Author Topic: lighting mods in my car. (Read 17158 times)

Jono · « **Reply #30 on:** Apr 5, 2006, 10:28PM »

I had a couple of 25cm neons in my last car as the interior light, they looked like dogs' balls but put out heaps of light.

@ SoniCat:

So you've tried the same LED in another car and it works fine? And I'm guessing you've tried turning it around in the fitting too. The only thing left to make a difference is the voltage that's getting to the bulb.

Here's some things to try:

Try switching the light to 'ON' instead of 'DOOR'.

Are the contacts in your dome light nice and clean? If not, scrape them clean with a screwdriver or sand paper or a scourer or something.

Have you got a multimeter? Set it to DC volts and check the voltage across the light contacts, then check the voltage in your bf's car. If you find your car has a lower voltage than your bf's car then there's your problem. It should be around 12-14 volts.

rathies · « **Reply #31 on:** Apr 5, 2006, 10:42PM »

25cm is pretty big lol. I was referring to the little Peewee ccfl tubes that are about 12cm long. I haven't seen em in the night time but i bet they're bright little fuckers.

SoniCat · « **Reply #32 on:** Apr 6, 2006, 12:13PM »

Dickies is short for Dick smith electronics where I used to work, I mentioned it up above and oh, I now work as a 3d animator at the Brisbane THQ studio. I bet if I asked you what a biped was and how do you edit the envelopes after skinning a mesh on top you'd look pretty dumb also.. Heck, you probly don't even know how to strip the ends off a coaxial cable and add two sockets to it! I may not know much about cars but atleast I'm trying to learn.

I'm back from Jaycar, I got a similar festoon bulb as the dickies one except 6led's instead of 3 and main thing is this one works YAY! Looks alot like this barrel one, 3rd one down at this link http://www.ledshoponline.com/automotive_leds_festoon.htm. I'll try it out again tonight to see how bright it can get coz car's out on the street & too bright to tell. Anyway if anyone wants to replace your globe with an led, go to Jaycar ( I went to the brisbane, aspley one)

Thanx for your help guys, didnt mean to offend anyone, I just get frustrated easily, specially on forums (I think its all the waiting). Maybe a forum room for girls or newbies would be a good idea for people with basic car questions and won't be daunted by over zealous replies. If there was one, I'd definatly tell my friends about it, not that they all have nissans tho..

Kranzy · « **Reply #33 on:** Apr 6, 2006, 12:31PM »

we do have a newbie zone which you can ask any sort of questions you need to.

And in terms of the biped and editing envelopes i know what your talking about...i did computer animation for a semester at griffith uni on the gold coast.

SoniCat · « **Reply #34 on:** Apr 6, 2006, 12:33PM »

Oh Jono I missed you post, YAY for you! You said EXACTLY what I was wanting to hear, thanks so much.. Yeah I'd sprayed it with contact cleaner the 1st time I tried so that couldnt be it, and I swapped it around the 2nd time, but got nothing at all, it only worked on one side and very dim. The light was switched to on position, not door. I guess its just a mistery, but I like your multimeter idea. My dad's got one so I'll steal it off him just to settle my curiosity at the voltage differences and maybe determine why the new jaycar one works in mine and the old one only in the lancer.

SoniCat · « **Reply #35 on:** Apr 6, 2006, 12:39PM »

I was more referring to chr1S' last comment, not so much directed at anyone else.

Griffith eh? Thats cool. I just finished an animation BA at the griffith southbank campus. I got my thq job towards the end of uni in november. I think it helped that I did some contract work at liquid animation for a bit 1st tho. Are you planning working in games? Fuzzy eyes is hiring i noticed

THats cool about the newbie section, spose i should have looked before complaining there wasnt one. Thats where I'll be hanging out from now on X)

Kranzy · « **Reply #36 on:** Apr 6, 2006, 12:40PM »

I was hoping to coming out of school but have decided to go down another path.

