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Old 28th May 2013, 12:57   #1
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Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades

Hi ,

Wanted to share some of the mods/addons underway in my TJet - using LED's. Some of it is yet to be started , but here is what I have now :

LED Sidemarkers

I think all of us will agree that the Linea has very well-designed headlights and tail lights. Of course , the OEM sidemarkers are pretty much run-of-the-mill and ordinary. So I decided to upgrade them to something a bit more eye-catching. This is what I used :

Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-img2013050800088.jpg

Got these from EBay. They are meant to serve a dual-purpose of turn signal and running lights and comes with a small control box which achieves that end. I decided to use them just for turns and removed the control box , leaving just the positive and negative wires coming out of the module. You are supposed to splice into the factory turn signal wires to install this , but since I was not comfortable with that , I got a set connectors from a US website through a friend. These are very convenient any time you want to add/replace anything to the stock sockets and come in a variety of sizes.

Basically , this is just an empty T10 bulb , with connectors in place of the filament.

Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-img2013050800087.jpg

I soldered the connectors to the corresponding wires from the LED module , and heat shrinked the joints. The module used small amber SMD LED's and had a diffuser film inside , which I removed. It is attached using double -sided tape.

Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-img2013051100096.jpg

Done ! Pretty much plug-and-play , made easy by the bulb connectors.

Verdict :

Looks - 8/10. Three different modules are available on EBay. This is the one I liked the most.

Daytime visibility - 4/10. the stock filament bulb does a better job in daytime. The LED's are probably narrow-angle and get a little washed out in direct sunlight. In any case , since I still have the original front and rear turn signals , this is not too worrying.

Nightime visibility - 8/10. (See action video)



LED front/rear dome lights , footwell lights and boot lights

Used 100mA warm white LED's from EBay. Was using Philips LED's till now , but wanted a warmer light. Hence going the DIY route.

These are basic LED arrays using current-limiting resistors and a voltage regulator. This is what the LED's look like , hooked up to a breadboard for testing

Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-img2013042700084.jpg

This is what the array looks like :

Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-img2013051100089.jpg

I am currently running them slight de-rated at 70mA , hoping that will increase their longevity a bit. This is what the back of the board looks like - Hooked up to the 12V voltage regulator , using a connector similar to the one used for the LED turn signals , but in a 39mm festoon avatar

Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-img2013051100097.jpg

Using three strings each for each of the front dome lights , and five strings for the rear.

Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-img2013051100093.jpg

The 9 LED array draws around 270 - 290 mA , far less than the ~800 mA drawn by the stock 10W filament bulbs.

Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-img2013051100100.jpg

All lit up :

Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-dsc_00080.jpgFiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-dsc_0009.jpg



Spoiler Brake Light LED Upgrade

Original brake light taken apart :

Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-dsc_0001.jpg

Original 5mm LED's

Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-dsc_0002.jpg

Board I am using

Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-dsc_0004.jpg

LED's laid out and soldered with resistors - these are red-orange Philips Lumiled's

Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-dsc_0008.jpgFiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-dsc_0010.jpg

Comparison of original and new LED's

Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-dsc_0016.jpgFiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-dsc_0018.jpg

Installed in car

Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-dsc_0020.jpg

Also included a brake light flasher - quick strobes followed by steady light , 15 second reactivation delay.

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Old 28th May 2013, 14:27   #2
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Re: Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades

Note from Support: Thread moved from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing
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Old 28th May 2013, 14:47   #3
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Re: Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades

Very neat looking DIY job.
A couple of questions though.
1. Where did you get those individual LEDs from? Price?
2. The voltage regulator (7812 I presume) requires atleast 13.5 volt to operate. But battery voltage varies from 13+ to under 12 volts. How do you take care of that?
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Old 28th May 2013, 15:20   #4
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Re: Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades

Quote:
Originally Posted by anuragn View Post
Very neat looking DIY job.
A couple of questions though.
1. Where did you get those individual LEDs from? Price?
2. The voltage regulator (7812 I presume) requires atleast 13.5 volt to operate. But battery voltage varies from 13+ to under 12 volts. How do you take care of that?
The warm white LED's I got from an EBay seller in Hongkong - $26 for 50. The red-orange ones through a friend in the US - around $30 for 40.

