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

[With envy]

Originally Posted by ekpollo

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 ???

Originally Posted by 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.....

Sorry I haven't checked this thread for awhile. I might have a couple of answers for you:
a) Yes it is as flexible as any comparable wire of the same size. Just remember it is floppy enough that it won't hold a shape like say, a coat hanger. (There is a kind that does, but you won't need it for something like this.) So you will have to find a way of anchoring it down in the shape you want it to hold. Some people use glue, rigid clear plastic tubing (aquarium stuff), I used invisible thread to secure my bowtie to the hood blanket.
b) It does not get hot. It shouldn't hurt leather. But make sure you cover the ends. You can get an unpleasant (but not harmful) shock.
c) I think you picked a reasonable size for what you want to do.

I would recommend you look into "tailwire". It's designed for things like clothing and upholstery. It's just like a normal el wire with a narrow ribbon of plastic extending off of one side. You can tuck the ribbon down into crevices so that only the wire shows. It can be stapled, glued or sewn without affecting the el wire. (As long as you keep all staples and such on the tail.)
I didn't see tailwire on your site. I get my wire and supplies on http://coolight.com. They have it in their clearance section. It is only available in a blue-green aqua color, and it is 2.2mm, which is very close to what you were talking about getting. I'm just not sure what color you're looking for.
And, I haven't ordered from Elwirepros. So I can't say anything one way or another. As for Coolight, I've ordered three times from them in the last year, and they've always got my order right, and shipped quickly. And I will be ordering from them again.
Wherever you decide to buy from, don't forget to order the other items you will need: 12volt inverter, regular wire, and connectors if you need them.

Hope I've been of some help.

[ghostrider2]

sticky

[nicave13@gmail.com]

Boy, I wish I would have checked this out before doing my project. Mine turned out great, but a lotta good info on here. Really great work guys, the sanding was a huge deal for me, especially since I did the doors too.

Check out my video and pic.

[With envy]

Holy cow!

I see you live in Vegas; is that considered camouflage there?


Pretty intense. You must have a fairly sophisticated controller running all those
leds to get all those different patterns and colors. Is that an off the shelf plug and play item, or something you had to put together?

[nicave13@gmail.com]

Its a dream color LED set not readily available in the US with a pretty special controller. It's all done with 4 wires between strips. Below is a pic of the four sections set out b4 installation. Originally it was one 16ft strip I cut up. The other pic is more of my craziness in the trunk. See my build thread for more details, and thanks!!!

Do you know Linda? We all had breakfast today and she mentioned hearing about my lights on C5. I am gonna install some for her soon hopefully.

[With envy]

Originally Posted by nicave13@gmail.com

Its a dream color LED set not readily available in the US with a pretty special controller. It's all done with 4 wires between strips. Below is a pic of the four sections set out b4 installation. Originally it was one 16ft strip I cut up. The other pic is more of my craziness in the trunk. See my build thread for more details, and thanks!!!

Do you know Linda? We all had breakfast today and she mentioned hearing about my lights on C5. I am gonna install some for her soon hopefully.

Yes I do know Linda! I sent her the link to this page the day before she met you. Bizzare huh? I'm kind of a light junkie myself. You've probably already seen my E.L. wire stuff. Here's some pics of what I've done with leds so far.
Light years (no pun intended) beneath your level of technology. The thing in the middle is a plasma disc. This is the Beta version. Working on refining it for Summer.





Does Linda know what exactly she wants? I would think a simple RGB setup would give her some flexibility in colors without the expense and complexity of your system. (Easier for you to build, and easier for her to afford.) Unless of course, she wants it to do what yours does!
I don't know what you do for a living, but it would be cool if this could pan out into a nice new lucrative sideline for you!

[nicave13@gmail.com]

Your engine cover is really cool!!! A lot of my projects are large or really obvious, smaller detailed projects are way cool and can really show your own design style.

