hello,

is it possible to wire up some interior LED strips to the inside of the car, so that when i would turn on the headlights, they would come on?
anyone else done this?

thanks.

 

Yes it is totally possible

Here is one link of someone doing this. and i am sure there are others that have done it.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=157754

 

A source you might like to use is the gray/red wires that supply illumination for buttons and gauges. It goes on and off with the headlights and parking lights. I think they are also tied to the dash dimmer control. You should be able to find gray/red wires at the connectors to components that illuminate when you turn headlights on (e.g. things in the center stack, and gauges).

 

thanks for your reply
I kind of understand what your saying.
But is it possible to attach them to the battery so when you start the car they come on.

 

Well, that was not your original question (switching on with the headlights). You can use Add-a-Circuit to tap into one of the fuses which are connnected through the ignition switch: F6, F7, F9, F10, F11, F13, F35, F36, F39, F40.

 

yes I no it was my original question but it looks more complicated than I expected it to be that's why I asked about just connecting them to the battery. Well is it hard to wire them up so when try come on with the headlights?

 

I think that judging by your questions and answers you are not a DIY man, it would be wise for you get some hands on help from someone who understands the basics.

 

thanks for your reply
Yes you are correct
I searched the add a circuit device and had a little look up it doesn't look too complicated to do
Would this go in the fuse box under the bonnet or the one under the steering wheel?

Thank you

 

The circuits that RKW is referring to are located in the passenger side footwell on the right side behind the removable panel door. Fuses F1 thru F49 are located there. The Sticky "hot or not" at the top of this electrical forum describes the circuits. Be sure to disconnect the Negative battery lead when your messing around in there.

 

thanks for your reply,
so basicaly if i wanted to use Add-A-Circuit, i would need to find a 12V Led Strip, and wire it up in there?

thanks.

 

Thats correct,

 

this is what i really wanted to do, make them come on when i put the headlights on.
does anyone no what fuse this is, and is it as simple as buying Add-a-circuit and using that?

thanks.

 

I am completely new to automotive wiring, but am pretty familiar with electronics in general. Hoping someone can give me a few pointers or send me off to a website where I can learn up on this.

I have an LED string I'd like to power from my fog lights. From what I understand, since LED's draw so little power, nothing much else is required apart from wiring them to the correct source. I looked at the Hot or Not sticky and really couldn't make much sense of it.

If someone can just give me a few simple pointers I can probably figure it out ... but I just don't know where to start from ...

 

btw ... the LED's I am using are a string of automotive-use bulbs that rely on a 12v power source. Thought I should clarify this ... these aren't bare LED's I'm soldering myself. I just need to know where to connect the 12v+ and 12v- connections to power it.

 

The Hot or Not Fuse thread has a pic of the fuse panel guide, which shows the front fog fuses at F47 and F48 (probably separate fuses for left/right). You can use an Add-A-Circuit to get the 12V+. However, F47/F48 show icons for both the fog and the parking lights, so they might be powered also for parking lights. If that doesn't work out for you, you can always tap directly from the wires at the fog bulb socket.

 

looking to milk a little more info out of this thread. if i were to tap into one of these wires would i need to do any other prep to the car? (ie. disconnect battery, remove fuses, etc) or can this be done on the fly?

also, if i need to disconnect the battery, is that going to give me any issues when i hook it back up? i've heard that when you disconnect the battery you wipe the car's memory, so to speak.


any insight would be sweet...

 

I tapped my cigarette lighter illuminator for this purpose. I didn't use strips, I used the single LEDs. It works fine.

Disconnecting the battery on this job wouldn't be an absolute reqirement, and I didn't disconnect it. However, when in doubt, disconnect the battery. It depends where you got the power from.

My source is a switched source that's cold when the headlights are off. If you're poking around in your fusebox with taps, I advise you to disconnect the battery.

Disconnecting the battery is not such a hard job. Open the boot, take off one cable. This will reset the memory in your clock and trip odometer, and I believe the ECU. I always took the attitude that ECUs need an occasional reset to thin the herd.