Lighted Pony Project (back it!)

[sgriffin130]

The Bunny rules.

I can't find the reference but of the two wiring alternatives, headlight or fuse panel which powers the pony only when the headlights are on? And which alternative do people prefer? I am having mine installed tomorrow and can't remember the details.
Thanks for any advice. Obviously I know little about auto wiring

Steve

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[ValentinoRossi]

I just realized my pony tail doesnt light up, is that normal? It looks liked the LEDs are too far away from the tail is the issue.

 

[Gullwingdmc]

I can't find the reference but of the two wiring alternatives, headlight or fuse panel which powers the pony only when the headlights are on? And which alternative do people prefer? I am having mine installed tomorrow and can't remember the details.
Thanks for any advice. Obviously I know little about auto wiring

Steve

When I asked him about the “always on” method, where the pony is on any time the eyebrow lights are this is what he said.

 

[Texas-E]

An alternative to the always-on with the 15-minute shut-off delay might be using a fuse tap to an open switched fuse location. I have the battery packs for my dashcam, which is wired to a switched fuse location. It seems to shut off charging immediately on power-off vs. the 12v from the headlight with the delay.

It will not light up on approach but should stay on anytime the vehicle is powered on and shut off immediately on power-down. Just throwing this option out.

 

[Carlos J. Marrero]

I just realized my pony tail doesnt light up, is that normal? It looks liked the LEDs are too far away from the tail is the issue.

The same thing happens to me with the 4000k. I installed it yesterday.

 

[connoisseurr]

The same thing happens to me with the 4000k. I installed it yesterday.

Similar issue here. The LED pattern is weaker across the entire top side of my pony. I’ve tested it up against different materials to see if it would end up reflecting light to look more illuminated but it’s simply not the case.

The camera pulls more light on the top edge of the pony, but it’s not that bright in-person. Might try to get a replacement, or return and wait for the next redesign to be implemented and available.

 

[itzbilly]

Similar issue here. The LED pattern is weaker across the entire top side of my pony. I’ve tested it up against different materials to see if it would end up reflecting light to look more illuminated but it’s simply not the case.

Received mine and feels similar.. though I've only set it up on a test unit and not wired into the car itself.. wonder if this behavior was observed by others who have installed onto their cars?

 

[New2EV]

Received mine and feels similar.. though I've only set it up on a test unit and not wired into the car itself.. wonder if this behavior was observed by others who have installed onto their cars?

Mine definitely had some areas of dimmer and brighter, but nothing like the 6k version. I was happy with it. But now mine is completely dead. ? Not sure what happened, but it only gets hot now (135F ish). I had to pull the frunk back out to disconnect the positive wire. If I can't get a replacement, maybe I try the AliExpress version. It's less than half the price.

 

[connoisseurr]

Mine definitely had some areas of dimmer and brighter, but nothing like the 6k version. I was happy with it. But now mine is completely dead. ? Not sure what happened, but it only gets hot now (135F ish). I had to pull the frunk back out to disconnect the positive wire. If I can't get a replacement, maybe I try the AliExpress version. It's less than half the price.

I was considering ordering the AliExpress one as well to see how it works. I'm a bit concerned of the connectivity, though. I don't see how our USDM models will have any sort of "plug-n-play" capability.

 

[New2EV]

I was considering ordering the AliExpress one as well to see how it works. I'm a bit concerned of the connectivity, though. I don't see how our USDM models will have any sort of "plug-n-play" capability.

Ya, it definitely wouldn't be plug and play. But I assume 12v, ground and signal are required. What else could it take? Just have to figure out if the signal is 12v or 5v.

 

[connoisseurr]

Ya, it definitely wouldn't be plug and play. But I assume 12v, ground and signal are required. What else could it take? Just have to figure out if the signal is 12v or 5v.

Exactly. I believe someone else stated their instructions are a copy/paste from John's instructions that were posted here on the Forum, on Kickstarter, or on his webpage.

