is located. Usually it is on the drivers side, left or right hand driven. My 3000GT has two, each on one side and the Caddy CTS4 had a LED bar in the middle under the the rear bumper.