rshissler Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 Ok i was i've been lookin for a flashing LED light that i could put in so it looks like i have an alarm till i get the money for one. I was told that they sell ones that have 3 wires, Ground, Power, and one to hook to the ignition. I only found one like that and i cant find anymore and i lost the other link for it. But i found hundreds of those flashing ones that are on all the time. i read that u can just hook the power wires from those to the ignition and it acts just like the other one where it only comes on when the ignition is off. any no ifthis is true? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 just go buy a battery operated one from the Ricer aisle at autozone and call it a day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 they have asiles of that crap at almost any given auto parts store, just put it in a out of the way place and leave it run all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 Truthfully, thieves will more likely break into your car once you get that flashing led than now. I have a Viper 771XV in my car, and I still haven't bothered wiring in the LED. Makes thieves think you have stuff in your vehicle worth stealing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 why would you wanna do such a thing? Thatll only give your car more attention, and in some cases well alot, depending, thats not very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1990lumina Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 I duno, that stupid hyper blue light in my car has tricked the retarded theifs away from my car more then once I think.....I dunno why else the cars in front and behind me got broken into and mine didn't?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rshissler Posted January 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 ok none answered my ? yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cam'ron Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 without doing my homework i htink it is all in how you wire one of the min... you should be able to wire them in a way that when the ign is off the light is on, and turns off when the car is running... all i wonder is how much battery draw do they have and do they leave you the optoin to turn them off... on a side note the dode that lives downstairs from me has a little shitbox ricer civiv and hes got a hella bright flashing blue light on the dash in that thing... i have had to close my blinds at night so i dont have my room being all lit up blue at night. i so wanna go take the friggin thing out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryk2003 Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 my viper alarm is supposed to come with a blue LED...i hope they don't fuck up my dash putting it in!... :? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2CUTTYS Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 my viper alarm is supposed to come with a blue LED...i hope they don't fuck up my dash putting it in!... :? i would call them and tell them where to put it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryk2003 Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 my viper alarm is supposed to come with a blue LED...i hope they don't fuck up my dash putting it in!... :? i would call them and tell them where to put it. i'm deffinatly gonna show them where i want it...i guess i could tell them if they can't put it there then just give it to me and i'll do it myself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rshissler Posted January 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 Its not goin to be one of those blinding bright LEDs just a stock looking alarm LED. Theres mostly "smash and grab" ppl around my area so it would atleast help keep them away from my car. Any answer my question? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 what was your question? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LumiDriver Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 just go buy a battery operated one from the Ricer aisle at autozone and call it a day LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 Radio Shack has blinking LEDs for $1.39. Cat #276-036. You'll need a resistor for it, but it would be pretty easy to hook up. Just give it power, it blinks. The blinking LED saved my car from getting broken into at my parents neighborhood. One night, every car parked outside on my block got broken into. Every car had windows smashed and stereo equipment ripped out. All except mine, which had a Sony CDX-C90 which at the time cost me $750 and cost $1,199 locally. They did attempt to get in, there were screwdriver pry marks on the edge of the glass, but it looked like they started to break in, saw the LED, and backed off. It HAD to be the LED, that was the only thing setting mine apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rshissler Posted January 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 how could i hook up the LED so that it only comes on when the ign. is off? i read that u can hook the power lead up to the neg. to the ign and then it would turn on when the cars off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonStern Posted January 28, 2006 Report Share Posted January 28, 2006 use a relay, I did this myself, led only comes on when ignition is off and they only draw a few millamps so no problems with draw, I have two bright ones running and the car can sit for days with them on no prob... just hook the relay up backwards and run the power lead to something that only comes on when the ignition is on, causes the relay to only draw power when car is off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rshissler Posted January 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2006 ok so how would i hook it up backwards? like what pin to what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted