neon light wiring

[gxiang]

hey guys just wondering how do i go about wiring some neon lights for a show car i want to enter for autosalon.

the ones they sell at autobarn etc all have a cigarette plug, could i cut that offer and where do i wire the wires to?

honda civic in mind.

thanks

[Boban]

some of the cigarette lightr plugs have a power inverter of some kind in them mate which means when you cut them off the neons won't work and unfortunatelly since you've cout the plug you can't return the goods as they are damaged (tried that already). Some neons have a power inverter and than 2 wires going to the plug which means you can cut the plug off and wire that to any + and - wires you wish and it wll work but they are more expensive (example: i bought 2 little 8" neons for $39) from supercheap.

Where are you located by the way

[gxiang]

when you say connect any of the +/- wires onto any i can find, could you give me an example? cos i dont want to say connect it to my HU or wateva and drain half the current out. im no good with wires...

oh and im located in melb.

[stanleym]

if u not good wif wires dont do a diy to much to risk man......

u can buy neons kits that dont have the cigarette lighter end on the as they are designed ofor outside the car use like at shows etc

[CRXer]

If u got the cig plug with integrated inverter,just buy a cig socket from supercheap or similar,wire that in behind the dash somewhere neat & plug the neons into there.

If u look at the front of your under dash fuse box,there will be about 5 empty,single male spade terminals.

Test each terminal with a multi(for 12V to ground) or a test light(lights up) when u have the ignition key in different positions.

Some will be powered direct off the battery,ie on all the time regardless of ign key position.
Some will be powered in ACC position & others while on IGN "ON".

U might find a couple will not power up at all,they are integrally fused supplies,ie u need to put a fuse into one of the empty slots to make them power up.Some will not even do this,they need supplies bridged onto the line side of fuse first.

So for your simple,uncomplicated purposes,just find the terminal that comes on at the desired ign key position.

Then buy the appropriate female spade terminal,run this wire to a switch (which is rated to take the entire load of the lights) somewhere of your choice,also cut a fuse of the appropriate rating into this wire near the fuse box.

Run a second wire from the switch to the positive side of the cig socket(or cut off cig plug,whichever u got).

Then simply run a wire from neg side of cig socket/cut wire to a good grounding point on chassis.

Make sure all your wiring is rated higher than the fuse u choose to put in as well.

[Boban]

LOL ^^^^ what CRXer said.
Just one thing mate, if he is not able to find 2 wires (+&-) how will he be able to do all that. Sorry qxiang, don't mean to say you are unable to do that but if you are not sure about it it's not worth messing around with the wires and damage something in the process (like i've done).

But to answer your question where to find wires, your HU is a good spot, i'm running mine off of that as well. Use the BLACK wire for NEGATIVE (duh boban black is always ground). And for positive you can use either the YELLOW wire on the HU which has constant power, the wire runs directly off the battery (ie the neons will be always on unless you put in a switch) or the RED wire which is connected to the ignition barrel and meaning the neons will not be on unless the HU is on. I would recoment that you use the RED and BLACK wires and put a switch onto one of them so that the neons are not always on (for example when you see the cops you flick the switch off and bobs your mother's brother :p). If you need any more info mate just let me know, i love messing around with the electronics

[CRXer]

LOL ^^^^ what CRXer said.
Just one thing mate, if he is not able to find 2 wires (+&-) how will he be able to do all that. Sorry qxiang, don't mean to say you are unable to do that but if you are not sure about it it's not worth messing around with the wires and damage something in the process (like i've done).

But to answer your question where to find wires, your HU is a good spot, i'm running mine off of that as well. Use the BLACK wire for NEGATIVE (duh boban black is always ground). And for positive you can use either the YELLOW wire on the HU which has constant power, the wire runs directly off the battery (ie the neons will be always on unless you put in a switch) or the RED wire which is connected to the ignition barrel and meaning the neons will not be on unless the HU is on. I would recoment that you use the RED and BLACK wires and put a switch onto one of them so that the neons are not always on (for example when you see the cops you flick the switch off and bobs your mother's brother :p). If you need any more info mate just let me know, i love messing around with the electronics

Yeah,I know...........
cbf typing it any simpler thou.
someone else might benefit from it or he can always ask further Q's.

[RMN15N]

please please please dont fook around with the wires man.. ive did that b4 when i didnt know what the hell i was doing.. then the + and - touched and there went my power windows.. gone like that..
i was pissed off very badly..

and i fixed it after 2 weeks without power windows and it was damn hot i tell ya.

well neons are pretty much positive n neg with both of those ur light should be working.. u'll find most ppl put switches between them and so u can turn them on off whenever u please

[destrukshn]

lol.
funny shit.
yeah, most people put a switch or hook it up to your head lights.
lol

[Boban]

i was gonna put my side ones as indicators and the front and back to headlights/taillights :p
but errrrr no

[gxiang]

lol.
funny shit.
yeah, most people put a switch or hook it up to your head lights.
lol

yes im thinking of putting a switch for it. i will have two neons running under where the passenger/driver foot is. i want to connect both to a power supply and then onto one switch.

i dont want anything complicated, just simply 2 neons thats it.

so i was thinking connect a switch onto a power supply then connect either neons onto the switch. would that work?

would i need a fuse for this? if i short anything would i short power the supply im gather power from??

and what would be the ideal power supply to hook up with, and how i go about getting it from inside the car?

[CRXer]

and what would be the ideal power supply to hook up with, and how i go about getting it from inside the car?


If u look at the front of your under dash fuse box,there will be about 5 empty,single male spade terminals.


Yes it should be fused.........

why do i bother...............

[RMN15N]

look mate.. if u want to just hook on neons.. take off whatever you need to take off for the cig lighter.. and hook them on to those wires at the back..
look for the pos n neg one b4 u do it tho.