Lighted Pony Project (back it!)

[Xadion]

So these are still unavailable to buy "new" ones? Wouldn't mind buying a back one, but would want a front one to match-

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[sgriffin130]

Those of you who installed or had installed your front lighted pony and then received the voltage regulator from John, have you had the regulator installed and/or is there a way to check if the voltage in your particular car will exceed the 14 volts?

 

[PupSideDown]

Those of you who installed or had installed your front lighted pony and then received the voltage regulator from John, have you had the regulator installed and/or is there a way to check if the voltage in your particular car will exceed the 14 volts?

I got the voltage regulator from John after already installing the front lighted pony. The voltage regulator installation requires cutting and combining the red and white wires coming from the pony to one end of voltage regulator, leaving only a red wire 'exiting' the other end of the regulator, which would be attached to a single wire in the headlight harness. The original pony installation required piercing two separate wires in the headlight harness, one for the red, and one for the white pony wires.

If I installed the voltage regulator, I would have been left with the longer end of the white wire (after cutting to allow the end closest to the pony to be inserted in the voltage regulator), still attached to a wire in the headlight harness, but now just hanging there, doing nothing. Or maybe doing something bad (shorting out?). I messaged John to ask if I should remove that, now useless, part of the white wire, and wrap the headlight harness wire it was attached to, with electrical tape, or something. Never heard anything back, so just decided to skip the voltage regulator.

The pony has been in place and doing fine for several months, so I will just leave well enough alone. I'm not an automotive electrician (by any stretch of the imagination). But I can follow step-by-step instructions, which is how I installed the pony to begin with. The voltage regulator instructions were just a little too vague, and seemed to be addressing new installations, not retrofitting an already installed pony. This may turn out to be a bad choice on my part, but so far the voltage regulator is in my kitchen junk drawer.

 

[connoisseurr]

So these are still unavailable to buy "new" ones? Wouldn't mind buying a back one, but would want a front one to match-

I'm selling mine. Brand new in box. PM if interested.

 

[JGuske23]

Does anyone have a way to contact John? I've been trying to reach him through this website and his kickstarter email for about a week now and no luck

 

[sgriffin130]

I got the voltage regulator from John after already installing the front lighted pony. The voltage regulator installation requires cutting and combining the red and white wires coming from the pony to one end of voltage regulator, leaving only a red wire 'exiting' the other end of the regulator, which would be attached to a single wire in the headlight harness. The original pony installation required piercing two separate wires in the headlight harness, one for the red, and one for the white pony wires.

If I installed the voltage regulator, I would have been left with the longer end of the white wire (after cutting to allow the end closest to the pony to be inserted in the voltage regulator), still attached to a wire in the headlight harness, but now just hanging there, doing nothing. Or maybe doing something bad (shorting out?). I messaged John to ask if I should remove that, now useless, part of the white wire, and wrap the headlight harness wire it was attached to, with electrical tape, or something. Never heard anything back, so just decided to skip the voltage regulator.

The pony has been in place and doing fine for several months, so I will just leave well enough alone. I'm not an automotive electrician (by any stretch of the imagination). But I can follow step-by-step instructions, which is how I installed the pony to begin with. The voltage regulator instructions were just a little too vague, and seemed to be addressing new installations, not retrofitting an already installed pony. This may turn out to be a bad choice on my part, but so far the voltage regulator is in my kitchen junk drawer.

I guess I will do the same. Mine has been working fine for a couple of months. The question is, I guess, what are the odds that my battery will behave such that the voltage becomes excessive for the Pony?

 

[PupSideDown]

I guess I will do the same. Mine has been working fine for a couple of months. The question is, I guess, what are the odds that my battery will behave such that the voltage becomes excessive for the Pony?

Given the tendency of people on forums, like this one, to post about any and all problems they may notice with their car, I am inclined to think their would be more posts about lighted pony failures. I also check in on the original Kickstarter threads, and I am not seeing people leaving comments about failures after installation. While that isn't exactly strong evidence, I find it reassuring. Throughout the Kickstarter project, John was very responsive to feedback, as well as doing his own rigorous testing, etc. He offered the voltage regulators based on, IIRC, one report of a failure related to excessive voltage.

If the voltage regulator installation instructions had been more detailed, and addressed the exceptions for modifying wiring after prior installation, I might have put the thing in. I did message John, but never got any response. I am not sure how, or when, or under what conditions, to measure max voltage from the 12-volt battery, as I gather voltage can be affected by many variables. I don't suggest I have adequate data to make a truly informed decision, but I'm ok with skipping the voltage regulator.

 

[Supertayt]

Does anyone have a way to contact John? I've been trying to reach him through this website and his kickstarter email for about a week now and no luck

It's been radio silence from John for quite some time now. I have sent direct messages, emails and posted on here and kickstarter. He simply does not respond anymore.

 

[KevinS]

It's been radio silence from John for quite some time now. I have sent direct messages, emails and posted on here and kickstarter. He simply does not respond anymore.

I had a similar experience but he did come through for me after a number of weeks (see earlier in this thread.) My pony is now in-hand but I haven't installed it yet.

Not to downplay the concern or the fact that it's not a good look to be so unresponsive, but I think John just has a lot going on and probably underestimated the amount of time and customer service this project would entail.

 

[JGuske23]

Well I've been reaching out to every channel the last 2 weeks as my pony insert has fallen off, was trying not to make a big deal out of it but I don't have the insert and I don't want the exposed wires getting rocked by the weather here. It's been very frustrating as I need this handled

 

[Supertayt]

I had a similar experience but he did come through for me after a number of weeks (see earlier in this thread.) My pony is now in-hand but I haven't installed it yet.

Not to downplay the concern or the fact that it's not a good look to be so unresponsive, but I think John just has a lot going on and probably underestimated the amount of time and customer service this project would entail.

I completely agree. The pony is installed and works (I think). I know it lights up when I walk near the car, but I am not sure it stays on. I have asked multiple times if I have tapped the correct wire but have received zero response. My next option is to purchase a MME wiring manual for a few hundred dollars to verify. So far nothing has smoked, but I'd like to put the car back together if this is just "how it is". I didn't receive the voltage regulator he said he sent out and was willing to just purchase one but I have no clue what the values need to be. I asked him, crickets.... Again, no ill will. I just wish he could at least answer simple questions or at least post the answer up on the board or his kickstarter so he doesn't have to answer the same question over and over again.

 

[Supertayt]

Well I've been reaching out to every channel the last 2 weeks as my pony insert has fallen off, was trying not to make a big deal out of it but I don't have the insert and I don't want the exposed wires getting rocked by the weather here. It's been very frustrating as I need this handled

OOOOfffffff. That sucks big time. You could buy one of those stick on pony decals to at least cover the bare wires. I think I bought one off AliExpress. I'm not using it.

 

[KevinS]

I have a Select, my illuminated pony, and the installation instructions. It does appear to have the diode preinstalled. Does anyone who has installed them on that model have any tips before I try to tackle this?

The green/orange wiring is the one that will make it remain illuminated after the car is off, correct? I'm looking to do an install where that does not occur if at all possible.

 

[KevinS]

Well, I didn't get any responses to my inquiry and decided to bite the bullet while the weather was tolerable and I had the time today to do it. The hardest part was getting the new pony installed; I don't see any way you can do this install without a magnetic wand. I'm satisfied with the result overall.

 

[JGuske23]

Welp 3 weeks now with a missing front pony and not a peep from John on anything, Kickstarter or his YouTube channel. I'm not sure what to do. Was a huge fan and this has completely soured the entire experience

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