Converting Whelen 900s/Similar Scene lighting to LED?
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Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
They look So good and work well too.
I'd likely either polish the aluminum or coat them white for more of a stealth look. Or paint the pans the original colour for our theme look with less chance of being hassled for red lights.
I'd likely either polish the aluminum or coat them white for more of a stealth look. Or paint the pans the original colour for our theme look with less chance of being hassled for red lights.
Abitibi
Explorer
I could have done them in white but the lights are black to start with so it wouldn't have made a big difference. They are powdercoated, that's already better than I planned, lol.They look So good and work well too.
I'd likely either polish the aluminum or coat them white for more of a stealth look. Or paint the pans the original colour for our theme look with less chance of being hassled for red lights.
Cheers
David
"Another great day ruined by responsibilities"
zuke
Adventurer
See this post in my build thread for my conversion of an original fixture to LED for about $2;
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/166443-D-O-A-89-Chevy-Ambo-Build?p=2257306#post2257306
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/166443-D-O-A-89-Chevy-Ambo-Build?p=2257306#post2257306
I'm sorry to necro a thread, but thank you for this tip.
Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
2Fass240us
Member
I decided to take a bit of a different approach. Lemme know what you guys think.
Original hand drawing:
Initial fitting after cutting out some material on the left and right:
Unfortunately the design doesn't cover the holes all the way, which would make attachment and sealing way more difficult:
At some point my son went into the garage and test-fit for me lol:
Original hand drawing:
Initial fitting after cutting out some material on the left and right:
Unfortunately the design doesn't cover the holes all the way, which would make attachment and sealing way more difficult:
At some point my son went into the garage and test-fit for me lol:
rlrenz
Explorer
Very nice! Steel or aluminum?
I had some Whelen light buckets that were about your depth, but a little shorter and longer. After I looked at making custom buckets, I lucked out and found 4 Whelen scene LED lights for the sides, and a pair of Tecniq K90 scene lights for the rear. I found Whelen 900 amber LED with a clear lens in place of the halogens. Only took 3 years to track them down!....
I had some Whelen light buckets that were about your depth, but a little shorter and longer. After I looked at making custom buckets, I lucked out and found 4 Whelen scene LED lights for the sides, and a pair of Tecniq K90 scene lights for the rear. I found Whelen 900 amber LED with a clear lens in place of the halogens. Only took 3 years to track them down!....
Looking good! Whelen made an adapter plate to go from the 97 to 900 series. There’s a similar problem where the new light ends up not having anything to mount to. Maybe you could mount some kind of plate to the fiberglass, and then mount your light holder to it?
You kind of have an advantage with fiberglass in that you could also easily just patch it from the inside and then make a new cutout for your light holder... Or use some kind of strong sikaflex type adhesive to glue a thin aluminum strip on the inside of the roof. That would let you screw into it and sandwich the existing fiberglass roof.
You kind of have an advantage with fiberglass in that you could also easily just patch it from the inside and then make a new cutout for your light holder... Or use some kind of strong sikaflex type adhesive to glue a thin aluminum strip on the inside of the roof. That would let you screw into it and sandwich the existing fiberglass roof.
2Fass240us
Member
16ga steel because of cost and strength vs thickness
I resolved to do the same until I talked to a buddy who does drafting for a living and may be the only person more handy than me haha.
I considered the "bond a piece of plate to the topper" option, given that it would be sandwiched between the outer piece pictured above, and the backing/sandwich flange you can see in the last picture.Looking good! ... Maybe you could mount some kind of plate to the fiberglass, and then mount your light holder to it?
You kind of have an advantage with fiberglass in that you could also easily just patch it from the inside and then make a new cutout for your light holder... Or use some kind of strong sikaflex type adhesive to glue a thin aluminum strip on the inside of the roof. That would let you screw into it and sandwich the existing fiberglass roof.
Where I think we landed though, is increasing the flange height to cover the holes, and likely make it long enough to cover the two holes close to one another. So in the above picture it would cover the scene light hole too. Might look a little more wonky, but would save me the effort of patching 4 large fiberglass holes. The outside flange/plate would be painted to match the topper to lessen the visual impact.
qcdstick
Member
I can't see your images, but am very interested in what you may have done? I would like to do something with my scene lights as well.
I'm a little confused on the differences between the series 97 and the series 900? Some say they are the same, some not. Pretty sure mine might have the 97 vs the 900 lights? Mine have a single screw at the bottom of the lens, rather than the 900 which seems to have one in each corner?? I think my turns might be series 900 though, while everything else is the other style? Need to find a good source for gaskets regardless, had to replace a turn bulb and the gasket was completely shot and I think I might hate myself later if I caulk it shut...
I'm a little confused on the differences between the series 97 and the series 900? Some say they are the same, some not. Pretty sure mine might have the 97 vs the 900 lights? Mine have a single screw at the bottom of the lens, rather than the 900 which seems to have one in each corner?? I think my turns might be series 900 though, while everything else is the other style? Need to find a good source for gaskets regardless, had to replace a turn bulb and the gasket was completely shot and I think I might hate myself later if I caulk it shut...
Attachments
Hmm, not sure what the one screw lens is. Looks like a strobe? Your turn signals look like 900 series. It usually says on a sticker on the back or stamped on the plastic. Old 97 series had 4 screw holes in the flange holding it on. Newer 900 series combined the flange attachment with the 4 screws holding the lens on. Simpler and cheaper. The newest LED 900 stuff is flush mount, with no giant hole needed in the ambo box.