I know you were refereing to chris's post but i thought id let you know that some people on here know a lil about animation:P

chr1S · « **Reply #37 on:** Apr 6, 2006, 12:45PM »

Umm, Sonicat, I think you've taken me the wrong way lol, I was being sarcastic, I didn't mean any offense.. So let it all go what you took in, I don't like being on unlevel ground with people so lets start fresh ey.

I'm glad you got it sorted and is now working...

SoniCat · « **Reply #38 on:** Apr 6, 2006, 12:56PM »

Thanks Chr1S, you made me smile n_n. Thats a good idea. Besides, I need to keep on your good side so you guys'll still wanna help me with things! XP

I think I might have been overly defensive thinking this might be a good place for guys to boast to eachother about their car stuff and a girl might get looked down apon a bit. I used to get that from customers at dickies 6_6. I took u guys the wrong way, you actually all seem very nice!

I gotta go now but I'll be hanging around here a bit coz i wanna get my little $300 corsair looking like something a bet more respectable if I can. In the newbies section tho of course =D

Catcha's!

Jono · « **Reply #39 on:** Apr 6, 2006, 06:31PM »

Quote from: SoniCat on Apr 6, 2006, 12:56PM

$300 corsair

$300 and it still runs? Bargain!

I paid $200 for a run-down corsair that had a blown engine

SoniCat · « **Reply #40 on:** Apr 7, 2006, 12:48PM »

Yeah there's a story to that.

It was my cousins cept he scraped the door, parker light and broke passenger door handle in two when he backed clumsily out of a shopping centre carpark. The insurer paid up $2000 and wrote the car off, but my uncle gave them $300 back in order to keep the car. He had just bought a new car himself and gave his old one to my cousin. My uncle told my mum about this extra car they had, she told me, and I bought it from them for $300. I hypoxy clued the parker back in place, my uncle cleaned off the paint scratch from the passenger door (most of it was from the shopping centre pole anyway) and it managed to pass its safety inspection!
Plus it has a nifty sony xplode sound system (probly worth the same as I got the car for), neons craftily hidden under the dash, a tacho on top and strobe lights in the boot! (dont ask my why). The duco & interior are in great condition, plus they'd spent $2000 on the engine the previous year. Apparently my cousin now has a better sound system in his new car so didn't mind giving me the old one.

LUCKY hey. I thought I'd be stuck using the train & riding my push bike FOREVER.. tho least I'm alot fitter than anyone else I know!

Joel · « **Reply #41 on:** Apr 15, 2006, 01:30AM »

the boot lights look ace, and a great idea. wd

u12-910 · « **Reply #42 on:** Apr 15, 2006, 08:48PM »

ive done a similar thing in my bluebird neons in the dash cluster as my dash doesnt light up when you put the healights on. a neon in the passenger and drivers side footwell well hidden and one big one in the boot above my sub.

there all green. the smaller ones in the car run off this little box thing that allows you to turn them to on, off, or to the beat of music which trip people out. theres alos a sensitivity knob that allows you to bassically select the timing of when they come on.

from autobarn. bout $15 each i think. the one in the boot $40

the boot is wired up to the light switch for the boot and the ones in the car are wired up to there own switch. just incase i need to quickly turn them off if i see cops

JelloBello · « **Reply #43 on:** Apr 15, 2006, 11:04PM »

I've got 4 12 inch BLUE cold cathodes. In my footwells and under the seats... i also tapped into the back of my cig lighter and wired them up to a switch. I'll try n get some pics l8r on.

by the way... got them shipped from the US for $35 for all 4 (including shipping)! check out www.oznium.com

Edit: added pics

after seeing these pics i've decided i need to get new floor mats... mayb checkerplate like rathies

. Cos the black absorbs the blue light like nothing i've ever seen before

chr1S · « **Reply #44 on:** Apr 19, 2006, 06:37PM »

wtf

why are they so dim ? dude there is something wrong there..

