Turn Signal Spoiler

[hemiwagn]

This mod involves installing two LED strips in the rear face of the factory magnum spoiler. I would rate the mod "difficult." Painting of the modified spoiler (with the LEDs not installed) is likely required. Painting is not covered by this write up. Also removal and replacement of the spoiler on the car is not covered as there is already an excellent write-up in the knowledge base: Magnum Spoiler removal 101.

I'll start with some pics of what the finished product looks like so the reader can get a general idea of the mod.

Pic of the finished spoiler on the work table with LEDs on.


Detail pic of one side, LEDs off.


Tools required:
Dremel with cut-off wheel
Flat and round files
Black silicone
Fine point Sharpie or equivalent
Sharp knife
Electrical tape
Masking or painters tape (to hold/clamp things as the silicone cures)

Time required: 5-10 hrs, depending how confident you are on cutting the spoiler slot.

THE LEDs
I used the 12" long flex led strip from www.customdynmics.com This is a good product with just 1mm spacing between the leds so the strip looks like a solid yellow line. The bad news is those items are expensive at $90/side.

The LEDs come with an extra long compact clear "D" channel to give them rigidity and to protect them from the weather.




The LEDs slip into the "D" Channel and a small cap is fitted on each end.


The pkg comes with some extra end caps


Note there are two kinds of caps, open and solid. The solid is shown on the right below and goes in the end with no wires.


Cut the "D" channel to final length. Lay out the components and don't forget to allow for the stub of the end cap that fits inside the "D" channel.


Because my car is black, I had the "D" channel tinted. I had Jons Tinted Tails tint mine, but most shops can do this, or you could try using NightShades and paint them yourself. HINT: tint a few extra end caps, both types--it is very easy to misplace one of them!


Wiring the LEDs is easy. Yellow wire is (+) and black is ground (-). (FYI:Red LEDs come with a red wire instead of a yellow one.)
The wires are small gage and can be run through the same passage way into the main compartment as the center brake light.

[hemiwagn]

There are actually 3 areas to cut per side.
The front (this is actually done LAST) and 2 layers on the back.

The spoiler is constructed with a "U" shaped cross brace between the top and bottom layers.

Here is a rough cross-section sketch of the spoiler:


You will cut each layer of the cross brace separately. The back layer (obviously) runs the full length. The inner layer, if I recall correctly, does not -- it is only placed to add strength as needed.

The exposed side of the cross brace is shown in this pic from Netsrac (thanks Carsten!)


This is a pic in the washer nozzle area. The material to the left of the nozzle has been cut out. The pink tube is just placed there to show the empty void that the LED "D" channel partially sits in. You can see the "U" shaped cross brace to the right of the nozzle.

[hemiwagn]

First a confession. I started this project but did not finish it. I knew I would run out of time so I asked the Concepts on Wheels guys (they are doing the concept car hood for me) to finish it. I started the cutting out of the cross braces so I know first hand how that was, but I did none of the cutting of the LED slot. However, the Concepts guys gave me a good description of the process they went through. Unfortunately I do not have pics of that work being done.

Okay, back to the how-to...

I used my dremel with a cut-off wheel to do the rough cuts of the cross bracing.

Mark out the areas freehand with a sharpie so you know where to cut. Use these cuts as 'learning experiences' for the led slot cuts. You could possibly use a drill or die grinder with a larger cutting wheel if you are confident with that. HINT: leave at least 4 decent sized pieces of the 'scrap' material -- they will be used for support braces later.

I learned that this material likes to melt pretty quickly if you force the cut by either too high a speed or too much pressure on the cutting wheel.
So my advice is to do the cut out smaller than what you want to do initially until you get the hang of it. In all likely hood you will have to file off the rough edges where the material heats up. The material removes quickly with a sharp file.

In order to gain access to properly attach the LED "D" channel, you need to remove the full length of bracing. Filler support braces are added later to restore strength to the spoiler structure.

Here is an overall pic of the back of the finished spoiler:



Detail pic of the bracing removed (this pic is the side without the washer nozzle). The pink tube is just there to show the void where the LED "D" channel goes.