The regulator I am using is LM2940CT - it is a LDO (Low drop out) type and drops only around 400 mV. With the car off my battery puts out around 12.3V , so I get around 11.9V after the regulator. With the engine running the voltage is around 13.4 - the regulator gives exactly 12V.
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Old 28th May 2013, 15:41   #5
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Re: Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades

That is a neat and elegant looking DIY mod. I admire your DIY gear and tools, especially the rig which holds your board ! I have also tried footwell lights in my car, but i used the cheap led strip and stuck it to the underside of the dashboard. that way i do not have to worry about accidentally dislodging it with my foot and a possible short circuit- also they are waterproof! Sorry for the pic quality

Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-img_0305.jpg

I also used the following ultra bright flashing LED unit from the market and plonked them into the Conti's turn indicator housings (used double side tape). Now they are bright and visible even in daytime compared to the stock bulbs. the flash rate is a bit high though, but it looks cool!

The flasher unit - i used the orange colored ones for the indicators.
Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-picture-107.jpg

At night
Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-picture-117.jpg

As for the rear, i went a bit overboard and ran a Multi-color LED strip across the B pillar and hooked it to the stock lamp connections along with the control unit. The thing is a beauty, it can light up in a multitude of colors and it has a remote! There a function to toggle the different colors in a disco pattern, fade out, etc. Even the brightness can be adjusted. People say it looks weird and ugly unlit, but opinions change once the disco sets in !
Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-img_0307.jpg
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Old 28th May 2013, 16:05   #6
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Re: Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades

Really sweet mods on the Linea. I think it's a very good looking car to being with. Small touches like these just take it to a new level.

@Mukund: Could we see a video of your disco lights in action? I'm very intrigued.
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Old 28th May 2013, 16:17   #7
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Re: Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades

Quote:
Originally Posted by ZBlue View Post
The regulator I am using is LM2940CT - it is a LDO (Low drop out) type and drops only around 400 mV. With the car off my battery puts out around 12.3V , so I get around 11.9V after the regulator. With the engine running the voltage is around 13.4 - the regulator gives exactly 12V.
Thanks.
I was not aware of this IC. Is it available in domestic market?
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Old 28th May 2013, 22:14   #8
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Re: Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades

Quote:
Originally Posted by mukundmenon View Post
That is a neat and elegant looking DIY mod. I admire your DIY gear and tools, especially the rig which holds your board ! I have also tried footwell lights in my car, but i used the cheap led strip and stuck it to the underside of the dashboard. that way i do not have to worry about accidentally dislodging it with my foot and a possible short circuit- also they are waterproof!
I have tried out the LED strips too , but the boards I am now using are much more compact - only about 3" x 2" and hence easier to place/stick

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingeljell View Post
Really sweet mods on the Linea. I think it's a very good looking car to being with. Small touches like these just take it to a new level.

@Mukund: Could we see a video of your disco lights in action? I'm very intrigued.
Thanks

Quote:
Originally Posted by anuragn View Post
Thanks.
I was not aware of this IC. Is it available in domestic market?
I bought a "branded" (TI) one from element14 India, and a few more from ebay.com
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Old 29th May 2013, 08:09   #9
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Re: Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades

ZBlue - Thanks for sharing. A neat DIY, difference is significant for the brake lights. Would you mind sharing a high-level cost of the complete job. That would also help to realize what we are saving.
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Old 29th May 2013, 12:11   #10
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Re: Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades

Quote:
Originally Posted by jacs View Post
ZBlue - Thanks for sharing. A neat DIY, difference is significant for the brake lights. Would you mind sharing a high-level cost of the complete job. That would also help to realize what we are saving.
I wouldn't touch the monetary cost-benefit calculations with a 10 ft long pole . A lot of the stuff that I have bought over the past few months like the soldering station , tools etc. are meant to be used over a long term , and there's the psychological benefit of working with quality tools ..

