cold cathodes or other?

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=98864
Printed Date: May 02, 2024 at 11:47 PM

Topic: cold cathodes or other?

Posted By: marcomolo
Subject: cold cathodes or other?
Date Posted: November 10, 2007 at 9:48 PM

So...

I thought i'd brighten up my boot space with a bit of extra lighting.
It's a ford focus estate so the existing light's on the ceiling but i think i want to install a cold cathode tube on each side for a bit more light.

is this a good option. I kno they'll be pretty bright (i'm gonna go for white ones). how long do they realistically take to warm up to a useful brightness?

What would a simple LED array plugged straight into the festoon connection be like. not half as bright i'm guessing..?

any other suggestions?

Replies:

Posted By: ice32
Date Posted: November 12, 2007 at 7:31 PM

Cold Cathodes don't have a warm up time, so as soon as u hit the power bam there bright,

Heres a picture of the blue cold cathode i have in my boot.

posted_image

I can't comment on the led array as i've never seen them in action.

I'd say go for it with the cathode, its a good look to the boot in my opinion

Posted By: focusedenergy
Date Posted: November 25, 2007 at 11:04 PM

Go for the cathodes. It's 360 degrees of light, as opposed to directional like LED's.

Posted By: mystic knight
Date Posted: December 23, 2007 at 11:04 PM

Cold Cathode tubes look great. I was going to set some up in my truck until my friend started having problems with his. They worked great all summer but died quickly once cold weather set it. Anyone else had this problem? I still might try it depending on others experience.