General LED Mods
10-08-2008, 07:52 PM
#1
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: Rockford, Michigan
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General LED Mods
Kind of a broad yet simple question here...
If I wanted to do any kind of interior led mod...I don't know...say I wanted to slap some led's in the door handle...maybe in the glove box, whatever, how do I know where to wire them?
For example, I thought it would be pretty cool to stick some led's down by the pedal area. How would I go about doing something like that?
I'm not asking for a write up on how to wire LED's, I'm just wondering where would I start and what would your power source be for something like that? It seems like some of you guys out there are so great with this stuff it's like you just wake up one morning and know what to do! I wish I had that kind of talent with this stuff.
If I wanted to do any kind of interior led mod...I don't know...say I wanted to slap some led's in the door handle...maybe in the glove box, whatever, how do I know where to wire them?
For example, I thought it would be pretty cool to stick some led's down by the pedal area. How would I go about doing something like that?
I'm not asking for a write up on how to wire LED's, I'm just wondering where would I start and what would your power source be for something like that? It seems like some of you guys out there are so great with this stuff it's like you just wake up one morning and know what to do! I wish I had that kind of talent with this stuff.
10-08-2008, 08:09 PM
#2
It's pretty easy, especially since LEDs draw so little power.
First, figure out when you want the lights to come on, or how. Do you want the lights to come on near your pedals when you turn your headlights on? Well, then you need to find a power source that is switched on when this is triggered. A good start would be the dimmer on your dash. Do you want a separate switch? Perhaps the +12V supply for the cigarette lighter would do the trick, with a switch mounted somewhere.
Most of the time, you'll just have to hunt around to find what you want, or run it yourself. A multimeter is your friend.
First, figure out when you want the lights to come on, or how. Do you want the lights to come on near your pedals when you turn your headlights on? Well, then you need to find a power source that is switched on when this is triggered. A good start would be the dimmer on your dash. Do you want a separate switch? Perhaps the +12V supply for the cigarette lighter would do the trick, with a switch mounted somewhere.
Most of the time, you'll just have to hunt around to find what you want, or run it yourself. A multimeter is your friend.
10-08-2008, 08:34 PM
#4
I did this on my old 3rd gen, i spliced a wire into the switches by the steering wheel (defroster, cruise, etc) where the power wires for the lights in those switches are (usually red with a yellow stripe and black with a red stripe or something like that) and rand the two leads to an led and soldered them together, then mounted the led somewhere with tape or glue or whichever and whenever the lights were switched on and the interior lights would go on, the leds would go on too, and they could be controlled by the dimmer. It was pretty easy. For the glove box you could use, or splice into the existing wires for its light.
Also, on my 3rd and 4th gens the Dimmer controlled the leds perfectly, so i duno why yours didnt...
Also, on my 3rd and 4th gens the Dimmer controlled the leds perfectly, so i duno why yours didnt...
10-08-2008, 10:52 PM
#5
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10-09-2008, 06:27 PM
#10
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: Rockford, Michigan
Posts: 328
It's pretty easy, especially since LEDs draw so little power.
First, figure out when you want the lights to come on, or how. Do you want the lights to come on near your pedals when you turn your headlights on? Well, then you need to find a power source that is switched on when this is triggered. A good start would be the dimmer on your dash. Do you want a separate switch? Perhaps the +12V supply for the cigarette lighter would do the trick, with a switch mounted somewhere.
Most of the time, you'll just have to hunt around to find what you want, or run it yourself. A multimeter is your friend.
First, figure out when you want the lights to come on, or how. Do you want the lights to come on near your pedals when you turn your headlights on? Well, then you need to find a power source that is switched on when this is triggered. A good start would be the dimmer on your dash. Do you want a separate switch? Perhaps the +12V supply for the cigarette lighter would do the trick, with a switch mounted somewhere.
Most of the time, you'll just have to hunt around to find what you want, or run it yourself. A multimeter is your friend.
Let's say I wanted to use the cigarette lighter power supply. How would I go about doing that? Would I still be able to use the cigarette lighter? Not for lighting cigarette's, just for plugging stuff into there.
10-10-2008, 02:45 PM
#12
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: Rockford, Michigan
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I just thought of something. Those cold cathode strips you can get for the inside of your computer...like this one
Would there be a way to wire/solder those somewhere like the cig. lighter?
A friend of mine said he knew someone who took one of those and soldered it to where the trunk bulb goes...which sounds strange but not too far fetched.
Would there be a way to wire/solder those somewhere like the cig. lighter?
A friend of mine said he knew someone who took one of those and soldered it to where the trunk bulb goes...which sounds strange but not too far fetched.
10-10-2008, 09:01 PM
#15
I just thought of something. Those cold cathode strips you can get for the inside of your computer...like this one
Would there be a way to wire/solder those somewhere like the cig. lighter?
