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  • The Ultimate How To Thread

    Ok guys here is the deal. Everyone post your how to's and I will add them to this thread so we can have a massive how to refrence. Make sure you include detailed instructions, pictures, and any parts needed.

  • #2
    How To By Chris-97ProbeGT 12 Volt LED's

    I am bored at work this morning and it is the day before vacation. So I figured I would write something up with my spare time to help my fellow probe crew out.

    Here is a quick tutorial on how to wire any type of LED to you car or any power source for that reason.

    First you want to pick out an LED. If the LED is new, the cathode (the negative lead) is the shorter one. If you've cut them off even, then look inside the plastic part. One wire goes to a large cup-shaped bit of metal, the other goes to a tiny spike. The cup is the negative wire every time.

    Here is an example:

    http://www.robotbooks.com/LED.jpg


    Also you will need to have the mA ( Milliamps ) value and the Vf value ( max volts the led will handle ) of the LED. Once you have that you can figure out what resistor you need. To figure out the resistance needed to not blow out your LED you will also need to know what voltage you are hooking up to. In our case it will be the 12 volts in your car. But with this info you will actually be able to wire up LEDs to run off of any type of power source from 2 AA batteries to a Square 9 volt battery. Anyway, to figure out what resistance you need we have to apply OHMS LAW.

    Ohm's law is stated as follows:

    (Vs-Vr) / I = R

    Where:

    Vs = Voltage supplied
    Vr = Voltage required
    I = Current draw of component in Amps
    R = Resistance needed

    OK. Let's keep it simple.

    Lets say that your LED has a mA of 20 and a VF of 4.5 volts and you want to make it work with 12 volts. First you want to take the value of your power source, which is 12volts, and subtract the VF value from that.

    So for this LED it would be:

    12 - 4.5 = 7.5 It would be safe to round it down to 7 just so your LED life last longer and doesn’t blow out. This will not really affect the brightness of your LED.

    You want to convert the current of 20 mA into a current in amps. Basically you just divide the mA value by 1000 so you will get 0.020 amps. So now that we have all the info we need, we plug it all into the resistance equation.

    R = Vr / I

    Where:

    R = Resistance needed
    Vr = Voltage required
    I = Current draw of component in Amps

    So our equation would look like this

    R = 7 / .020

    R = 375

    So this tells you that you need to get an ohm resistor no less then 375. When getting a resistor for your LED you want to make sure that you get the step up from your requirements if they don't have exactly the number you need. Again, this still won't affect the brightness of your LED; this is just to make sure you don’t burn it out.

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    • #3
      Once you have your LED chosen and have figured out which resistor you need it is time to put it all together.

      Here is what you should have to solder an LED together:

      *A soldering Iron

      *Flux
      ( a type of jelly type substance to put on any surface before soldering to prepare the surface. This helps the solder flow to that area and insure a good connection )

      *Solder

      *Shrink Tube

      * Wire
      ( I use 18 gauge red and black wire from Radio Shack. Make sure to get the stranded type and not the solid copper )


      Once you have this you want to cut the LED legs somewhat short so you don't have so much stuff going on there. Then you want to do the same on both ends of the resistor. Once you do that then tin your Soldering Iron tip.

      ( This is done by heating up the soldering Iron to operating temperature and then applying a thin coat of solder on the tip and letting it sit for a min or two. This allow the flow of heat to be evenly distributed to the surface you are soldering on )

      Here is a reference for Soldering tips and a how-to on soldering for people who are unsure about this.

      http://www.platoproducts.com/solacc.htm

      After tinning the tip you want to prepare the surfaces you are going to solder to. First start with the LED. Take the flux and put a small amount on both legs of the LED then with the tined soldering Iron tip touch one leg and you will see the solder from the tip cover the part of the leg that has the flux on it. Do this to both legs of the LED. Then put flux on both ends of the resistor. You should probably add more solder to your soldering Iron tip at this time and then do the same with each end of the resistor. Once they are prepared you want to attach the resistor to the positive leg of the LED. Since you have cut the LED already look into the LED. The leg that goes to the cup part is the negative and the other the positive. Once you have the resistor soldered to the LED then cut off some of the red and some of the black wire and strip off each end. Then add flux to one end and then with the soldering iron touch that end and let the solder flow to it. It is probably a good idea to add more solder to the tip before doing this though. Then hold the red wire up to the other leg of the resistor and then solder then together. Do the same with the black wire and solder it to the negative leg. Now you have a working LED that you can hook directly to your car. Before you put your shrink tube on to cover up the resistor and other solder joints I would take it out to your car and touch both the negative and positive on your car battery to see if it lights up. If so, then you are done. Just put the shrink tub on and use a lighter to heat it up.

      Hope this helps some people out.

      Comment


      • #4
        How To Eq Mod By RICK-95GT

        SORRY THIS HAS TAKEN SO LONG, GO TO www.jonflux.com/rich.htm

        Comment


        • #5
          Floor Neons By Drummerboyevil

          Floor neons:

          Mount them on the bottom front of the seat. You cannot see the tube at all, there is less chance of someone kicking it, and it allows more of a radius for the tube to shine on...

