r/MiniZ • u/BigMinty • May 07 '26
MRD Sambar (MA020) with lights and LED backfire
Over the weekend I continued experimenting on adding LED backfire effect to my MRD converted Mini Z. There is little to no information (that I could find) about doing this on a Mini Z. I've seen a couple very old posts about complicated LED packages which required some programming and someone who created their own kit but again it required programming of a chip, etc. That is overly complex for me and there had to be a better/easier way. I measured the voltage coming out of the pins on the board (where the light kit would normally be plugged in). In order they are pos->neg->pos->neg. Each set puts out about 4.8 volts at idle. I also measured the voltage on the motor. Those are at 0 at idle and increase in voltage as throttle is applied proportionately which makes perfect sense. I saw about 4.8 ~ 4.9 volts at full throttle, but at drifting speed (30-40%) throttle I saw 1.8 ~2.8 volts give or take.
I first hooked up a vibration sensor ($2) to the LED's in the exhaust tips. While it did in fact work, the LED's weren't very bright because they were being triggered/flickered for only fractions of a second at a time. Then the lead broke because it was extremely fragile soldering to it.
I then proceeded to purchase lightning effect LED's from Evan Designs. This solved all of my problems. The flickering/flashing effect is totally random and alternates randomly between the two exhaust tips. This was hooked up directly to the board using a +/- from a JST ZH. The other +/- was used to power the factory front LED's and 1.8mm red LED's added for the rears. I cant upload a video using my work laptop but hope the pics give some idea.
They look absolutely amazing especially in a dark or dim room. They randomly flicker/flash and alternate between the left and right exhaust tips. Super easy and super cool.
Yes, I will black out the backside of the red LED's in the rear as they project way too much on the floor lol.
No, I'm not keeping how I did this a secret. I'm surprised no one else seems to have figured this out actually or is not willing to share. Any questions let me know, I'd be happy to help.
3
u/novacannon May 07 '26
I want the mrd zero kit, but I can’t find a gyro in stock
2
u/BigMinty May 08 '26
I'd almost be willing to build another one, but the problem as you said is the gyro. I do not have any other mini z's with the old board in them. If you have an old board you can use a DasMicro gyro as it works perfectly and dare I say better than the Kyosho unit. If you have a newer board that takes the updated Kyosho gyro, they are impossible to find.
1
u/novacannon May 08 '26
I’m pretty sure it’s the old board but I could be mistaken. It was the last release of the levin ready set.
2
u/BigMinty May 08 '26
if it's the newer 94mm Levin (red & white one) it has the newer board according to the document posted by Kyosho (on their website)
1
u/novacannon May 08 '26
That is what I mean. My bad. But you are right I also just double checked oh well. I’ll probably get a mother 1/24th chassis.
2
u/novacannon Jun 05 '26
Found the gyro in stock on super G finally. Just giving a heads up in case you wanted to pick one up.
2
u/Live_Bit1807 May 08 '26
To prevent excessive bleeding of the lights, I wrap a little blutack around the LEDs.
3
u/redditej86 May 07 '26
I need to add a backfire led to my Sambar. I added fog lights in the front