/diy/ - Do It Yourself

Also I know next to nothing about automobiles but I know how to take things apart and reassemble pretty good.

>>781616

this sounds like a question for /o/

>>781622
You may be right, but I think it'd be pretty much equivalent to running LED lights off a 12v transformer

>>781623

no its running automotive lights off a 12v automotive source. also they arent really 12v you need something that can handle 14 volts, or you need a resistor to step down the voltage since most automotive works on 13.8 volts

which would be better suited for /o/

>>781625
Thanks for the heads up! Altough I'm confused to what automotive lights are, I was planning on using regular LEDS and solder them into strips or simply little arrays on a perforated board

>>781627

well as long as they are rated for 14 volts or you use a voltage reduction circuit to keep it a constant 12v then it would work. some leds are rated for lower voltages so you need to look into everything before attaching them to your car.. also use a fuse you dont want something to go wrong.

>>781622
>>781625
/o/ here, this sounds like an anon who instead of shutting his mouth because he has nothing to contribute has to get in and be a cunt to make himself feel better about his knowledge gap.

OP, you'll need to know the total power draw of your LEDs and build a simple circuit to drop the current from your vehicles DC system to a range that will not blow up your LEDs. A current limiting resistor will do the job. Go and google up how these relate to LEDs and a lot of the brain work will be done. You could also go full retard build a regulator based circuit to power them.

Of course, all of this hinges on the LED/LED strips you choose. We do not know your taste or the vehicle layout so you're going to need to get off your ass and go do some learning about automotive LED's and what the differences are, then make your selection. There is tonnes of info out there, make a choice then get back to us.

Find the LEDs you want to use then calculate the resistors you need to use.

>>781616
Not sure why everyone in this thread whats to piss away power with resistors

This should be 80% efficient

Set voltage to 30v
Limit Current at 700ma
wire in parallel

You could also use addressable LEDs and a teensy 3 to control the colour, set patterns ect
>Led
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10pcs-10W-10Watt-Blue-High-Power-LED-Light-Lamp-450-460nm-200-250LM-Aquarium-DIY-/380745848475?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item58a638969b

>Driver
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-5-40V-to-0-8-30V-Adjustable-DC-DC-12A-160W-Step-Down-Converter-Buck-Module-/321665884994?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4ae4c7e342

>>781616

Hey OP. LED light strips are incredibly cheap these days. Go ahead and play around with something like the link below and even if you destroy them it's not a big loss.

http://www.amazon.com/Triangle-Bulbs-B00ENX0VUE-Waterproof-16-4-Feet/dp/B00RLZRI7U

I don't do automotive, so I don't know for sure, but this kind of light strip is designed to be run off of a 12V DC power supply.

LED lights are somewhat resistant to abuse. If you run them at a higher voltage than designed for, they'll burn a little brighter and burn out a little sooner, but you're not going to kill them unless you put a stupid amount of current through them (which you won't do off of a car battery). Below a certain voltage they won't light at all, but that should be well below your car battery voltage.

If I recall, your car battery will supply a peak of 12.5 volts at full charge, will provide somewhat less as it ages or as it runs down on charge. This voltage fluctuation shouldn't be bad for the LEDs, though they might dim or cut out when you start the engine.

Look around amazon for LED strips, they have them in lots of different colors, and options. Quite a few questions and responses about putting them on cars, tractors, etc.

>>781667
>I don't do automotive, so I don't know for sure, but this kind of light strip is designed to be run off of a 12V DC power supply.

So they should work pretty well, is what I meant to say.

I don't know anything about wiring for cars or how to tap into the vehicle power, but presumably you could just tie straight into the battery, with a fuse and a switch of course.

I've never tried that though. I've wanted to do this on my truck, but haven't yet.

>>781665
what part of 12v automotive dont you understand?

If this idiot is asking how wire up leds then what the fuck makes you think they are going to have the ability to program and wire up a teensy and buck boost?

wow people on here fight about anything, but yet to give a proper answer

well i've done something similar for a friend of mine

what i did was, you can occupy one of your cigarette lighters cuz they run on 12v, and grab something on ebay like this:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Useful-12V-24V-Auto-Cigarette-Lighter-Plug-Extension-Cable-LED-Connector-Switch-/361165112681?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item54171e4569&vxp=mtr

the red wire will be your + and the black your -, then if you just want one color of led's then get something like this:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Wholesale-12V-5050-SMD-3-LED-Blue-Waterproof-Module-Light-Strip-Lamp-Decor-Tape-/111448577202?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item19f2da54b2
there are diff colors available just search ebay for the same title

and they just tape wherever you want them, then just red to red, black to black wire and bam you done..

if you're worried about occupying a cigarette lighter switch, then just either get an extender that adds more, orr theres a way you can get to the inside of your radio (pull the radio out) and then you can see that theres wires that go down for the cigarette lighter, then you'd just be connecting directly to them

>>781681
oh and if you dont want just one color, you can buy rgb lights, which work the same exact way, but come with a different controller, the controllers almost all the time are powered 12v as well so you just have to make sure connect it properly

>>781681
>>781684
also to answer your question,
you wont be connecting anything to the cars battery directly, atleast i wouldn't. and yes a long series of 12v led's can work perfectly fine, i can guarantee for up to 5 meteres for sure..

