Greetings, I am new to the forum so if this is not the right spot to post im sorry. I am an automotive and heavy equipment diesel technician and i have a pretty good understanding of LEDs and circuits. my project is a 1947 Chevy load master 2 ton truck that I am fixing up into a stationary sign so to speak. I am in the process of putting LEDs in all of the original lights. The one thing i need help with is one of the head lights. These old trucks were know for when they were coming up the road towards you one of the heads lights would go dim or flicker when the truck hit a bump because of a bad ground or connection. What i want to do is make the LED randomly flicker and then stay bright for a period and then randomly flicker again. i think i can get the flicker i want using a LED candle module. Im wondering if any of you can point me in the direction of some kind of timer that i can use to run the LED bright and then flicker and if possible point me to a timer that could be set at randoms or several different times. Also if any of you have any other ideas on the flicker id love to hear them. Thanks!

 

Greetings, I am new to the forum so if this is not the right spot to post im sorry. I am an automotive and heavy equipment diesel technician and i have a pretty good understanding of LEDs and circuits. my project is a 1947 Chevy load master 2 ton truck that I am fixing up into a stationary sign so to speak. I am in the process of putting LEDs in all of the original lights. The one thing i need help with is one of the head lights. These old trucks were know for when they were coming up the road towards you one of the heads lights would go dim or flicker when the truck hit a bump because of a bad ground or connection. What i want to do is make the LED randomly flicker and then stay bright for a period and then randomly flicker again. i think i can get the flicker i want using a LED candle module. Im wondering if any of you can point me in the direction of some kind of timer that i can use to run the LED bright and then flicker and if possible point me to a timer that could be set at randoms or several different times. Also if any of you have any other ideas on the flicker id love to hear them. Thanks!

A hefty series pass MOSFET might do it. A handy tip - one manufacturer accidentally discovered that a melody chip can be used to modulate LED current for the most realistic candle flicker effect. That would be an enhancement to the delay - if you want it to flicker on the bumpy bits; use a trembler or mercury tilt switch to trigger the effect. A monostable is probably the best kind of delay circuit.

 

I'd throw in an arduino with some mosfet output drivers and do everything in software, the added benefit is that you could add other features easily like monitoring for daylight conditions or indicators or perhaps even sounds or motor/solenoid control to activate some mechanical feature or look for rain and turn on the wipers. Load of options.