A friend of mine said he knew someone who took one of those and soldered it to where the trunk bulb goes...which sounds strange but not too far fetched.
Would there be a way to wire/solder those somewhere like the cig. lighter?
A friend of mine said he knew someone who took one of those and soldered it to where the trunk bulb goes...which sounds strange but not too far fetched.
Didn't even need solder.
Just needed to know which wire was positive and which on was negative, and then I spliced into the original trunk lighting wire.
10-11-2008, 06:02 PM
#16
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was it one like the one i linked? and how did you splice it into the original trunk wire?
10-12-2008, 05:48 PM
#18
you could use the cigarette but the only problem with that is your leds would be on all the time which is useless imo. Power your leds to the 12v side of the dimmer and ground. This way the dimmer would not affect your leds at all and they will only be on when the parking lights are on.
mine dim.
10-12-2008, 07:50 PM
#20
you could use the cigarette but the only problem with that is your leds would be on all the time which is useless imo. Power your leds to the 12v side of the dimmer and ground. This way the dimmer would not affect your leds at all and they will only be on when the parking lights are on.
*That Sharp series regulator can be had in a 12V model, and has an extra trigger leg that turns the regulator "on" when a voltage is sensed across it. They can be had for about 2 bucks a digikey.com, and are very useful in LED projects.
10-12-2008, 08:14 PM
#21
Another option (if he wanted to run them full brightness) is to use the cigarette +12V for power, run it through a Sharp controllable voltage regulator (PQ12RD21 series), and use the dimmer power to just trigger the voltage regulator. That way, the LED's are always running at full power, regardless of dimmer position.
*That Sharp series regulator can be had in a 12V model, and has an extra trigger leg that turns the regulator "on" when a voltage is sensed across it. They can be had for about 2 bucks a digikey.com, and are very useful in LED projects.
*That Sharp series regulator can be had in a 12V model, and has an extra trigger leg that turns the regulator "on" when a voltage is sensed across it. They can be had for about 2 bucks a digikey.com, and are very useful in LED projects.
10-13-2008, 08:50 AM
#22
Yeah that seems like an option but extra work, if you use the 12v from the dimmer (there are 2 12v signals there if Im not mistaken) before the switch . This should have your LEDS on at full brightness unaffected by the dimmer and ON only when your parking or head lights are on which is how it should wired.
10-13-2008, 01:09 PM
#24
Splicing works because in parallel circuits, each of the "legs" of the circuit (that is, all wiring beyond the junctions) retain the same voltage, just not the same current. In contrast, wiring in series keeps the same current, but voltage drops will differ.
There are a lot of resources on the web regarding basic electronics.
10-13-2008, 01:22 PM
#25
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 22
Do you want it on all the time or just when you open the trunk? Since I think it would be kind of a waste to have them on all the time. Run two wires from the trunk light to your tubes. One is positive and one is negative. Open the trunk and they turn on.
10-13-2008, 01:27 PM
#26
10-13-2008, 03:53 PM
#27
10-13-2008, 04:18 PM
#28
I understand but most here who put LEDS in place of gauge bulbs or climate control bulbs , do not use any type of voltage regular or diodes etc. I have read here that if you don't use diodes for your LEDS in our 4th gen maxima (not speaking of a led replacing a led) they will fail premature do to back EMF. Don't know how true this is nor have I used diodes in my Leds projects . But speaking from experience I have have leds fail on me in less than a week. There were installed in my climate control. Now again I have to replace them for a third time. Maybe diodes are the answer.
Perhaps it is overkill, but I've never seen a problem in creating a rock-solid power supply for even the most meager projects. But then again, I have Pulse Width Modulators in my doors so I could lower the brightness of my door light LEDs to something less than blinding.
10-13-2008, 07:43 PM
#29
It is just so cheap and easy to add simple voltage regulation to a circuit that I always do it. Just a simple LM317T from the Rat Shack wired for whatever voltage you want will do, or even an LM78XX series regulator. For less than 2 bucks in parts, you'll never have to worry about EMF problems or cranking voltage fluctuations blowing your LEDs.
Perhaps it is overkill, but I've never seen a problem in creating a rock-solid power supply for even the most meager projects. But then again, I have Pulse Width Modulators in my doors so I could lower the brightness of my door light LEDs to something less than blinding.
Perhaps it is overkill, but I've never seen a problem in creating a rock-solid power supply for even the most meager projects. But then again, I have Pulse Width Modulators in my doors so I could lower the brightness of my door light LEDs to something less than blinding.
How easy is it to wire these regulators in? Maybe I'll take a trip to the shack and try adding one to my climate control LED circuit. Im tired of replacing these things.
