LED Techs...

I bought a bunch of LEDs awhile back and have them in my gauges and climate controls etc...

I put one in each vent when I did all this, but they havent been powered because my project was sidetracked. Now Im back at it, and I mounted 2 under each side of the dash.

I hooked then up and they were fine for about 15 minutes then they started to blink flash like they were shorting out, or like they were about to blow out (this happened to the LEDs in my CD player). So I killed the switch, to try and save them.

The LEDs in the vents didnt have this problem, just the newly installed underdash LEDs.

All LEDs are from phil and heres a simple diagram of how things are run. I know its not the best way, so be critical...

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/man_a_praze/de...2003-12-17&.dnm=untitled.jpg

Power is ran from battery to a switch. From the switch, to a Distrobution block. From the block its ran to the LEDs. The four in the vents are wired in parrallel and run to the bock with one resistor. (no problem with these so far...) The four under the dash, are wired seperatley from the vent LEDs, and are ran the same way; parrallel to the block with one resistor.

What would cause the underdash lights to be blinking (pausibly ready to blow) and the vent lights are un affected...?

It could be a few things. One is a loose wire. Check all of the wiring between your LEDS etc... The second thing I can think of is improper resistor. Those resistors that came with the LEDs were designed for a single LED, not 4. Try this site to find out what kind of resistor you will want to use for the number of LEDs you are hooking up in parallel.

http://linear1.org/ckts/led.php

Your battery voltage is of course 12v, and the LED draw is 4v @ 20ma.

So if you are hooking up 4 in parallel, all of that info would be the same except your total combined draw would be 80ma instead of 20ma. Enter the info in the chart and click "Find R" and it will tell you what resistor to get.

Your other option is just to wire a resistor in line with each LED. That's what I did on mine simply for the reason that if one LED goes out, I'll know which it is, rather then having to try and figure out which one is causing the problem if I wired in series and such.

That's just a few things to look at.

Now that I think of it, I think I may have 2 resistors on the four in the vents. I cant remeber.

I do remeber comparing a single LED with a resistor vs. 4 LEDS wired in parrallel together with there own resistors, and the single one being brighter.

Now if the LEDs are drawing too much current for a single resistor, what would happen. Would the resistor simply blow and the LEDs would go out, or would it blow, and the connection still allow current to pass (ie: the LEDs gettin 12v)?

I'm honestly not sure. All I know is the resistor will start to super heat, you may smoke the resistor, it could possibly short out or just break the connection. Either way, it's always better to do it the right way.

So you think I should wire them in series or add the resistors...?

I kinda want to just use the resistors if I can, cuz I have little boxes built for the ones under the dash and theyre all sealed up. Id have to tear them apart to change the wiring.

As for the resistors, can I run resistors one after another for the desired resistence, or do I actually have to wire each one the each LED? Theyre all gettin connected and running to the D-Block anyway.

Sorry I can't help out too much. I do remember learning all of this in Physics this year... but that was at the begining of the year. I did have a question though (don't mean to steal your thread, i just figured i have a similar question a new thread would be pointless and just take up more space). Anyways! I finally recieved my intergra gsr cluster and I was looking at all the bulb holders on the back and they all say 2 - v tosiba. I am guessing this means 2 volts to each holder?! (Of course I will check this before I throw them all in, just to be sure.) I want to put blue leds into each of their places eventually... I was just wondering if I could just stick them in the stock holders and they would work, or would I need some other kind of modification.

I have an accord, and I have the same holders as you. Thats all I did was replace the bulbs with LEDs, but My LEDs for this job werent from phil. They were 12v LEDs with ends that are just like those used in most automobiles (ie: 194/164, 7995 etc...)

Phil, I think you need to try to get your hands on some of these if at all possible...

Youll be able to use your LEDs, you just have to do a slight bit of modding to get em to fit right...

what kind of holders plyable/maeleable plastic?

Sup in order to run LED's from a 12+ source you need to use a resistor you cannot hook up led's straight to dc dont work they will burn out. LED's usally are 1.5 to 3 volts. I buy LED's cause i make led spechtrum for any ride like my ride my leds dance to the music just like an equalizer spechtrum it takes resistors chips and diodes to make it response like that. anyway you have any questions just email me at flystratus98@yahoo.com peace

JohnnyPraze wrote:

I bought a bunch of LEDs awhile back and have them in my gauges and climate controls etc... I put one in each vent when I did all this, but they havent been powered because my project was sidetracked. Now Im back at it, and I mounted 2 under each side of the dash. I hooked then up and they were fine for about 15 minutes then they started to blink flash like they were shorting out, or like they were about to blow out (this happened to the LEDs in my CD player). So I killed the switch, to try and save them. The LEDs in the vents didnt have this problem, just the newly installed underdash LEDs. All LEDs are from phil and heres a simple diagram of how things are run. I know its not the best way, so be critical... http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/man_a_praze/de...2003-12-17&.dnm=untitled.jpg Power is ran from battery to a switch. From the switch, to a Distrobution block. From the block its ran to the LEDs. The four in the vents are wired in parrallel and run to the bock with one resistor. (no problem with these so far...) The four under the dash, are wired seperatley from the vent LEDs, and are ran the same way; parrallel to the block with one resistor. What would cause the underdash lights to be blinking (pausibly ready to blow) and the vent lights are un affected...?

FLYSTRATUS98 wrote:

Sup in order to run LED's from a 12+ source you need to use a resistor you cannot hook up led's straight to dc dont work they will burn out. LED's usally are 1.5 to 3 volts. I buy LED's cause i make led spechtrum for any ride like my ride my leds dance to the music just like an equalizer spechtrum it takes resistors chips and diodes to make it response like that. anyway you have any questions just email me at flystratus98@yahoo.com peace JohnnyPraze wrote: I bought a bunch of LEDs awhile back and have them in my gauges and climate controls etc... I put one in each vent when I did all this, but they havent been powered because my project was sidetracked. Now Im back at it, and I mounted 2 under each side of the dash. I hooked then up and they were fine for about 15 minutes then they started to blink flash like they were shorting out, or like they were about to blow out (this happened to the LEDs in my CD player). So I killed the switch, to try and save them. The LEDs in the vents didnt have this problem, just the newly installed underdash LEDs. All LEDs are from phil and heres a simple diagram of how things are run. I know its not the best way, so be critical... http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/man_a_praze/de...2003-12-17&.dnm=untitled.jpg Power is ran from battery to a switch. From the switch, to a Distrobution block. From the block its ran to the LEDs. The four in the vents are wired in parrallel and run to the bock with one resistor. (no problem with these so far...) The four under the dash, are wired seperatley from the vent LEDs, and are ran the same way; parrallel to the block with one resistor. What would cause the underdash lights to be blinking (pausibly ready to blow) and the vent lights are un affected...?

might want to read the post...

just a thought.