if i got these cold cathodes...
11-18-2005, 01:20 PM
#1
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if i got these cold cathodes...
if i got these: http://www.oznium.com/cathode-kit
will i need to buy anything else?
will i need to drill or glue anything when putting them on?
i dont know anything about wiring. where do i connect the wires to the car?
sorry for the stupid newb questions
will i need to buy anything else?
will i need to drill or glue anything when putting them on?
i dont know anything about wiring. where do i connect the wires to the car?
sorry for the stupid newb questions
11-18-2005, 01:32 PM
#2
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There will be no drilling required, use zip-ties. The only thing you need to buy is a 6-pack of heineken. You can tap the wire from your cigarette lighter wiring, black is power and red ground. That's it.
May i suggest you looking at these ones??
http://www.svc.com/v12inch2ccflblue.html
May i suggest you looking at these ones??
http://www.svc.com/v12inch2ccflblue.html
11-18-2005, 06:33 PM
#4
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Originally Posted by stick_1NZ
There will be no drilling required, use zip-ties. The only thing you need to buy is a 6-pack of heineken. You can tap the wire from your cigarette lighter wiring, black is power and red ground. That's it.
May i suggest you looking at these ones??
http://www.svc.com/v12inch2ccflblue.html
May i suggest you looking at these ones??
http://www.svc.com/v12inch2ccflblue.html
, but exactly where do I plug in the wires? i dont know anything about wires hahaha . will i have to do any cutting or snipping on the wires?
11-18-2005, 06:43 PM
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Originally Posted by B1uEsC1uEs
Originally Posted by stick_1NZ
There will be no drilling required, use zip-ties. The only thing you need to buy is a 6-pack of heineken. You can tap the wire from your cigarette lighter wiring, black is power and red ground. That's it.
May i suggest you looking at these ones??
http://www.svc.com/v12inch2ccflblue.html
May i suggest you looking at these ones??
http://www.svc.com/v12inch2ccflblue.html
, but exactly where do I plug in the wires? i dont know anything about wires hahaha . will i have to do any cutting or snipping on the wires?His kit are very easy to install, them come with detailed instructions and everything you need to do the job.....
11-18-2005, 06:44 PM
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Here's the tech write up on how to install Cathodes - DIY
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=29238
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=29238
11-18-2005, 08:25 PM
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Hey B1uEsC1uEs!
You might need to buy a few more things such as: cable ties, electrical tape, and wire. If you don't have these things, I'd be happy to send you zip ties, wire and electrical tape for free. Just ask me for it! If you want me to make a wiring harness for the cathodes, I will do that too... But it is fun to learn and do it on your own!
Here's my writeup for installing them under the dash in your tC - You can put them in more places than just under the dash though... Put them outside the car, in the grille, in the back hatch, on the headliner... Anyways, here's the basics of installing them:
All the photos are from my friends beautiful white tC which I installed some red cathodes on:
Click on any of the images to view them fullsize!
You start with the 2 cathodes and transformer. The cathodes plug into one side, and the red/black power wire plugs into the other side:
There are a few methods for getting power to the transformer:
1) Tap into the fuse box
2) Tap into the back of the cig lighter
3) Run a new wire from the car battery, through a rubber grommet in the firewall, and under the dash.
you must fuse!
Every electrical component in your car should be fused. A fuse protects valuable components as well as the wiring running to them. If a component malfunctions and tries to pull more current than the wire can handle, an un-fused wire would melt and possibly start a fire.
Each cathode kit draws about half an amp of current. It is recommend that you use a 2 to 3 amp fuse for 1 to a few kits. The fuse rating can be slightly higher than the combined amperage draw, but don't use a 10 or 20 amp fuse!
The fuse should be placed as close as possible to the power source. If you are running a new wire directly from the battery, try to put an inline fuse - in a waterproof fuse holder - within a few inches from the positive terminal.
There are likely 2 fuse boxes in your car: in the engine bay, and under the dash.
To install cathodes under the dash, it probably makes most sense to tap into the fuse box right there.
