If I were to buy some 12" blue cold cathodes from say xoxide.com which of course are originally meant for computer usage would they work in a car? I realize that electrically they would work. My question is more about the vibration aspect. Would they be strong/sturdy/durable enough to be used in a car?
My baby is due any week now and I originally had the idea to put footwell lighting in my Passat because it would look cool and also to make it easier to find things thrown on the floor / lost by the baby when it gets older. I know it's been done before, in fact I've done it using neons in another car. Just never tried cold cathodes before and would like to since they are MUCH cheaper.
If you're using it on the interior, no problem. If you're using it on the exterior. I'd definitely seal it in a polycarbonate/acrylic tube. Keep it from the elements and raod dibris.
Yes they will be mounted under the rear seats and under the front dash in order to illuminate the footwells.
Also, does anyone know what 12v line to tap into? I will be mounting a rheostat/potentiometer (can't remember which, it's essentially a volume control) to vary the voltage going to the lights. The idea behind it being a dimmer switch.
This will be mounted in the center console, next to the parking brake in the rubber area. It is the same area where the second unused mounting place of the OBDII connector is. (I own a B5 Passat)
Does all this sound like it will work? And what line would it be best to tap power from?
Variable voltage won't do jack to the lights. That ~12V it is taking in turns out to be maybe 600V? The lights need this high voltage to work.
I tapped into my headlights. That way, when the lights are on, so are my neons. There is a write up or two or three in the forum. One fairly recent with how he tapped into the map lights.
it's pretty much plug and play. i just plugged a dual white 12" that i ordered from xoxide. cut the wires and plugged into the trunk light plug to replace the dinky oem w5w bulb. i think for your goal you can easily tap into the reading light in the back, map light in the front and such. beware they are really bright and make sure if out of your sight when driving so it wont distract your vision.
here are some pix (there are bunch of other members who did these mods):
this is essentially all the wires needed, with the ballast equipped with the cathodes (before the wires were tucked away, that is)
this is the result. total white light. so much better than the w5w wedge that barely worked.
going to add the dual white cathodes to the glove box once on get the replacement light housing that fell apart on me...
Tap into the cigarette liter because it provides constant power no matter what even if the car is off (put an on/off switch on).
Durability wise.
If they get kicked, they will break. In the footwells, they may get kicked it's a risk.
I was more worried about just plain vibration produced by the car's normal motion over bumps, dips, ect. Also, the reason I wanted a dimmer switch was to be able to dim the lights in case they are too bright. I did think at first to tap them into the car's dimmer switch but decided against it because I like my instrument cluster at 100% brightness and I would not want to dim them just to dim the footwell lights.
The whole idea is soft blue light in the footwell. Enough to see something and have a "cool" effect but not too much to be distracting. When I did this to a prior car I used auto neons which produced a soft light. I currently have cold cathodes in my computer at home and so know from experience that they are much much brighter than neons are. Hence the dimming idea.
Why can't I dim the lights? I realize that the 12v is inverted and transformed into much more voltage but shouldn't it just be relative? Not as much voltage to the inverter, the less it can step up the voltage so less light is produced. Perhaps I'm wrong.
Can anyone explain to me why it won't work? :crazy:
Why can't I dim the lights? I realize that the 12v is inverted and transformed into much more voltage but shouldn't it just be relative? Not as much voltage to the inverter, the less it can step up the voltage so less light is produced. Perhaps I'm wrong.
Can anyone explain to me why it won't work? :crazy:
Firstly, they might seem brighter simply because they are in a smaller box. Your car has the tendency to be much, much larger than your case. If that isn't the case, and they truly have a higher output then at least realize that the effective area you are trying to light. I have a 12 inch in each footwell and I think it is a perfect amount. At night, when on, the passenger seat is shrouded in a blue light up to about 4 inches above where one's booty would be.
Concerning the variable voltage realize that items are only functionable under certain conditions. Japan uses a 50Hz where as our electricity comes in 60Hz. Your dryer is taking in 220V where your lamp is plugged into 110V. Different things require different things to be real technical. With this in mind, these cold cathodes operate in a similar fashion to fluorescent. With a highvoltage a gas is excited. This energy though given off is invisible to the eye. Once passed a filter the energy given off is visible in the blue yellow, white, etc. High voltage is necessary so that the atoms can get excited.
That little box you added on with your cold cathode is taking 12V DC and manipulating it into 600V AC at a low, yet still shocking, 200mA or so. I believe 500mA is enough to be of cardiac danger. That's why you can't dim. High voltage is needed. But don't take my word, go out and read about it! Take a multimeter and check the flow of electrons before the inverter and after the inverter!
This is why you never see a dimmer switch with a flourescent light of any kind and why the flourescent bulbs that are shaped to fit an incandescant socket say to never use with a dimmer.
Wow....I stand corrected :thumbup: That's the kind of reply I love to get. Not someone thinking they know how to explain something but instead, someone actually having the facts to back up their ideas. :bowdown:
So I guess I can't use a dimmer switch like I had originally planned to but that's alright. The install will now just look more "factory" than it would have with a dimmer switch visible on the console. Maybe I'll tap into the rear fog light switch instead. On that note where else would be a good spot? In my old corolla I had it tapped into the ACC wire in the radio's harness. Would that work? I don't like the idea of the cig lighter outlet. That would just drain my battery, no point in doing that.
Well as Wylie Coyote always always said...."It's back to the drawing board."
You present many ideas. I will try and get back to you as best I can on each:
1) I was an electrical engineering student so I can give ya a more technical savvy answer, with formulas and all. There are many wonderful electronic geeks on here too who know infinitely more than I. They have done many cool mods that can be learned from. I love the lights in the trunk up above.
2) Definitely much cooler without some rheostat on your dash. Besides, mine goes up to 11!!
3) Some good spots were already mentioned. Mine are in my headlights. Other have tapped into the map light with a switch in line. Remembering that map ligh is only gonna come on - and the neons tied into them- when the doors are open or the map light is on. So, the switch still gives you freedom to override its otherwise slave behavior.
4) You can tap it in anywhere ya got a difference of potential of 12V. The cig lighter won't drain your battery IF you of course turn them on an off. This is one reason mine are in the headlight circuit. It is dark, my headlights are on, my neons are on. When I get out of my car, the buzzer reminds me if my lights , and neons, are on. During the day, it is too bright to see the neons and to use headlights for any good use, so they are off.
Do a search as this was just discussed not long ago. You will get better insight. Ultimately, I think the headlight switch is best.
Wow....I stand corrected :thumbup: That's the kind of reply I love to get. Not someone thinking they know how to explain something but instead, someone actually having the facts to back up their ideas. :bowdown:
So I guess I can't use a dimmer switch like I had originally planned to but that's alright. The install will now just look more "factory" than it would have with a dimmer switch visible on the console. Maybe I'll tap into the rear fog light switch instead. On that note where else would be a good spot? In my old corolla I had it tapped into the ACC wire in the radio's harness. Would that work? I don't like the idea of the cig lighter outlet. That would just drain my battery, no point in doing that.
Well as Wylie Coyote always always said...."It's back to the drawing board."
The reason I tapped into the cig lighter is that it always supplies power. I don't drive with the neons on a lot. So, they don't automatically turn on whenever I turn something else on. They are independent because you install an on/off switch, so they are on or off whenever I want.
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