LED Ground effects kit for your car

Like the cool underglow kits on riced out cars but don't want to break the bank? This will show you how to make your own using LED strings.

Indications:
-This instructable requires some knowledge of electronics and auto body assembly.

-This might involve taking apart large sections of your car's console, if this could void a warranty, do so at your own risk.

-In some states and municipalities, it is illegal to have non-signal lights on while your vehicle in motion. Check with your local authorities before using on the street.

Time: 3-6 Hours
Cost: $20-50 (depending mainly on how many lights you get)
Difficulty: Decently easy

Step 1: Gather materials

Materials:
-One or several waterproof, 12V LED strings - $10 ea.
-Lots of wire. Two-strand polarized wire is great (red-black or white-black)
-SPST switch - Free-$3 (I got a lit-when-on one)
-555 timer - $0.10-$1.50 if you went to Shady-o Rack
-10000-15000 uF worth of 10v capacitors (you can string them in parallel to add the capacitance)
-47uF capacitor
-100uF capacitor
-.01uF capacitor
-1.1kOhm resistor
-15kOhm resistor - the bigger the resistor the slower the pulse - alternatively you can use a potentiometer
-Project box of some sort
-Scrap thin medium-density fiberboard (MDF) or sheet metal
-Epoxy
-Electrical tape

Tools
-Soldering iron and solder
-Wire strippers
-Needlenose pliers
-Hot glue gun
-Power drill
-Various size drill bits
-Various screwdrivers

And of course a car. It's a good idea to know your way around the inside of your car a bit before beginning.

Comments

[soulengineer]

hey ! i was thinking of connecting a TIP31 transistor to these chains of leds and than sync it with music... do u think it'll work out ? is the power (audio) signal 4rm a cell or mp3 enough to light up so many leds or should i b using a audio amplifier circuit ?

[hicecilia]

This is sick.

[soramac]

I have for sale:1 LOT 0F 6 TIREFLYS



Make your car or motorcycle glow, can be mounted virtually anywhere, easy to install, 12v power required, connects to an accessory switch, cables included

Light Disc's low profile design is perfect for highlighting your cars interior - put it under your seats, dash, inside your speakers or anywhere else you choose.

Approximately 1" Diameter, 3/8" High

Light Disc easily connects to your vehicles 12 volt battery. Package includes: 1 Light Disc, wire, fuse casing and installation instructions.

Weather resistant for interior and exterior use

All 4 major colors...red,green,blue and multi.... [e-mail]

[Mikey8567]

One thing you could do to make the LED's last long is to take a piece of clear vinyl tubbing (large enought to slide the LED strip in) and once you have it pulled inside then seal the ends with you choice of sealant. This will not only keep the LED array from getting damaged from rocks, salt (if you live in northern states) and other things that would break or ruin it, but you would also make it much easier to clean off the road grime your going to get from every day driving, imagine trying to wipe between all the LED's and such (would be a real pain).  The tubing would slo make it eaiser to mount under the car (IE hose clamps, epoxy, zipties,  ect).

[submariner.89]

Great idea! That's perfect and a cheap solution to a potentially big problem.

[Mikey8567]

The vinyl tubing can be bought from most hardware stores in sizes from 1/4" to 2". As far as zip ties make sure that the black ones are used, they are UV resistant and last much longer and don't get brittle like the clear or white ones do.

As far as sealant make sure it doesn't react badly to vinyl, some discolor it.

[BlackHatCracker]

Depending on your car is how the wires are... Most cars only have 2 wires going to the ligher, and some are swithched. Most cars the top is negative (-) and the center is positive (+) Also you may have to upgrade the fuse that is there, since that line also takes care of a lot of different things on your car... ie.. Dome Light, Clock on the radio, ect... Things that are not needing power all the time, and some have a switch on them so you don't have to have the key in the igntion, and to the on position to get them to work. I would recommend getting a book on your car, or goto the library and finding a book on your model to get specs on it. I personally would run 2 seperate lines, 1 to a barrier strip from the Acc terminal, and then the second one to another barrier strip to run a ground wire from the engine comparment gives you a neater look, and less problems if you want to add or remove anything. Spend a few extra cents, and do it right, less problems in the end.