January 28, 2006 Report Share Posted January 28, 2006 I think you could also make it work with a resistor that you would have needed anyway... using your series current limiting resistor also as a pull-up resistor. This is just theory in my head, never tried, so it might not work, but... Get a blinking LED like the ones from Radio Shack. I don't know what kind of current they need, but I'm guestimating 2.0V@20mA. So it would need around a 590-ohm current limiting resistor. Use a 1/2-watt one, because it'll consume about 1/3rd watt when pulled-up. Connect positive lead of LED directly to +12V. Connect negative lead of LED to resistor. Also connect switched ignition +12V to the negative lead of the LED. Connect other end of resistor to ground. How this works is, when ignition is ON, LED sees +12V on both positive and negative leads, zero voltage difference, so LED stays off. Remember our resistor that was grounded on one end? Well the +12V ignition when on, pulls that ground up to +12V that shuts off the resistor. When ignition is OFF, the switched ignition goes open-circuit, allowing the LED's ground lead to be grounded through the resistor. This would be much more efficient than a relay, the only power being wasted when the ignition is off goes to the LED. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted January 28, 2006 Report Share Posted January 28, 2006 Oh, I did some thinking and thought of a flaw with my idea... :oops: The +12V ignition won't go open-circuit when off, because the load of all the car's devices will actually make that ignition circuit look grounded. What you can do, is use the series current limiting resistor as normal... +12V constant to resistor, resistor to LED+. Then connect LED- to switched ignition. When the car is ON, the LED should be off. When the car is off, the LED should be on. I bet this idea would work, and would be the most efficient, draining no power at any time other than what the LED needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted January 28, 2006 Report Share Posted January 28, 2006 the relay idea would be best. I looked at a relay and it has five contacts. (most have them marked on the side with a diagram) 30, 85, 86, 87, 87a. 85 and 86 are the control tabs for the relay, hook one to a ground and the other to a switched source, ant the relay switch will move.... On the Slave side of the relay, 30 connects to 87a when relay is not powered up. When it is powered up 30 connects to 87. now, if you hook 30 to a constant source, so... if you want something to be on only when the car is on, you hook it to 87, and if you want something to be on only when the car is off, you hook it to 87a. you could even make it a dual purpose relay if you have things you want in both directions, such as LED when car is off, switched 12v power source for a cd player or amp, when the car in on. And the relay uses no energy to hook to 87a, When the car is off, so only what it powers will be on.(the LED) make sense??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted January 28, 2006 Report Share Posted January 28, 2006 the relay idea would be best. How do you figure? It would 1) Cost more, 2) Eat more power, 3) Require more wiring, 4) More complicated circuit, and 5) Adds moving parts. Grounding through the load is more efficient, that's why GM used that technique to shut off foglights with high-beams on rather than a 2nd relay. It will definitely work if a voltmeter shows +12V when connecting + lead to +12V constant and - lead to switched ignition with ignition off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonStern Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 Don't know about GM fog lights but every other set I've seen uses a relay... mine works fine the way described with two LEDs on it with I believe 480ohm resistors, every place I've seen says it's just fine to run it like that and my car has sat for around a week with them on and had no problem starting. is it considered a moving part when it's moved through electromagnetism? "SPDT Relay : (Single Pole Double Throw Relay) an electromagnetic switch, consist of a coil (terminals 85 & 86), 1 common terminal (30), 1 normally closed terminal (87a), and one normally open terminal (87). When the coil of the relay is at rest (not energized), the common terminal (30) and the normally closed terminal (87a) have continuity. When the coil is energized, the common terminal (30) and the normally open terminal (87) have continuity." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 The factory fogs use a relay to switch them on and off, but they're grounded through the high beams so when the high beams are on, their grounds become positives and they shut off. That's the theory I was going for. LEDs don't need a relay because they use so little current, only 1/2 that of even a relay coil. Yeah, relays are still moving parts. Their contacts are mechanical and can oxidize and go bad. I've had to disassemble a few old Bosch style relays salvaged from 80's junkyard cars to clean the contacts because they were failing. Anyway, I was just making a suggestion. If you guys like making things more complicated with extra parts and wiring that aren't necessary, go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 I was going to test a theory, I think that a relay that already exists in your car has an empty slot for the 87a terminal, and hooked to a hot on position 30, ignition off... YES, 94 CS manual shows terminal 30 is hot at all times on both fan relays, so if you added a pin to the 87a slot on either relay, ran it to the LED and from the LED to ground.... it would work beautifully! And as for power drag.... yes, a free floating relay would use power, but only with the ignition on. When the car is off, it does not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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