DIY photo guide for dashboard ABL

[nessa131]

Originally Posted by TJ91

I heard el wire starts to die out and has a short life span?

found this on the FAQ's hope it helps:

Q. How durable are cold cathodes? A. Cold cathodes are extremely durable. Thay are basically shock and vibration resistant. While the bulbs are very thin and made of glass they are generally protected by an acrylic or poly-carbonate tubing. They are durable enough to be used in automotive applications for under car and accent lighting.

Q. What is the expected life span of a cold cathode? A. Cold cathodes are rated for a 20,000 hour life expectancy.

Q. What is the brightness output level of cold cathodes? A. The bulbs sold on our site are very high output, high intensity output. With our standard inverter and bulb combination the output will be about 32,000 cd/m2, much higher than those normally found on the market.

Q. Can the brightness level be incresed? A. Yes, we have came up with two methods. 1. The use of our special high out put inverter along with our high intensity bulbs, can increase the brightness level to 45,000 cd/m2. 2. The bulb can also be equipped with a reflective tape that will basically redirect all of the light from 360 degrees to 180 degrees, thus doubleing the amount of light in one direction.

Q. What is the best method to mount cold cathodes? A. Our bulbs come with a double sided tape attached to them. This is adequate for some applications, however zip ties or auto ccfl clips are recommended for secure automotive applications.


The website said that this is the same span as the el wire--- I hope they are right!!!!!

[TJ91]

Really, when i researched how long el wire lasts, it says over time the phoshuros starts to crack and die out...Apparently if you leave it on for 6 hours a night, by a year and a half, you have half of the light. And apparently some have died out as early as 6 monthes.
I dont know too much on it so i cant say for sure. I hope it lasts along time, but even members before have posted that el wire does burn out...i hope they burn out after a long time. It also depends on how you use it, if you have 90 degree bends or if your tightly ravelling things it cracks it the phospohoros or something

[nessa131]

Wow! I guess that the website was just trying to sell product! I guess I'll just stick with the original method- a light connector is easier to replace than a whole wire!

Originally Posted by TJ91

Really, when i researched how long el wire lasts, it says over time the phoshuros starts to crack and die out...Apparently if you leave it on for 6 hours a night, by a year and a half, you have half of the light. And apparently some have died out as early as 6 monthes.
I dont know too much on it so i cant say for sure. I hope it lasts along time, but even members before have posted that el wire does burn out...i hope they burn out after a long time. It also depends on how you use it, if you have 90 degree bends or if your tightly ravelling things it cracks it the phospohoros or something

[camarorick]

Originally Posted by TJ91

I heard el wire starts to die out and has a short life span?

Originally Posted by nessa131

Wow! I guess that the website was just trying to sell product! I guess I'll just stick with the original method- a light connector is easier to replace than a whole wire!

Even if the wire does wear out, it will be easy to replace, and cheap ( $0.99 ft ).

The installation using the 3/16" tube allows you to just slide the wire into the dash without removing the whole insert....

[TJ91]

Camarorick, you are a smart man with that acrylic tube of yours lol

[qbert48]

OK but do we all need to sand the top part of the trim piece ?

[franknbeans]

I think only the 1LT and 1SS guys do.. because the trim is different.

[Rikarus]

My 2SS trim was painted all the way also.

[TJ91]

what are you guys talking about?

[qbert48]

Originally Posted by Rikarus

My 2SS trim was painted all the way also.

yep mine too i sanded for like 6 hours but looks good waiting on the lights from chevy

Originally Posted by TJ91

what are you guys talking about?

sanding the paint off too let the light out of the dash trim panel

[qbert48]

now time to pull the door trim and dig in,man the wife is about to freak out

[Parker]

Got my light pipe and blue lights from parts all together. I have now installed all the parts which took maybe an hour and a half of going from the back garage to the front driveway. I'm going to have to do all the sanding on the panels to get the lighting right, but this is a very is job. If anyone cares it's a torq 15 that holds the instrument cluster. I'l add some pics when I finish. Also props to all the people that made the instructions.

[kga10734]

So which is the better way of doing the ABL? El wire or the light tube with the lights from GM?

I have the light tube but like everybody else, the blue lights are on back order.

For those that have put in the light tube, does the tube emit enough light to show through the top of the trim piece without having the tube right at the top of the trim? It also looks like some have did the light tube install without sanding the top of the trim. Does the light come through like the doors and could this also be why the light fades on the end?

Does the El wire glow bright enough to show light through the sanded area even without being located right at the top of the trim? From the photos of camarorick's El wire install, it looks like he was able to mount the wire right down the middle of the trim and still had good light showing at the top.

If the El wire is used does a person have to use any type of converter or something of that nature to get the voltage and/or amperage right? Also, I have been to the sites that sell the wire, but it doesn't give any type of explanation on how to attach the wires from the dash to the El wire. Is it pretty simple to solder them?

Sorry for all the questions, but I have parts ordered and now I am leaning toward the El wire way since it looks a lot less invasive to the dash.

[camarorick]

So which is the better way of doing the ABL? El wire or the light tube with the lights from GM?

I have the light tube but like everybody else, the blue lights are on back order.

For those that have put in the light tube, does the tube emit enough light to show through the top of the trim piece without having the tube right at the top of the trim? It also looks like some have did the light tube install without sanding the top of the trim. Does the light come through like the doors and could this also be why the light fades on the end?

I tried a home made version of the GM installation ( using 5mm rod, and a blue LED ), I found that the light would defuse toward the other end. I guess I should have tried two LED's. The blue was not right as well, so I went with a hybrid version of GM, and the EL wire ( purchase the blue-green wire )

I think you'll need to sand the edge regardless of method ( especially with the grey inserts.... might be different with the Inferno Orange inserts )

Does the El wire glow bright enough to show light through the sanded area even without being located right at the top of the trim? From the photos of camarorick's El wire install, it looks like he was able to mount the wire right down the middle of the trim and still had good light showing at the top.

I installed the 3/16" acrylic aquarium tube in the same location the "original GM rod" would go, and the light is defused perfectly to match with my ABL on the door .... Yes it's mounted right on the connectors ( about a 1/2" down ) for the dash, I had to notch out two connectors to make sure that it was straight.

If the El wire is used does a person have to use any type of converter or something of that nature to get the voltage and/or amperage right? Also, I have been to the sites that sell the wire, but it doesn't give any type of explanation on how to attach the wires from the dash to the El wire. Is it pretty simple to solder them?

Sorry for all the questions, but I have parts ordered and now I am leaning toward the El wire way since it looks a lot less invasive to the dash.

There is a driver for the EL wire ( approx $5.00 ), they come in various voltages, and for various lengths of EL wire use. You should purchase the driver for 12V DC, and for EL length of 0-4 feet. The driver would then attach to the plug that's above the fuse box ( you can try to McGiver a female plug, or you can hardwire it ).

In my opinion, the EL wire rout is WAY less invasive than the GM rod method.

I will try at some point to write a complete walk through, but I don't see any free time for at least a couple of weeks