Lighted Pony Project (back it!)

Reign of Ravens

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Is the lighted pony still available for purchase? I can't find how/where to buy one.
The original in this thread was for a Kickstarter project. Since then, EV-Vida has made some of their own.

Here's the front-lighted version.
There's also a lighted rear emblem that illuminates red when braking.

Of note, I haven't purchased or installed either of these - I keep the tabs open in case some day I gather up the courage to do the installation, but for now I'm still using the stock emblems on my own Mach-E.
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itzbilly

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Received an email from John last night but the main point was the following:

Just before procuring the final prototype version of the lighted emblem design for testing, 3rd Way Co. received a letter from Ford’s lawyers. It demanded the project shutdown and the destruction of any remaining materials with proof. Ford also gave an official rejection to licensing requests. One reason cited was that they have already developed a lighted emblem for the MME. It was not clear if the department responding to the request realized that their existing design only works with the GT model (not over 98% of the models on the road). They also cited “strict regulations” and “high quality standards.” This was a big blow for a project that was almost finished and forced an immediate pause of all operations. Since then, efforts shifted to immediate compliance with Ford’s requests. That included stripping the website, videos, and instructions. All materials related to the project were destroyed, and a lawyer was retained to handle the responses to Ford’s lawyers appropriately, which included leaving the door open should they change their minds.
 

sgriffin130

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Just got the email from John Kennedy on the shutting-down of the Pony Project. I know nothing about auto electronics so I am wondering if the Pony was wired to the BCM/fusebox do I still need to add the Zener diode?
 


sgriffin130

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Mine is working fine thus far. Had it installed by Cartronics in Nashville area.
Just went to have the diode installed by the company that installed the Pony(Cartronics-12v shop). Apparently, the light was working intermittently and after they installed the diode, per the included instructions, sent by John Kennedy it quit working completely. They took the diode out and it still doesn't work. I would advise anyone considering installing this to not bother. Lesson learned about Kickstarter projects.
 

New2EV

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Just went to have the diode installed by the company that installed the Pony(Cartronics-12v shop). Apparently, the light was working intermittently and after they installed the diode, per the included instructions, sent by John Kennedy it quit working completely. They took the diode out and it still doesn't work. I would advise anyone considering installing this to not bother. Lesson learned about Kickstarter projects.
When did you buy your lighted pony? And do you know which version? I had an early model and John didn't account for higher voltages seen on some cars. It was designed for 12v and not much more. Some Mach E's get to 14.5 (like a gas car alternator). It went out and was heating up to about 135F. John ended up sending a new one eventually...but that was all before his legal troubles.
 

RedDragon

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For those of you who had the zener diode already installed on your pony when it came, were both the white wire and red wire tied into the diode? Mine new pony just looks like the white wire is tied into it. In the picture below you can see a tiny bit of the red wire peaking out of the grey sheathing. The white wire is fully connected to the diode.

Does this mean I don't need to attach the red wire to anything anymore? The white will just run to the firewall/bcm and the black to the headlight harness?

PXL_20230424_185004514.jpg
 

RickMachE

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I wonder why EV-Vida continues to sell the emblem.
I have no idea if the products EV-Vida sells are licensed.

There are many companies selling many products, largely produced in China, that don't bother with licensing. They figure they are small potatoes, and companies like Ford don't care. When a product is promoted "in the face" of a company, it has to be dealt with, and this one was. I raised that question early on in the Kickstarter and John said it wouldn't be an issue. Having worked in licensed products in the past, I knew that eventually wouldn't be the case.

When you buy any product, you need to consider many things, including after purchase support, i.e. will a company be around to support it? That was the main reason I didn't buy the Kickstarter, because I saw this coming. And, why I don't buy products, if I can help it, made by companies that I've not heard of. Go to Amazon and pick a product, and look at the sellers. Read the descriptions and look at the pictures, often they are all identical. A year from now you can't rebuy because the "company" is gone.

I give John a lot of credit for his initiative, but unfortunately this was a foregone conclusion.
 

sgriffin130

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When did you buy your lighted pony? And do you know which version? I had an early model and John didn't account for higher voltages seen on some cars. It was designed for 12v and not much more. Some Mach E's get to 14.5 (like a gas car alternator). It went out and was heating up to about 135F. John ended up sending a new one eventually...but that was all before his legal troubles.
Mine was a pre-October one. He sent the diode, but it failed anyway after install. The other "maker" is on hold, as well, so I doubt we'll see another one in the near future.
 

21st Century Pony

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The issue the Lighted Pony creator faced with licensing, is / was his problem. The fact that my Lighted Pony has ceased to work 3+ months after installation... is my problem (sigh).
 

New2EV

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For those of you who had the zener diode already installed on your pony when it came, were both the white wire and red wire tied into the diode? Mine new pony just looks like the white wire is tied into it. In the picture below you can see a tiny bit of the red wire peaking out of the grey sheathing. The white wire is fully connected to the diode.

Does this mean I don't need to attach the red wire to anything anymore? The white will just run to the firewall/bcm and the black to the headlight harness?

PXL_20230424_185004514.jpg
Both the red and white need power. I think both were tied together and crimped in the diode on mine.
 
 




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