Aleromod.com Aleromod.com

Go Back   Aleromod.com > General Help > How-To Archive & FAQ

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 09-24-2006, 11:51 AM   #1
Satsuriku
V.I.P. Punching Bag
 
Satsuriku's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Lethbridge, Alberta Canada
Posts: 4,313
Satsuriku is an unknown quantity at this point
How-to: Make a Home Made Wheel Well “LED Strips”

***This method can also be used to make your own interior LED strips for under your dash and seats***

Also im gonna warn you guys in advance, sorry if some of the pics are crap, b/c my digi cam is like a million years old (3.0 megapix) and doesnt come out with very good quality pics.

How-to: Make a Home Made Wheel Well “LED Strips”

Tools you will need: Soldering iron and solder, Wire cutters, any gauge wire (I used 18 gauge wire for this), drill and a 13/64 bit, dremel, a 9v battery, silicone, aquatic tubing (or any kind of rubber tubing), and a piece of scrap wood.

Step 1: What you want to do is take the scrap wood and mark on it how long your tube is going to be and where the LED’s will be placed. For this example, each tube was 18” long with 1.5” between each LED of the same color (because I had used 2 different colors, blue and green).

Step 2: Take your rubber tubing and cut it in half only on one side. Then what you want to do is lay it down on the wood where you have marked and neither nail, or screw it down to the wood so that it looks like your dissecting a worm. After this, take your trusty drill and bit and start drilling the markings where your LED’s will be placed for when you’re working on the wiring.



Step 3: Now that we have our little holes, cut down the LED leads as short as you can but still be able to work on them.



Then solder the resistors on it them, after that go ahead and start sticking those LED’s in there little holes you drilled. It was easier to work on one color at a time if you wanting to do multiple colors. When the wiring was done stick the other color LED’s in and do the same to that color as you did before.





Step 4: Ok, now for the fun part, wiring the LED’s. What I did was connect all the positive leads to one mass power wire where they will be connected to a 12v power source when you install them, and did the same for the negative leads. Make sure you use different mass wire if your using multiple colors so that when you hit one switch you don’t light up ALL your LED’s but this does not matter for the ground wire because, lol well it’s a ground wire.

A little more in depth as to how I did this is I cut the wire and stripped it where the lead is going to be soldered onto and wrapped the lead around that bare wire and soldered it back together and did that till all leads were on the same mass positive wire. This method was one that I found worked for me but if your wanting to experiment to try and make this go along faster then by all means and go ahead and post up what worked for you for extra tips on this guide.





Also, I did the same with the negative leads but every time I stripped the wire I just connected 2 leads to that bare wire so that way this part moves along a little faster.

Step 5: After you are done wiring all the leads to there respective mass wire (I bet at this point your thinking “I hate wire and I don’t ever want to do that again” well guess what…..you got 3 more to do so HA!) you want to take either silicone or hot glue (used hot glue but I suggest using silicone and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to use a caulking gun if you have one handy) and glue or silicone in between the positive and negative leads at the base of the LED. This does 2 things for you, 1 – it holds the LED down to the bottom of the tube so that it cannot move as easily and 2 – it prevents the leads from touching each other making the LED go poof! Once the glue or silicone is dry, go ahead and remove the nails or screws and CARFULLY pull the tube from the board. What I did before I glued down the LED’s is I used my trusty 9v battery to make sure all the LED’s are in working order and of course, fix any problems that might occur.

This is what it should look like when wired completely but without the glue at the base of the LED’s



Step 6: Ok here is where it gets messy. Now its time to seal these bad boys up so that when they go in the wheel well, no moisture gets inside. For anyone that has cleared corners, they would know how to do this very well. Here is what I did for this part, take some more of your rubber tubing and cut it in half again except do it on the bottom where it curves, the pic here will show you what I mean.



After that, wrap the tubing around the top where the wiring is exposed.



Once that’s done, take your silicone and go under the lip of the tube you had just put on and start sealing it up on the inside.



Once this is done, it’s a good idea to put some more silicone over the edge so that it ensures the seal is solid.



Now what I did for the ends of the tube is I used some plugs that fit the tube and silicone the threading and stuck it in there and used a crap load of silicone again to make sure it’s sealed properly.



Also what I did with the end that has the wires coming out is I drilled a hole on the plugs big enough to fit all 3 wires through and silicone it up (ya I know……lots of silicone to be used).