>>781676
Because a spastic with all his fingers replaced with stick insects on coke could do that

>>781622
>>781625
get your head out of your ass. Forget the car and think of it as an annon with a 12VDC power source and wants to light some leds.
>>781627
look at the voltage drop of LEDs, and decide whether you want to wire them in parallel, series, or series-parallel. Different colors, and different brightness might have different voltage drops. In any case, and I'm just guessing here; you may want to have a voltage regulator set to a few volts below 12V (if I recall car batteries go up to 14V at times)
There some cheap-ass LED light sticks that run off 12v and I believe have a voltage regulator in them.

>>781616
If you place the lights high enough where they emit directly out of the windows, it is illegal to have them turned on while driving. Just like undercar lighting is not supposed to be on while driving on the road. It is subjective to the police officer whether they are too distracting.

That said, the few accent LED strips I've put in my car are switched independently and hooked into my audio amplifier outputs so they flash with the beat. You could piggy back the wires on the input side of the amp for easy access to an interior 12v connection.
There are plenty of LED strips/sticks designed for interior automotive use that you could use as a starting point and focus more on the customized placement and wiring you're going to need.

>>781667

Found it. There was a reviewer on Amazon who had some great info on these strands:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R20N2FKY22K3CQ/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B002Q8V8DM&nodeID=228013&store=hi

Also, some kick-ass installations:

http://www.amazon.com/review/RTR2MC9VOW9J8/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B002Q8V8DM&nodeID=228013&store=hi

>>781648
>>781688

>>781710
Aww, all butthurt that you got called out you useless faggot?

Here you go sweetie, take one of these before your mascara runs.

>>781712

>>781712

.

>>781712

..

>>781710
>>781712
>>781714
>>781718
>>781719

>>>/b/

>>781721

>>781722
>>781719
>>781718
>>781714
>>781710
The fun part about boards as slow as /diy/ are how obvious samefags are. You're not on /b/ anymore kiddo.

>>781728

well looks like this thread is pretty much ruined. guess ill take my questions over to /o/ since you people are all shit starters

>>781732
It's just one kid that misclicked into /diy/. /o/ will probably laugh at you for rice and send you back here. But the gist of what you need to do and calculate has been covered above.

>>781737

I was gonna let this go and call it a day but I figured you would want to see this

pic related. LOL

trolled like a motherfucker

lol I can just imagine your RAGE face right now! got trolled, son

>>781750
>>781752
> obvious /b/tard is obvious

If you were any good, you'd space your posts out so you weren't so fucking obvious you retard..

>>781765

you seem to be missing the point. I posted this >>781732


and you responded with this

>>781737


assuming it was a different person when it was really me.. aka you got trolled son

I guess you are too stupid to even see what happened. I think you need to go to bed kid you seem to be past your bed time

Dude you are making this waaaaay to complicated. You don't have to rig anything up there are kits that are ready to to, here's one for $27 -

http://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Genie-Underbody-Function-Wireless/dp/B00NUY9892/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1425870835&sr=1-2&keywords=Car+neon

This kit is 100% ready to go, all you do is run this straight up to your battery. Don't mess around with your cigarette lighter or whatever, just pass the wire through the rubber firewall grommet (where all of the wires from your fuse box come inside the car on the passenger side) and connect it to your battery. This is easy dude.

>>781774
Soory, I was out for the day and my phone ran out. So yeah, I've been searching for LED strips on aliexpress because the 27USD kit goes mad expensive when I check out. So I'll report when I've found something.

>>781670
>>781696
>>781667
Those link were extremely helpfull and I really think LED strips are the way to go, I'm good at soldering, I used to work as a mod-chip installer and I can even add a switch to my dashboard and it would look great!

Two questions, can I cut anywhere and the LEDs will still work off 12v?
I see 4 solder points, the LEDs in the picture are only one color, pink, where do I solder the wires?

I'm really excited can't wait to get this going and post pics

>>782327
not the other anons OP, but I have worked extensively with LED strips like this one, AND i've put lighting in my car.

First, some tips on using the strips:
-no matter what the reviewers say, they ARE easily damaged if they're in an area where you can hit/kick them, so be careful with placement.
- do not expect the "sticky backing" to hold them in place for more than a day or two. If you do not secure them in place with zipties, skrews, or something else, they will definitely unstick and sag.
-even though they are flexible, do not mount them anywhere that repeatedly bends them.