          The only thing is that I have used cathodes instead of neons which are about 1mm thick by 12 in long. They put out a much larger amount of light and it is a better color also. Find them on ebay. They are used mostly in computer cases.

          To wire a neon that is mounted on the underside of a seat run the wires down the seat harness in a way that they won't get pulled on if you move the seat forward or backwards, and make a hole in the carpet. Then reach down through the center conosle that you should have apart at this time and pull the wire up there and wire it either into the cigarette lighter with a switch, or be cool and wire it into one of the illumination wires so the neon will come on with any of the lights.

          If you are using a cathode make sure you do not cut the wire that goes from the inverter to the tube. Mount the inverter in a radio shack type work box which is a little plastic box and screw that into the carpet under th seat. It will not be visible and it will get ventalation. It is very important that you don't cut this wire to lengthen it or anything else, except for if you are just lengthening the power wire or ground wire that goes to the tube.

          That should be it.

          http://www.accn.org/~chutson2001/neon2.jpg
          http://www.accn.org/~chutson2001/neon4.jpg

          Comment


          • #6
            How-To: Basic Component Alarm Information and Installation

            First off lets get down to the basics...

            Your basic component alarm is going to consist of:

            *The alarm module
            *1-2 remotes
            *A siren (sometimes stock horn is used)
            *Starter disable relay
            *A shock sensor (depends)
            *Valet switch (if not a setting on the module.. i.e. Bulldog alarms)
            *L.E.D. Alarm indicator (most the time)


            The Alarm Module is the little box that all the wires go into that is basically the brain of the whole alarm.

            The Remotes obviously control the functions of the alarm… these will usually have a range from 200 feet to 2 miles depending on how many zero’s were included in the price tag

            A Siren is pretty self-explanatory. It’s loud. The siren is usually connected to a 12v power source, and a negative output on the alarm module. When the alarm is set off the siren grounds out and 120 sweet decibels scream for help. :grin:

            The Starter Disable Relay basically is just a relay with the 12v ignition connected to one side of the coil, and the negative output of the alarm on the other side of the coil. When the alarm is unarmed, the ignition and starter motor are connected as usual. When the alarm is activated, the coil is charge and the connection between the ignition and starter motor is broken. For a GREAT definition on relays visit This Site..

            A shock sensor generally has two stages. If you brush up against the car a warning siren is let off. If you punch a whole through the window… or drop kick a fender … the alarm will be set off and the very loud siren will scare you off… Hopefully.

            A Valet Switch is either a switch or a setting on the actual alarm. It allows you to disable the alarm while still keeping the keyless entry active. On my bulldog alarm it was a sequence of buttons that activates this. On my new alarm it is a switch that must be activated while the alarm is dis-armed.

            The L.E.D. is just a neat little blinky thingy to impress the ladies. No… actually it is a light that is activated to scare the bad guys away from you car. These range from a 10 cent led from radio shack, to a 30 dollar batman looking contraption that blinks in different patterns and such.

            Basic Connections:
            Note: these wire colors I am using are for a 96 GT. For your colors visit http://www.bulldogsecurity.com

            *The powa!
            This is controversial… Some say it is best to connect a dedicated line to the battery. Others say splicing off the 12v constant is fine. Either way you need to use a fuse… 30amp should do it. If you want to get creative this is what I did. Since I am no longer using the fuse slot for my factory amp, I spliced of the 12v Constant which is the Black/Blue wire on the ignition harness on my car. I then took that wire and replaced the old amp power wire with it. I popped in a 30 Amp fuse and I was set.

            *Da Ground!
            Just connect to any chassis ground. Make it a good one kids. :grin:

            *Ignition (+) input
            Splice into the Blk/Pk wire in the Ign. Harness.

            *Door Trigger (-)
            Splice into the Red/White(-) Domelight wire located at the fuse block. This eliminates the need to splice into the door triggers because the domelight turns on whenever the door triggers are activated… get it? You better!

            *Sensor input
            This is where the little movement sensor gets hooked up. It usually hooks directly up to the alarm module via clip thingy. You can attach more types of sensors just by using blocking diodes.

            Output Connections:
            *Parking Light
            Connect the Light Flash (+) output to the Orange/silver(+) Wire located at the Fuse Block. This makes your lights go blink blink.

            *L.E.D.
            This is usually plugged directly into the alarm module via connector. It blinks when the alarm is armed… Nuf’ said.

            *Siren
            Explained above.

            Keyless Entry
            The “fun” part

            Our cars consist of this rare locking system. A single wire locking system. When 12v current is applied to the locking mechanisms, they lock. When a 12v current with a 4.7 Ohm resistor is applied, they unlock Don’t ask alright?

            Here’s how you hook that mofo up.
            http://www.the12volt.com/doorlocks/page2.asp#fp

            I think that about wraps it up.
            I’d like to thank LiquidFunkBlasta, PurpleMetal1, Monkeyevil, and the12volt.com… not necessarily in that order.

            Peace.

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