so i got some cold cathodes for under the dash (reasons for CCFLs over neon - cheaper, brighter and glow better, hard case wont break, last longer) and when i opened up my package today what i found wasnt what i was expecting. the cold cathodes i bought are already pre wired for easy plug and play into a computer and not simple wires that are easy to splice into whatever. i know these will work in my max because it came with a 12v inverter, im just having some trouble figuring out how i'm going to wire everything up.


help please

 

bump for the evening

 

pics ?........

 

put up a pic of the connector

http://www.pcguide.com/ref/power/sup/partsDrive-c.html

this may help, the two in the middle are grounds, and the yellow is 12v and red is 5v, so if it has a yellow and black, shouldn't you be set? i'm not quite sure

 

are you posotive that its for 12v dc and not 12 ac ? if its for dc then i dont see why you cant just clip off the connector and wire it up using the 12v side. make sure its for dc though...

 

I have the same thing, just cut off the molex connector and splice and connect away!!

 

aight great, i emailed the company and here was their response-

"Hi,

All of the cold cathodes that we sell are designed for use in a computer system. They are designed only to be used with a regulated 12V source (such as a computer’s power supply). A car battery is not a regulated 12V source and will burn out the bulbs quickly (usually a matter of minutes). Therefore, we do not recommend their use in anything other than a computer.

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact us via email or phone."

so i'm having my doubts now

 

then mine must be some special type for sure, I originally bought them for my computer and i got tired of them in there so i put them in the car. If its supposed to last several minutes then mine should be long gone.....

But in the end its ur call, if you dont feel safe doing it, no one is forcing you to do anything, Im just sharing my experience.

 

I got Blue cold cathode in my car. I got it from Tigerdirect warehouse. I put mine in about 7months ago and they are working fine. I connected it the wires so when I unlock/open my doors they light up. If not I have a switch so I can keep it on while I'm driving. Let me take pics of how I did next time it is nice out. Might be awhile I live in Chicago.

 

i think im just gonna go ahead and give them a try, afterall im not installing them. i'm going to get the car stereo place im going to to wire them in while they're working on my car alarm, so i'm confident it will be done correctly. and in the end its only about $15 of parts.

 

The trick is getting a good inverter. Find out what brand inverters people are using with their cold cathodes (btw i had 2 coolermaster inverters fail within 2 days on my computer so don't use them.) The guy who emailed you is prolly right. The computer PS is regulated to 12-12.5 volts. and the voltage from alternator is 14. If your lights burn out it will be because the inverter failed not the lights themselves.

 

Use your volt meter and see what voltage is coming from that source you are planning to use. Don't forget to have your car on while you do the test. I hear 14V comes from the alternator

 

I installed 2 white CCFL's in my trunk, and it's bright as hell now at night. I just took the two (that are powered by a single inverter that originally had a 4 pin molex connector), epoxied/zip tied them to the roof of my trunk, then spliced the stock trunk light wires into the molex connector wires coming from the inverter.

Works perfectly, been like this for at least 3 months now, everything still works fine.