Here's a medium detail pic of that side (the 2 support braces were added later):



Detail pic of the end where the spoiler narrows (outside edge of the car).
This is a 'later' pic with the led "D" channel installed, which we will cover below.

[hemiwagn]

Okay, to this point you should have:
1. Led "D" channels cut to final length (leave the LED boards out of the "D" channel at this stage.)
2. Back support bracing removed.

Now it is time to cut the LED slot.
I apologize, I do not have any pics of this crucial stage, so I will try to be as descriptive as possible and use pics of the finished product to help illustrate things.

The LED "D" channel is fitted from the back into the slot you are about to cut into the spoiler. The "D" channel face is rounded and I recommend that you cut the slot slightly narrower than the "D" channel to ensure a good fit and minimize any gaps. Suggest the slot be just wide enough to allow the "D" channel to fit up to approximately the depth marked in the pic below.


Tape the "D" channel on the outside edge of the spoiler in the position you want it to be in.
Here is a general pic of the relative position I used:


Once it is taped on, trace the outline of the "D" channel. Use a fine point sharpie. Don't scribe it in because the final cut will be SMALLER than the space between the lines (as described above).

Okay, now the moment of truth - cutting the finished side of the spoiler!
I suggest you do not start right at the end since that is curved and has to be finished with a round file. Your initial cut should be approx 1/2 between the outlines you drew in the step above. The spoiler material may melt and so you do not want to go 'right to the edge' with the cutting wheel. You just want to cut enough material away to be able to fit the file in the slot. You may want to do this is sections, it is up to you.

Once the slot is wide enough to clear the file, try filing some sections. Remember you are filing to something smaller than the lines you drew. Take your time. Like they say in gun smithing, it is much harder to put material back than take it off. Cut a surplus piece of the "D" channel and test fit from time to time.

Gee I really wish I had pics of these steps as they were done, sorry everyone...

Anyway, here is a detail pic of the finished product, note how the slot was carefully cut and filed out to match the contour of the "D" channel.



This is another detail pic of the finished product from a different angle. This pic shows how the "D" channel does not protrude from the spoiler to it's full depth. If I did it over again, I would sink the "D" channel in even a bit more.


Continue this process until you are satisfied with the fit of the "D" channel. Repeat on the other side.
When done, have a beer or other favorite beverage and take a nap. You'll need it.

[hemiwagn]

Ok the hard part is done. Time now now to put stuff together.

Install the led boards in the "D" channels and insert the little end caps (open cap for wires, closed cap for the end with no wires).

If possible test the LEDs to be sure they light. Any 12V source is fine. Yellow wire to positive, black wire to ground.

Assuming everything checks out, place the 'loaded' "D" channel in the spoiler slots. Arrange them so that the connection wires are near the center brake light.
It is a good idea to raise the spoiler on blocks to allow the "D" channel to protrude.

Then simply silicone them in per the picture below. Be careful not to have the silicone seep out to the finished side of the spoiler. It is a good idea to wrap some painters tape around the spoiler to help 'squeeze' the LED slot while it is setting. Let dry overnight.



Final structural step is to add the support braces.

Cut 4 support braces (2 per side) from the scrap left over from removing the factory cross bracing.
They are located as shown in the pic above.

The support braces are attached using the same silicone used to attach the "D" channels.
Here is a detail pic showing how they are positioned.


Once they are siliconed, suggest the top and bottom of the spoiler be gently clamped and the piece set aside to cure overnight.

Wiring:
I don't have my car back to install the spoiler yet, so these instructions are going to be brief and general in nature.

Just to be safe, I intend to run the the power wire AND the ground wire from each LED side all the way to each side's tail light connector.

On the spoiler side, I'm going to run the wires on the same path as the center brake light wires. To allow for service, there should be a connector (bullet connectors or something more OEM like a dedicated 4 terminal connector) at the same length as the brake light connector.

On the body side, run 4 wires through the flex hose between the spoiler and the body, with 2 wires routed down each side to the tail light connector. It is probably easier if you use one color for ground and another for power, and don't forget to label you wires (masking tape with a notation on it is fine) as to which wire is right and left.

