Lighting

[HOLLYWOOD33]

Added some lights using the includes lenses and backing plates. Didn't need to mod a thing which was great. Fully waterproof and seriously bright on 3S.



It was actually 15 minutes before it was dark and the phone made it look quite light.



I was really impressed with how it turned out and how much light they put out considering there is just two LEDs per headlight.



I just need a wide light bar for the rack now and to wire up some rock lights under the guards.

Would you mind sharing what lights you used and may a pic or two of the underside of the body?

I finally opened up my box last night and briefly played around midnight. I was thinking how cool it would be full of lights!

Nice job!

 

[CoolRunning]

It's nothing fancy but I've used the same technique on my other trucks with great success. I didn't also want to spend up big on lighting as it can get seriously expensive for multiple trucks and no one seems to also make affordable bright rock lights. Additionally I was concerned about shorting out the ESC and all the expensive electronics if I had a short with the lights and burning everything out so I went a totally separate circuit though everyone to their own here.

I used some 12v silicone garden strip lights which were cheap and I got 5 metres. I measure the wire roughly and wire them up in series and then I clamped them into the lighting lenses with the supplied brackets. It was a perfect fit as two LEDs fit per light bucket/lense. One for the front centre and one for the ancillary light. I did not care for indicators or working brake lights.

I then hot glued the wire at points to the inside of the body which can be easily removed. I also hot glued the LED connections so they can't bend and short after bashing around. I run EC3 connectors for my lipos and added a short bit from the front light to an EC3 also hot glued for strength (I quickly learned to use thicker wire for the last bit as pulling lipos apart quickly breaks thin wire). I then added Velcro to the crossmember between the front wheels on the inside of the body and a short Velcro strap round the crossmember. This is where I secure my little lipo. It's very secure and cannot move or be punctured. It does not foul anything and is easily accessible.

I run an $8 800ma 3S lipo. Dirt cheap and it provides me with two separate circuits for peace of mind though you could easily make a piggy back plug and run off your main lipo though. It gives ~3 hours continuous lighting to 3.75v with about 30 super bright LEDs.

I'm going to use the same little battery for my upcoming winch too as I've never needed more than 2 hours run time at night and I can always grab another $8 lipo.

I've had the setup shining brightly underwater and it was dirt cheap and easy to wire up. Affordable to do 5 trucks for all sorts of lights.

The photos above were run on 2S. My son and I regularly run our trucks around at night and with about 30 LEDs for lights and rocks lights mean you can see exactly what you are doing and you don't need actual torches. It's good fun and opened up what we do with the trucks.

I'll post some underside picks later on; I plan to do rock lights soon. Prob 3 LEDs per wheel well or 3 front/rear per axle will be the ticket for being able to see what I'm crawling over.

Would you mind sharing what lights you used and may a pic or two of the underside of the body?

I finally opened up my box last night and briefly played around midnight. I was thinking how cool it would be full of lights!

Nice job!

 

[HOLLYWOOD33]

Thank you very much for the explanation. Pics would certainly help, but no rush. I like the idea of a separate power source than the truck. Seems less complicated and safer for the stock ESC as you mentioned.