Club 80-90 Forums

syncrosimon wrote: Because the headlamps are activated by the standard VW wiring they wont come on unless the engine is running. The side lights remain on the starter battery.

I did this during my preparations for the trip to Syncro 25 and everyone said I was nuts! The results are brilliant and its nice to see someone else doing it.

Both Dave and I have installed LED rear lights high up in the rear locker at the top of the rear window but we used side marker lights from a truck as they have built in reflectors.

Simon, I have the same units as you show there on one of my trailers and am very disappointed with the quality. Most of the LEDs have failed and they are not waterproof inspite of the claims made by the manufacturers (Britax)

I did this during my preparations for the trip to Syncro 25 and everyone said I was nuts! The results are brilliant and its nice to see someone else doing it.

The difference here though is that the Sterling unit provides a constant regulated voltage, whereas without it the voltage is variable depending on the state of charge of the battery that the lights are connected to.

Unless of course you have an independent fuseboard running on a direct link from the alternator? In which case, it will still be variable depending on the state of charge of the starter & leisure battery and the max voltage output of the alternator, which is typically less than the amplified circuit from a sterling alternator to battery charger.

syncropaddy wrote: Simon, I have the same units as you show there on one of my trailers and am very disappointed with the quality. Most of the LEDs have failed and they are not waterproof inspite of the claims made by the manufacturers (Britax)

The entire unit seems to be encapsulated in resin. There is a big difference in price, with the pukka truck hamburger rear lights costing 80 quid each.

these were 22 quid each.

I think I will wire them so that they are easy to change

Right, syncroswede and me had a day wiring yesterday, mal's wiring in the back of his T5. I got the wires from the indicators to the mirrors, then today shaped some metal for the brackets. Peasants idea worked really well and I am happy that the end result does not look too home made, (just a little, like the rest of the van)






A short video of the end result.

http://www.youtube.com/user/syncrosimon ... mzFUibasos" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just got to tidy up the wire on the arm, I did not have any black small cable ties. Any ideas for that greatly received.

Simon

Looks good, wonder how it will stand up to top speed and the wind, might need some glue yet to stop the ends from vibrating

I have ordered some Sikaflex 221 just in case. I have also tensioned the ally plate so that it presses against the mirror. The led strip is also heat shrink tubed to the ally plate in 4 places. Will be on the motorway tomorrow so will give it a blast.

Simon, you could remove the mirror arm from the bottom mount, drill a hole and feed the wire inside the arm. Would need another hole near the mount to come out of and might be tricky to get it out, but would be very neat.

v-lux wrote:Simon, you could remove the mirror arm from the bottom mount, drill a hole and feed the wire inside the arm. Would need another hole near the mount to come out of and might be tricky to get it out, but would be very neat.

that's how VW did the heated ones

Yes, I like the idea of the wire inside the tube. When I had the arm off yesterday I had a look at that, but could not see how the wire would exit inside the bracket from the arm. Has anyone got a photo of how VW did it. I dont remember there being a separate arm for heated mirrors (next on the list). Did the wire exit befor the mount?

Cheers

Simon.

yes in and out of the arm rather than through the mount

Might get a "whistle" off that ally bracket... small leght of foum under it..

Can recomend the philips extemes for headlamps... nice amount of light and not too pricey....

toomanytoys wrote: Can recomend the philips extemes for headlamps... nice amount of light and not too pricey....

I think thats what I put into mine ....

toomanytoys wrote:Might get a "whistle" off that ally bracket... small leght of foam under it..

Done about 60 motorway miles now and no whistles. Visibility for other road users approaching faster from behind seems to be much better with drivers pulling out earlier to allow the overtake. I am really pleased with them, a tenner well spent.

I have also heard good things about the Halfords own brand of performance bulbs.

I feel a great deal happier driving at night with the relays, now I have the headlamps on most of the time. Got a 300 mile night trip coming up next week, so am looking forward to the improvements.

Another take on this seen here https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=91794" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; asked if he'd be into making them for syncro arms maybe a group buy in the future???

Fran aka Rusty dubnuts is a top bloke, I bought the SA 2.6 off him when he also had the Trakka Bronco. He had plenty of VW projects on the go and was also a busy man work-wise, I guess nothing has changed for him in the last year.

Under-mirror repeaters are a brilliant idea. Well done Fran