DIY - ABL using EL wire, and 3/16" tube - Page 27 - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

camarorick · 10-15-2010, 09:23 AM

Glad to see this thread is still useful

Quote:

Originally Posted by khislop007

Has anybody had a problem with there EL wire going out in spots? This is the second time I had to change mine now. It looks like I have a doted line across my dash.

I remember sometime back someone used light tape, does that one last any longer? Is there is a LED option?

I had an issues during extreme heat we had this summer... It seems that if your dash is in direct sunlight / heat, the wire sometimes fails. After my failure, I used a sun shade in my car, and have not had a problem since ( of course, our heatwaves only last a few weeks ). I guess since you are WAAAY south, this might be a reoccurring issue for you.... The great thing is that this wire is dirt cheap, and easy to replace.... Make yourself a few spares ( just in case ).

Junior · 10-15-2010, 01:12 PM

I started the preliminary work on this project today. I ordered the materials no prob. I got the dash panels off with no issues and prepped them for sanding. I also checked and no, I don't have the ABL connectors. I am inclined to use the method in post #251 and tap into what is apparently the ABL path from behind the passenger side kick panel. I looked and indeed there are a lot of friggin wires! I guess I will begin the process of elimination. But it's been a long week and my buddy JD is calling my name. So that may happen tomorrow. I am so excited to add this mod!

Junior · 10-15-2010, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camarorick

Glad to see this thread is still useful

I had an issues during extreme heat we had this summer... It seems that if your dash is in direct sunlight / heat, the wire sometimes fails. After my failure, I used a sun shade in my car, and have not had a problem since ( of course, our heatwaves only last a few weeks ). I guess since you are WAAAY south, this might be a reoccurring issue for you.... The great thing is that this wire is dirt cheap, and easy to replace.... Make yourself a few spares ( just in case ).

CRAP! I didnt't even see that before my last post! do you think this is related to the "heat" problems GM had when deciding to nix the dash ABL? I know they didn't use EL, but used light pipe. But the dash does often get more sunlight than the door panels.

Reaper1a · 10-15-2010, 06:28 PM

So, I may have missed this somewhere in this thread, but does anybody else's stock door lighting not go all the way forward to the dash? Mine is shy by about and inch and a half to two inches. Any solutions for this? Could I just sand out the rest of the "channel"?

jennnchuck · 10-15-2010, 07:16 PM

yes they are all like that reaper. yes you can take the door panel off and sand it down if you want. i did the abl lighting on the dash but never bothered taking apart door to fix the 1 inch or so. to be honest i never since i installed dash noticed it

Reaper1a · 10-15-2010, 07:56 PM

Sweet

Gotta start getting this project underway

Junior · 10-16-2010, 09:31 AM

Reap,

Here's a link to some great step by steps to remove those door panels just in case you needed it:

http://imichaelc.blogspot.com/2009/0...or-for_09.html

Reaper1a · 10-16-2010, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Junior

Reap,

Here's a link to some great step by steps to remove those door panels just in case you needed it:

http://imichaelc.blogspot.com/2009/0...or-for_09.html

Thanks

camarorick · 10-16-2010, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Junior

CRAP! I didnt't even see that before my last post! do you think this is related to the "heat" problems GM had when deciding to nix the dash ABL? I know they didn't use EL, but used light pipe. But the dash does often get more sunlight than the door panels.

Seriously, I wouldn't worry about it. A cheap $10 sunshade will pretty much eliminate the direct sunlight..... Again, the wire is so inexpensive, so you should buy extra just in case

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper1a

So, I may have missed this somewhere in this thread, but does anybody else's stock door lighting not go all the way forward to the dash? Mine is shy by about and inch and a half to two inches. Any solutions for this? Could I just sand out the rest of the "channel"?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jennnchuck

yes they are all like that reaper. yes you can take the door panel off and sand it down if you want. i did the abl lighting on the dash but never bothered taking apart door to fix the 1 inch or so. to be honest i never since i installed dash noticed it

I did the extension, and it doesn't look right.... The light does not match up. I quickly went back to stock

Jocoo26 · 10-17-2010, 11:13 PM

I am having a problem with my EL wire. I am getting power (with test light) to the inverter and even where the inverter connects to the EL wire, but no light (on EL wire). I tested about 4 or so feet and then tested about 6 inches. My inverter is the 12v 4-8ft. Also, I still get power through the inverter even when the switch is set to off. One thing I noticed is that when using my test light, I get power through the inverter only when I use an outside ground. If I clip my test light on the neg wire of the inverter and touch the other wire, I get nothing. When i clip on an outside ground and touch the other wire, I get power again. I'm sure I am overlooking something very obvious. Any suggestions would be most helpful.

jennnchuck · 10-18-2010, 09:26 AM

i had a similar issue when i did mine, and all i had to do was change the wiring. i used the center wire from the elwire as the positive wire, and the 2 flimsy wires from the elwire as the negative and it worked fine. if you have already tried that, you can try cleaning off the end of the center wire better maybe your not getting a good connection.

Jocoo26 · 10-18-2010, 09:45 AM

Yes. That's the way I have it set up. Good connections on both, soldered. What's confusing me is the ground issue I mentioned.