I repair install computers for a living, so this is kind of the same. I do installs on cars for fun, and work. Nice when life works out that way. If I had to do ABL lights like mine for someone else I wouldn't have the LED's visible and facing through the plastic. I did it this way to be really bright and extreme, plus I can show it off during the day, and few of my projects can be. Did you check out my build thread? I'm always doing something Below is a project I did yesterday on a new Scion TC, parts were only $55 and took about 4 hours. I made the "foglights" and grill glow with one 5m strip of RGB. Standing the lights are so recessed all you see is the glow, and of course they are silicone covered and fully weatherproof all on a switch and Radio Freq remote.

Linda bought a bunch of AAC stuff I may put on, if she wants. If she wants ABL I would probably just add El Wire to the dash, and if she didn't like the color match do the doors as well. I would install much like this thread.

Thanks for the interest and comments

[With envy]

Thanks! I'm always trying to find that combination that is subtle and yet dramatic at the same time. I've watched enough of the ongoing "ricer/not ricer" debate to know that there will always be people that will criticize it. But I'm of the camp that maintains automotive mods are a reflection of the owners individuality, and it's nobody else's business what people elect to do with their own car. Plus I always admire creativity, and people's willingness to actually do things themselves.
Checked out your build thread. Pretty cool stuff! Although I have to say that if you're going to do any more crawling around in the wheel wells, please invest in a set of decent jackstands. I've known too many people killed by falling cars; you can't trust your life to a floor jack. Okay, lecture over.
If you do go with E.L. wire: I recommend the method used by one poster here of using rigid clear tubing to run the wire. E.L. wire does have a limited lifespan. I personally have not had any die from extended use, because I only have it on occasionally. But I have seen mention here of people that had to replace theirs. The tubing, as mentioned, made replacement a lot quicker and easier. I also might recommend, since wire is cheap, doing a couple of extra duplicate lengths when soldering connections onto the wire. That way, they can be stored until needed, and replaced without the hassle of having to acquire more wire and getting out the soldering iron.

[Drakin]

Originally Posted by With envy

Holy cow!Attachment 376507



Pretty intense. You must have a fairly sophisticated controller running all those
leds to get all those different patterns and colors. Is that an off the shelf plug and play item, or something you had to put together?

you can get these from ebay:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dream-Color-...#ht_3783wt_952

[nicave13@gmail.com]

I totally agree about Mod's. It's in the eye of the beholder. We have a club member with a woodgrain dash kit!!! and his dog's ride in his car. We have a # of older members...

I agree about the El Wire and I heard about it wearing out. Tis life. They shipped her a 36" blue LED strip, I said buy 3 more and we will do the doors and dash but ambient style, not like my car :P Today we installed the Box CAI, nice piece but lotta changes. I also put in the P13 DRL's, wired for always on, and did the full AAC LED sidemarker kit. Nice pieces, but I got some plans for mine soon

Your car looks great, just don't worry about anyone else!!! B4 buying a dream color really consider the voltage and way it's connected. You want the full 12v with only 4 wires. I doubted they exsisted till mine works. Def try the minor sanding and put the led's facing backwards and lower. I would love to see it installed that way, ambient and waaaay more subtle than mine. Mine r good daytime, and blinding at night. Found one pattern that's ok at night. Dim red and a knight rider going back and forth.

[Johnny Kanuk]

I just ordered 15' of orange can't wait to try this out. One question I have, why do you have 3 male connectors? My count you should only need 2. I must be missing something simple but I don't see it. Thanks for the posting of this great how to.

[With envy]

Originally Posted by Johnny Kanuk

I just ordered 15' of orange can't wait to try this out. One question I have, why do you have 3 male connectors? My count you should only need 2. I must be missing something simple but I don't see it. Thanks for the posting of this great how to.

Are we talking about EL wire or LEDs?

[Johnny Kanuk]

Originally Posted by With envy

Are we talking about EL wire or LEDs?

Ahh sorry EL wire. I like what you did with the LED can you turn that down tho so you can see when driving at night?

[With envy]

Originally Posted by Johnny Kanuk

Ahh sorry EL wire. I like what you did with the LED can you turn that down tho so you can see when driving at night?

No problem! Nic will have to field that question on the LEDs. As for the EL wire question: Did you get the wire with the connectors already attached, or is it raw wire that you have to solder the connectors on yourself?