DIY - ABL using EL wire, and 3/16" tube

[edgehead2000]

Originally Posted by wylde1

I doubt them being Canadian has anything to do with it, and it's not like your american dollar is any more special. That's just bad customer service. There's got to be somewhere else online to order the tail wire from. I'll try to avoid these guys when I order, thanks for the heads up.

Apologies. Got caught up in the heat of the moment at the end of the day and was disappointed that the same thing happened twice. Nothing wrong with our neighbors to the north.

[5THGENRS]

ok a few questions. i did the sanding for the doors to extend the light to the dash but it seems with the IOM it is more critical to sand properly and polish to make it crystal clear so its not as noticeable for the dash. to me if it looks like the doors, and they have a dead space if you know what i mean during the day so the dash pieces having this same effect wont bother me. 400 grit, then 800, then 1000. i need the basics here. sorry so many questions in such a short area. ill number them so hopefully i can get an orderly response list.

1. how do you know when to switch between grits? remove paint completely with 400 and then switch? meguiars plastic polish or stratchx? picture please.
2. the soldering ill check out the videos
3. just checking on what one member asked about the 0-4 box, so its based on the el wire and not the total length bc i plan on doing what was shown in Gonzos write up where the wire is fished thru the square openings and then to start the el wire. didnt want the extra wire to do this to effect the light.

4. never did hear anymore from Imjaybird about your results.
FwyFlyer has pictures of your project. Did you use the red el wire being that its the closest to the orange door color?
5. i checked today on my 2LT and it doesnt have the ABL plugs above the fuse panel or the pass side. im # 92,608 so if its not there then its probably not behind the cluster either? ill check but its probably a safer bet to use this source and its on the driver and passenger sides?:

sources that are good to know: no super glue, no glue above the tube, Rick...basically, you connect the plug into the pre-existing jack to the car. On that plug, you run it to the power source for the lights. From the power source, you add in the splitters for however many lights you are going to run, correct? And from there, you just solder in the wires? So, you could actually end up running multiple strands (depending on length) from one 4-8ft source? You could potentially run up to 8 strands off the source up to a foot in length?
ill add stuff as needed so i have a reference group of stuff all together.
ANYTHING ELSE I SHOULD KNOW GOING OFF OF Camaroricks design?
Thanks guys

[5THGENRS]

i thread appears to be down, man i sure hope not. i think from the 18 pages that i could work my way thru it but if a few questions would be answered i would feel more confident. my main question is about the color, if red looks more orange with the el wire.

[010 Camaro SS]

Rick did the install in my SS...E-mail him direct if
you have any questions...I've had no issues...Just had
to replace wire a few weeks back...EL Wire lasted 1 full
year...E mail him direct if need be...

[TAG UR IT]

I didn't like the el wire. i had it, but changed it out for the light pipe. never saw the orange in person either, so can't help you there either. sorry.

[CaryE1]

I got this installed today. It doesn't look bad, but I'm a perfectionist, so I need to do some refining. I need to fix some of the sanding, as my line isnt straight and the plastic could be polished some.

I had a difficult time with getting the plastic tubing to fit behind the trim, so I ended up just hot gluing the el wire directly to the trim.

I also tapped the ambient lighting wire going to the Traction Control & gauges in the center console, it was much easier than trying to figure out which wires to use in the pax kick-panel.

I will take and post some pics when I get a chance.

Originally Posted by 5THGENRS

i thread appears to be down, man i sure hope not. i think from the 18 pages that i could work my way thru it but if a few questions would be answered i would feel more confident. my main question is about the color, if red looks more orange with the el wire.

I used the red el wire. It is definately more orange than red, which is somewhat disappointing - I am looking for more red. I am going to try painting the wire with some clear red paint to try to darken it up some, but that will be another day.

[camarorick]

WOW... the thread lives

I'll try to answer as best I can...

Originally Posted by 5THGENRS

ok a few questions. i did the sanding for the doors to extend the light to the dash but it seems with the IOM it is more critical to sand properly and polish to make it crystal clear so its not as noticeable for the dash. to me if it looks like the doors, and they have a dead space if you know what i mean during the day so the dash pieces having this same effect wont bother me. 400 grit, then 800, then 1000. i need the basics here. sorry so many questions in such a short area. ill number them so hopefully i can get an orderly response list.

1. how do you know when to switch between grits? remove paint completely with 400 and then switch? meguiars plastic polish or stratchx? please.

Basically, as soon as the paint was removed, I moved to the finer grits to attain a smooth, but "flat" finish ( I found that the light being emitted was more uniform with a rougher finish ).

2. the soldering ill check out the videos
3. just checking on what one member asked about the 0-4 box, so its based on the el wire and not the total length bc i plan on doing what was shown in Gonzos write up where the wire is fished thru the square openings and then to start the el wire. didnt want the extra wire to do this to effect the light.

Not sure of this, never checked to see if the extra "regular" wire would affect the EL-Wire.... I guess if you're buying a driver for 0-4, it might be a good idea to spend a couple bucks, and get the 4-8 too.



4. never did hear anymore from Imjaybird about your results.
FwyFlyer has pictures of your project. Did you use the red el wire being that its the closest to the orange door color?