In terms of purely "electrical" benefits , assuming an average car voltage of 13V :
  • Each stock 10W filament domelight consumes around 750mA. The LED arrays consume around 300 mA each , are brighter and will hopefully last longer
  • The spoiler brake light is pretty much equal , or maybe slightly brighter than the stock CHMSL (which I have diconnected) in terms of brightness. The stock third brake light (5 x 5W) would consume around 2A. The LED's consume around 500 mA
Again , it's probably difficult to attach rupee numbers to any of these calculations
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Old 29th May 2013, 14:41   #11
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Re: Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades

Neat Job. I was wondering, the lights in the foot well....where did you connect them( directly to the fuse box) or did your car come with lights in the foot well and you just modified that?
i would like to do the same for my car but had this doubt.

Last edited by bigben : 29th May 2013 at 14:54.
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Old 29th May 2013, 15:35   #12
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Re: Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades

Quote:
Originally Posted by bigben View Post
Neat Job. I was wondering, the lights in the foot well....where did you connect them( directly to the fuse box) or did your car come with lights in the foot well and you just modified that?
i would like to do the same for my car but had this doubt.
The footwell lights are spliced into the LED boards that I have added in the dome lights - then the wires are run along the roofliner and down along the A-pillar.

I'm not very sure , but I think in the Linea there is no separate fuse for the dome lights and they are managed by the body control module..
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Old 30th May 2013, 04:18   #13
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Re: Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades

Nice D.I.Y.
Certainly Looks very Bright.
I used these Pirhana L.E.D.'s Earlier for Dome, but Moved to 1 Watt ones which need Star shaped Base which works as Heat Sink, These L.E.D. are too Bright and Just two of them Light up Santro's Front part of cabin very well.

Pic is of Un-soldered L.E.D. to its base.
Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades-led_20130401.jpg

Can you please post or PM details for "brake light flasher - quick strobes followed by steady light , 15 second reactivation delay."


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Old 30th May 2013, 12:30   #14
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Re: Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades

Hi,

Wonderful LED mods there! Personally, I am a huge fan of LEDs, and have an elephant's share of those on my Beat. I hope that someday I can also create my own like you did - most of mine were bought off the shelf.

I remember having installed an F1 style blinker control on my brake lights - had to remove it as it eventually became faulty.. Could you please post more details on the blinker unit you have for your brake lights?

The warm lights in the interiors have come out really well. My compliments on a job really well done

Cheers,
Sam
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Old 30th May 2013, 18:30   #15
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Re: Fiat Linea T-Jet : LED Mods / Upgrades

Quote:
Originally Posted by ghpk View Post
Nice D.I.Y.
Certainly Looks very Bright.
I used these Pirhana L.E.D.'s Earlier for Dome, but Moved to 1 Watt ones which need Star shaped Base which works as Heat Sink, These L.E.D. are too Bright and Just two of them Light up Santro's Front part of cabin very well.

Pic is of Un-soldered L.E.D. to its base.
Attachment 1089883

Can you please post or PM details for "brake light flasher - quick strobes followed by steady light , 15 second reactivation delay."
Yes I have seen the high power LED's as well , they probably provide more illumination per rupee than the superfluxes

Quote:
Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia View Post
Hi,

Wonderful LED mods there! Personally, I am a huge fan of LEDs, and have an elephant's share of those on my Beat. I hope that someday I can also create my own like you did - most of mine were bought off the shelf.

I remember having installed an F1 style blinker control on my brake lights - had to remove it as it eventually became faulty.. Could you please post more details on the blinker unit you have for your brake lights?

The warm lights in the interiors have come out really well. My compliments on a job really well done

Cheers,
Sam
Thanks I have seen the LED's in your Beat - quite cool , especially the ones along the fog light.

This is the module I have for the brake lights - pretty compact..
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