any help plz(neons)fuse question

billy5000 · Post by **billy5000** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 11:51 pm

Hi all

im putting light green neons in both front footwells and i was told id need an inline fuse if so what rating(i take it not the household 13amp

i know lots hate neons but as the car is green and ive done my grill and now have grill inserts in the cubbyholes (between the seats)plus flashing blue neons (wheel cap neons)

under the (cubby)grills:)

maybe if its legal have under car green neons but very dull ,maybe 1:)

fix my door but the bloody joint inside has come away from the side so it doesnt stay open:(
but at least i can get out now(little rod had come out)quick fix:)

clean out your drains mine were stuffed

any hep plzzzzzzz

sg

Dan the 480 Man · Post by **Dan the 480 Man** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 11:56 am

When i had my footwell neons in the 440, all i done, just for security, was put a 7 amp blade fuse in. Never had any problems anyway... That should be sufficient, however, i'm no electrical genius so somebody may slap my wrist and tell me i'm wrong!

billy5000 · Post by **billy5000** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 12:05 pm

Hi all

dan 7amp sounds ok:)

just gotta fit the switch in the dash(i wish it was square it could have fit in a blanking plate near the seat heaters

if anyone can clarify(7amp) then cool,but sounds like a good enough ampage:)

happy new year everyone:)

sg

Murf · Post by **Murf** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 6:44 pm

what wattage are the lamps your fitting? you can work out the fuse size from this.

billy5000 · Post by **billy5000** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 8:12 pm

Hi murf

all i know is that they are 12inch cold cathode fluoresant lights(2 separate bars which are connected to a silver box and switch im not sure how much volt it is but it lights up nice when connected straight to a charged battery using plain -/+ no fuse(but gonna use fuse when installed properly):)

any paperwork was basic install ideas etc the guy mailed me and suggested using an inline fuse between the pos and battery.

nice and green:)

might check back soon and see if its stated in the ad (he the one that states cheepest neons on ebay(he was fast and they are pretty good quality(no complaints from me)

well maybe there is and its minor and solvable and its the length of the pos cable if it were longer i could have spliced and adapted a fuse and still had some slack:(
sg

found it

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... RK:MEWN:IT

and this was the mesh i brought which was more than enough (comes prerolled and well packed but is bloody sharpe:)(my new grill thread in general)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... RK:MEWN:IT

Murf · Post by **Murf** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 11:09 pm

its the power consumption figure in watts that you need to know, email the seller and ask him or have a close look at the lights themselves as it might be stamped on them.
i'd be surprised if they were drawing more than 1A each to be honest, as dan said, use an inline blade fuse. try a 1A fuse first and if it blows fit a 2A etc.

billy5000 · Post by **billy5000** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 1:08 pm

Hi all

ive emailed him and just gotta wait

NOT!!!

i installed the two light bars into the footwells at 1am ish,but i left the inverter out for now(untill fuse)but the lot reach eachother ok and was gonna use power from glove light as it has no bulb at presant:)and rig the switch up and hopefully i can draw power while the glove is closed or i may have to remove door sensor and keep it (on) and use neon switch to turn off when not needed:)

can the black wire be connected to an earth point(any chassis area)and red to the glove source:)????or am i gonna have to get upside down again and route the black through the engine bay to the neg on battery???

hope i didnt brake one lastnight:)something made an odd noise(hope hope):)

cheap eitherway:)

sg

il post piccys when ive done it as i may need to trim the kick plate(passenger side) to allow more light but gonna have to wait and see
as for glow through the steering wheel(im gonna use some nice leather(black)and make a longer shirt(the bit you see when you lower the steering wheel:)sorted

and i wouldnt know bugger all if it wernt for this good site and any good tips i discover i will record it to help others.

cheers all

gonna get a fuse soon (no spares handy):(local gargage time:)

sg

billy5000 · Post by **billy5000** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 5:45 pm

Hi all

found a 5amp fuse (old style fuse the pill shape ones)it seem to work it fine.
solder`d the fuse in and wired it up to the glove box light connections(-+)
and disabled the glove box button which activates the bulb and now i have it running from its own switch.
i had to trim the kick plate panel to produce the desire amount of light and ill have to cover some gaps with shirts etc(black leather)i had lying about:)to cover escaping lights from the dash but other than that it looks GREAT!!!