In the Scion tC, the fuse box is under the dash. You've gotta get on your back and stick your head under there to see it. This is what the cover panel looks like. It just pops right off:
and there are 2 methods of doing this!
Ghetto-rig it by twisting a stripped wire onto a fuse lead before pushing it into the holder. Hopefully there are some empty slots in the fuse box. And hopefully they are already powered. Some are probably powered when the key is in the ON or ACC position, while other may be powered even when the key is not in the ignition.
There are 2 sides to the holder of a fuse box. There is the side that is powered, and then there is the side that is fused. You must put the power wire into the fused side, otherwise the fuse does no good, for it is completely bypassed - connected directly to the powered side. To figure out which is which, you could carefully touch the power wire to either side of an empty fuse holder slot. Of course, you will need to ground the black wire. And if the cathodes light up, you have found the powered side.
Put the power wire into the other side - the fused side, and push the fuse in. The lights should then light up... Because power is flowing from the powered side, through the fuse, and to the power wire of the cathodes.
Or you can buy something called "Add-a-Circuit" which makes for a cleaner install. It is about $10 at your local auto part store. You might have to try a few different stores until you can find it. It lets you tap into a slot which is already occupied by a fuse.
For some installations, it might be easy to tap into the back wires of your cig plug. You can easily tap power and ground there. You could use a wire stripper to carefully strip part of the wire back, twist on your new wire, solder the connection, and then tape with electrical tape. Or you could try using some T-tap connectors, although they are not too reliable. The polarity (which is positive/which is ground) is not readily apparent when looking at the 2 wires coming out of the cig plug. If you can figure out which one goes to the inner "nipple" on the plug, you've found the positive. The ground wire goes to the outer metal "case" of the plug.
You need to ground the black wire coming out of the cathode transformer. Pretty much any metal part in the car which is connected to the chassis will work. You could use a factory grounding point, use another convenient bolt on BARE (non painted) metal, or you could drill your own hole somewhere and use a self-tapping screw.
You could just strip a fairly long portion of the black wire (maybe 2 inches) and wrap it around a metal bolt or part. But this isn't too reliable.
Instead you can use an O-ring terminal and a crimp tool to crimp the wire. Then secure this ring to a metal point.
Remove the driver side kick panel and there is a 10mm bolt revealed. Under the plastic is a nice metal grounding point.
To re-cap, you've connected the black wire to ground, and connected the red wire to your FUSED power source. By now, the cathodes should be lit.
Next you probably want to add a switch so you can turn them on/off.
A switch cuts/connects the circuit. The most common switch has 2 metal prongs. Cut your red power wire, strip back a bit on each end you just cut, and connect the 2 ends to your switch. When you flip the switch the cathodes should turn on/off.
You can either solder the wires to the switch prongs, or you can use female spade crimp terminals and a crimp tool.
Some switches are lighted switches, meaning they have a light that turns on when the switch is in the on position. If you want this feature, you must run a black ground wire from the GROUND terminal on the switch to your grounding point on the car. The other 2 terminals will be: constant power, and accessory power. Constant power goes to your fuse, and accessory power to your cathodes.
Here's a switch that fits perfectly in the blank slots to the left of the steering column and makes for a nice clean install:
http://www.oznium.com/gsw-45
some basic skills you should be familiar with
Stripping wire: Most of the wire you deal with in the car has strands of copper wound together, and a fairly durable plastic insulation. Some crazy people claim they can strip wire with their teeth! Otherwise you can use a sharp knife, a pair of wire cutters (takes some practice so you don't end up just cutting the wire), or a pair of wire strippers made specifically for stripping different gauges (thicknesses) of wire.
Wire stripping tool:
Extending wires: Cut the wire. Strip about half an inch of the wire on each end that you just cut. Find some new wire, cut it to the length that you want you extension to be. Strip both ends of this new wire. You now have 4 stripped ends of wires. Twist the wires together to create your "splice". You can then solder the wires, and use heat shrink tubing or electrical tape to seal the connections. You could also use butt-connectors and a crimp tool.