From the service manual, it appears that on the body harness, ground is a black wire with a brown stripe on both sides. The right side power is white with a yellow stripe. The left side power is white with a dark green stripe.


I will post pics of this step once I get my car back and do the actual install.

[hemiwagn]

Different lighting schemes:

Some have asked about modifying this mod for brake light service.

I would say that is possible. The flex LEDs also come in red with a red "D" channel. I used some of them when I added hidden LED strips below my stock tail lights. See: Magnum LED tail strips

Others asked if it was possible to do one big long honk'n brake light strip end to end and fill in the factory centre brake light hole. Yes this is possible. You would need a custom length "D" channel but the custom dynamics people will do that for you (they apparently have rolls of the stuff that could be cut to length). Next you would have to solder a few 12" strips together into one long strip. This is not hard if you are comfortable soldering -- the back of the led strips soldering would be something like this:


Now that makes me think of a cool mod --- brake light strips in the spoiler and replace the factory centre brake light with a nice fog or flood light or some MR11 bulbs or the new ultra bright white LEDs-- whatever--to give some real illumination back there!

The possibilities are endless--you could do both brake and signal - 6" of each per side. It is really up to you and your budget.

Alternative mounting option:
If you don't want to go through the complexity of cutting a slot in the spoiler, you could consider just sticking the "D" channel onto the spoiler face. Okay maybe not as cool but a reasonable alternative. The channel is just under 3/8" deep. It may look fine on dark colors when the channel is tinted.

The "D" channel already comes with a strip of 3M adhesive applied. (red backing).


When used with the adhesion promoter (avail from custom dynamics too) it really holds well.


All that would be necessary is to drill some small holes to feed the wires though.

Okay, that wraps this item -- I'm going to reserve the next post for some installed pics on my car -- probably about two weeks.

[hemiwagn]

Post reserved to load pics of the spoiler installed on the Hemiwagn

[Netsrac]

Alternative mounting option:
If you don't want to go through the complexity of cutting a slot in the spoiler, you could consider just sticking the "D" channel onto the spoiler face. Okay maybe not as cool but a reasonable alternative. The channel is just under 3/8" deep. It may look fine on dark colors when the channel is tinted.

The "D" channel already comes with a strip of 3M adhesive applied. (red backing).

Great write up, I will probably do the less intense install, as I can see a lot of things going wrong if I attempted the same as you.

Do you know how thick the plastic is in the back? I plan on milling down a channel for the led's to sit in, but I would need to know how much I can mill without going through.

Also was the pic you took of the LED's on without the tint?

Thanks

[hemiwagn]

Great write up, I will probably do the less intense install, as I can see a lot of things going wrong if I attempted the same as you.

Do you know how thick the plastic is in the back? I plan on milling down a channel for the led's to sit in, but I would need to know how much I can mill without going through.

Also was the pic you took of the LED's on without the tint?

Thanks

thanks Carsten.

The less intense version is a good way to start and if you don't like it, just remove them. I have some empty untinted D Channels I can mail you if you would like to do a mock up.

The pic with the LEDs on was WITH the tint. The one with the red tape was without tint.

I am not sure of the spoiler material thickness but I would guess only 1/16th of an inch, max. I'll take some measurements on the weekend.

[Super T]

Did you happen to catch if they offer split-circuit strips? Every-other-bulb on two different circuits type thing? Or do they offer multi-colors? I'd call 'em but it's kinda late :-p

[RobAGD]

Great write up !

I was thinking of plunge routering the hole for the D channles, the trick would be a guide that follows the soiler arc.

-R

[grinner]

sweeet
still wanna french in a whole long 3rd brake light in the whole wing.

[Darthvader]

I aplaud all your hard work on this mod. Very impressive

[Jaak]

Great work Hemiwagn!!!! (I should know... LOL!)

Remind me next time to talk to you about tips on soldering iron tip maintenance... That's one narly looking tip and with a couple of little things to make it better, your soldering will be helped as well. The first tip for anyone who's curious is to remember that the flux is bad for it, so keep your tip clean with a damp sponge. (The iron's tip, not yours...) Proper tinning of the tip before you use it, will also help it's life.

[402 Motoring]

You guys have way to much time on your hands. Good write up though.