mk2vitesses Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 (edited) During lockdown i set about restoring my original Vitesse rear light, when I restored the car I had bought from a Jaguar specialist a remade item. When it arrived I was very disappointed with the build quality, like so many parts on the market today. My old 469 had only minor issues, the lenses for the number plate lights and the state of the chroming. I was lucky enough to have access to a laser cutter, so I drew up the windows for the light. The other issue was the glass lens was lose, I assume there must have been a seal of some sort between the glass and chrome cover. I was able to source the hollow rivets that secured the reflector to the cover, so I designed a gasket and cut it from a sheet of neoprene impregnated cork. The cover was sent with two others to a local electroplater who did a great job. BTW it is made of brass under the chrome, so it polishes up well. I had collected a few of these rear lamp assemblies over the years, quite a few have sheared fixing bolts or broken internals associated with the lighting electrical fittings. I wondered if I could remake the internals in stainless steel using LED lights, so provided the rear and the chrome cover are intact it could be saved. Would there be much interest from members needing to carry out such repairs to their own light? The last images show the one I have sorted out for the Herald estate, it has original intenals as they were in good shape. The lenses, gasket and cover have been sorted, and a new seal between the cover and base. Edited August 31 by mk2vitesses 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rutty Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 (edited) 1 hour ago, mk2vitesses said: I was lucky enough to have access to a laser cutter, so I drew up the windows for the light. I used an old Ice cream tub and scissors. Still going strong after 5 years. Edited August 31 by Rutty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2vitesses Posted August 31 Author Share Posted August 31 1 hour ago, Rutty said: I used an old Ice cream tub and scissors. Still going strong after 5 years. Well done, whatever works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 (edited) Watching with interest. The one on my car does the job but it’s a bit rough and the number plate lenses are long gone. I’ve been toying with idea of LED converting so that the reverse light also serves as an additional brake light. Got as far as sourcing a spare light unit (equally rough) but no further…. What material did you use for the replacement lens? Edited August 31 by Nick Jones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2vitesses Posted August 31 Author Share Posted August 31 48 minutes ago, Nick Jones said: Watching with interest. The one on my car does the job but it’s a bit rough and the number plate lenses are long gone. I’ve been toying with idea of LED converting so that the reverse light also serves as an additional brake light. Got as far as sourcing a spare light unit (equally rough) but no further…. What material did you use for the replacement lens? I used 2mm PET, same stuff was used for PPE during covid. 2mm caphead stainless screws and nylocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2vitesses Posted August 31 Author Share Posted August 31 (edited) On 31/08/2024 at 21:56, mk2vitesses said: I used 2mm PET, same stuff was used for PPE during covid. 2mm caphead stainless screws and nylocks. My thoughts are if the studs are knackered and the electrical lamp sockets are past their best then a revamped internals are possible, who would know! Edited September 14 by mk2vitesses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2vitesses Posted September 14 Author Share Posted September 14 I have been busy, I started to add the reverse light power feed to the tailgate and fit the tailgate switch courtesy light wire (brown with black trace). On close inspection, I found the loom was in a poor state. I decided to remake the loom with the additional wire (green with brown trace). 1st pic is the new loom, second the old loom. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2vitesses Posted September 19 Author Share Posted September 19 On 31/08/2024 at 21:05, Nick Jones said: Watching with interest. The one on my car does the job but it’s a bit rough and the number plate lenses are long gone. I’ve been toying with idea of LED converting so that the reverse light also serves as an additional brake light. Got as far as sourcing a spare light unit (equally rough) but no further…. What material did you use for the replacement lens? I had a look at the 3W COB leds, the ideal solution would be a tri colour COB. Using four diodes you could achieve your aim, quite a nice idea Nick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2vitesses Posted September 20 Author Share Posted September 20 On 31/08/2024 at 21:05, Nick Jones said: Watching with interest. The one on my car does the job but it’s a bit rough and the number plate lenses are long gone. I’ve been toying with idea of LED converting so that the reverse light also serves as an additional brake light. Got as far as sourcing a spare light unit (equally rough) but no further…. What material did you use for the replacement lens? I found these Nick, I will see how they work out. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235002708604?var=534896792323 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve P Posted September 20 Share Posted September 20 I would be up for two for my cars, there is a kit on E bay but the replacement lenses aren`t great and the buttons to replace the rivets are useless. I tried one. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted September 20 Share Posted September 20 Those look good. How would you handle the power supply and would you put and over voltage protection in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2vitesses Posted Sunday at 18:54 Author Share Posted Sunday at 18:54 On 20/09/2024 at 12:55, Steve P said: I would be up for two for my cars, there is a kit on E bay but the replacement lenses aren`t great and the buttons to replace the rivets are useless. I tried one. Steve Not seen those , can you share the listing please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2vitesses Posted Sunday at 19:07 Author Share Posted Sunday at 19:07 (edited) On 20/09/2024 at 15:03, Nick Jones said: Those look good. How would you handle the power supply and would you put and over voltage protection in? I bought the four pin units, on reflection the six were the ones to go for. As far as the supply voltage, four red LED's would be around 8V. At 0.7A and a 4V drop 8.2R to 9.6R @ 2W should do, you also get 0.7V steering diode voltage drop. Green and blue are higher energy, so require a greater voltage. So four green or blue LED's would be say 12.8V @ 0.7A, so 2.7R to 3.3R @ 2W + the diode drop. Edited Sunday at 19:11 by mk2vitesses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2vitesses Posted Sunday at 19:13 Author Share Posted Sunday at 19:13 It would be sensible to start with a higher value resistor, I asume the battery to be 14V nominal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2vitesses Posted Sunday at 19:14 Author Share Posted Sunday at 19:14 The LED's require a heatsink of sorts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2vitesses Posted Sunday at 19:19 Author Share Posted Sunday at 19:19 I did a colour version! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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