building a switch for LED’s on headlights
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Lights, Neon, LEDs, HIDs
Forum Discription: Under Car Lighting, Strobe Lights, Fog Lights, Headlights, HIDs, DRL, Tail Lights, Brake Lights, Dashboard Lights, WigWag, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=38444
Printed Date: May 05, 2024 at 6:38 PM
Topic: building a switch for LED’s on headlights
Posted By: urban_epidemic
Subject: building a switch for LED’s on headlights
Date Posted: September 01, 2004 at 8:51 AM
quote:: just got a pair of eagle eyes halo projector headlights for my 99 accord and no instructions were included as to how i should wire the halos. along with the pre-wired harnesses, each headlight assembly has 2 halos, with 2 wires per halo (one red wire with a resistor, and one white wire). any suggestions? Red with resistor is the switched power ( attach this to the Accord's RED / BLACK wire ) and the white will be the GROUND. ::quote hey there, im new to the forums and i first wanted to say how happy i am that this place is here. got a lot of good advice for situations im not experienced with yet. like the guy above, i too have purchased eagle eye brand halo projector headlights. many people have adviced not to directly splice the LED's into the corner lamps (where they usually go) due to that has the LED's will be on all the times you turn on your lights which can lead to a shorter life span. i want to build a switch for them. but im really novice to this idea. i've done simple cut and splice projects, with 12 volt power inverters, but not like this. how would you suggest i make a switch? there are a total of 4 LED's (two on each headlight) i dunno if mine have resistors already built in, what do resistors normally look like? is it possible to run 4 LED's off one 12 volt power source (a single corner lamp's wiring) or do i need two? many people tell that they ground the negative's to the car's block instead of running it back to the battery, they claim this gives the LED's a more brilliant light. is this a good idea, or should i just run the neg's? if some 1 can help me iwth this that would be really awesome. thanks for everything.
Replies:
Posted By: urban_epidemic
Date Posted: September 02, 2004 at 8:18 PM
Update, ok, after doing a lot of reading, i've figured out what receptors look like. unfortutionally i still dunno if my LED's have them. most of the wires are protected by really good split loom and i don't want to open it to look. if anybody else has, or knows if eagle eye brand projector headlights have the receptors or not that would be really helpful. AND PLLLEEEEZZZZZZZ some1 explain to me the basics of building a switch for this process. <see post above>
Posted By: auex
Date Posted: September 02, 2004 at 8:23 PM
I don't think anyone quite understands what the hell you are asking, if they did then someone would probably have answered.
For a switch, just go buy a 10 amp toggle switch and wire it up to pass the fused +12V to the leds.
You will probably have to use your own resistor.
You can probably run as many leds as you want off a 12 volt wire, depending on gauge. This really is a trick question and depends on what led's you are running.
It generally doesn't matter where you ground as long as it is a good clean ground.
-------------
Certified Security Specialist
Always check info with a digital multimeter.
I promise to be good.
Tell Darwin I sent you.
I've been sick lately, sorry I won't be on much.
Posted By: urban_epidemic
Date Posted: September 02, 2004 at 9:40 PM
quote:: I don't think anyone quite understands what the hell you are asking ::quote wow dude, some1 must have taken a major dump on your corn flake this mourning. since i cant seem to ask the write question, doesn't it make sense its because i have no idea how to do this? i don't know the voltage or other specs of the LED halo's. basically its a circle of enclosed LED's all bound to each other. 10 amp toggle switch....thats a good beginning, but i still need more. can i relay all 4 LED halos off that one toggle? and something i never did understand about the kit is how exactly i splice into the parking lights. i know thats where most people tap into power, but i can't cut the parking lights off, thats illegal. so my next question is how do i splice the one 12volt wire to go to two different things (the 4 LEDs and the parking lights)
Posted By: auex
Date Posted: September 02, 2004 at 9:44 PM
You could probably wire a hundred led's to the switch. You don't have to cut the parking light wire, you just have to tap into it. Just find the parking light wire under the dash, tie a wire into it, run the wire through the toggle switch, insert diode on other side of toggle if needed, then run wires to leds(both sides). This way, if the parking lights are on and the toggle is on the led's are one, if one is off then the led's are off.
-------------
Certified Security Specialist
Always check info with a digital multimeter.
I promise to be good.
Tell Darwin I sent you.
I've been sick lately, sorry I won't be on much.
Posted By: Teken
Date Posted: September 02, 2004 at 9:55 PM
urban_epidemic wrote:
doesn't it make sense its because i have no idea how to do this?
You have no electrical understanding, or previous wiring experience. I would suggest that you practice on something smaller to start, as your vehicles electrical system is not something you want to practice on.
urban_epidemic wrote:
i don't know the voltage or other specs of the LED halo's.
You should start by asking the maker for this information or others who have similar set-ups. Regardless of that fact, the only prime importance is if there is indeed a inline resistor to operate with a 12 volt system.
The worst case right now with no information is to attach a 1/2 watt 470 ohm resistor in series to see how they operate and the amount of luminens are outputed.
urban_epidemic wrote:
can i relay all 4 LED halos off that one toggle?
Yes, but why would you??
urban_epidemic wrote:
and something i never did understand about the kit is how exactly i splice into the parking lights.
Splicing means you are simply tieing / tapping in *parallel* to the existing OEM wiring. This also can be done in series to the OEM wiring, that is up to you, and the circuit requirments.
urban_epidemic wrote:
i know thats where most people tap into power, but i can't cut the parking lights off, thats illegal.
You are not cutting off the parking lights. You are simply integrating both aftermarket, and OEM lighting fixters.
urban_epidemic wrote:
so my next question is how do i splice the one 12volt wire to go to two different things (the 4 LEDs and the parking lights)
You will require multiple lengths of wire.
Regards
EVIL Teken . . .
Posted By: auex
Date Posted: September 02, 2004 at 10:04 PM
Teken, thank you.
-------------
Certified Security Specialist
Always check info with a digital multimeter.
I promise to be good.
Tell Darwin I sent you.
I've been sick lately, sorry I won't be on much.
Posted By: javageek
Date Posted: September 08, 2004 at 8:56 AM
Most makers of "Halos" include the resistors with the product. They are soldered inline with the Anode of the LED.
Posted By: urban_epidemic
Date Posted: September 10, 2004 at 12:45 PM
wow, this was easier than i thought. i went to a auto center store to purchase the stuff i needed to do this switch idea, and to my suprise i found a kit with a pre-assembled switch. and even more suprising was how helpful the woman at the store was helping me out. she took the time to answer all my questions, didn't say things like "what the hell are u talking about" and even suggested different soldering methods i could use. the maker of the kit is A1 and the kit contains a relay, fuse, switch with 2 leds(to mark "on" and "off"), and all the needed wiring instructions etc. the kit runs off main battery line rather than the parking lights, making the halo's really brilliantly bright. you could even have the halos on with out any other lights if you like, but that wasn't really important to me. i assume the kit is availible at most major auto stores, but i bought it from Advance Auto Parts incase y'all have trouble finding it.
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