Opera Lights LED idea, plea for help

[sxcpotatoes]

I want to do a LED replacement on my opera lights on my just acquired 91 Grand Marquis.

I don't know if it would be possible though, so I'm here begging for help.

I want to replace the single bulb with a strip of LEDs, and I want those LEDs to illuminate in relation to the throttle position. Kind of like a graphic equalizer on an 80's boombox/stereo. WOT = all lights illuminated, idle = 2-3 LEDs, etc.

So, any thoughts on how I can accomplish this? Is it doable, or am I just wishing for the impossible?

Thanks.

[LumpyCheeseman]

that would actually be kind of cool. i would set it up with the center led or center 2 leds on at idle. at the throttle blip the leds move outward. would be better than up or down.

just my 2cents

[ReverendRevival]

Well I would think there maybe a way to modify a tach to trigger seperate lights.
Would look sick.

[Nathan in MI]

You're talking about the lights on outsides of the B-pillars, correct? I dunno if you're asking for the impossible or not, but you are more than likely asking for a ticket for illegal exterior lighting...

[p71towny]

I've wanted a light behind teh grille kinda like that. Remember Real Tv when they'd show the road rage section and the grille would glow when the engine revved?

[85crownHPP]

actually... if you know a lot about small electronics you can definitly do this.

Your TPS produces a 0-5 volt ouput thats probably mostly directly proportional to your throttle %.
You would need to find a logic chip and circuit board, very simmilar to what they use for VU meters in stereos like you said. I wanted to make a large blue VU meter for the 85... different LEDs at different inensity/quantitiy for each major frequency... didnt get very far.
So Im afraid Im not much help... I know they sell the controller doohickeys online, and there's lots of geek writups online of this type of project.

If you keep it amber color, you may be legal

[gadget73]

the logic board tied to the tps is also what I was thinking for a solution. Should work fine, just have to be careful that whatever you tap into the tps doesn't mess with it's signal, or the ecm might get faulty info.

[86VickyLX]

Then it'll run funky, sounds like a cool idea.

[85crownHPP]

I dont think it'll hurt anything... the logic chip should only be reading the signal, not using it. Not any worse than testing it with a volt meter. I ran the 85 down the road with a multimeter hooked up to the TPS no prob.
Just DONT hook any lights directly into the TPS wiring, lol.

[nitroracer]

If you wanted something simple you could mount a contact switch near the throttle arm and have it activate the outer LEDs when you tap the gas.

[85MercPark]

My brother wired a switch on his 4bbl to his fasten Your seatbelt light..

Was kinda cool...