Power or Speaker Wire...

[LongBeachCoupe]

Ok so im going to be running some LED lighting in the car...

As far as wiring is concerned, i should be using 16 gauge (right?)

What im planning on doing is running a 10ga from the battery to a distribution block (so i only need 1 wire going to the battery)

(is that a good one? good idea?)

What i need help on is what type of wire should run to the block, and then what should run to the lighting... furthermore, what type/size of fuses should i put inline (and should they be before the block, or after)

to those who help

[rjdmmfl1]

Ok so im going to be running some LED lighting in the car...

As far as wiring is concerned, i should be using 16 gauge (right?)

What im planning on doing is running a 10ga from the battery to a distribution block (so i only need 1 wire going to the battery)

(is that a good one? good idea?)

What i need help on is what type of wire should run to the block, and then what should run to the lighting... furthermore, what type/size of fuses should i put inline (and should they be before the block, or after)

to those who help

My good friend, this will be overkill. You do not need that much power to run LED lights. you are talking about miliamps of current! No need to have a live power wire running through your car... that's a good way to get bad audio interference in your stereo!

[LongBeachCoupe]

Dr... School me on this then... If i want 2 leds in the cupholders (front and back) with footwell leds, a led in the headlight enclosure, and i may carve out the "ohh shiznit" handles for some leds in there... I need power! Whats your sugguestion?? I want them to be on 2 switches (not that i think it matters)...

[maxentropy]

Dr... School me on this then... If i want 2 leds in the cupholders (front and back) with footwell leds, a led in the headlight enclosure, and i may carve out the "ohh shiznit" handles for some leds in there... I need power! Whats your sugguestion?? I want them to be on 2 switches (not that i think it matters)...

haha sounds like overkill to me. the footwell looks cool, drinkholders are pushing it but the oh crap handles?! hehe

Pictures when your done!

[LongBeachCoupe]

deleted
Modified by LongBeachCoupe at 4:09 PM 4/23/2008

[maxentropy]

Look pretty sweet but our handles are different and if someone were to ever grab ahold of the oh crap bars would they break off a few LEDs in the process? I can't tell if they are enclosed in a plastic or glass or whatnot...

I will admit, it does look good!

[LongBeachCoupe]

They are durable... its tucked inside the handle (idk if i can mod ours, ill get some spares n start cracking)... They are flexible, and weatherproof... No one will be able to rip them off (atleast not without trying to)

[rjdmmfl1]

Dr... School me on this then... If i want 2 leds in the cupholders (front and back) with footwell leds, a led in the headlight enclosure, and i may carve out the "ohh shiznit" handles for some leds in there... I need power! Whats your sugguestion?? I want them to be on 2 switches (not that i think it matters)...

You best bet will still be to run like a 14 gauge wire, and splice from that wire to the various places you want it to go. But again, we are talking about LEDs not neon lights... neon lights require A LOT more power, and they drain your battery VERY easily. LED's on the other hand require a minimal amount of power, and you can pretty much run these things all day long with the car off, and the drain from the battery will be very minimal! That's why the street scene largely went away from neon and folks began sporting LED's!

[LongBeachCoupe]

Doc... I will also have 2 cold cathodes in a grill... bad power drain? Also.. i ruined a set of handles lol.. we cant put those in ours

[LongBeachCoupe]

ok is this wire sufficient? i figure with speaker wire you get 2x the value lol?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pro-Audio-...wItem

please let me know!

[rjdmmfl1]

ok is this wire sufficient? i figure with speaker wire you get 2x the value lol?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pro-Audio-...wItem

please let me know!

This should be more than enough... also, regarding the cold cathodes, while they do pull more currents from the battery than LED's would, your car has a 110 Amp alternator, which should help out a lot.. But I wouldn't run them without the car running (i.e. alternator running)

[LongBeachCoupe]

(dr thanks a lot for answering the questions no one knows or cares to respond to!)

Nice... Ok so i just ordered the wire...