The strip in your pic is a full-color RGB strip that can display almost any shade of color, and as such needs a driver which connects to all 4 contacts (red, blue, green, positive).
If you wanted to avoid using a driver with that strip and have it shine just white light, you'd connect the + from your battery to the + on the strip, and all three other contacts to the negative on the battery.

cont. 1/3

>>782347
2/3

As far as wiring up the car,
-Don't fuck with trying to run a wire directly to your battery through the firewall, depending on your car it could be MUCH easier to remove a piece of your dash and splice into cigarette lighter feed, without using up the socket. This also gives you an extra margin of error if anything in your circuits catastrophically shorts out. Whereas, if you short something connected directly to the battery, and your fuse fails, you might kill the battery and find yourself stranded. Also not having "extra" wires running through the engine compartment means fewer questions from your mechanics.
-USE A FUSE. something that is rated less than your overall car feed so if your LEDs short for any reason, your fuse will blow before the car fuse. That being said, keep some extra fuses in your glove compartment forever after.
My cigarette lighter circuit has a 10 amp fuse, so I used a 5 amp on the feed to all my lighting. The 5Amp is actually inaccessible inside the dash, but it's been 10 years and it still works, and if something does blow, my cigarette lighter will still work.

-After the fuse, put a master kill switch that turns off everything else you connect downstream.
-Put this switch somewhere non-obvious, and where you can easily reach while the car is moving. somewhere under/near the steering wheel maybe, but this depends on your car. You don't want to get pulled over while your lights are on, and be unable to turn them off, even if they're completely legal the cop will still give you shit. And you'll have to waste time explaining to the judge how you're within the law.

>>782348

-After the kill switch, do whatever you like, for maximum rice points use a 12v LED driver that has a microphone, so it can respond to music. These range anywhere from $15-$150 or more depending on your budget.
-Whatever adhesives/attachments and components you use, understand that it will have to function in extreme temperature ranges. Expect 20 degrees below freezing in the winter, and at least 120 above in the summer. Even if you live in Gay Francisco and don't expect those extremes, you might move someday or decide to sell the car. I can tell you from personal experience, Hot Glue will melt like butter on a nice summer day. Do not expect electrical tape to be permanent either. Zip ties, eyelets, and loctite nuts/bolts from Home Depot are your friend.
-Plan ahead of time where each and every component will go in your car, and how you will secure it, as well as how/where you will run the wires to connect everything, before you do any shopping or dismantling.
-Ideally, place the major components where you can access them. My sound-activated driver is hidden in the glove box so I can get to it easily and it's invisible otherwise.
-Label both ends of each wire, so that if something needs fixing/replacing/upgrading three years from now you'll know what connects where without having to disassemble your car.
-Plan to have a buddy with a second car on standby for the entire time you're operating, in case you need to run to RadioShack for an extra length or wire, replacement fuse, switch, whatever.

Good luck anon, try and don't kill your battery.

>>782347
>The strip in your pic is a full-color RGB strip that can display almost any shade of color, and as such needs a driver which connects to all 4 contacts (red, blue, green, positive).
Actually, it's just RGB-strip, not WRGB.

>>782909
RGB is white when all three colors are on. It isn't pure white, as the dies tend to be somewhat far apart, but somewhat white.

>>782950
what this anon said, RGB combines to make white, and if you're not looking at the LED strip itself, but at the actual light cast off at a surface thats an inch away, you'll see white that's pure enough to be indistinguishable.

Maybe some high tech tools might discern a difference, i dont know, but to the naked eye it's all the same.

>>782327

I posted those links above...

You can cut the strip at regular cut marks. Look close and you'll see a horizontal line with a small scissors icon. You can cut cut the strip to any length, as long as you cut at those marks, and the strip will work.

You always use a 12v supply (or whatever the strip is rated for), no matter how long or short the strip is.

I haven't used the three-color strip that you've pictured, so I don't know about the RGB setup. I have used the one-color version of this, which only has a positive and a negative contact. When you complete a 12V DC circuit through those contacts, the strip lights up. When you break the circuit, they go out. Simple.

I'm going to guess that in the strip you've pictured, you connect the positive power supply to the "+" pad, and you connect the R, G, and B pads to the neutral side of your power supply. When you complete the circuit through the R channel, the red LEDs light up, same for G and B channels.

>>781616
This is goddamn stupid and retarded and unsafe.


Having this bright blue neon INSIDE your car will be so bright that it doesnt just blind you and makes you dangerously but this bright blue light can easily shine outside your car and causes an annoyance to others too


Are you by any change a 16 year old ricer?

babies first car mod.
just buy a 12v weather proof strip and plug it in. add a relay and a switch on the dash.

buying a strip will be cheaper and safer than anything you can fabricate yourself.

>>781616
i've seen some around that have their own battery and you just stick them wherever. no idea how long the battery would last and you'd have to reach to wherever you put them to turn on and off but if you just want them under the dash it shouldn't be a huge pain

of course it would be better to have some wired in and all connected to a single switch but if you want it to be easy, fast and cheap the sticky shit would work