Darell's first Prius journey and...

Thanks for the generous offer. I could also just solder directly to the switch pins without much problem. I'd like to find this connector just so we have a turn-key solution for others...

 

I'd love to see what this thing is! LED? If so, then $21 is likely a bargain. I'll go send 'em a message.

 

While you guys are being so helpful, I have another Q that I can't find an A for.

I just started my Greenhybrid.com membership, and want to start tracking my mileage. What are you guys using for this? REAL mileage or what the car tells you?

 

Fillup to fillup, I agree. But if you account for every gallon in, and every mile driven, after a while, this is definitely the most accurate way to account for mileage.

Anyway. It'll be a while before I have to fill up, so I just made the number work out to what the MFD says for now.

 

I hear you! Brighter is good (up to a point!) but what I REALLY like about LEDs is the super-fast response time. They're on or off. Incadescents spend most of their time getting up to temp, and then cooling off. More of a wave than a blink, ya know? For the signals this isn't such a big deal. For the brakes, LEDs are a MUST!

 

OK, I believe it. I think I'd like to be in control of this one though, so I'll just stick with manual. I tried fooling with it today, and just don't like how it "thinks" for me. Usually the fan is on WAY too high for my liking. There are VERY few times that I'm willing to put up with the full-blast fans going.

 

Ah. This is something I meant to mention in the opening post. My car indicates about 1.5mph fast - checked with two GPS units. And your post here seems to confirm that as well.

I have found in other cars that the speedo and odometer don't always come off the same feed though. In my Rav, for example, there is about a 4mph difference between indicated and reality, yet the odometer is within 0.5%!

 

Yes, an EE friend of mine and I are making them. Here's what I did for the Rav4EV folks:

[Broken External Image]:http://www.darelldd.com/ev/images/rav4/rav_lighting/dome1_production.jpg

I used that same circuit for my cargo light. Now that I know it never auto-sleeps, I'm designing a new circuit that'll be smarter than the car... and the owner too! My goal (proving to be pretty difficult!) is to come up with one circuit that will fit in all the places the Prius has interior lights - and be drop-in. Of course different bulbs are used in every dang place! But I am making some headway. Each will have to be cutomized for the application. But getting the circuit the right size and configuration is the first priority. Start saving your pennies. These will be about $40/pop.

Those dang lights on the lower edge of the front doors is a booger! I swear they designed it to be impossible to replace the existing lamp... much less making it available for an easy LED retrofit!

 

Yup! But then there's quite a bit more involved here than, say, machining a stiffening plate with four holes in it! These are designed and built right here in the USA... by two USA-ians. Believe me when I say I won't be getting rich off of these at $40. I'll make about $5 on each one... and that's after an initial investment of at least $7k for protos and a minimum-quantity run. Ug.

You are correct that these should outlast the vehicle.... and if they save you from needing a jump-start just once, they will have paid for themselves in hassle - that's for certain! That's the main reason I use them, for battery rundown protection. That they're brighter, whiter and cooler-running is just icing on the cake. You will NOT find anything else like this anywhere. We've been doing these for almost four years now, and nobody else has even attempted it as far as I know.

:lol:

 

I beg to differ! I have calibrated several of the better automotive GPS units and have found them to be accurate to well under 0.5mph at all reasonable speeds. The speedos, on the other hand can be WAY the heck off, and still be within the auto-maker's specs. I'm wondering why you think GPS readings are "not more accurate than the speedo"??? I've simply never seen that be the case!

There is no reason why GPS speed can't be VERY accurate... and in my experience, it is!