10-13-2008, 08:51 PM
#31
The LM317T is great because it can regulate either voltage OR current. In this application, it is easiest to regulate current. Figure out how much current you want to flow to your resistors (probably 15ma-20ma), multiply that number by the number of LEDs you have, and then plug that into the calculator here.
For example, if you had 5 LEDs and wanted them to run at 15ma (which is reasonable for climate control), you'd want a resistor rated at 16.7 ohms wired in as shown on the diagram. Just find a resistor close to that number, probably 15 ohm.
If you have legs of resistors running in series-parallel, you simply count the number of legs you have and multiply that by the target current.
Easy!
11-01-2008, 09:41 PM
#32
It's pretty easy, depending on how you have your LED's already wired. I'll assume you are running them all in parallel with individual load resistors for 12V (most likely 470 ohm).
The LM317T is great because it can regulate either voltage OR current. In this application, it is easiest to regulate current. Figure out how much current you want to flow to your resistors (probably 15ma-20ma), multiply that number by the number of LEDs you have, and then plug that into the calculator here.
For example, if you had 5 LEDs and wanted them to run at 15ma (which is reasonable for climate control), you'd want a resistor rated at 16.7 ohms wired in as shown on the diagram. Just find a resistor close to that number, probably 15 ohm.
If you have legs of resistors running in series-parallel, you simply count the number of legs you have and multiply that by the target current.
Easy!
The LM317T is great because it can regulate either voltage OR current. In this application, it is easiest to regulate current. Figure out how much current you want to flow to your resistors (probably 15ma-20ma), multiply that number by the number of LEDs you have, and then plug that into the calculator here.
For example, if you had 5 LEDs and wanted them to run at 15ma (which is reasonable for climate control), you'd want a resistor rated at 16.7 ohms wired in as shown on the diagram. Just find a resistor close to that number, probably 15 ohm.
If you have legs of resistors running in series-parallel, you simply count the number of legs you have and multiply that by the target current.
Easy!
Im just being lazy on the home work end of it. 
11-02-2008, 08:25 AM
#33
This is a great link you provided here. I had to be getting more current then my leds were rated for . All 5 of the leds in my climate control burned out in less than 2 months. So I used a different resistor this time and I'll see what happens. I used the resistors that came with the leds and Im guessing they weren't the proper size for the application. If they all burn out again then I'll do a load calculation Im just being lazy on the home work end of it.
Im just being lazy on the home work end of it. I did NOT put them in my door lights, but sure enough, one of the LEDs was being over-driven and has caused the array to start flickering. I put in a voltage regulator so they are only being driven with 15ma per LED, and eureka! It worked again.
11-02-2008, 02:18 PM
#34
It took me 15 minutes to make 4 voltage regulators, so I'd always recommend doing it.
I did NOT put them in my door lights, but sure enough, one of the LEDs was being over-driven and has caused the array to start flickering. I put in a voltage regulator so they are only being driven with 15ma per LED, and eureka! It worked again.
I did NOT put them in my door lights, but sure enough, one of the LEDs was being over-driven and has caused the array to start flickering. I put in a voltage regulator so they are only being driven with 15ma per LED, and eureka! It worked again.
11-12-2008, 09:53 AM
#35
Here's what I did...
Just buy some 12 V ready LED's at walmart ($9 for 4 of them) and then i just used an old cigarette power adaptor for something else that didn't work (you can apparently buy these) and wired the lights up to that... i plugged it in to the rear lighter socket, so when i want em on, i just reach back and push the adaptor in all the way. Way easy and you don't have to pull anything apart/solder/anything complicated, and pulling out the adaptor slightly so the lights turn off is just as easy and convenient as having a switch. Oh, and the rear socket on the middle console is positioned perfectly so you can just tuck the wires under the edges of it for all 4 lights. (2 in front footwells and 2 under the seats) Worked for me
P.S.- I actually just used some thin speaker wire to lengthen the short wires attached to the Walmart 12 V ready LEDs.. just bared ends, twist together, electrical tape... kinda ghetto, but you cant see it anyway haha
P.S.- I actually just used some thin speaker wire to lengthen the short wires attached to the Walmart 12 V ready LEDs.. just bared ends, twist together, electrical tape... kinda ghetto, but you cant see it anyway haha
Last edited by jowo9; 11-12-2008 at 09:55 AM.
01-28-2009, 12:56 PM
#38
i have LEDs by my pedals not hooked up to any dimmer panels or anything, i decided to just hook it up to a switch which was pretty simple all except for the finding someway to run it through the firewall so the wires were hidden. They do take little power, an example is i had them on in the early morning before the sun came up on my way to work and i stayed at work till the sun went down and i forgot to turn them off in the morning, and the battery wasnt even phased.
01-29-2009, 05:53 PM
#39
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 54
This is quite interesting! LEDs in the interior sounds like a great idea. To those who have done this modding, care to share some pictures so I'll have some idea of what to do. Thanks!
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