Glad to be of assistance. I've spent far too much brain power on bump steer over the past few months.

 

Part 40.5 of my '76 Mazda RX-5 Cosmo restoration is here! And you know what that fraction means. Yes, it means I am joined by my dear friend Rose Cora Perry for this special update episode. The changes I mentioned at the end of episode 40 are happening now, so I thought it was time to release a little update as to what's going on and when the next video can be expected. It's still going to be quite some time before the next Cosmo episode but at least now you know why.

 

Congrats on the new place. Looks like you'll have lots of loom room.

 

yep, getting a new place is definitely going to affect the mod budget. Great little update vid though.
Looks like things are going to go very well in the foreseeable future.

 

My boy Aaron is growing up.So cute!lol

 

Here's some inspiration!

 

That is a pretty cool RX-3. Shame about running it with a Microtech though. Love the blacked out bumpers/trim which I have planned for the Cosmo. I want to do black chrome, however after seeing this the paint looks very good as well. Decision time. Paint is certainly a LOT cheaper than black Chrome.

And with all of Jay's rotary experience, he still doesn't seem to know fact from myth. I wasn't aware that one had to keep the engine under 5K for the seals to last 100,000 miles. Learn something everyday I guess.

 

New part is out and I've got a few questions and remarks:
1. why are you using the analogRead() and not the digitalRead(), your inputs are normaly on or of and nothing in between.
2. the pcb: the traces may be a bit thicker and watch out with the positive and negative trace and nuts/washers. Normally its not a issue in a tail light.
3. the input of the opto's can be better protected: put a zenerdiode of 15V over pin 1 and 2 of the opto, if the Voltage rises over 15V the zener will divert that the over Voltage to ground.
4. what did you use for the ERZ-V20D220 when I check suppliers its EOL?

Cheers keep them coming

 

Surprise! Part 41 of my 76 Mazda Cosmo restoration is here! Part 41 is the first in a two part episode covering the conversion of the unique Cosmo tail lights from outdated incandescent light bulbs to modern LEDs. I decided to pattern my tail lights after those of the 2012 Dodge Charger, creating an outline of large LEDs, and filling the rest of the lights with small LEDs. I know it's been a while since my last episode, mainly because I've been sharing my Cosmo time with the time spent working on my new house, setting up the new shop, getting my RX-7 back on the road, oh and those little things like job, food and sleep. So I chose the tail light project because it was something I could work an hour here and there on, without requiring a fully functional shop. So here, I cover deciding on the LEDs, designing the control circuit based on an Arduino ATTINY85, and then beginning the actual LED'ding of the tail lights starting with the reverse lights. Circuit boards are designed, etched and assembled, then the new LED illumination added to the reverse lights. In the 2nd half of this episode, we'll cover the brake and turn signal lights, building the controller and integrating it all together into a spectacular assembly.

Circuit schematics, source code and PCB designs in this episode can be found at:
Halo Style Arduino Controlled LED Tail Lights Schematics and Source - My 1976 Mazda RX-5 Cosmo Restoration

 

Surprise I was faster

ps. I'm the same person as Damicske on youtube

 

Mainly because when I was learning to program the Arduino with a Tiny on a breadboard, one LED, and wire to 5V for input, I just used analogRead(). Then I copied and pasted into the actual project. I guess I should swap it to digitalRead() as it is far less CPU costly.

That first PCB was a little sloppy in layout (note the +- bus extending past the last LEDs). I ground the trace back a little when I enlarged the holes. Plus, the nylon washers insulate and the mounting bolts thread into a plastic housing. The later PCBs for the controller, and now the other light sections, are much better.

Ah, good point. I guess I should be kind to the opto LEDs. Looking at the datasheet the max LED voltage is 1.7V and max reverse bias is only 6V. Will modify the board for some zeners. Plenty of room.

I used an ERZ-V20D220. Just wandered into my local electronics store, ordered some, and they arrived a few days later. Not sure who they bought from.

 

Man, is there anything you don't know how to make or do??
I like how you're using the cutting edge of tech to make a template (winxp machine)

Question, what happens when one of those LEDs give out?

 

Thanks Aaron, did a check on those ERZ-V20D220 and they are still in stock (Mouser) but limited with a warning that you don't use it in new designs (mass production), my mistake

@Neo: then that string of led's will go out.

 

My hobby was electronics before it was cars. But I haven't done much in the way of electronics for many years past working with Megasquirts. Then jumping into this world of Arduino was an eye opener. I still find it amazing I can buy an 8MHz programmable CPU for under $2!

As mentioned, if one of the LEDs fails then all the LEDs in series with that one would also go out. For the reverse lights, that means one LED failure will take out two total LEDs. On the rest of the tail lights, there are series-parallel strings so one LED failure could take out up to 5 LEDs. But, when's the last time an LED failed? That's the nice thing about LEDs. If there was a failure, it would probably be a better use of time to etch and assemble another circuit board vs. removing the coatings from the existing board, finding the bad LED, swapping it, re-coating.


That sort of sucks for B&G. They are going to have to find a substitute, or change the Megasquirt V3/3.5 board to accommodate a new part.

 

Nah just switch over to ERZ-V14D220 its better and smaller.

 

Just a little update on what's happening with the car and the shop.

 

Ha private video :9 maybe you can do some time lapse of the shop rebuild

 

The video is just "unlisted", not private. It works for me on a browser logged out from YouTube and the forum.

 

Ow yeah that's a difference

C'mon post/mail Can I haz my boardz pleazz :p

 

Just think, if you made the boards you'd have them now.

 

That must be your philosophy for everything. That plus "if you want something done right, do it yourself". Certainly inspirational.

Now all we need are bumper stickers that say "What Would Aaron Cake Do?" (of course none of us would dare to put stickers on our cars... but that's beside the point!)

 

Yes but then they aren't so nice as they are now and I ordered the rest of the parts today.

 

No reason you couldn't dye them white, apply the silk screening, and apply a solder mask to make them look as nice as a commercially produced board. Increases the work require significantly though.

 

A little update...

 

The man is alive! Good to hear.

Here's hoping you'll get things sorted with the house before tackling more of the car.

Looking good so far!