Now i should have an O-ring at the battery, with a (XXX) fuse inline... Then in the cabin it will split... one down the driverside, one across the dash and down the passenger side.. And i will splice the 18-gauge wire that comes with my leds into the 14g powerline.. (thats ok to run the 18 from the 14 right?)...

The Splice: cut back the power wire (ill have multiple heat shrink tubes loaded on for future use) and smash the wires together, cover with electrical tape, then heat-shrink...

I am attempting this on my own, but i want a high quality install, done right the 1st time!

[rjdmmfl1]

u should be good 2 go!

(dr thanks a lot for answering the questions no one knows or cares to respond to!)

Nice... Ok so i just ordered the wire...

Now i should have an O-ring at the battery, with a (XXX) fuse inline... Then in the cabin it will split... one down the driverside, one across the dash and down the passenger side.. And i will splice the 18-gauge wire that comes with my leds into the 14g powerline.. (thats ok to run the 18 from the 14 right?)...

The Splice: cut back the power wire (ill have multiple heat shrink tubes loaded on for future use) and smash the wires together, cover with electrical tape, then heat-shrink...

I am attempting this on my own, but i want a high quality install, done right the 1st time!

[LongBeachCoupe]

nice... ok now what kind/type/amp fuse??

Also, since you put the tvs above the rear cupholders... i was wondering how easy the panels came up.. just give them a tug?

Any ideas on how to get the cupholder out? I gave it a couple good yanks and its pretty solid... (the old altimas used to come out easy!)..... and looking at the FSM, it looks like id have to take the entire center console out of the car to get under the console cupholder... If theres an easier way to get just the cupholder out, it will save HOURS!
Modified by LongBeachCoupe at 4:29 PM 4/17/2008

[rjdmmfl1]

nice... ok now what kind/type/amp fuse??

Also, since you put the tvs above the rear cupholders... i was wondering how easy the panels came up.. just give them a tug?

Any ideas on how to get the cupholder out? I gave it a couple good yanks and its pretty solid... (the old altimas used to come out easy!)..... and looking at the FSM, it looks like id have to take the entire center console out of the car to get under the console cupholder... If theres an easier way to get just the cupholder out, it will save HOURS!

Modified by LongBeachCoupe at 4:29 PM 4/17/2008

if you're gonna run a fuse, a simple 30 watt inline AGU fuse should be more than enough! If you are going small, you can get the inline fuse and fuse holder already setup from pepboys, Kragen, Advance Auto parts, or heck even wal mart!

I think you have to take the entire center console out to get to the cup holders... the rear portion of the center console pops out very easily (I was gonna pu a 2.5" monitor there, still might do it just for the hell of it) from there, you should be able to unscrew the the sides down at the bottom, and then you're half way there!

[kuhan]

Ok so im going to be running some LED lighting in the car...

As far as wiring is concerned, i should be using 16 gauge (right?)

What im planning on doing is running a 10ga from the battery to a distribution block (so i only need 1 wire going to the battery)

(is that a good one? good idea?)

What i need help on is what type of wire should run to the block, and then what should run to the lighting... furthermore, what type/size of fuses should i put inline (and should they be before the block, or after)

to those who help

. that is a total overkill!

Hey LBC,

Does your coupe have a moonroof????

If not, then I know a perfect place to get 12VDC to power up the leds. I just finished installing the footwell leds. let me know so I can take some pics for you

[johnny_d]

pray tell, great one ...... i need to run LEDs too

[LongBeachCoupe]

have a sunroof... dont worry when i do the install for mine, i will take an obnoxious amount of pictures... as the "safety pin" on the hood dampers took me 20 min to figure out the first time lol

[LongBeachCoupe]

OK.. so my wire came in the mail today... im gonna swing by a local shop and pick up the rest of the stuff i need... 1 30 watt agu fuse... heat shrink... electrical tape (lol i dont have any) and i need to tie the wire to the battery... Is an O ring the best idea? anyone have a picture of what its supposed to look like when its on the battery right?

[Idok]

If you can,solder the wires together or get crimp type connectors (radio shack ) so you have a secure connection joint,