Lockhart Phillips Short Stalk II Marker Lights

LP Short Stalk II marker lights can be bolted up as direct replacements for the OEM turn signals. However, they are called "Marker Lights" for a reason. They are not DOT-approved, and I think part of the reason is that they are not as bright as the OEM signals.

Srinath Seshadri mentioned on the GStwin Message Board that he used to mount aluminum foil inside the housing for this type of light to increase their brightness. The following pictures and text describe my attempt to follow his lead.

Click on a picture to see a larger version.

The LP Short Stalk II lights come apart in a manner similar to the OEM turn signals. Use a small Phillips-head screwdriver to remove the 3 screws on the back.

With the 3 outer screws removed, the lens comes right off. The bulb is held in place with 2 more screws. Remove them using the same screwdriver.

Pull the bulb and wires out of the housing.

I couldn't think of a nice way to mount the aluminum foil directly to the plastic of the signal housing. Besides, I wanted to determine the ideal shape ONCE and then reuse it. So, I played with some paper and scissors until I arrived at an acceptable "design".

Note: My original design didn't leave a hole for the wires to pass through. I discovered and fixed this (much) later in the process.

I traced my design several times, so I could make enough "reflectors" for the multiple light sets I had bought.

At this point I glued some aluminum foil to the back of the traced designs. I even remembered to put the glue on the less-shiny side of the foil so the more reflective side would be "out".

(In the end, I used some liquid glue instead of the glue stick, but you get the idea. Use whatever you have handy that will work.)

It was pretty easy to cut out the reflectors, although the foil did get a little wrinkled in the process.

The reflectors got even more wrinkled when I pressed them into place. But it's OK - they still work just fine.

You can already see how much difference these reflectors are going to make!

This gives an even better idea of the final result.

To be fair, I found out after I added a reflector to BOTH of the lights that the lens on the right is actually made of a slightly lighter-colored plastic. But there's no denying that the reflectors will help....

And here is the actual test. On the left is an OEM turn signal. On the right are the LP Short Stalk II marker lights, the upper one with a homemade inner reflector and the lower one without.

Here's what they look like when mounted on my Five Stars tail rack. The OEM signals were simply "too too" much!

To all you GStwin.com members: Yes, I know about the ugly rear fender. And No, I'm not planning to cut it off anytime soon!

One last thing: You might want to use an adaptor when you connect everything up. Here is one such item from the Chaparral catalog:

Back to Kerry's General Purpose Home Page

	The LP Short Stalk II lights come apart in a manner similar to the OEM turn signals. Use a small Phillips-head screwdriver to remove the 3 screws on the back.
	With the 3 outer screws removed, the lens comes right off. The bulb is held in place with 2 more screws. Remove them using the same screwdriver.
	Pull the bulb and wires out of the housing.
	I couldn't think of a nice way to mount the aluminum foil directly to the plastic of the signal housing. Besides, I wanted to determine the ideal shape ONCE and then reuse it. So, I played with some paper and scissors until I arrived at an acceptable "design". Note: My original design didn't leave a hole for the wires to pass through. I discovered and fixed this (much) later in the process.
	I traced my design several times, so I could make enough "reflectors" for the multiple light sets I had bought.
	At this point I glued some aluminum foil to the back of the traced designs. I even remembered to put the glue on the less-shiny side of the foil so the more reflective side would be "out". (In the end, I used some liquid glue instead of the glue stick, but you get the idea. Use whatever you have handy that will work.)
	It was pretty easy to cut out the reflectors, although the foil did get a little wrinkled in the process.
	The reflectors got even more wrinkled when I pressed them into place. But it's OK - they still work just fine.
	You can already see how much difference these reflectors are going to make!
	This gives an even better idea of the final result. To be fair, I found out after I added a reflector to BOTH of the lights that the lens on the right is actually made of a slightly lighter-colored plastic. But there's no denying that the reflectors will help....
	And here is the actual test. On the left is an OEM turn signal. On the right are the LP Short Stalk II marker lights, the upper one with a homemade inner reflector and the lower one without.
	Here's what they look like when mounted on my Five Stars tail rack. The OEM signals were simply "too too" much! To all you GStwin.com members: Yes, I know about the ugly rear fender. And No, I'm not planning to cut it off anytime soon!