[Bazzatron]

would it be possible to remove the lighter thingy (as a non-smoker its always appeared more of a weapon than anything,....) and just put a switch there, and use the wires that held the thing in place to power the leds?

[SwishMaxx]

Thats dumb. It can be used to charge your cell phone and other stuff. why would you want to remove it? a bic lighter is more of a weapon. do you never walk into a gas station?

[Bazzatron]

Sorry if I've never needed it - and perhaps weapon was a poor choice of words, more like 'hazard', either way - I'd rather just have the switch, but given I cant remember in the slightest what this instructable is about - I honestly don't care what you say :D

[mdeep]

please just dont. this is tacky!

[PSPerson]

too bad its illegal in my state. *sigh*

[Jaycub]

What does 1337 mean?

[Dumchicken]

leet

[rumarch]

LMAO

[The Expert Noob]

it means your not 1337. for you, it means 14.

[farzad_sh_2020]

Hi i do all of these works on the board but there is no pulse on led. what can be wrong ? all the things is correct

[HYPER_piccolo]

hi there, i know its been 3 years from the last reply, but i allways wanted to add the pulse affect on my undercar neons. 
And that's my question, i have installed neons and not leds. can i somehow connects your "pulse generator" to my neons to have that effect?
thanks

[DeusXMachina]

Umm, I don't think neons would work with a pulse setup like that, because they need a constant voltage. It would have to be built into the setup, I think. But LEDs, lights, and certain fluorescents work.

[HYPER_piccolo]

yes, i asked a friend who is very good at electronics and he told me the same thing, so i guess i will make something with leds :)
thanks

[senario 158]

what about my car?

[hernanai]

I love a clean Fairlady..... What year is your car?

[yo man]

paul waker rides again

[yo man]

or run a hot wire to the positive post on the battery clamp. I like to run the wire past the door opening to dash.

[mickey_079]

But that's unecesary... The only time that needs to be done is for an amplifiers power line. Otherwise it just looks ugly under the bonnet and is a waste of wire.

[yo man]

well it is way easer to do or yo could find a opening in
the fire wall

[jobergy]

it would be fun to dink around with it enough to make it pulse to your car stereo music???.....maybe a next instructable lol

[koldkiller]

Simple just direct connect it to your speakers it should pulse to the sound of your music. Or you could use a pulsar XV2

[jobergy]

ok i tried direct connecting it to my speakers, but it didnt work, no lighting even, sound was on but not the lights, so a pulsar i al guessing is a sound sensor?
 

[place name here-]

try this www.instructables.com/id/Raving-out-your-Computer/

[k0ldburn]

What about EL wire? Is it not powerful enough for this? I've never experimented with it but it looks like a good solution

[mazeka.14]

can you skip this step if you just want continuous light? or does this modify the amperage or voltage?

[DeusXMachina]

Yeah you can skip all of that if you just want the lights on the bottom of you car. The box just makes it pulse.

[mazeka.14]

awesome, thanks

[armoandrew]

you have to use a transistor something like a TIP31 transistor but it depends on the amount of current you have coming through your lines

they can be found at your local shady-o-shack : )

[brentonl]

Couldnt you use the 555 to PWM the brightness of the lights? 

[notanaj54]

I was thinking about just using those rope lights you can get at walmart, and an adaptor from 12v car to the 3 plug config. do you think that would work?

[srhadaham]

i see nothing wrong with your plan, except possibly the way the lights are pointing in the strand, if they all point down you'll get better lighting.

[capricorn111]

i want to do same experiment with my car. and i need bit help.. i have a basic knowledge about electronics .. and few questions i want to ask.. that how many LEDs should i use in single (side ) strip? and 2nd question is should i connect LEDs in parallel ? and another question is if i want to attach 2 strips left and right under bottom of my car. can i use one circuit ? or i have to made two individual circuits for strips??

[thoraxe]

would it be possible to hook the led strips up to a cigarrette lighter charger and run it like that?