Gonzo · 10-18-2010, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jocoo26

I am having a problem with my EL wire. I am getting power (with test light) to the inverter and even where the inverter connects to the EL wire, but no light (on EL wire). I tested about 4 or so feet and then tested about 6 inches. My inverter is the 12v 4-8ft. Also, I still get power through the inverter even when the switch is set to off. One thing I noticed is that when using my test light, I get power through the inverter only when I use an outside ground. If I clip my test light on the neg wire of the inverter and touch the other wire, I get nothing. When i clip on an outside ground and touch the other wire, I get power again. I'm sure I am overlooking something very obvious. Any suggestions would be most helpful.

It sounds like you are not getting a good ground on the inverter. Did you try testing the ground with a meter? I am not sure where you connected the ground, but I know that some bolts/screws are not always grounded. Also some wires that show ground may be switched - so you do not have ground all the time.

The EL wire definitely has a postive and negative side. Try reversing your connections and see if it makes a difference. This is true for the connection to the inverter and the connection to the EL wire.

Also check the side of the inverter - there should be a three position sliding switch. Make sure it is set to the always on position and not to the music position.

*TAG UR IT* · 10-18-2010, 11:42 AM

You did scrape off the phosphorous on the end of the el wire, right? Make sure you have a good ground on the inverter (sounds to be the problem). Done. Now, you have a couple wires coming out to hook up to the el wire. Ground goes to the two flimsy wires and positive goes to the main light wire. However, you need to scrape off the phosphorous on the end to get the connection....or the el wire will not light up.

There should be a youtube link in here somewhere that talks about soldering to el wire. It's very easy to do...and I found this out only AFTER scraping off the phosphorous....hehe...cause I didn't read

Hope that helps.

10-15-2010, 06:28 PM	#368
Reaper1a Drives: 2010 Summit White 2LT/RS Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 356	So, I may have missed this somewhere in this thread, but does anybody else's stock door lighting not go all the way forward to the dash? Mine is shy by about and inch and a half to two inches. Any solutions for this? Could I just sand out the rest of the "channel"? __________________ Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit. -Elbert Hubbard

10-15-2010, 07:56 PM	#370
Reaper1a Drives: 2010 Summit White 2LT/RS Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 356	Sweet Gotta start getting this project underway __________________ Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit. -Elbert Hubbard

10-15-2010, 01:12 PM	#366
Junior Drives: 2014 2SS/RS A6 AGM Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Maryland Posts: 526	I started the preliminary work on this project today. I ordered the materials no prob. I got the dash panels off with no issues and prepped them for sanding. I also checked and no, I don't have the ABL connectors. I am inclined to use the method in post #251 and tap into what is apparently the ABL path from behind the passenger side kick panel. I looked and indeed there are a lot of friggin wires! I guess I will begin the process of elimination. But it's been a long week and my buddy JD is calling my name. So that may happen tomorrow. I am so excited to add this mod!

10-15-2010, 07:16 PM	#369
jennnchuck Drives: 2010 yellow 2lt/rs Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: hazlet, new jersey Posts: 896 View My Garage	yes they are all like that reaper. yes you can take the door panel off and sand it down if you want. i did the abl lighting on the dash but never bothered taking apart door to fix the 1 inch or so. to be honest i never since i installed dash noticed it

10-16-2010, 09:31 AM	#371
Junior Drives: 2014 2SS/RS A6 AGM Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Maryland Posts: 526	Reap, Here's a link to some great step by steps to remove those door panels just in case you needed it: http://imichaelc.blogspot.com/2009/0...or-for_09.html

10-17-2010, 11:13 PM	#374
Jocoo26 Drives: 2011 Camaro 2SS Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New York Posts: 82 View My Garage	I am having a problem with my EL wire. I am getting power (with test light) to the inverter and even where the inverter connects to the EL wire, but no light (on EL wire). I tested about 4 or so feet and then tested about 6 inches. My inverter is the 12v 4-8ft. Also, I still get power through the inverter even when the switch is set to off. One thing I noticed is that when using my test light, I get power through the inverter only when I use an outside ground. If I clip my test light on the neg wire of the inverter and touch the other wire, I get nothing. When i clip on an outside ground and touch the other wire, I get power again. I'm sure I am overlooking something very obvious. Any suggestions would be most helpful.

10-18-2010, 09:26 AM	#375
jennnchuck Drives: 2010 yellow 2lt/rs Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: hazlet, new jersey Posts: 896 View My Garage	i had a similar issue when i did mine, and all i had to do was change the wiring. i used the center wire from the elwire as the positive wire, and the 2 flimsy wires from the elwire as the negative and it worked fine. if you have already tried that, you can try cleaning off the end of the center wire better maybe your not getting a good connection.

10-18-2010, 09:45 AM	#376
Jocoo26 Drives: 2011 Camaro 2SS Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New York Posts: 82 View My Garage	Yes. That's the way I have it set up. Good connections on both, soldered. What's confusing me is the ground issue I mentioned.

10-18-2010, 11:42 AM	#378
TAG UR IT www.Camaro5store.com Drives: 2014 ZL1 #705 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: SA, Texas Posts: 26,544 View My Garage	You did scrape off the phosphorous on the end of the el wire, right? Make sure you have a good ground on the inverter (sounds to be the problem). Done. Now, you have a couple wires coming out to hook up to the el wire. Ground goes to the two flimsy wires and positive goes to the main light wire. However, you need to scrape off the phosphorous on the end to get the connection....or the el wire will not light up. There should be a youtube link in here somewhere that talks about soldering to el wire. It's very easy to do...and I found this out only AFTER scraping off the phosphorous....hehe...cause I didn't read Hope that helps.