Modifying a Traffic Light for the man cave

[Scotty Dive]

I have a LED traffic light (Red, Amber, and Green) and I wired it up. Problem is its very bright - if you walk in front of it and look at it you are somewhat blinded. These are sealed LED lights ( I am sure I could open them up if needed) and was wondering if there was a way to dim them a bit. I know LED's are not really changed (dimmed) by reducing the voltage to them. I was thinking of maybe some diffuser film over the lens but that would probably look pretty odd. Incidentally, it looks like the Red and the Amber are white LEDs (I am guessing here) behind a colored lens and the Green are true green LED's behind a clear lens. Any ideas?

 

[GolfAddict]

I know there are dimmers that work for LED lights, for in a house switch box that is. But I don't know if they work for any LED lights or if the lights have to be made such that they are dimmable.

 

[Scotty Dive]

I was wondering and might experiment with putting a 110v dimmable switch inside the light housing and preseting itnto the right light level and then another regular single pole switch for off and on...

 

[GolfAddict]

I should add that I'm aware of two types of dimmer switches that work for 110v home LED lights. I wasn't until I installed one and ended up with buzzing lights.

When I looked for "LED lights buzzing" online, I found this article:
Are Your LEDs Buzzing? Here's the Fix...

I had installed the CL type, and the article says they are usually OK, but the ELV type have always cured the buzzing. I haven't tried one yet to see if it will eliminate my buzzing.

 

[Scotty Dive]

A bit of an update.....I had a 110 v dimmable switch that can be used for CFL and LED's. I rough wired it up and it dimmed it maybe 20%. Which is pretty odd in my mind because on a regular household led, it will dim it to almost off.

Still too bright in my opinion.

 

[Streetcar]

I know that the signals in actual use have dimmer in the cabinet. Other than that I am lost

 

[Raspy]

I put a dimmer on the LEDs in my living room. The difference was that they were low volt lights running on a transformer, so I put a dimmer on the input voltage to the transformer. Worked fine and I was able to turn them way down.

Another set I used were to bright so I wired them in series to bring down the apparent voltage to each light. You might try this with your traffic lights by wiring the three lights in series instead of parallel.

Also, when you dim an LED it emits the same color of light, just less of it, unlike an incandescent that becomes more yellow with less voltage.

 

[George2615]

When you open the traffic light cover is there a controller of any kind that sequences the lights. There should be one and if so what is the controller output voltage to the LED's. If its 12-24V you can get a PWM controller to dim them.

PWM Dimming Controller For LED Lights or Ribbon, 12 Volt 8 Amp, Adjustable Brightness Light Switch Dimmer Controller DC12V 8A 96W for Led Strip Light By Zitrades - Wall Dimmer Switches - Amazon.com

I have a 1960's traffic light (made by Crouse-Hinds in Syracuse) in my garage that I restored. Its one of 4 that I've done. I installed lower wattage bulbs and a controller sequencer to step through the lights. Mine's not LED which is a much newer light.

 

[ovrszd]

I'm so jealous. I want/need a traffic light in my shop/man cave.

But hey,,,,, I do have this.

 

[George2615]

I'm so jealous. I want/need a traffic light in my shop/man cave.

But hey,,,,, I do have this.

View attachment 447679

Hey, You have the barber chair and Bud sign and a fridge. What more could you need. (OK want)

If you really want one check the local flea markets at car shows. Usually someone is selling used traffic lights for $30-75. Pick one up, take it apart, sand blast and repaint, buy a cheap controller sequencer (<$50), reassemble, hang in the cave and plug it in. I had less than $100 in each and sold 3 for double that.