Crimping wires: Strip the wire about a quarter to half of an inch. Insert into the terminal (ring, spade, butt, etc). Insert the terminal into the crimp tool, and crimp! You should be using a REAL crimping tool (rather than pliers) so that you get reliable crimps. After crimping, pull a bit on the wire to make sure it is snug. Connectors come in all different varieties and sizes. For safety, look for the insulated ones.
Crimping tool:
By now you should have your fuse power wire running to a switch. The other end of the switch runs to your positive wire on your cathode transformer. The black wire of the cathode transformer is grounded.
Mounting the transformer and cathode tubes is usually done with cable ties. There are plenty of things to "tie" them to under the dash. Play around with the placement and see which gives you the best lighting effect. Try to keep the tubes out of the way of feet and out of plain sight. Most of the time, it is better to see the diffused (while still BRIGHT) glow from the tubes, than the tubes themselves.
all lit up & beautiful
So...
Why the F&*# would you buy them from SVC?... Oznium is a Gold Sponsor at ScionLife and supports this place. I also give you my cell phone number, AIM address, toll free number, you can call me any time for help installing them. I make my cathode kits specifically for use in cars, and they come with instructions to install in a car, while SVC sells for use in computers.
SVC is not going to take the time to help you install them in your car.
stick_1NZ: Why do you suggest SVC instead of mine? Support, service, price?
If you're that concerned about the price difference of a few dollars, I'll match the shipped SVC price for anyone here.
http://www.oznium.com/cathode-kit
cell: 925-683-1839
AIM: philbish
toll-free: 800-245-8131
You might need to buy a few more things such as: cable ties, electrical tape, and wire. If you don't have these things, I'd be happy to send you zip ties, wire and electrical tape for free. Just ask me for it! If you want me to make a wiring harness for the cathodes, I will do that too... But it is fun to learn and do it on your own!
Here's my writeup for installing them under the dash in your tC - You can put them in more places than just under the dash though... Put them outside the car, in the grille, in the back hatch, on the headliner... Anyways, here's the basics of installing them:
All the photos are from my friends beautiful white tC which I installed some red cathodes on:
Click on any of the images to view them fullsize!
You start with the 2 cathodes and transformer. The cathodes plug into one side, and the red/black power wire plugs into the other side:
There are a few methods for getting power to the transformer:
1) Tap into the fuse box
2) Tap into the back of the cig lighter
3) Run a new wire from the car battery, through a rubber grommet in the firewall, and under the dash.
you must fuse!
Every electrical component in your car should be fused. A fuse protects valuable components as well as the wiring running to them. If a component malfunctions and tries to pull more current than the wire can handle, an un-fused wire would melt and possibly start a fire.
Each cathode kit draws about half an amp of current. It is recommend that you use a 2 to 3 amp fuse for 1 to a few kits. The fuse rating can be slightly higher than the combined amperage draw, but don't use a 10 or 20 amp fuse!
The fuse should be placed as close as possible to the power source. If you are running a new wire directly from the battery, try to put an inline fuse - in a waterproof fuse holder - within a few inches from the positive terminal.
There are likely 2 fuse boxes in your car: in the engine bay, and under the dash.
To install cathodes under the dash, it probably makes most sense to tap into the fuse box right there.
In the Scion tC, the fuse box is under the dash. You've gotta get on your back and stick your head under there to see it. This is what the cover panel looks like. It just pops right off:
and there are 2 methods of doing this!
Ghetto-rig it by twisting a stripped wire onto a fuse lead before pushing it into the holder. Hopefully there are some empty slots in the fuse box. And hopefully they are already powered. Some are probably powered when the key is in the ON or ACC position, while other may be powered even when the key is not in the ignition.
There are 2 sides to the holder of a fuse box. There is the side that is powered, and then there is the side that is fused. You must put the power wire into the fused side, otherwise the fuse does no good, for it is completely bypassed - connected directly to the powered side. To figure out which is which, you could carefully touch the power wire to either side of an empty fuse holder slot. Of course, you will need to ground the black wire. And if the cathodes light up, you have found the powered side.
