Ambient Lighting Question

The Car Stereo Company · Dec 17, 2014

goneFXcrazy said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I know a stereo shop told me once that some devices that are designed to run off a cigaret lighter plug will no longer work if you just clip the wires and feed them power. Could there be some kind of device inside that lighter plug that regulates the current?

that was my next thought. there may be some sort of voltage regulator in the plug and you may need to keep it. if thats the case, you can solder onto the contacts and connect them to power and ground

LittlEvil · Dec 17, 2014

Thats not a bad idea. Ill explore that this weekend when the rain is supposed to let up and let you guys know what the outcome is. Here's a question, lets say this thing does have some sort of voltage regulator in it, if I connect it to an inverter then they should light up right?

goneFXcrazy · Dec 17, 2014

All depends what kind of regulator is being used, and what voltage the lights are actually running at. The sales listing for the lights may have said 12V but that doesn't mean the actual lights run at 12V, only that the plug accepts 12V input, the actual lights may be running at a lower voltage.

LittlEvil · Dec 22, 2014

So I am new to this LED lighting thing and really appreciate everyones input. Thank you a bunch. Over the weekend I did what nosbusa and goneFXcrazy suggested and took apart that cigarette plug and configured it so the wires would be routed threw it... and they worked. Funny thing is that the front LEDs didn't, so I attached them to the plug as well and they worked too. What a strange mystery switch!!! There seemed to be no regulator built in. I tested the battery which ran at 12.6V and the purple/white wire which ran at 12.05V. For now everything is working perfectly but I really want to redo this properly with out that rigged up plug. Question for you guys, do I need to purchase a regulator to run these standard LED lights? And if so what would that device be called? Ive been googling info but cant really seam to find direct answers. Sorry Im kind of a noob at this.

The Car Stereo Company · Dec 23, 2014

LittlEvil said:
So I am new to this LED lighting thing and really appreciate everyones input. Thank you a bunch. Over the weekend I did what nosbusa and goneFXcrazy suggested and took apart that cigarette plug and configured it so the wires would be routed threw it... and they worked. Funny thing is that the front LEDs didn't, so I attached them to the plug as well and they worked too. What a strange mystery switch!!! There seemed to be no regulator built in. I tested the battery which ran at 12.6V and the purple/white wire which ran at 12.05V. For now everything is working perfectly but I really want to redo this properly with out that rigged up plug. Question for you guys, do I need to purchase a regulator to run these standard LED lights? And if so what would that device be called? Ive been googling info but cant really seam to find direct answers. Sorry Im kind of a noob at this.

i need specifics on the lights.

Ambient Lighting Question

The Car Stereo Company

aka grumpy car stereo guy

LittlEvil

Full Access Member

goneFXcrazy

Full Access Member

LittlEvil

Full Access Member

The Car Stereo Company

aka grumpy car stereo guy

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