Once this is all done, just go through the tube really quick and see if you can spot any potential leaks that might occur while the tubes are in those wheel wells. If there is, of course, whip out the trusty silicone and seal her up. Once you have verified that everything looks good, make sure to use your dremel and flatten the top of each LED so that the light will spread evenly or else you will have big dots on your wheel and that will just little goofy!



This method can also be used to make your interior lights as well for under your dash or even under your front seats for some lighting in the back; just not as much if ANY silicone will be used, only to hold the LED’s to the bottom on the tube. Now as for installation, this part is entirely up to you as to how you want to execute this. I just simply ran the wires through the steering wheel column (or anywhere in the firewall that will lead to your center console) and into my center console where I spliced and power and ground wires from the cigarette lighter to a switch that I can control on the inside of my car.

Heres the finished product of my wheel wells (and yes i will be lowering my car!!) Hope this helped guys. HAPPY MODDING!!!





this one is with both green and blue lights on

Satsuriku is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-24-2006, 11:59 AM   #2
Satsuriku
V.I.P. Punching Bag
 
Satsuriku's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Lethbridge, Alberta Canada
Posts: 4,313
Satsuriku is an unknown quantity at this point
oh and here are some of my interior





and these ones are the strips i put under the front seats pointing to the back



Satsuriku is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-24-2006, 12:59 PM   #3
alerocar01
V.I.P. Member
 
alerocar01's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 1,445
alerocar01 is an unknown quantity at this point
nice work!
alerocar01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-24-2006, 01:02 PM   #4
Alerwhoa
 
Posts: n/a
awesome job! your a crafty man... oh and i hate wiring LED's thats such a pain in the ass....

And I bet you glued yourself.... to yourself.... later that night with all the silicone you must have had everywhere haha!

Good mod though you need some underglow so it looks more fluid and not only the tops of the tires are lit up.
  Reply With Quote
Old 09-24-2006, 01:43 PM   #5
cherrington17
Gone
 
cherrington17's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Lockport Ny
Posts: 19,244
cherrington17 has a spectacular aura aboutcherrington17 has a spectacular aura about
Send a message via AIM to cherrington17
wow.. the first half of that write up seems oddly familiar.... hmmm...

good job on the how to.
__________________
Frequently Asked Questions
...You only stop learning when your dead...
cherrington17 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-24-2006, 03:14 PM   #6
Satsuriku
V.I.P. Punching Bag
 
Satsuriku's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Lethbridge, Alberta Canada
Posts: 4,313
Satsuriku is an unknown quantity at this point
^_^ oh btw.....a HUGE thanx goes out to cherry, hes the one that showed me how this is possible and hes right, the first half of this guide is based off his design, thanx again bro, wouldnt have been possible without ya

and ya ill be having underglows in her b4 the end of next month, ill be sure to take more pics once thats done

might even be able to compete against cherry to see who has the brightest car....lol
Satsuriku is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-25-2006, 10:37 AM   #7
ptrudel
Designated Drunk
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: New Liskeard, Ontario
Posts: 6,873
ptrudel is an unknown quantity at this point
Send a message via MSN to ptrudel
cool write up, but you and cherry have a long way to go to beat silent in the lighting dept.
__________________
I'm baaaackk
ptrudel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-25-2006, 10:42 AM   #8
AGT
GLS member
 
AGT's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Where you should be
Posts: 5,577
AGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond repute
It that a brake pedal or is that a brake pedal jeez...do you have trouble finding it sometimes haha just kidding...lights look great.
__________________
Please don't be offended by my comments because that would break my effing heart you kitty.

Have a good day
AGT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-25-2006, 10:43 AM   #9
Satsuriku
V.I.P. Punching Bag
 
Satsuriku's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Lethbridge, Alberta Canada
Posts: 4,313
Satsuriku is an unknown quantity at this point
lol im working on it......then again, i havent seen the full extent of marks lighting, ive seen a couple of pics but i want to see what hes done to his car compeltely ^_^ just to see what im up against
Satsuriku is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-25-2006, 10:45 AM   #10
AGT
GLS member
 
AGT's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Where you should be
Posts: 5,577
AGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond reputeAGT has a reputation beyond repute
I had a girlfriend that had a toy that looked kinda like this. She was a freak...superfreaky




__________________
Please don't be offended by my comments because that would break my effing heart you kitty.

Have a good day
AGT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-26-2006, 12:18 AM   #11
Satsuriku
V.I.P. Punching Bag
 