Put the power wire into the other side - the fused side, and push the fuse in. The lights should then light up... Because power is flowing from the powered side, through the fuse, and to the power wire of the cathodes.
Or you can buy something called "Add-a-Circuit" which makes for a cleaner install. It is about $10 at your local auto part store. You might have to try a few different stores until you can find it. It lets you tap into a slot which is already occupied by a fuse.
For some installations, it might be easy to tap into the back wires of your cig plug. You can easily tap power and ground there. You could use a wire stripper to carefully strip part of the wire back, twist on your new wire, solder the connection, and then tape with electrical tape. Or you could try using some T-tap connectors, although they are not too reliable. The polarity (which is positive/which is ground) is not readily apparent when looking at the 2 wires coming out of the cig plug. If you can figure out which one goes to the inner "nipple" on the plug, you've found the positive. The ground wire goes to the outer metal "case" of the plug.
You need to ground the black wire coming out of the cathode transformer. Pretty much any metal part in the car which is connected to the chassis will work. You could use a factory grounding point, use another convenient bolt on BARE (non painted) metal, or you could drill your own hole somewhere and use a self-tapping screw.
You could just strip a fairly long portion of the black wire (maybe 2 inches) and wrap it around a metal bolt or part. But this isn't too reliable.
Instead you can use an O-ring terminal and a crimp tool to crimp the wire. Then secure this ring to a metal point.
Remove the driver side kick panel and there is a 10mm bolt revealed. Under the plastic is a nice metal grounding point.
To re-cap, you've connected the black wire to ground, and connected the red wire to your FUSED power source. By now, the cathodes should be lit.
Next you probably want to add a switch so you can turn them on/off.
A switch cuts/connects the circuit. The most common switch has 2 metal prongs. Cut your red power wire, strip back a bit on each end you just cut, and connect the 2 ends to your switch. When you flip the switch the cathodes should turn on/off.
You can either solder the wires to the switch prongs, or you can use female spade crimp terminals and a crimp tool.
Some switches are lighted switches, meaning they have a light that turns on when the switch is in the on position. If you want this feature, you must run a black ground wire from the GROUND terminal on the switch to your grounding point on the car. The other 2 terminals will be: constant power, and accessory power. Constant power goes to your fuse, and accessory power to your cathodes.
Here's a switch that fits perfectly in the blank slots to the left of the steering column and makes for a nice clean install:
http://www.oznium.com/gsw-45
some basic skills you should be familiar with
Stripping wire: Most of the wire you deal with in the car has strands of copper wound together, and a fairly durable plastic insulation. Some crazy people claim they can strip wire with their teeth! Otherwise you can use a sharp knife, a pair of wire cutters (takes some practice so you don't end up just cutting the wire), or a pair of wire strippers made specifically for stripping different gauges (thicknesses) of wire.
Wire stripping tool:
Extending wires: Cut the wire. Strip about half an inch of the wire on each end that you just cut. Find some new wire, cut it to the length that you want you extension to be. Strip both ends of this new wire. You now have 4 stripped ends of wires. Twist the wires together to create your "splice". You can then solder the wires, and use heat shrink tubing or electrical tape to seal the connections. You could also use butt-connectors and a crimp tool.
Crimping wires: Strip the wire about a quarter to half of an inch. Insert into the terminal (ring, spade, butt, etc). Insert the terminal into the crimp tool, and crimp! You should be using a REAL crimping tool (rather than pliers) so that you get reliable crimps. After crimping, pull a bit on the wire to make sure it is snug. Connectors come in all different varieties and sizes. For safety, look for the insulated ones.
Crimping tool:
By now you should have your fuse power wire running to a switch. The other end of the switch runs to your positive wire on your cathode transformer. The black wire of the cathode transformer is grounded.
