LED Concert Lighter

In my first instructable ever I will show you how I took a common Bic Lighter and turned it into a bright LED flashlight. I figure this is a clever idea for you concert goers, and anybody else who wants to put an LED into everything.

Step 1: Materials

First you need to gather some materials, you will need:
Needle Nose Pliers
Electrical Tape
A Bic Lighter
2 AAA Batteries
1 LED (3V)
Soldering Iron and Solder (not pictured)
Hack Saw (not pictured)
and some wire, any small gauge wire will do, I used some stuff I had laying around that was from an old phone line.

If you can strip an old phone line you will have plenty of wire, if you need to get some elsewhere you shouldn't need more then 2 feet total (I'm factoring in people making mistakes and needing to trim wires) try to get 2 1' sections of wire with different colour insulation to make things easier

Comments

[lost_sanity]

i tried to soldier my batteries together but everytime it just came off again... how did u do it??

[ssevan]

I would sand the battery contacts just a bit, that always works for me.

[BOBMUNZ]

First is to make sure you use enough solder, and the second is that you have to heat the contact on the battery up a bit too, that is why I cautioned people that you need to be careful, if you heat it up too much it can cause the battery to burst or leak. If the part you try to solder isn't heated up at least a bit as soon as the hot solder touches the metal that isn't hot enough it will solidify and not bond properly. Another possibility is that the solder you are using does not have flux in it. Flux helps clean the contact of contaminates and allows the solder to make a stronger bond. If the solder you used does not have flux in it you may need to find some flux that you can apply (has a small brush in it) to clean the contact prior to soldering. Not sure where to get it as all the solder I have ever used since highschool has it already inside.

[lost_sanity]

yeah, i tried several times and it just annoyed me.. so atm im usins a paper clip which is bend into place and held by electrical tape :D just a comment on the whole thing thou: did u use a resistor for the circuit?? cause i know some leds just blow up on 3Volts of power. and if u ever make another lighter light, might i suggest a laser lighter?? cause thats wat i did and hell is it fun to confuse people :L

[anres321]

try this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxS38_u7Mnw

[gregod43]

soldering batteries?!?! dude, you might wanna warn people that this could be pretty dangerous, that is unless you're a fan of battery acid

[BOBMUNZ]

Already mentioned before about being careful when soldering batteries, and if you aren't confident that you should use conductive adhesive or another means to connect them.

[oud25]

did u solder the wires to the bottom of the batteries
and wich battery goes to which contact of the led

[BOBMUNZ]

The long lead is negative, thought I put that in there but now that I have looked it turns out I didn't.

And yes I soldered the wires to the battery, when doing this be very careful not to get the battery too hot as this can cause some problems. If you are not confident in soldering the wires to the battery you can try a conductive adhesive.

[anche33]

The long lead on an LED is the positive side.  the negative side is shorter and there is often a notch taken out of the side of the LED.

[BOBMUNZ]

You are right sorry, Positive is long.

[Glockenator]

not bad.when im in the woods i have to use a lighter when im moving around sometimes and i dont like wasting the butane in my lighters that i have made to have a 4 inch flame.this is awesome

[GlueyMcGee]

 safer but a lot more useless

LIGHTer what are you going to light with an led ?

(except illuminating things)

[Glockenator]

thats kinda of the point. to illuminate things

[GlueyMcGee]

 i know i was just responding to what alex2712334 said. This is a good instructable

[BOBMUNZ]

If you spend any good amount of time in the bush you use a wind proof lighter to light things, and most of those don't cast much light.

And besides this isn't a project of practicality but a project where you use old unused things to make something new

[alex27123344]

 Awesome idea! Much safer than a lighter. =) Thanks for this great idea and for explaining it so clearly. Great first instructable!

[kaynegabe]

What does it mean if someone has the word "Pro" beside their name on Instructables?

[octavian234]

They bought a membership

[Cimarron_warrior]

Very interesting idea.  For being your firstinstructableI think you did a very good job of explaining the stepsand filling in with info later that would help others on their attemptsat making this handy flashlight.  I am thinking about makingseveral and giving them out for gifts this christmas, because they canbe kept in the car, by the bed, in a first aid kit, tackle box, or justabout anywhere for that matter for emergencies.  You made thecomment about using a yellow or orange LED for a simulated flame,I'm thinking of trying to figure a way to use the flickeringLED from a flameless tealight candle.

[CheatsIP5]

Its a very cool idea and a very good first instructable,but i would be p***ed if you gave me one for christmas.

C,mon
Cheapskate
:p

[BOBMUNZ]

Speaking of tackle box, you could do a few things after you run thewires to waterproof this project like hot glue the openings and perhapsmake it buoyant to prevent any accidental fumbles.

[SGplayer]

wow thanks! my school doest allow open flames so when we have concertswe are forced to use cell phones. but this changes everything! i made abunch for everyone! ill have to post a picture of one of the crowds at aconcert! looks cool! 

[BOBMUNZ]

Hope to see a photo soon, I had no idea when I came up with this that itwould be such a hit, Its definitely a motivation to think up something else.

[SGplayer]

that would be great! mabye a strobe light style one? LOL JK 

[The Animated Turtle]

or you could put a pin in the bottom release valve

[BOBMUNZ]

I figured a controlled release would be better then a rapid release of pressure, but really you might as well use an empty lighter to save yourself the trouble, there is certainly no shortage of spent lighters around bars

[casemaster5]

sweet instructable i just made this and itss awesome!!!!!!!!!!! btw if u grind the striker wheel with a file to make part of it a straight edge it helps alot so u can put it in without interfering with the wires

Anyway this is awesome and a real inspiration thanks!!!!!!1

[wingsgtrfrk]

This is very cool! I made it over the past couple days and it works great! I actually used a LED that flickers a bit and a 3V button battery. Thanks for the idea! B-)

[BOBMUNZ]

Glad you liked it and glad somebody else tried it. The only reason I didn't use a button battery is because I was looking for something that would last a bit longer then button batteries. If you have any suggestions to make the process easier don't hesitate to post them.

[Colonel88]

Lol glad to know someone who plays TF2 other than me. That IS where the "The cake is a spy!" thing came from, right?

[kaynegabe]

Team Fortress 2 is the best game ever. To answer your question I believe "The Cake is a Spy" term is sort of a parody off of Portal's "The Cake is Lie".

[Colonel88]

IF anyone wants to know my ingame name is Colonel88 so friend me :D.

I only play on TF2 Newbies only servers.

[kaynegabe]

Mine is the same, Papa Sprinkles.

[wingsgtrfrk]

Oh that would've been smart to consider before I finished. Oh well maybe if I make it again ill think before closing it all up. I cant think of anything to make the process any better this is a great instructable! :)

[toasty87]

sweet keep up the great work!!!!

[laxap]

Very clever! and less hazardous than a fame.

[Kiteman]

Many things are less hazardous than fame..

[Lithium Rain]

But few things more so.

[KnexFreek]

man u comment everywher!!! omg !