[jobergy]

or you could possibly JB Weld it on, just have to make sure there is pressure on the epoxy weld if it is under the car so it has time to completely harden

[mmcpherson4]

okay, your basically speeking greek when you say " -555 timer - -10000-15000 uF worth of 10v capacitors -47uF capacitor -100uF capacitor -.01uF capacitor -1.1kOhm resistor -15kOhm resistor ' i dont want the pulsing effect, so will you please list the parts i need to get this to work without the pulsing effect, thanks much! :-)

[Bazzatron]

pretty much just the lights, and the switch, just wire some lights up to your expansion points in your cars fusebox via a switch, simples -yes? -note- i have electronics (intermediate) knowledge, not a great deal about cars though, being that i drive motorbikes....

[mmcpherson4]

so it is that simple, thanks!

[Bazzatron]

Good luck, i suggest using this guide just omitting the part that would produce the flashing (the project box of stuff) Again good luck, and remember, disconnect battery whilst working, and better to use a fuse rated lower than you need so the fuse breaks before anything else gets a look in. Finally - good luck :-) Take pics and instructable it ;-)

[mmcpherson4]

okay, thanks again.

[CrawdadMan]

Can you add a video or photo that shows the underglow but from eye level. Cuzz its not like everyone would get down on hands and knnes and look at it that way. thanks.

[afifiaffiq]

if i just want a continuous light, should i just skip this step??thanks

[afifiaffiq]

Hi guys, if i just want a continuous light, i can skip this step right??how about step 8?? do i need to do that??thanks

[Spud18]

Or maybe Zipties?

[DeusXMachina]

That's not a bad idea at all, as long as you have something to ziptie them too. I.e. not the exhaust. Some cars do have random bracketry on the bottom that I imagine is leftover from the manufacturing process.

[Spud18]

Another thing you could use would maybe be hoseclamps, but they take longer to put on but make up for durability. Some cars have little wire hoops here and there and little random holes in the frame/chassis so u could possibly ziptie them, so long as the ties are a decent distance from the exhaust system and moving parts.

[eet_1024]

I think your schematic needs some revising. First, there's no path for the current to flow to the 12,000uF Cap and LED banks. Second, there is no current limiting resistor between the output of the 555 and the bipolar transistor; though, that may be the only way to get the NPN to turn on enough without using a second transistor between the 555 and power transistor. If it were a N-MOSFET, then this wouldn't be much of a problem. Is the "pulse" effect just full on and full off (i.e. flashing)? Or, is it supposed to ramp up and down in brightness? I'm trying to figure the purpose of the capacitor bank.

[DeusXMachina]

Sorry, the positive end is supposed to be hooked up to the car's 12V mains. I'm not really sure why I would need a current limiting resistor. The purpose of the capacitor bank is to convert the square pulse of the 555 to a ramp up/ramp down effect.

[eet_1024]

The resistor limits the current through the 555 (which is typically rated for sourcing 200mA). For this application, I would use 68 ohm 3 watt or larger, depending on the current needed to saturate the power NPN. Personally, I would use a power MOSFET with low on resistance (such IRLML2502) to minimize heat dissipation. That would also let me uses a small wattage resistor. I'm guessing that wire resistance and inductance in conjunction with the 12mF caps form the time constant for the ramp up and down.

[plane phanatic]

It would be cool if you could have a mode where the lights chase each other down the car. By the way, how well does this hold up to water (i.e. rain, flooding, etc.)

[justrelax]

i was going to kill you if you wouldnt put the 100 ohm resistor there.=)i was trying but the 555 timer was overheated so many times. i am going to try it again..so i have to ask have many leds can i use for this proje?i was thinking over 100 ? <br/>

[DeusXMachina]

Because you're basically putting all the load through the transistor, you could use as many LEDs as your car's aux can supply. I think most cars can do at least 100 W, which is a ridiculous amount of LEDS. You could literally cover your car with LEDs and convince people it's a spaceship :-P but I guarantee you get pulled over. @TrumpetNeel - heh I was wondering who would notice it's an RC car. I couldn't find any good pictures of real cars.