Mounting the transformer and cathode tubes is usually done with cable ties. There are plenty of things to "tie" them to under the dash. Play around with the placement and see which gives you the best lighting effect. Try to keep the tubes out of the way of feet and out of plain sight. Most of the time, it is better to see the diffused (while still BRIGHT) glow from the tubes, than the tubes themselves.
all lit up & beautiful
So...
Why the F&*# would you buy them from SVC?... Oznium is a Gold Sponsor at ScionLife and supports this place. I also give you my cell phone number, AIM address, toll free number, you can call me any time for help installing them. I make my cathode kits specifically for use in cars, and they come with instructions to install in a car, while SVC sells for use in computers.
SVC is not going to take the time to help you install them in your car.
stick_1NZ: Why do you suggest SVC instead of mine? Support, service, price?
If you're that concerned about the price difference of a few dollars, I'll match the shipped SVC price for anyone here.
http://www.oznium.com/cathode-kit
cell: 925-683-1839
AIM: philbish
toll-free: 800-245-8131
11-18-2005, 08:39 PM
#9
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Englishman in New Jersey
Posts: 640
Originally Posted by Oznium_com
Why the F&*# would you buy them from SVC?... Oznium is a Gold Sponsor at ScionLife and supports this place. I also give you my cell phone number, AIM address, toll free number, you can call me any time for help installing them. I make my cathode kits specifically for use in cars, and they come with instructions to install in a car, while SVC sells for use in computers.
Didn't bother me either way, but I assume from your above statement you now sell different ones, if so could you tell us more about the new ones?
11-18-2005, 08:42 PM
#10
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Scikotics
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 849
Yep the new ones are my own brand. No more confusing computer components! The meteor and liquid neons are still for computers, but soon I'll have my own brand of those too.
The new ones have built in polarity protection in the transformer. So it won't permanently damage the transformer if the polarity is accidentally reversed.
The new ones have built in polarity protection in the transformer. So it won't permanently damage the transformer if the polarity is accidentally reversed.
all that trouble done for me. 
11-19-2005, 04:58 AM
#18
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 141
^Sick avatar lol.
One question guys. It was mentioned that you could use the back of the cig lighter. Is it possible to stick a cig lighter splitter, and just cutting off one of the splits to wire all my LED's?
Basically, I want to have three switches inside my car above the oven, or below it wherever. I want one switch to turn on foglights without the headlights on, another to turn on some vip puddle lights, and a third to turn on headliner lights/cathodes. Thing is I can't void my electrical warranty. Can I do the following?
(--wires to fogs--)
cig lighter --s4plitter--< (--wires to puddle lights--)
--splitter--< (--wires to headliner lights)
--splitter--<
(--iPod charger--)
Would that work with resistors and all that, or is this just ALL bad lol? Any recommendations would be great as well. I just can't splice anything currently on the car.
EDIT: OK this doesn't work. I'll make an image of what Im trying to do lol.
One question guys. It was mentioned that you could use the back of the cig lighter. Is it possible to stick a cig lighter splitter, and just cutting off one of the splits to wire all my LED's?
Basically, I want to have three switches inside my car above the oven, or below it wherever. I want one switch to turn on foglights without the headlights on, another to turn on some vip puddle lights, and a third to turn on headliner lights/cathodes. Thing is I can't void my electrical warranty. Can I do the following?
(--wires to fogs--)
cig lighter --s4plitter--< (--wires to puddle lights--)
--splitter--< (--wires to headliner lights)
--splitter--<
(--iPod charger--)
Would that work with resistors and all that, or is this just ALL bad lol? Any recommendations would be great as well. I just can't splice anything currently on the car.
EDIT: OK this doesn't work. I'll make an image of what Im trying to do lol.
11-19-2005, 01:25 PM
#20
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 901
Originally Posted by Oznium_com
Yea just contact me directly and let me know what you need.
I don't have fuses or fuse holders listed online, but I've got some laying around that I can send to you.
I don't have fuses or fuse holders listed online, but I've got some laying around that I can send to you.
is it possible that you have some "add a circuits" lying around?
So far what I will need:
1) zip ties
2) wires
3) fuse
4) "add-a-circuit"