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would this be a problem? leds, 08 tundra


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oldspark 
Gold - Posts: 4,913
Gold spacespace
Joined: November 03, 2008
Location: Australia
Posted: September 29, 2011 at 12:47 AM / IP Logged  
Ah - it's eBay! This site censors eBay URLs. (IE - it's not you, it's me... I mean, it's this site.)
I post the item number (in this case 190578079828; in the RHS "Item Info" panel) and say eBay - then it's easy to find.
Ok, they are 12V LEDs, IE:
   Voltage range 12-14 volts D.C.
   Draw: less than 26mA @ 12 volts!
[ See - 26mA compared to my 20mA. Stuff-all compared to 5W & 10W bulbs (~400mA & 800mA respectively). ]
And yes, as per your diagram (which is fine; and less bytes than a drawing or pic!) which is the picture version of "connect in parallel" - ie, all +ve to +ve, all -ve to -ve.
In parallel, each "string" (pod) draws 26mA hence 5x26 = 130mA. That's equiv to 12V x .13A = 1.56W - ie, less than a 2W bulb!   Geez - I hope it doesn't strain your alternator (just kidding!!).
Powering is simple - between +12V and 0V (GND).
That can be through a switch at either end - eg, +12V to LEDs+ and LEDs- thru (dome light) door grounding or other switch to GND.
Or insert a dimmer which - as I wrote - has to be PWM for "linear" dimming.
PWM is Pulse Width Modulated. It switches 12V on and off. The ON time to the "cycle period" (ON + OFF time) is the Duty Cycle.
The Duty Cylce varies from 100% (full on) to 0% or close to 0% (fully or near fully off).
PWM is required for stuff that needs a constant voltage supply to operate - eg fluoro-light dimmers, motor speed controllers, LEDs, etc.)
[ Technical: Though the "average" voltage drops, the only voltage seen by the load (LEDs) is +12V else 0V. Hence they pulse at full brightness but the "average" brightness is essentially the Duty Cycle. And like TV screens etc, we cannot detect the flicker if it's faster than (say) 30Hz (30 cycles per second). I typically built PWMs using 555 timers (ICs aka chips) based on a frequency of 400Hz - eg, see dimmer on 65w halogen?.
It's a similar result for motors and fluoro lights etc. And for lamps that can use "ordinary" resistive dimmers. ]
Though those pod specs claim 12V-14V operation - and since 12V vehicles typically have voltages up to 14.4V and even 15V-16V - I wouldn't worry about that. They should tolerate the higher voltage. [ If not, a resistor can be added to each string/pod. Each pod will be a series string of 4 LEDs with a resistor - probably (12V-4x2V = 4V/26mA = 153 => ) a 150 Ohm resistor. ]
The only other thing - fusing.
The fuse will not protect the LEDs, it is merely to protect the wiring in case it short etc.
You need 130mA so assume 150mA or bigger wire. Probably 1A.
The fuse needs to be less than (or equal to) the wire capacity (so the fuse blows instead of the wire melting and flaming = fire!). Oh - and the switch capacity. IE - wire and switch etc must handle the 130mA load, but the fuse must blow before the wire or switch melt (hence be smaller etc).
In practice, start with a suitable fuse. They should be run at no more than 70% so 130mA/.7 => 185mA hence a 250mA fuse and >250mA wiring etc.
But since a blade fuse may be more suitable (than glass etc 250mA fuses), maybe a 5A or 7.5A blade fuse (ATS? ATC?) and thence 5A or 7.5A (or 10A or 10A) wiring etc.
Of course, if powered off an existing fused circuit, just use a wire gauge bigger than that fuse's rating.
The LEDs' extra 130mA should have little effect on that fused-circuit's loading.
Sorry for the blab, but hopefully I've demystified the situation. (And probably totally confused you in the process LOL! But I did cover dimmer crap. Re-read a few times; ignore the irrelevant, and absorb a bit at a time.)
oldspark 
Gold - Posts: 4,913
Gold spacespace
Joined: November 03, 2008
Location: Australia
Posted: October 10, 2011 at 9:01 PM / IP Logged  
UPDATED: I tried the dimmers below.
They certainly appear to be PWM based on:
- use of a 2SK2866 switching MOSFET (10A)
- no significant FET heating for a 50W halogen load at any brightness
- similar dimming linearity of a parallel 12V LED
It won't dim fully, but that will be a lower limit as set by a resistor.
I don't think I'll bother to decipher the circuit - except to vary the lower limiting resistor - since my old 555 circuit should work just as well. (Oops - I forgot to measure the standby current of the Excel circuit in case it is significantly lower than the 10mA of a 555 timer.)
And I'm certain the lot could be substituted with the 555 circuit - just retain the 10k pot and the FET.
Hence a simple "off the wreck" LED etc dimmer.
I have little doubt that other Japanese vehicles went to PWM dimming years ago. [ You can usually feel it by the smooth "non-wirewound" dimmer pot and the small unit size (ie, no significant heat sinking required). ]
   
Below is my original post:
FYI - I pulled dimmers from 1995 & 1996 Hyundai Excels today.
They appear to be PWM dimmers, though I'm basing that on its minimally heatsinked TO-220 transistor or FET.
But it has an 8-pin dual-Op-Amp chip, so analog dimming is a possibility - if it were a 555 chip, it would need at least 10 less components than it does have.
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