Introduction: LED Halogen Light Converson Using 12v 12x LED Discs

By
About: Self employed Stonemason.

Here is an easy way you can convert your halogen lights to LED lights.
These are great to use in motorhomes/caravans or any 12v DC system you have, solar, wind or hydro... or even just using them in your car.

These LED discs I have here run on 12-16v DC and do not need any resistors.
If you have a 24v system, just run 2 of these in series to get your desired voltage.

They run at 0.96 watts, (20 of these will use the same power as 1 20w halogen)

OK lets get started.

Step 1: 1, What You Need.

1x LED 12-16v disc
1x halogen bulb
1x length of thick copper wire.
1x length of 2c cable (.75mm speaker wire fine)
1x pliers
1x small screwdriver.
1x soldering iron and solder
1x glue, here I am using gap filler & clear tacky glue (hot glue gun is fine.)
1x vice grips, any clamping device is fine.

Step 2: 2, Gutting Halogen Bulb.

There are a few types of halogen bulbs like these... I have used the harder to convert design to show you how to do it.
some have no outer glass lens, some only have cement holding the burner in and no glass at the plug end, you can just pick out the cement using a small screwdriver or bang it on a surface.

1st, put your bulb in a spot where it can stand up, I have used my solder roll.

2nd, grab your screwdriver and place it in the center on the lens, bang it with your pliers to smash the glass and then pick the glass out...(if you cut yourself, down tools, put your tools away and go to bed, this project is for bigger kids).
clean with a rag and make sure all glass is gone before proceding.

3rd, hold the halogen sturdy in your hand and bang the legs/connector bits on a flat surface... may take a while, but should soon pop the burner loose.
you should now have a gutted halogen.

Step 3: 3, Soldering Copper Legs

Get you copper and cut 2 lengths about 3-4+cm... longer than shorter, you can trim them to length at the end.
Next solder on your copper legs to your wire.
Strip your cable about 5mm, tin it and then solder to your legs...like in pix.
If your solder is not sticking to your copper, try sanding it a little to remove the corrosion on the copper.

Then put a tiny bit of insulation tape around your connection, (just in case it touches inside your fitting).

Step 4: 4, Glueing Legs in Place.

Now poke your legs through the holes, clamp them in place with your vice grips and fill the gap with your glue... be sure to get it filled properly.

Now leave over night to dry.

Step 5: 5, Little Touches.

Now its glued in place, grab a black or red marker and mark the bulb so you know which is the + and - leg.
Then put a little blob of solder on the legs on the outside, this will stop them being able to be pushed inwards if handled roughly.

Step 6: 6, Soldering LED

Now cut your cable to the desired length to be able to fit the cable behind the halogen disc, strip about 5mm then tin the cable and then solder... remember not to leave your soldering iron in contact to long... you may burn out the LEDs.

Step 7: 7, Gluing in the Disc

You can use the hot glue gun for this but I find craft glue gives a nicer finish.
I use 2 small blobs of hot glue to hold it in place before gluing though.

Step 8: 8, Trimming Legs

Now trim your legs to your desired length.
use large pliers for this as it gives them a ==> making them eaiser to insert into fittings.

Step 9: 9,Adding 12v DC Supply and Testing.

Here as usual I have added a 12v car plug to test.

Step 10: 10, Finished.

Now you have a finished light, here in the pic i have the one we made now with white LED's and other ones i have made with wharm white LED's.
The warm white ones put out light very similar to the original halogen but at 1/20th of the power required.
you will be simply amazed of the amount of light these put out for a led light.
.

Happy building!