5. i checked today on my 2LT and it doesnt have the ABL plugs above the fuse panel or the pass side. im # 92,608 so if its not there then its probably not behind the cluster either? ill check but its probably a safer bet to use this source and its on the driver and passenger sides?:

I did an install for a friend who didn't have the plugs too.... there are two purple wires behind the passenger kick panel... One is the source. Use a volt meter to check which one is right.




sources that are good to know: no super glue, no glue above the tube, Rick...basically, you connect the plug into the pre-existing jack to the car. On that plug, you run it to the power source for the lights. From the power source, you add in the splitters for however many lights you are going to run, correct? And from there, you just solder in the wires? So, you could actually end up running multiple strands (depending on length) from one 4-8ft source? You could potentially run up to 8 strands off the source up to a foot in length?

Exactly. My thought was that if I wanted to add extra lighting options, I could just plug it in. You just need to be sure you don't exceed the driver capabilities.


ill add stuff as needed so i have a reference group of stuff all together.
ANYTHING ELSE I SHOULD KNOW GOING OFF OF Camaroricks design?
Thanks guys

[camarorick]

Originally Posted by CaryE1

I got this installed today. It doesn't look bad, but I'm a perfectionist, so I need to do some refining. I need to fix some of the sanding, as my line isnt straight and the plastic could be polished some.

I had a difficult time with getting the plastic tubing to fit behind the trim, so I ended up just hot gluing the el wire directly to the trim.

I also tapped the ambient lighting wire going to the Traction Control & gauges in the center console, it was much easier than trying to figure out which wires to use in the pax kick-panel.

I will take and post some pics when I get a chance.



I used the red el wire. It is definately more orange than red, which is somewhat disappointing - I am looking for more red. I am going to try painting the wire with some clear red paint to try to darken it up some, but that will be another day.

One of the main reasons I chose the tube was to make sure the wire was always straight (which makes the light more uniform)... What I didn't realize, was that I had a way for a quick and easy replacement of the wire should I need to.

After some time with this wire, we've found out that it tends to have " dead " sections after the car has been exposed to long periods of summer heat... As 010 Camaro SS mentioned, we changed his out in about five minutes. He should be good for another year or longer.

Really, anyone who's doing this mod SHOULD buy a few extra connectors, and of course the extra wire for your inventory

[Pkrimmer]

Hey guys was playing around with elwire I just got last night and install this in the rear panel of the Convertible. There is a little slot that runs in the plastic that fit in there real nice. The hardtop has a dirrent panel inside so I dont know how to install this. I cleaned panel real good and used super clue to hold it in place with the connection plug in the rear that runs behind the seat. I used metal ductwork tape to hold in place for about 20 mins and removed. The reason was it stuck on real good and I could shape the elwire in place straight. Paul

[5THGENRS]

im about to put my shopping list together and had a few questions.
1. Can anyone confirm that the specs on the inverter (0-4) is based on the el wire using up the power or is it based upon the total length of the wire? i plan to have regular wire to extend especially the passender side and on each side i plan to extend so i can run thru existing holes.
2. What size wire are you guys using to extend before the el wire? 20-22 gauge? speaker wire?
3. So because i dont have the abl plug, ill have to plug into the purple wire, so power and ground feeding the inverter, hard wired in. Then on the other side, it looks like in the pictures that there is a plug (male or female?) then you plug in the splitter (2-5 way splitters). so on the multiple ends of the splitter, what type are they? male or female?
4. based upon what the answer to Number 1 is i plan to run the el wire then connect extra wire to that then run it thru existing hole and then wire up a connector, so do i need male or female connector to plug into what is the type connector on the splitter?
Hope this question are understandable, if not i can be even more clear, thanks. Just trying to get my shopping list together.
5. i still cant seem to understand what the 1 female connector from the shopping list is for? the males are suppose to be connected to the el wire, but can i run regular wire to the el wire and then wire in a connector and then plug it into the splitter? the passenger side, the wire will be so long and for routing thru the dash, i wont be able to connect the male to the el wire.

[boxmonkeyracing]

aaahhhh finally found this thread. Good. glad to know I'm not the only one looking at using this, or using it.

[With envy]

This is how I used it:









I've already had a DIY request on the bowtie, and I'm currently putting that together, but it's taking longer than I had hoped. Lots of details to put in, and pictures to take. Hopefully I'll have it posted soon.

[ekpollo]

I've already had a DIY request on the bowtie, and I'm currently putting that together, but it's taking longer than I had hoped. Lots of details to put in, and pictures to take. Hopefully I'll have it posted soon.

Ok i am new , but found this thread and just what I was looking for , I also want to do the el wire in my SUV, to go arround the leather trim on my door panels, there is a small space when i can just push the wire into... my q? before i order is I believe it is flexible wire right? so i dont need any extra tubing , and it dosnt get hot , so up against the leather is fine? its gonna just be about 45 inches that outlines part of the doors...

anyone can help me out with an answer ..........thanks !

( looking at using the 2.6mm polar bright 3) or should i use smaller ???

[ekpollo]

also has anyone ordered from elwirepros.com they are us based, and carry same products, sorry if mentioned in thread I only read 9 of 18 pages.....