A newbie with toys he doesn't understand yet :)

So I work in the auto industry, and regularly have access damaged headlamps that are to be thrown away, which just so happen to be housing drivers and high-output LEDs that are undamaged. What started with a long-time childhood obsession with playing with LEDs, has now led to an entire box full of strip LEDs, high-output heatsink mounted, and more goodies than I know what to do with.

I have avoided some questions by doing some homework reading here in the forums, so please excuse any ignorance
Thus far I have stripped an old "Coleman" lantern and used a 16 LED Strip to make a low powered lantern that runs on 4 AAs, turned some PVC into my "manlight" with focal lenses and a 2" PVC repair coupling.

At this point I don't understand much about the input/output and power regulation for safe/efficient usage of these LEDs as the auto manufacturers that "supply" my lighting needs have figured all of this out for me. The problem I am running into is that the boards that some of these drivers/resistors are mounted to don't necessarily allow me to create the more visibly appealing torches I'm looking to construct with these LEDs.

My question is more of a request for direction to mandatory beginners reading, and the easiest way to identify the LEDs that I have. Most of them are already mounted on heat sinks, and come with larger heatsinks that the LED heatsinks are connected to. The problem I am running into is simply identifying the specific LED Component that I am working with so that I know where to start when dissassembling these 2"x3" boards in order to stream-line their space usage. Basically all I know is that they blind the heck out of me when connected to 4 AAs.


I hope I don't sound too newbish, just looking to learn and build!

Do you have pics and/or specs?

TEEJ said:

Do you have pics and/or specs?

Click to expand...

I will upload some pics of what I have tonight. In searching online they appear to be "star" LED Components for the most part. Some with funky "lens" attachments to the top, and some with just the bare flat top. The only writing I can see on one simply leads google to the creator of the heatsink board that it's mounted on . "USI - Rev. A1"

Some are dual LED Components mounted on a single heatsink. I'll post more pictures and cross my fingers tonight when I get home

For now this is the one I mounted in 2" PVC repair coupling with a 2" Focal lens. And yes, I built in a slide for the actual light so I can make a 3'x3' square at about 250' on my neighbors garage door .


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Oops! Double posted.

Hi there Jim:welcome:

The Flashlight Wiki is a good place to start; more specifically the LED manufacturers section that you are interested in. There are pictures of LED emitters there to help you find out which LED you are trying to identify.

A general rule of thumb is that one white LED wants 3-3.4V. If it has a heatsink (stuck on a metal plate) them attach this to a bigger heat sink in your light and run it at one amp. If you have a power rating (up to about 20W) you can make it at higher power. Use a bigger driver and plan on more heat. If the stated wattage is over 40, halve it. If over 50, forth it.

If it turns angry blue, turn it off and make the heat path better. If your eyes sting or feel sandy, STOP IMMEDIATELY and take UV precautions. If the LED or driver gets too hot to touch, it's too hot. Less power or.bigger heatsinks.

Manufacturer name and part numbers let you find data sheets. Check how to use a multi meter to measure voltage and amperage of the stock driver so you can replace it. And you may be able to market car-ready LED drivers. Check with your boss, then post specs you know to the marketplace.

I'm curious about car LEDs.

OK. So I have been doing some digging. For the most part, I am just as confused --if not more confused-- as a result of diving into the technical PDF for the LumiLeds OP-15A 94V0. I'll post pics below, however it has become painfully obvious that I will need to brush up on my "current" knowledge.:duh2:.

This is basically 1 pic each of what I have multiples of after about a month or so of pulling these damaged lights apart. Again, not quite sure what the
best application for these would be (if any at all, they may pale so greatly in comparison to some of the newer components they aren't worth modding
with), but I guess it's best to learn on free stuff then burn up the paid for stuff.

This is a White 2 Component Heatsink - no idea of LED rating



Here is the dual Red LED set



Here is one of the strips completely lit followed by a close-up of one of the strip LEDs





And the board that is running the LumiLed sets, and a giant string of red 3mm LEDs.




So that's basically what I have an unending supply to play with, I just don't know which pieces on that board are the drivers/components that I need to desolder and install on a new smaller/simpler board in order to efficiently operate these LEDs.

I hope this thread keeps going. You sir are having fun and I am watching this one.

Pretty neat. It looks like you have a nice mix of Osram and Philips/Lumileds LED's.

I'd like to take a better look at that last photo. Is there a high res version that you can post a link to?

As requested, this is the full image link. I can take a 16 MP photo if this one isn't detailed enough.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/818/boardk.jpg/

The order of the outbound lines on the right side of the board are : (in order from top to bottom)
1st: Single Osram RED LED
2nd: Top half of that plug goes to about 22 Superbright Red 3mm LEDs
3rd: bottom half of that plug goes to the 2 LumiLeds White
4th: bottom plug goes to the two smaller LumiLed LEDs.


I know that the "star LED" white one that I first posted is way brighter than my Coleman 130 Lumen camping light which has a similarly built LED Component on a heat sink in it. Still trying to look for some other kind of identifier on the actual LED that will tell me which model it is. I figure I can figure out based on that which drivers go to which outputs and then I can keep them paired when I remove them

The LED in the first photo looks like it's from the Osram Golden Dragon series (1 amp max). The white LED's on the strip are probably Osram Advance Power TopLED's, which are good for a couple hundred milliamp.

I'm not sure what can be done with the driver board, though. With drivers being so cheap, you'll have to decide if it's worth taking the time to save the components. The conformal coating adds an extra level of difficulty.

Can you identify the markings on one of those 8 pin chips?

UPDATE : Just picked up a new emitter from a Fog Lamp. This thing looks beast, and the heatsink is huge. After searching thousands of photos trying to identify this guy I think my eyes glossed over as I cannot find any specs on it. Any 'illuminating' thoughts?

that's one BAHS!

Found it on Osram website.

Joule JFL2S 50mm
600 lm output
14 watt input
9-19 Volt input range

This one's going to be fun with 8 D-cells :O