Engine light! Finally ready for shipment!


analogdesigner

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 15, 2005
949
San Clemente, CA USA
After a long development cycle, the engine light is ready for delivery. UNLIKE THE PHOTO, THE WIRE IS BLACK, NOT WHITE! The available colors are royal blue (highly recommended), green, amber, red and white.

Lighting kit:
Engine%20light.jpg


Partially installed:
Positioning%20of%20light%20and%20ballast.JPG


Hooks into license plate light:
Hookup%20at%20license%20plate%20light.JPG



Ford%20GT%20engine%20view.jpg



Ford%20GT%20Rear%20view.jpg
 
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Dr Robert Harms

GT Owner
Nov 24, 2005
228
Lights

Please post cost and payment methods. BTW...your "limit exceeded on private messages" BTW, I thought of the plate light but could not get it off the bumper ? Does it simply pry off ?
 

SuperB

Board of Directors/Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Feb 8, 2006
954
South Florida
Any chance of putting a color on 5 cars at the rally so all can look and decide which color they like Saturday night, before Camillos.

I want a blue one.
 

analogdesigner

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 15, 2005
949
San Clemente, CA USA
License plate light removal

Dr Robert Harms said:
Please post cost and payment methods. BTW...your "limit exceeded on private messages" BTW, I thought of the plate light but could not get it off the bumper ? Does it simply pry off ?
Doc,

First, I fixed the private message problem!

Now, on the license plate light removal, to remove the driver's side light, just take you fingernail or a small screwdriver and pry the LEFT side (as viewed from the rear of the car) out first. You will note in the image that this side has a spring metal clip. Pulling the other side first could result in a broken plastic mount. Hope this helps, Jay

Introductory price is $699.95

BTW, the optics company wanted $25,000.00 for tooling cost for the lens that I had designed, so I had to go back to my passive reflector approach which added about 10 more days to the production time, however it saved a huge amount of money!
www.gtsaver.com
(949) 366-1211
 
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analogdesigner

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 15, 2005
949
San Clemente, CA USA
Engine light ready for shipment!

SuperB,

There is no way no ship them to the rally in time. I just barely managed to ship one to fjpikul, so he should have his today (Saturday). He will probably need a helping hand in the installation since I didn't have time to prepare an decent installation manual.

I drove my car last night with this new production design and I sure like the quality of the lighting compared so my first generation prototype.

Thanks,

Jay
www.gtsaver.com

SuperB said:
Any chance of putting a color on 5 cars at the rally so all can look and decide which color they like Saturday night, before Camillos.

I want a blue one.
 

BlackICE

GT Owner
Nov 2, 2005
1,416
SF Bay Area in California
Jay why the need for a ballast? Are the lights HID? I would think that it is a high out LED like a Lumiled/Luxeon.

BlackICE
 

analogdesigner

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 15, 2005
949
San Clemente, CA USA
BlackIce,

You are correct, as it is a high output Luxeon. You must regulate (limit) the current with a ballast, otherwise the LED would self-destruct!

Jay
BlackICE said:
Jay why the need for a ballast? Are the lights HID? I would think that it is a high out LED like a Lumiled/Luxeon.

BlackICE
 
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BlackICE

GT Owner
Nov 2, 2005
1,416
SF Bay Area in California
Jay, is it the 1, 3 or 5 watt variety? The light looks really nice. Did you have the light on when the CHP pulled you over?

BlackICE
 
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analogdesigner

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 15, 2005
949
San Clemente, CA USA
I left it ON!

BlackICE,

Another good question! YES, I left it ON for the entire hour while he was hassling me!

The LED is a Luxeon 3 watt running at about 450 mA. I must derate the maximum current due to the high engine compartment temperatures. Gallium Nitride is a high band gap material (meaning good at very high temps), however the packaging is the limiting factor (not the chip itself) for high temperature operation.

Jay
www.gtsaver.com
BlackICE said:
Jay, is it the 1, 3 or 5 watt variety? The light looks really nice. Did you have the light on when the CHP pulled you over?

BlackICE
 

ROCMAN

Big Dawg!
Mark IV Lifetime
Mar 9, 2006
1,625
USA
Jay,
How does the lighting system impact that particular circuit?
It looks like it may strain the circuit a bit or change the resistance in that circuit too much. Have you tested it to make sure there are no potential problems? I am sure you have tested it properly, but I would just like some reassurance. :wink
 

analogdesigner

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 15, 2005
949
San Clemente, CA USA
About 0.5 amps...

ROCMAN,

Good question. The LED only draws about 0.5 amps, less than the license plate lamps! That particular part of the GT's lighting circuit should be good to at least 15 amps or more. I will look it up later on.

Thanks,

Jay
www.gtsaver.com
ROCMAN said:
Jay,
How does the lighting system impact that particular circuit?
It looks like it may strain the circuit a bit or change the resistance in that circuit too much. Have you tested it to make sure there are no potential problems? I am sure you have tested it properly, but I would just like some reassurance. :wink
 
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SuperB

Board of Directors/Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Feb 8, 2006
954
South Florida
I overheard someone talking with one of the GT Engineers who was asking those same questions, and it sounded like power was not an issue so long as it wasn't a big drain, which is seems it's not. Besides, the wire is small enough that I don't think it could draw that much anyway.

