Using a controller from an rgb led flood light with a 9v battery to light the undercarriage of my old scooter;)

Step 1: Getting the Pieces Together

From start to finish I did this project in two hours. I had all these pieces on hand and already to go so it was like I put a puzzle together. For you this may take longer or shorter to do.

This is not a step by step tutorial, this is a simple overview of how I did lighting on my scooter.

All the pieces you need are as follows:

Rgb led light strand. (These come in diffrent types, I advice the 5050 150leds rgb strands, I also advice to get the water resistant ones...)

A 9v battery or a power source you like between 9v-13v... I am not sure but I think you may be able to get the rgb led strands for 5v also, but stick with 12v cause most accessories are made for the 12v...

And finally something to control the lights, a controller. (I have a controller left over from another project I have done so I used that:)

Finally I used 3m outdoor double sided tape, (the kind used to hold letters up) to mount everything under the frame.

Step 2: Gathering Parts Controller

I took a rgb led floodlight 10w and removed the transformer and controller from it. I then installed my own reststors to the led and my own wire so that I can plug it into my own controllers somewhere else, (example being light I rama for light shows). If you have already done this you might be able to use this controller;) (even if you left the resistors in the light you can still use it, the led strips have their own resistors;)

In the photo with the two rgb flood guts, the controller on the right (looks like a transformer) can not be used with this project because it is both a transformer and controller in one, (the power requirement is 85v-265v way to big for this project, save it for another project in the future;)
The one on the left is what I used. The transformer and controller are separated and all that's needed is the controller:)

Now if you have no idea what I was just talking about, don't worry. In the photo with the whit box looking controller you can use this controller. Just look on ebay for "rgb led controller" look for the ones that look like this they also come in black. If this is to big to fit under your scooter feel free to open it up.

Step 3: Gathering Parts Rgb LED

These rgb light strands are known as dumb ones. Dumb as in simple, you can not control these light as you would pixels, (there are strands you can but we are not touching those now)

I advice the 30 LEDs a meter for this project a posed to the 60s for the sole reason of saving battery power. (I think now they even have 90 LEDs a meter... I have shown the 30 and 60 along with 60 with a water resistant cover for your reference...

I advice you get these in the 5m strands for no more than $30, (if you get inspired to find more projects for them in the future;)

These dumb rgb lights can ussurally be cut every 3 LEDs...

I keep saying water resistant when what you might come across these saying is water-proof... Either one is fine for this project. (Obviously we will not be in mud or water but its still a good idea to have an extra covering after all) as is shown the tape that is on these lights or the water resistant cover is pathetic... I highly advice you scrape and peel it all off and use your own adhesive that will hold and you trust.

A side note, if you are planing on buying the light strand and controller you can usually get the 5m lights with a controller and a power adapter for it as well;) ya! Lol

Step 4: Finishing Up

I advice you plug everything together loosely on your desk and turn it on to check that it works and you have all the pieces right;) once that's done get your double sided tape and scooter and mount it all up:)

I decided to use 6 rgb led so I cut the 5m accordingly, (obviously 9v will not work well with alot of lights...

When wiring the 9v to the controller it is polarized so be aware of your positive and negative.

I made a section under my scooter to snug the battery in so it's easy to replace or just remove...

Even though all this hardware being used, (lights, controller) says 12v it still works just fine with the 9v. (A side note, I have used controlers with 5v in the past with no issues, so I am not sure what the mins and max of these cheap controllers are at for functionality...)

I think I'm pulling about 0.12a of power, so I definitely should be fine with a 9v battery... If need be another can be added to last longer. The possibilities are out there and this is a bit more than proof of concept, this could be added to anything from scooters to bikes to skateboards to cabinets...

In the end this is one of the things I have done with rgb led lighting and encourage you to see what you can come up with:)

I may go over the electronics with colicone in the future btw.