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Fifth-Gen Camaro LED Taillight Kit - Attention GettersAdd some flash and an extra margin of safety to your fifth-gen Camaro with an LED taillight kit From the February, 2012 issue of Camaro Performers By Steven Rupp Photography by The Author
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Incandescent bulbs have been used in cars for many decades, but in the last few years manufacturers have been slowly moving towards LED technology. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are found in everything from watches to computers. Recently they’ve started replacing traditional bulbs in newer vehicles. Why? For a few reasons; they are brighter, draw less current, and light up faster than incandescent bulbs. Best of all, since they don’t have a filament to burn out, they last a whole lot longer and don’t get especially hot. With people driving faster and jabbering on their cell phones, you want to make sure they notice when you hit the brakes. Upgrading your taillights to a brighter LED system is one way to snap them out of their stupor and get their attention. But the change to LEDs has been gradual, and so far only the high-end rides have been given the LED treatment. While we consider the new Camaro to be in the high-end category, GM decided to ship their LEDs to the factory that makes Cadillacs. Lucky for us the aftermarket has stepped in to give the new Camaro taillights as cool as the rest of the car.  The fifth-gen taillight kit...  The fifth-gen taillight kit from Technostalgia runs $400 and includes four replacement housings filled with 176 super-bright LEDs. The lamps feature dark-red lenses like what’s offered by GM in the RS package.  Each housing is specific to...  Each housing is specific to its location in the back of the car and is identified by a colored sticker. This one is blue, so it was destined for the outside passenger spot. The LEDs came already installed in the housings with all the wires ready to go, which made installation a snap.  After pulling the carpet from...  After pulling the carpet from the trunk, we removed the large plastic trunk liner. It was held in place by the six hand nuts that hold the cargo net.  We then removed the taillamp...  We then removed the taillamp access door by popping out the three reusable plastic fasteners.  The chrome taillight bezels...  The chrome taillight bezels are fragile, so we took our time with the removal process. They were held in place by six tabs. Being careful not to bend (and hence break) the tabs, we gently used our fingers to press the bezel straight out of the fascia.  After removing the bulb sockets...  After removing the bulb sockets from the existing taillamps, we used a 10mm socket to remove the three nuts holding the housing in place.  The incandescent bulbs were...  The incandescent bulbs were then removed and the wire coming out of the new housing is plugged into its socket. Unlike all the other wiring, there is a right and wrong way to do this. The good news is you have a 50/50 chance of getting it right. Per the instructions, we lined up the white line on the new plug with the large ramp on the bulb holder.  With the old taillights out,...  With the old taillights out, we then disconnected the taillamp harness.  The taillamp harness passed...  The taillamp harness passed from inside the trunk, through a grommet, and then to the taillamps. We popped out this grommet, cut a small slit in it, and then passed the new harness from Technostalgia through it.  Technostalgia touts their...  Technostalgia touts their systems as requiring “no electrical knowledge, no splicing, and no cutting,” which we found to be true. Everything was comprised of foolproof, weather-tight connectors.  Before installing the new...  Before installing the new LED taillight housings, we made sure to peer inside and check that the dip switches were set to how we wanted the lights to “perform.” We also made sure that all four lights were set the same. We chose to set the RapidFire brake lights and sequential turn signals to the “on” position.  With the taillights in place...  With the taillights in place and wired up, this was the result. The white leads from the resistor pack plugged into the orange harness leads and the resistors were then stuck to the car using the supplied double-sided tape. The resistor packs are there to trick the car into thinking it still has the old-school bulbs, much like how no-load flashers are used when retrofitting LEDs into older cars.  The last step was to connect...  The last step was to connect the pink power lead to the positive battery terminal. There was also a purple wire that is used if you want to utilize the system's “show mode.” We’re just not that flashy, so we left it disconnected. With that done, we reinstalled the taillamp access covers and the trunk parts. Total installation time for the kit was a leisurely 40 minutes.  The AfterBurner taillights...  The AfterBurner taillights look super cool. This mode lights all 20 of the primary LEDs (but dimmed) along with 24 more LEDs arranged around the lower � perimeter of each lamp.  [Before] We’ve had our cars...  [Before] We’ve had our cars rear-ended by inattentive drivers, so anything that wakes them out of their stupor is a great idea. The RapidFire setting causes the brake lights to flash three times in rapid succession followed by a constant “on” each time the brake pedal is pressed. If you want to see for yourself, then check out Technostalgia’s website (cool-leds.com) for some video action.  [After] We’ve had our cars...  [After] We’ve had our cars rear-ended by inattentive drivers, so anything that wakes them out of their stupor is a great idea. The RapidFire setting causes the brake lights to flash three times in rapid succession followed by a constant “on” each time the brake pedal is pressed. If you want to see for yourself, then check out Technostalgia’s website (cool-leds.com) for some video action.
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