Strobbing Tailights?

bridqer · 06-19-2005, 12:46 PM

Does anyone else notice some of the higher end cars have tailights that strobe very fast? I only notice it at night when I look around and see a a trail of dots instead of a streak. I know the Infinity SUV has these tailights and few other cars. Anyone know why they strobe? I have pointed these cars out to some people I have been driving with, but not everyone can see the strobbing.

Curiosity · 06-19-2005, 01:03 PM

Something like this?
http://www.mineolamoto.com/catalog_p...cturerCode=755
It says 2 times per second, so maybe faster than that?

xdjxklusivex · 06-19-2005, 01:18 PM

LEDs my friend :-D quicker same blinking rate on the electric blinker just that leds light up faster and take less power-- one tail light im running on myexplorer is a led conversion 80 leds in 1 tail light housing (im not done with the other side yet) but you can tell the difference it is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy brighter and it lights up wayyyyyyyyy faster :-D

bridqer · 06-19-2005, 01:30 PM

Actually the strobbing occurs only with the tail lights and not the brake lights. I wonder if is because they use LEDs and can get two levels of brightness by the LED pulsating.

bridqer · 06-19-2005, 01:42 PM

Well you confimed my suspicions as I was typing. Do all automotive LED lights have this effect? I have seen amber marker light on busses, semi trucks and the mirrors of pickup trucks that are strobbing. On most of these tail lights I cannot see the strobing when looking directly at them, but I have seen 1 or 2 older cars where the frequency seemed slower and the lights appeared to vibrate when looking directly at them

Curiosity · 06-19-2005, 01:42 PM

I bet you're right! It's probably easier than reducing the voltage. It might take less power too.

The problem I had with less power is that the blinker was too slow. I had to replace the capacitor with a smaller one. It's a little fast now, but I like it.

Curiosity · 06-19-2005, 01:48 PM

Mine don't strobe, just dimmer. I have seen traffic signals do it though, but I just figured the power supply was messed up or something.

rushnrockt · 06-19-2005, 03:05 PM

The blinking works the same as for the 7-segment displays, those are not actually continuosly on to save power. I am surprised that the break lights are not pulsating as well, because from what I've been reading, pulsating light gets person's attention faster.
At the same time I have not noticed any of that myself, i guess i am just tooooo slow

xdjxklusivex · 06-19-2005, 03:19 PM

:-D this is going to be a nice long post lol all i can say is the leds i got on my tail lights are BRIGHT about 10 times brighter then stock

Scouse Monkey · 06-19-2005, 04:06 PM

isn't it basically pwm dimming. that is the best way to dim LEDs. They can then simuate the lights going brighter when the brake is pressed.

bridqer · 06-19-2005, 11:57 PM

This is just my theory(that is I have absolutly no evidence to support this idea) as to why some people can see the strobbing effect and others cannot. There is a reason why the refresh rates on monitors are 60 hertz and above. Remember the 56 hertz or possibly possibly lower monitors and how they were awful to look at. I think the average human brain works a frequency that 60 hertz is a multiple of. So, perhaps only those with brain wave of higher(or certain) frequencies can see the stobbing, pulsing or flickering. My guess is that the flicker is not noticable when staring at the lights because of brief retinal burn-in so the brain interpets it as continuous.

So, who has the higher(or certain) frequency brain waves?
I see flickering lights in many places(dim conditions), some cars, the changeble speed limit signs on the 495, floor lighting in some movie theaters.

0l33l · 06-20-2005, 12:23 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by xdjxklusivex

LEDs my friend :-D quicker same blinking rate on the electric blinker just that leds light up faster and take less power-- one tail light im running on myexplorer is a led conversion 80 leds in 1 tail light housing (im not done with the other side yet) but you can tell the difference it is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy brighter and it lights up wayyyyyyyyy faster :-D

1/2 tail lights done... ghetto

NiN^_^NiN · 06-20-2005, 04:56 AM

I've got a higher brainwave i guess i notice the lights but to me they flicker brighter for half a sec then are at the right range then flicker brighter again when the brake is applied.

Maybe that means im medium branwaved lol or the LED's are setup different in australia ???

rushnrockt · 06-20-2005, 05:17 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by bridqer

This is just my theory(that is I have absolutly no evidence to support this idea) as to why some people can see the strobbing effect and others cannot. There is a reason why the refresh rates on monitors are 60 hertz and above. Remember the 56 hertz or possibly possibly lower monitors and how they were awful to look at. I think the average human brain works a frequency that 60 hertz is a multiple of. So, perhaps only those with brain wave of higher(or certain) frequencies can see the stobbing, pulsing or flickering. My guess is that the flicker is not noticable when staring at the lights because of brief retinal burn-in so the brain interpets it as continuous.

So, who has the higher(or certain) frequency brain waves?
I see flickering lights in many places(dim conditions), some cars, the changeble speed limit signs on the 495, floor lighting in some movie theaters.

Not a brainwave thing, since there isn't really a "brain operating frequency" but basically the sensitivity of the eye. Basically it is the same as our hearing, we can only comprehend consciously certain kind of frequencies. Actually how tired you are can affect that. Your eyesight is also such that your peripheral vision is less detailed or accurate, so you see the dimming more pronounced that way than straight on, basically what you called "burn-in" effect, since the eye is more sensitive AND is getting more light from LED when looking straight on.

P.S. IF there was such a thing as brain operating frequency, I would be a 486-DX2 66MHz with no ram.

NiN^_^NiN · 06-20-2005, 08:01 AM

that sounds right i got tested about 2 years back at school and my hearing was very high up in the pitch scale and my eye sight is crystal clear.