Satsuriku's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Lethbridge, Alberta Canada
Posts: 4,313
Satsuriku is an unknown quantity at this point
omg man!!! haha, and i thought the guys in the VIP section were bad! shit even the regular members are taking pokes at me hahahaha!
Satsuriku is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2006, 07:23 PM   #12
bizarre179
GL Member
 
bizarre179's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: New York
Posts: 608
bizarre179 is on a distinguished road
Send a message via AIM to bizarre179
Very Nice!
bizarre179 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2006, 10:01 PM   #13
battistoni21
V.I.P. Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Latrobe, Pa
Posts: 1,713
battistoni21 is an unknown quantity at this point
Send a message via AIM to battistoni21
awsome work sat!
battistoni21 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2006, 10:31 PM   #14
lovefrom1977
GX Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Illinois
Posts: 79
lovefrom1977 is on a distinguished road
hey thats awesome. thanks for the how to. i had some questions though. im not that good with leds so what leds did you use with what resistors and what did you run the wires too?
lovefrom1977 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2006, 11:11 PM   #15
clutch1
GLS member
 
clutch1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: wisconsin
Posts: 2,733
clutch1 is on a distinguished road
Send a message via AIM to clutch1
Quote:
Originally Posted by Satsuriku View Post
lol im working on it......then again, i havent seen the full extent of marks lighting, ive seen a couple of pics but i want to see what hes done to his car compeltely ^_^ just to see what im up against

Yea, I''ve wondered about it, too. All I've seen is the underbodies and a Whelen strobe box in one pic.
__________________
clutch1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-26-2006, 11:11 AM   #16
Satsuriku
V.I.P. Punching Bag
 
Satsuriku's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Lethbridge, Alberta Canada
Posts: 4,313
Satsuriku is an unknown quantity at this point
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovefrom1977 View Post
hey thats awesome. thanks for the how to. i had some questions though. im not that good with leds so what leds did you use with what resistors and what did you run the wires too?


2 places you can get LED's. those came from ebay, there cheap as hell and they come with resistors so you dont have to worry about what ones.

another place is www.oznium.com there a bit more expensive in bigger quantities but there cheap if your doing a smaller job like your interior and just make sure when you order them to select that you want the resistors with them but for the wheel wells, ya just go to ebay and search for super bright LEDs and you should see some that will be shipped out from Hong Kong (dont worry the shipping is actualy fast, and i live in canada)

and as for running the wires, for the back ones i drilled a hole through the wheel well, ran the wires in the trunk, and siliconed the hole i drilled to try and present any potential leaks and rust from happening. i just ran the wires under the carpet and under the floor panel next to the doors to the front of car where i spliced a ground and power wire to it and hooked it up to a switch. as for the fronts, again, i drilled a hole through the plastic and ran the wires behind my headlight and through the firewall

hope this helps!
Satsuriku is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-26-2006, 12:53 PM   #17
Silentalero
Kitteh is back!!!!
 
Silentalero's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Chicago
Posts: 9,445
Silentalero is an unknown quantity at this point
Send a message via ICQ to Silentalero Send a message via AIM to Silentalero Send a message via MSN to Silentalero Send a message via Yahoo to Silentalero
lol ill go take some video tonight if i get time

you guys arent even in the ballgame yet though lol
__________________
97 Nissan 240sx - sr20det
94 Nissan 240sx convertible
01 Suzuki gsxr 750
Silentalero is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-26-2006, 02:00 PM   #18
99redcoupe
 
Posts: n/a
for the interior what do you hook the + and - wires up to? cause im thinking about doing under my dash and under my stero where that extra space is but no clue what to wire it to.
  Reply With Quote
Old 10-26-2006, 02:19 PM   #19
clutch1
GLS member
 
clutch1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: wisconsin
Posts: 2,733
clutch1 is on a distinguished road
Send a message via AIM to clutch1
I branched wires into my ciggy lighter and used a switch.
__________________
clutch1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-26-2006, 02:26 PM   #20
Satsuriku
V.I.P. Punching Bag
 
Satsuriku's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Lethbridge, Alberta Canada
Posts: 4,313
Satsuriku is an unknown quantity at this point
^

thats what i did, take a wire splitter and connect it to the + on the ciggy lighter and connect the positive leads of your wires to that splitter and run a wire from that splitter to a switch.

ill have to make a seperate how-to on how to install and wire interior lights
Satsuriku is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:45 AM.


Powered by vBulletin Version 3.6.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.