When I took this picture, the ONLY light in the room was coming from the three emitters under the optic. It was pitch-black, otherwise.
You can see that these CUTE-3 optics do leak a bit - as proven by the light hitting the desk under the circuit board - but it's minimal. Completely insignificant compared to the light that comes out the front.
PPtk
Here is the color scheme I'm thinking about for the unit that will go on the Jeep. Comments?
I am amazed so little light leaks. Seems impossible when the whole thing is clear but it does indeed direct most of the light forward. In fact, I'd bet if there were something used on the outside trying to limit leaking, it would probably reduce output.
facinatingFoy
How close is that to the Jeep color? Couple of schools of thought - trying to match, yet not quite matching could possibly look odd. Maybe a shade or two lighter or darker might be safer.
Personally . . . I don't think I would go with blue at all. Depending on how long you will have the Grand Cherokee, black might be better so you could use it on the next vehicle. There's no wrong choice really - personal taste.
gowithblackFoy
I have not checked in on this thread for a while. I am amazed by this project. That circuit board, holy smokes. Great job.
I admit it, I like it in Black... Just might go that route..
And again.
I was going to say that, but you beat me to it.
jealousDon
Wow . . . . now that is awesome. Looks perfect but I will say that it doesn't have the SEMA/convention show eyeball of the pale-purple unit, which makes that color perfect for such duty.
goodchoiceFoy
That black looks perfect.
You should send me one to photograph, attached to my white off-roader for contrast. 
Three obvious votes for the black, plus my own liking of it.. Sold. Black it will be.
Chicago: Your'e not that far from me (Detroit), so maybe a few pics on your off-roader will be possible :)
PPtk
Got a Honda Pilot in dark cherry pearl that could use one.
Finished putting parts on the circuit board tonight. The only thing not in place are all of the XM-Ls. Three of them are on, but until I write the code for the DSP,I don't want them all installed. One wrong line of C Code, and I could easily blow up 24 XM-L emitters.
Good news is that everything fits. All of the packages were made correctly (ALWAYS a worry when doing circuit board layout), and the DSP comes alive when it's powered up. The other big worry was that something would physically interfere with one of the CUTE-3 TIR Optics - they're very curvy and difficult to model in a 2D Circuit Board Layout environment. Luckily, nothing touches. One of the Inductors is a little close for comfort though - but soldering it slightly off-center (no problem electrically) solves that concern.
This week I'll get the C Code for the DSP sorted out, and by next weekend, I'm sure I'll have the rest of the emitters on the board.
You can see the thermistor (blue wires, top left) which will be attached to the enclosure with thermal epoxy to monitor temps and back off the power if things get too hot. I don't really expect things to ever get too hot, but with the hundreds of dollars worth of parts in this, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Back-off temp will be set at 100 C (212 F).
One thing that I haven't mentioned yet in this thread is the (largish) unpopulated component just right-of-center on the board. That's a landing pad for a blue-tooth radio. Once I have the basic board all debugged and coded, I'll be soldering a blue-tooth radio in that location. This way, I'll be able to control brightness and other functions from an app on my android phone. Should be pretty slick. Now I just need to learn how to write software for Android :) (Can't be that difficult, right?). It's also highly experimental since I don't know how badly the solid enclosure is going to impede the bluetooth signal. The whole front of the unit is plastic - which should allow the signal to penetrate and I'm going to use a class 1 (100 meter range) radio, but the only way to know for sure is to try it..
PPtk
An app for your driving lights Wow.
This last shot of Mr. Pruple reminds me how deep the fins are cut.
Is it going to hang or sit atop something on the front of your Grand Cherokee . . . . you're putting it up front, no?
Foy
I have a stainless steel brush guard on the front of the truck. It has a cross member that is designed for two cibie's and I designed the enclosure and mounting brackets to fit perfectly in those two holes.
HaHa.. I just couldn't resist seeing what it would look like in Military Olive-Drab :)
Yeah, the fins are cut quite deep in the aluminum. I had to go deep in order to get enough surface area to dissipate the 240 watts of heat!
I have to repeat: Just awesome! Really like the perfection of your design, the build quality and everything. 
Have you considered designing custom flashlights? I think you could easily sell hundreds of them!
Wow, you just keep impressing. The lighting is going to be wirelessly controlled? You should definitely hook it up to an alarm, also. Imagine that thing strobing(or fading on and off) when someone is trying to steal your rig? That will definitely get some attention!
Hmmm . . . . I don't know, that olive-drab is looking mighty good . . .
wishywashyFoy
Seriously, an Android app? I didn't think this project could get much cooler.
Hmmm...build in a strobe feature for some crazy night time offroading through the woods? ;)