[Radstrike]

I have another question: If I don't want it to flash or blink, and I just want a steady light, do I use resistors? If so what size should I be looking for? I just want to have the power go from the battery, through the switch, and into the lights. Should I put resistors in?

[DeusXMachina]

If the LED string is 12V, you can go directly from your 12V supply.

[Radstrike]

I'm a complete novice at circuits, so I have a few questions that may sound pretty ridiculous:
Can I safely run four 48cm led lightstrips through this circuit? And can I use this switch: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062493 ?
And my car won't explode if I turn on my cigarette lighter or anything?

[DeusXMachina]

You could definitely run four 48cm lightstrips. The switch works just fine, actually I considered that one myself :-P. And no, your car shouldn't explode.

[Radstrike]

Cool. Thanks. I'll post a link to pics if I manage to make it work.

[gravisj1]

You should use the positive connected to the switch 99.9% of the time anyways, otherwise you still have current flowing through the wires into your device, whereas if it's going through the switch it stops at the switch, and can't be an electrical problem later on (read hazard).

[BlackHatCracker]

I agree...

[itstemo1]

its illegal to have them in michigan. Well they can be on but the car can't be moving.

[lighteuplife]

Hey to make this not permanent you can fix some of those hard drive magnets, neodymium ur sumthing, to the strand, then it is still a really good hole, yet you can remove it later if a strand fails or somethings of that nature.

[raikut]

I wanted to know which npn transistor you used. Or please advice which one to use which can be easily available out here in India. I would really be thankful, Please advice.

[DeusXMachina]

No idea, mine was salvaged from a computer. Any NPN transistor that is rated for your application will work. You are running 12V and not very many amps through it, so you could use any transistor rated for 12V and up.

[TheInventor]

I have the same RC car with a mamba 25 kit put in. Needless to say, it goes 76 miles an hour. We clocked it.

[I HACK]

very good job mate , but i had a bit of a problem with the circuit . im very circuit savvy but im lazzy so i used a different circuit that is very simmilar to yours , i still used the transistor and capacitor part and it looks great , verry verry well done . i dnt have a car so i used it for ambient lighting in my room , looks great XD . p.s. if u didnt notice , my spelling is verry poor and im in an english class , how embarrasing

[Spl1nt3rC3ll]

I want add underglow to my car, but I have absolutely no electrical knowledge.
I was wondering if I could buy rope lights and attach them do the underside of the car. Could that work?

_{This whole instructable is over my head to be honest, but I have a friend who owns a car repair shop. I could show this to him...}

[chrisayad]

yeah get rope leds from ledwholesalers.com lol or hong kong or something

[joshmister63353]

I have a neon light that has 5 wires on it and have no clue how to wire it and I have only about 6 or 7 inches of wire on it does anyone know how to put more wire on it and how to hook it up.. oh yea the colors are red, blue, black, green, yellow. message me if you get this..Joshmister63353

[pacey_waring]

wicked license plate! hahahhaha! I'll be doing a very similar project on my waterski boat. 12v, switch, dashboard, effect lights etc. saved! +1

[pmac93]

you put underglow on a minivan? that is solid man.

[ultrauber]

yeah i know...that takes courage

[plzspoilme25]

soooooooooooo kool....if the van a rockin.............

[Dr.Paj]

Under body lighting adds 50hp, so why not? Everybody knows that.

[colterczyruk]

plus u get better fuel milage and your car will last 10 years longer

[srhadaham]

omg are you serious, im doing it tomorrow then note: the above comment is best read in a sarcastic tone

[qualia]

roflcopter

[LinuxH4x0r]

Nice Instructabe. I got a ruined stoplight from a friend (legally) and now I have over 190 red leds. I plan on doing the same thing, except without them blinking. To make them get brighter with the rpms find a good place somwhere along a belt to mount a small generator (most motors double as generators) and use that. Be sure to put someting to limit the results. Good luck

[DeusXMachina]

Know anywhere I can get me a stoplight? (legally lol)

[bartax]

you could just buy 100 leds off ebay for ~USD 10

[LinuxH4x0r]

I got mine from a friend and it was made by dialight, so you might want to try
http://www.dialight.com/
I don't know them, so it's not spam!!
They run on 120VAC or dc, but i don't know the dc voltage.
I can't wait until i get a VW GOLF TDI. I'm want do do this mod to it.