Still tweaking the light intensaty(moving neon tube about:)

the switch works fine and comes on when i want it with engine on/off

green looks nice and subtle enough for me as its dim enough to drive with it on but if i wanna brighten it il just repostion further down the footwell area(but not too close,dont wanna kick it

under body next but subtl again i just want a green haze effect:)maybe one bar in the middle underneath.

cheers for the help all

i tried to get a piccy but it wont show up/with or without flash:(take my word for it,it looks very nice

sg

billy5000 · Post by **billy5000** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 12:37 pm

Hi all

got the email back with the following specs for the neons
Lamp Diameter: 4.0mm
Lamp length:100/200/300 mm
Lamp power: 2.5Â±10% W / one lamp.
Lamp lifetime: 30,000 hours.

good polite seller

the good thing is you can use these neons in or out of the car
most exterior cost bigger bucks

might have to have another set for underbody soon:)

the only bit id be concern`d of it on the tubes where the glowing bit is
it seems to have a hole in both end showing neon ends(maybe needs a spot of sealant before going underbody but i could be wrong i just wouldnt like water to bugger it(it does state that they are 100%waterproofed(even ali inverter)

shouldnt be any water probs:)

if you want neons then this guy is spot on:)

sg

Murf · Post by **Murf** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 10:13 pm

does each lamp have its own inverter? if so:

2.5Â±10% W / one lamp.

so thats 6W max for both lamps.

6w/12v= 0.5A

so a 1A fuse will be more than plenty

billy5000 · Post by **billy5000** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 11:36 pm

Hi all

murf they have one inverter between the two:)

i found a 6amp pill fuse(whatever its called

and it seems to do the trick and ive also noticed they take 1-2mins to get fully bright which i suppose is ok:)since they work great

cheers all

tried to do more piccys but they dont do the neons justice(crappy camera)

murf will 6a kill it faster?:)
sg

guitarcarfanatic · Post by **guitarcarfanatic** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 8:12 am

Fuses are there to stop too much voltage getting to whichever component. They are designed to blow if the current is too high to stop the product being damaged and blowing up/catching on fire! lol. May be worth changing to a 1A fuse.

billy5000 · Post by **billy5000** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 6:41 pm

Hi all

cheers il sort that when ive got my infocentre beat

cheers dont wanna fire

sg

Murf · Post by **Murf** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 6:52 pm

yep, exactly as Mr GCF says.

you might find your neons warm up quicker in the summer when the weather isnt icy cold outside. most fluorescent tubes go dimmer when subjected to cold air.

guitarcarfanatic · Post by **guitarcarfanatic** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 6:55 pm

Murf wrote:yep, exactly as Mr GCF says.

you might find your neons warm up quicker in the summer when the weather isnt icy cold outside. most fluorescent tubes go dimmer when subjected to cold air.

Wahoo I got something right. Mwahaha finally GCSE electronics pay's off!

billy5000 · Post by **billy5000** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:43 am

Hi all

cheers guys and yes the tubes dim for a minute before warming so i suppose its the bloody damn cold damn weather

(sun come back so i can spend hours on my car(happy misses NOT!!

and a 6amp so now i have a spanking bright info centre il get that done soon.

cheers again

keep your head in those books gcf and you can get a high paid job and buy loads of 480`s for me(hehehe

sg

billy5000 · Post by **billy5000** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 12:06 pm

Hi all

tip!!

dont pull your neons about when fixed in argggggggggh

i broke one(centre bit)the important bit DOH!!
the passengers one works so its not a dead loss:):)

gotta wait for the funds so i can remedy this error which isnt so bad cos i get two tubes in one pack with another alloy invertor which i could rig up fir a boot neon hehe not all bad:)

sg

billy5000 · Post by **billy5000** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 12:02 pm

Hi all

6amp didnt last more than a couple of days so its a 1amp conversion time:)

my neons are dead(for now)

just thought id say cos of anyone thinking of using a 6amp blade/bullet fuse to do the same.

sg

guitarcarfanatic · Post by **guitarcarfanatic** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 1:08 pm

Surely if they blew a 6amp fuse, they will blow a 1 amp more quickly...I believe how it works is by blowing if a current of more than 6 amps had attempted to pass through. If the current is high enough to blow a 6 mapo fuse it will blow a 1 amp fuse i believe.
Once again Murf, correct me if i'm wrong...

Murf · Post by **Murf** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 9:03 pm

aye, he's right y'know

check none of your wiring is chafed or catching on anything, what did you damage when you broke the neon? it could be that thats blowing the fuse.