3 Simple Ways to
Share What You Make

With Instructables you can share what you make with the world — and tap into an ever-growing community of creative experts.

PhotosPhotos

Share one or more photos of a project, recipe, or whatever you've made, quickly and easily.

Step by StepStep-By-Step

Share your step-by-step photos with text instructions of what you made so others can do it too!

VideoVideo

Share your how-to video. You'll need your embed code from a video site such as YouTube.

RGB Color Controllable High Power LED Room + Spot Lighting

Step 16Connect external wiring

connect external wiring
«
  • DSCF4163.JPG
  • DSCF4140.JPG
1) install a strain relief in the side of your project box. electrical junction boxes are convenient because they are designed for this and you can buy strain reliefs sized just for the purpose. first pop out the correct sized hole in your junction box (this usually needs a hammer). then attach the strain relief to the hole.

2) feed the power cable and the 6 wires from the LED's through the strain relief, with about 6 inches inside the box. tighten down the strain relief to clamp the wires.

3) attach the wires to the terminal block. use a multimeter to check that you've connected the LED positives and negatives correctly.

4) before connecting the power cable, it is convenient to test the circuitry using your bench power supply. you can test safely by slowly increasing the input voltage with a 250mA current limit, to check for shorts, miswiring, etc.

5) if you are using a laptop power supply, note that these power cables usually are coax - the positive wire is in the core of the cable with an insulator around it, and the negative wire is all around the insulated positive wire. that makes it a little tricky to strip correctly.
« Previous StepDownload PDFView All StepsNext Step »

Pro

Get More Out of Instructables

Already have an Account?

close

All Steps Viewing
View all steps of an Instructable on the same page when you're a Pro Member.

Upgrade to Pro today!
525
Followers
47
Author:dan(MonkeyLectric)
Dan Goldwater is a co-founder of Instructables. Currently he operates MonkeyLectric where he develops revolutionary bike lighting products. He also writes a DIY column for Momentum magazine.