 

[ValentinoRossi]

Mine definitely had some areas of dimmer and brighter, but nothing like the 6k version. I was happy with it. But now mine is completely dead. ? Not sure what happened, but it only gets hot now (135F ish). I had to pull the frunk back out to disconnect the positive wire. If I can't get a replacement, maybe I try the AliExpress version. It's less than half the price.

I recall the original issue with the 4k and why he didnt release it was it got too hot. I hope all the current 4k's dont have this issue.

 

[RickMachE]

I think it's great that people are willing to back things on Kickstarter, and try out products. Me, I don't have the patience, or interest, in being a guinea pig on something that isn't a quick installation and/or easy to replace.

I will continue to watch this thread for updates, because I am interested in the product when it's uniformly bright and works reliably for a long period of time.

 

[supared]

Hi all,

So there is a lot of feedback here ?.
1) Let's talk failures. The original lights used some pre-manufactured LEDs powered by my PCB. There were a few suppliers of the LEDs as I tried to work around supply chain challenges. The quality is not equal on them all, I'm learning. I belive there have been some wiring mishaps also. The answer to both of these is my fully integrated circuit board. It's all I am shipping now. All 6K second place Ponies received this board. Any future 4K Ponies I ship will also have a new variant of this PCB. I am 99% certain we will not see a failure with these. In addition to the arrangement being better designed for the Pony shape, I also added reverse-polarity protection. If things get mis-wired or wires inadvertently touch, there will be no harm to the Pony circuit.

2) Uniform intensity. This is a tough one. It would take a lot of trial and error. For the bottom appearing brighter than the top on some, well I don't think this is really noticeable installed, standing at adult height, 3+ feet away at night. I could be wrong. Note that the LEDs are spaced uniformly around the outline of the horse. Otherwise, we get dim spots (the tail has been mentioned; more on that in a moment). The LEDs along the bottom are closer to the edge. It is partly a function of available space. But it's not just that they are closer to the edge. It is about how the light is reflecting around the curvature of the body and the border. The light collects more in some areas and diffracts more in others. This behavior is impossible predict. I adjusted the arrangement of the 4K LEDs that should be coming in a week to 10 days. Hopefully that moves things in a positive direction. I also have the new plastics now with a little more diffusion. This should help also. It's not perfect. The side surfaces can't be too rough or else the Ponies will break when ejected from the molds.

3) The Tail. The first version is most affected. The later 4K and 6K dotless go all the way to the end of the tail and still it is a little dimmer. Something about that curl and curve does not want to let the light out. Instead it seems to reflect it back inwards. BUT, again, my integrated circuit solves this. I have an LED right there in the very end of the tail, and there is no dim spot.

I'm sure there are other things for me to catch up on. I've purposely steered away from the forum a little so I can keep working to get Ponies out the door; because some of the negative feedback can weigh heavily on me and slows me down. That's just me.

I'm confident the latest Pony is the best blend of everything. I'm working on one final version that will eliminate the firewall install. I could have had this done, but it's just hard to build Ponies and do design work. Now that the current design is near final (optimized for manufacturing also now), I can send it to a contract manufacturer. This will free me up to get back to the design and improvement.

Thanks to everyone that has supported me. I have enjoyed building this for you. It has been a development project, so I have been learning from the successes and the failures, and I appreciate you helping me to identify and resolve the failures. Unfortunately, it takes some adoption and a certain number of trials to see what I would expect are a small fraction of failures. So, I see it as natural, but I get the impression that not everyone sees this as a project but instead as an off-the-shelf product. I'll do my best to work with those that have legitimate failures.

Again, thanks everyone.

 

[Texas-E]

I appreciate your effort and fully understand that these were not mass-produced.

If you genuinely want feedback, mine is that I'm disappointed with the build variability between each of the buying positions. I purchased at the Pole Position not because of the reduced cost but to help get things moving along. If I had known that I would get a different design, I would have picked a later position.

I don't think anyone is "mad" at you, and we all really appreciate the hard work that went into designing and manufacturing the Lighted Pony. I also hope you can appreciate that some of us are disappointed that changes were being made on a weekly basis and that we have not benefited from them.

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