CCFL's should be like 10 times that brightness...

and why did you get them for $35 from the US when you can buy kits locally from jaycar?

(ok it's more expensive, but still)

JelloBello · « **Reply #45 on:** Apr 19, 2006, 07:55PM »

They are alot brighter in the flesh, ... my camera seems to be pretty fucked up when u don't use the flash for some reason, everything is ALOT darker than it should be.... during the day and night.... stupid cannon pos.

rathies · « **Reply #46 on:** Apr 22, 2006, 07:30PM »

nice footwell lighting jamie. I just took mine out today and relocated them under the car. Pics soon.

JelloBello · « **Reply #47 on:** Apr 22, 2006, 08:33PM »

ooo... hope it doesn't look too ricey?

I would do that to mine but it would draw too much attention.

rathies · « **Reply #48 on:** Apr 22, 2006, 08:35PM »

well my mate with a trx has blue ones and now i have green. I was kinda jealous cos everyone was lookin at his car when we were driving around terrorising the neighbourhood last night. I already had 6 tubes in my car so i bought a couple more, siliconed them all up and made underbody neons on the cheap. its also cheap and easy to replace if for some reason one of them snaps.

JelloBello · « **Reply #49 on:** Apr 22, 2006, 09:02PM »

nice. Looking forward to the pics

rathies · « **Reply #50 on:** Apr 23, 2006, 02:22PM »

didn't get any pics last night. I will get some pics tonight fo sure. I'm quite pleased to find out underbodys are legal in WA.
http://www.dpi.wa.gov.au/mediaFiles/lic_IB-108B.pdf
I'll be keeping a copy of that in my glovebox too.

I also stumbled accross the laws for Queensland
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:E9FNePb1sboJ:www.transport.qld.gov.au/qt/LTASinfo.nsf/ReferenceLookup/AIS_codeofpractice_Section3%2520_Feb2004.pdf/%24file/AIS_codeofpractice_Section3%2520_Feb2004.pdf+underbody+lighting+law&hl=en&gl=au&ct=clnk&cd=1
scroll to section 21, page 85.

Other states I'm not sure of and don't care because i dont live there. but i'm sure the info is on the net somewhere.

JelloBello · « **Reply #51 on:** Apr 23, 2006, 02:35PM »

Quote

Generally these under-body lamps will be acceptable providing the lights themselves do not
flash, and are not visible to other motorists, either when the vehicle is driven or stationary.

So this means that the 'lamps' can be on while driving, providing that other drivers can only see the glow and not the actual lmap its self? ...cool -or have i totally misunderstood that?

rathies · « **Reply #52 on:** Apr 23, 2006, 02:51PM »

you read it correct.

eurisko · « **Reply #53 on:** Apr 24, 2006, 03:58AM »

In NSW its illegal to have any type of non-standard lights turned on inside or out while ur driving. This includes fog lights... unless theres a fog... lol

That means underbodys, led wiper nozzles and any other derivative are not allowed to be turned on while ur driving.

You can have them installed, but not on, unless ur car is stopped and turned off.

Interior lights also apply. Internal footwell lights and other forms of lighting are also not allowed unless ur car is parked.

Its pretty easy to add a switch for them tho...

rathies · « **Reply #54 on:** Apr 24, 2006, 11:20AM »

man thats tough..
but in the mean time! underbodys!

mine is the green one and my mates is the blue one. yes the camera makes it look patchy but I assure you its not in real life.

bondy · « **Reply #55 on:** Apr 24, 2006, 03:58PM »

rathies you should install the xenon hid kit like noss, some nice white headlights would look good with the underbodys i reckon

bigpud2012 · « **Reply #56 on:** Apr 24, 2006, 07:27PM »

if i were to do mine i would have done them red.

that way matches the rear tail lights

kebbo · « **Reply #57 on:** Sep 4, 2006, 10:01PM »

sick lights man the green looks siiick i got all blues in mine they look alright :-)