DIY LED tail light issues, HELP!

[rongfk]

ok so im having issues with my lights, this is my first attempt at this and its not working right. when i connect them to a batterie direct they work fine, but when i hook them up to the car the dont light up right.

ok so this was my first attempt at retro fitting led's to my tail lights, so im not very knolegable to this, but i can tell you all the info i do know. im using 20000 mcd led's with 470 ohm 1/4 watt resistors. each board of my tail lights and signal have 99 led's. tails have about 16 rows of leds in series of 4 with 470 resistors after the positive leads, which are all tied in with a power wire running to it.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8322/8050437839_7ae4f7e379_c.jpg
its like the power coming from the stock harness isnt enough. im not having any issues with the reverse light or the running lights which are the outer ring of each brake light. i was able get the same effect when i added a resistor after the batterie, looks like this when its in the car.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8193/8077991484_b560bf7a1f_c.jpg
what size resistors are you using? hopfully an led expert will see this soon and shed some light on the situation. i do appreciate your input though, because i cant find any usefull info in the net in regaurds to my issue.

and here is how they look when connected direct to a batterie.
didnt come out exactly how i wanted with the tint
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8317/8050444774_7b7eb0f86f_c.jpg
driving lights
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8039/8050440791_6062b7b805_c.jpg
brake lights
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8172/8050442175_bbe32130a0_c.jpg
all on
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8176/8050448266_6fcab1b95a_c.jpg
all on with driving lights only
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8176/8050448810_c4ccbe1172_c.jpg
driving lights with signal
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8317/8050446263_3f8ed9176e_c.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8328/8077993406_9323943a35_c.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8054/8078001215_18b58b4f7f_c.jpg

any help will be greatly appreciated.....

[Edwin562]

have you probed the tail light connector for consistent +12v. could be that your plugs are faulty...

[rongfk]

so i got it all sorted out, thanks for all the help fellas.

-Ronnie.

here is my led boards all put together and installed. each large board holds 99 leds
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8322/8050437839_7ae4f7e379_z.jpg

running light, reverse light and signal on
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8176/8050448810_c4ccbe1172_z.jpg

brake light, reverse, and signal on
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8176/8050448266_6fcab1b95a_z.jpg

now installed on the car

running lights
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8259/8944804871_2dd6673ae4_z.jpg

brake lights
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2845/8944803821_bd83321cc0_z.jpg

signals lights
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3780/8945429148_732bd01c6d_z.jpg

reverse lights
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8135/8944805825_297866b7ef_z.jpg

later in the day shots
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7374/8956011124_83c195f420_z.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7289/8956008014_cb253dedc6_z.jpg

[Mikester]

So what was the problem???

[h2v7]

very cool i always wanted some but with a cool symbol insted of square

[rongfk]

i had my led's in series of 4 with one 470 resistor, 470 is rated for one led. it was a pain but i redid my led's in series of 3 with a more suitable resistor.

[R33E8]

Should have just made a constant current driver... Would've saved you from doing all that resistor hoopla...