who has done their own clear rear light conversion? ive just pulled mine apart and im going to use the plastic from a strip light diffuser due to the fact that im currently poor and i dont wanna wait because i have no patience. when inserting your newly cut light diffuser do you attach it to the place the original come out of or to the actual clear lense itself? i have notice the originals are slightly curved.

I did exactly the same (needed a strip-light for the loft anyway!).

 

I cut down the sides of the diffuser as much as possible so that it can flex enough, BUT leaving tabs in the middle, in similar places to the original diffuser. The insert of the outer cover will help press the left and right of new diffuser into place, and the tabs in the middle will push the middle bit out. No actual attachment was required.

 

Also watch out for the one of the corners of the diffuser (inside-bottom I think... hee hee I just read that and it's funny :rofl: )- there's a little cut-out in the original which is to allow a tab from the outer cover to press into the main assembly. If you don't copy it, you may find you crack the diffuser.

 

Mark

where abouts did you get the diffuser from? did you have to buy the light with it? im doing the brake lights aswell as the indicators

you can buy red bulbs cant you? just before i turn my brake lights clear

I got my striplight from B&Q- I didn't do too much research on other options, just found a diffuser pattern I liked and which was the right length and width. As it happens, the width was spot on. And yes, I bought the whole lot as one, which didn't bother me as I needed one anyway.

 

And yes, you can get red bulbs, but I don't know the best place.

 

Mark

do the diffusers have different patterns? are there any problems with the legalities from different patterns

Different patterns, yes. I went for one that was fairly clear and had a simple, kind of lensing effect. You can get others that are more opaque, with a flatter look. My logic was that it would have less of a problem in direct sunlight.

 

Legality-wise, I think you'd be down in the detail before you found anything illegal. Strictly speaking I'm sure light clusters have to have been designed and tested to meet certain standards. By changing that design and not having it officially (e.g. to BS standards) approved, it's then not going to be legal.

 

However, providing it actually works ok, no-one's going to notice. So it comes down to how well the bulb shines through. I originally had silvered indicator bulbs, but decided to ditch them as they're not as bright as standard amber bulbs. Newer LED-replacement bulbs might be better, but I'm not sure how the light spread compares.