El Wire/Led Light Wheelchair Step-By-Step Tutorial

I always found that those safety lights for bicyclists on the market were never good enough when riding in the dark. That got me thinking about people who use wheelchairs and how unsafe the night could be when they want to go out. So here's what I came up with:

I decked out this ordinary wheelchair with EL wire on the spokes and LED lights underneath the seat. The LED light is incredibly bright, so I put that underneath the seat and it gives the whole wheelchair a luminescent glow that looks really cool at night. You'd definitely be hard to miss with a ride like this at night.

If you like tutorials like this, get more inspiration at https://ez-el.com/tutorials


Enter coupon code INSTwheelchair at checkout for a discount!

Or if you prefer a video tutorial: 

1. 2 25' El Wire + 3V Inverter
2. 2 10' El Wire + 3V Inverter
3. LED Light
4. 1 Wire Cutter
5. 1 Plier
6. Masking Tape
7. 28 Gauge Galvanized Wire
8. Clear Zip Ties
9. 4 AA Batteries
10. Binder Clips
11. 2 Two-way Splitter Connectors

Step 1: Design/Plan Wheelchair Design

For this particular design, each wheel has 1 25' Sky Blue EL Wire shaped like an "X" in the center of the wheel and also outlines once along the circumference of the wheel's tire. On top of this Sky Blue wire is another "X" design, but used with a 10' Blue EL wire and this does not run along the wheel's tire. The last design is used with a LED Light strip, which outlines the bottom of the seat, giving the whole wheelchair a luminescent glow. Feel free to use your own EL wire colors and designs!
A. Decide what the desired pattern will be. If needed, sketch out the design and create a number sequenced diagram of each defining movement.
B. Use your EL Wire to help guide you in creating your pattern.
C. For this particular pattern, use masking tape to secure the EL wire down as you progress through your design.

Comments

[hicecilia]

Awesome idea! It almost looks TRON-like with how bright the lights are illuminated.

[Dream Dragon]

Excellent work! One thing I would suggest, instead of "Galvanised wire", look at using "Cable Ties" (Zip Ties).

Wheel chairs should indeed be customised, both for comfort and for fun! Straight out of the factory they are hardly the most aesthetically pleasing articles.

This is a great instructable addressing an important issue.

I also posted it to an organisation that might be of mutual interest.

https://www.facebook.com/MERUcharity

[ezelwire]

I agree, zip ties may be a more sturdy material to keep the wires together, however they can also look bulky in the day time. Perhaps a thicker galvanized wire would do the trick? Will be looking into other materials. Thank you for the support!