Cold Cathodes's in cars?

[krato87]

Hey,
First time i've been here :D
I bought some dual pc cold cathodes off www.ebuyer.com and they're meant for computer use but theres a few reviews that say people have put them in the footwells of cars to light them up. I was wondering if anyone could help me.

Both the CC's are attached to the inverter with 10" wires, and then the inverter is connected to the switch with about 15" wires, which is then connected to a molex connecter with another 15" wires. The wires are black and yellow, so i'm guessing the black is the ground and the yellow is the 12v positive. I'm not great with electricals though. :S.

I want to connect this to my car stereo to give them power, you can simply connect them to the battery but i see this being too complicated, i know its a computer modding forum but i can't get any answers from the car modding forums. Does anyone know which wire to connect the yellow to on the stereo? I think the black wire goes to the metal under the dash I just don't know where the yellow one goes.

Also whats the best way of extending these? I would like to extend them between the actual bulb and the inverter because then it allows me to place one in the drivers footwell and the other in the passengers footwell, and whats the best way to connect the wires to the wires on the stereo? Is it best to use solder and then insulation tape or shrink wrap or something?

I'd appreciate it if anyone could help me out :D

Thankya

Krato

[MikeM87]

Hey this is a very interesting thread. I had a friend a while back that tried to do this but never managed to do it. I think he got the idea from one of those films not sure what they called the ones with all the shiny wheel's and paint.

I would like to know how to do this myself i am sure it would look rather cool in my car and would improve the look of it.

If anyone could help me and my new friend Krato out i would appreciate it :D
______________________________________

VAUXHALL CORSA B (1998) - Moddified :p

[Guttenaffe]

You really need a car inverter for those CCFL's as they made just for the weird power supply of cars. Yes a PC inverter will run off the battery which is around 11.5 to 12.5 V in most cars, but car's run off their alternator with the motor running. The alternator puts off ~14Vrms ripple DC because it isn't filtered much.

Here is the problem; I wouldn't want to power a PC inverter off of higher voltage power supply especially when they are known to blow-up/physically burn inside PC cases. (http://www.casemodgod.com/ccfl_inverter_rant.htm)

[krato87]

Oooh not nice o.0 good job i didn't spend an arm and a leg on them!

Is there anyway you can get a better or car inverter for them?

Thanks for the link :)

--edit

If i put an inline fuse then will it stop the inverter from frying and just cut the circuit instead?

[Guttenaffe]

You can use something like the following:
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/1821/filterdj9.gif (http://imageshack.us)

Just connect the inverter where the meter if it draws ~500mA (.5A) or less it should be fine.

That simple circuit will filter and regulate the voltage to the inverter.

[slaveofconvention]

If you want somewhere quick and simple to connect it, try piggybacking it off of a light on the dashboard - does your car have a lighted ring around the cig lighter? That way they'll only come on when the lights are turned on in the car, so you'll extend the life - you can still include the switch you probably got in the kit so they won't be on ALL the time your lights are on. Remember to test the voltage the light you piggyback onto uses tho...