[Dr.Paj]

Just recently I installed 2 sets of red cold cathodes (4 12 inch rods) under my front seats and added a switch with an led on it. they look amazing, I'll have to add some pictures soon. I also ghetto rigged the power to an unused circuit at the fusebox in my dash that still gets power. I got my supplies from Oznium. Along with lights they also have microphones that can pulse with music or just flash, I got the most inexpensive one that works with only 2 cathode kits, but thats all I used. I know this almost sounds like a promotion, but its not. I'll post some pictures soon.

[KronoNaut]

Just wondering. Would it be possible to use a tap from the coil for the pulse? If you could do that, then you would flash faster as your RPMs increased. -g

[DeusXMachina]

Directly off of the ignition coil....very unlikely as it uses really high voltages. I've thought of this same situation myself, the pulse rate determined by the RPM, and never really figured out a good way to do it. Perhaps if you made some sort of induction setup around one of the spark plug wires....basically there is no easy way to do it.

[KronoNaut]

I'll see if my mechanic can think of anything. The negative tap to the tach on th primary coil can jump from zero to 100 volts, then levels off at 12-14 as the points close. If that can be leveled off... Induction from the 10,000 plus volts off the secondary coil would work, but I'm hoping for more of a plug and play approach using that negative tap. If I find a solution, I'll post it.

[sanity]

I like your idea, I think it would be sufficient enough to put a resistor of high enough ohms between the primary of the coil (not the secondary) and capacitor, and also with a ceramic capacitor decoupled to an RCA cable for your subwoofer!!! yeah cool, sub bass REV and blazing REV leds! :)

[KronoNaut]

Here is some voltage info for the negative terminal from http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-40278.html.
'Points' closed, voltage will be close to zero. Period of time goes by and the points open. Voltage immediately spikes to 100 or more volts. This is due to the same reason the voltage on the secondary suddenly jumps to thousands of volts. The magnetic field in the coil collapses. A turns ratio difference causes the spikes to be lower on the negative side of the coil than the secondary. The spike drops back down as fast as it rose. There can be some steps in this waveform caused by the breakdown of air/fuel charge on the spark plug. The voltage finally levels out at about 12 to 14 volts until the points close again.

Perhaps you could attach a voltage regulator to the negative terminal to keep it kicked down to a lower voltage? http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_6/chpt_5/7.html

Or even easier. use the negative terminal to to kick a relay that would deliver the 12+ volts to the lights.

[TrumpetNeel]

umm... that blue car is an R/C touring car...

[Nightstalker]

gravisj1said, " You should use the positive connected to the switch 99.9% of the time anyways, otherwise you still have current flowing through the wires into your device, whereas if it's going through the switch it stops at the switch, and can't be an electrical problem later on (read hazard)." FYI : Actually current flows from negative to positive, so in reality the chassis is the 'hot' side of the circuit. But since we use a negative ground design electrical system on our vehicles (and there's a valid engineering reason for that, even though it could just as well be positive ground) it's normal to fuse and break the positive side to operate our accessories. Also, there is no "current flowing through the wires into your device" when the circuit is incomplete. There is potential (Voltage) on the negative side of the open circuit, but only when the circuit is completed can there be current present.

[DeusXMachina]

The circuitry cost me about $8 USD and then it's about $12-15 for each light tube. One light tube in the middle: $20 Two on sides: $32 Four on sides, front, and back: $44 that's using stuff from t3h interwebs, I saw some at Advance Auto Parts for like $25 a string. Psshhh!

[engrmurad]

carsHow can I calculate the light cost of that cars? Please give easy way....

[jammis]

hey thats really cool we did this to my friends Linclon and it turned out well. Took all night but it looked hot. It was even remote controlled! Dont mind the other people here who just comment and dont bother to post an intructable.

[TheCheese9921]

That is friggin amazing I love your license plate you defiantly get a +