The only issue I saw was that the temp install I saw was pretty close to the stock muffler and could melt the coating, butt that was just a quick install so I assume when done right it won't be an issue at all, and for those with a Borla, no issue. At least that's what I remember in my drunken state :wink

I did wonder if the wire was supposed to be installed inside the clamshell, or inside the wire harness that already exist in that location?

An on/off switch or maybe a 'dimmer' type switch would push me over the edge into ordering one.
 

analogdesigner

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 15, 2005
949
San Clemente, CA USA
Ballast improvements are possible!

SuperB,

Yes, the additional current consumption is insignificant compared to what's utilized by the car's own lighting system.

The wiring harness insulation is a high temperature Teflon with silver plated conductors, costing me almost $2.00/ft.! This insulation can withstand temperatures in excess of 500 degrees F.. This far exceeds standards for automotive grade applications.

Ideally, the cable should be installed within the clamshell. I have not had time to work on this. Even mine is wrapped around the car's wiring harness until I can install it as intended!

This particular product is going to be an investment, as anyone that purchases one of these will have the opportunity to upgrade to future ballast assemblies at a reduced cost. This future ballast could include features such as dimming, shutoff when transmission is in reverse, intensity change with engine RPM (or car's velocity). The LED could also have a slight glow when you are having dinner in the restaurant! The future ballast may be fully electronic for higher system efficiency. This would allow for twice the brightness at half the current consumption, a 4x figure-of-merit improvement.

Thanks for your interest, Jay
www.gtsaver.com


SuperB said:
I overheard someone talking with one of the GT Engineers who was asking those same questions, and it sounded like power was not an issue so long as it wasn't a big drain, which is seems it's not. Besides, the wire is small enough that I don't think it could draw that much anyway.

The only issue I saw was that the temp install I saw was pretty close to the stock muffler and could melt the coating, butt that was just a quick install so I assume when done right it won't be an issue at all, and for those with a Borla, no issue. At least that's what I remember in my drunken state :wink

I did wonder if the wire was supposed to be installed inside the clamshell, or inside the wire harness that already exist in that location?

An on/off switch or maybe a 'dimmer' type switch would push me over the edge into ordering one.
 

LEMANSZ

Gt Owner
Jan 11, 2006
601
SoCal
Jay, saw someone in Dearborn installing looked trick..only comment...make the wiring black not white to match stock color
 

analogdesigner

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 15, 2005
949
San Clemente, CA USA
Black Teflon wiring needed

LEMANSZ,

You're correct! It's difficult to locate black Teflon wire. I hope to have a quote by midweek from a wire company.

I'll keep you guys posted...

Thanks,

Jay
LEMANSZ said:
Jay, saw someone in Dearborn installing looked trick..only comment...make the wiring black not white to match stock color
 

fjpikul

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Jan 4, 2006
11,475
Belleville, IL
I was the one installing the light in front of the Ritz on Saturday afternoon. I had it on at Camillo's for about 3 hours with no problems starting the car afterwards. It did not interfere with my rearward vision on the drive back to the hotel and I did not have any problem backing up in the Ritz garage. The light is not hooked up to emergency blinkers, so if the police stop me, I'll turn off lights and put on the flashers. I was very pleased. Jay and I talked at length and I passed on everyone's comments from Detroit.
 

analogdesigner

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 15, 2005
949
San Clemente, CA USA
Nuclear reactor light #1

fjpikul,

Thanks for figuring out how to hook this light up with my "Chinese instruction manual." I have received some nice positive feedback from your installation.

I am glad to hear that it was a memorable event. Many thanks, Jay
www.gtsaver.com
fjpikul said:
I was the one installing the light in front of the Ritz on Saturday afternoon. I had it on at Camillo's for about 3 hours with no problems starting the car afterwards. It did not interfere with my rearward vision on the drive back to the hotel and I did not have any problem backing up in the Ritz garage. The light is not hooked up to emergency blinkers, so if the police stop me, I'll turn off lights and put on the flashers. I was very pleased. Jay and I talked at length and I passed on everyone's comments from Detroit.
 
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SuperB

Board of Directors/Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Feb 8, 2006
954
South Florida
Black wire was one of my comments, but if you can't get it, spray paint should work.

So do I understand then that the wire/teflon can rest against the muffler without issue? Obviously we don't want that, but if it did there shouldn't be a problem?

Indeed a way to leave the light on with the parking lights off would be ideal for car shows...., but that would require quite a bit more wiring to get power.

How do I buy my light, not quite for sale yet?
 

analogdesigner

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 15, 2005
949
San Clemente, CA USA
Teflon

Hi SuperB,

Unfortunetly, nothing really sticks to Teflon, that's one of it's unique properies. I am looking for a black version.

The light is for sale. I have mostly Deep Blue and Red in stock.

Thanks,

Jay
www.gtsaver.com
SuperB said:
Black wire was one of my comments, but if you can't get it, spray paint should work.

So do I understand then that the wire/teflon can rest against the muffler without issue? Obviously we don't want that, but if it did there shouldn't be a problem?

Indeed a way to leave the light on with the parking lights off would be ideal for car shows...., but that would require quite a bit more wiring to get power.

How do I buy my light, not quite for sale yet?
 

Bart Carter

GT Owner
Mar 12, 2006
272
Las Vegas
There is some high temp shrink wrap available that would help with both the color and protection. I use this when I wire my cars. Raychem DR-25 is the best I have found. Here is one source that is reliable: P.R.S.