+ & - wiring

[dJcHiKo]

alright so i got these lights that pulse to the beat of my music, the thing that makes them run is to plug it into a cigarette lighter, and i dont really want that cause then ill have access wire running all over my car and the interior is pretty clean i dont want the light wires 2 be noticeable as i will be putting them under the dash so i was wondering which one is positive and which is negative? one of the wires has a white strip running down the whole thing what does that mean?
if i cut the cigarette lighter thing off and took a positive and negative wire to the battery or something would that still work?
how would i go about putting it onto the battery?
thanks!

[Bitter]

you'll start your car on fire, don't mess with it until you know more about car wiring.

[dJcHiKo]

uhhhh? thats kinda why i asked so u guys could tell me something about it and help me out not get an obvious answer like that

[PhatRoyale]

Don't mind him, he's just Bitter.

[kevmac]

maybe doesn't matter. Cut the wire, strip it and test it with your hands on the battery. If the same, use the stripe as ground. Make sure to hook a 5 amp fuse on the positive close to the battery. Use at least 16 gauge (they are leds right). Check ebay for new battery terminals. They sell nice ones with multiple allen screws for different gauges. Use only wire that can handle heat. NO SPEAKER WIRE IN THE ENGINE BAY! Drill a hole in the firewall or run it through one that is already used. Buy a toggle or push switch and run it in line with the positive at your dash.

[dJcHiKo]

Originally Posted by PhatRoyale

Don't mind him, he's just Bitter.

lol phat

Originally Posted by kevmac

maybe doesn't matter. Cut the wire, strip it and test it with your hands on the battery. If the same, use the stripe as ground. Make sure to hook a 5 amp fuse on the positive close to the battery. Use at least 16 gauge (they are leds right). Check ebay for new battery terminals. They sell nice ones with multiple allen screws for different gauges. Use only wire that can handle heat. NO SPEAKER WIRE IN THE ENGINE BAY! Drill a hole in the firewall or run it through one that is already used. Buy a toggle or push switch and run it in line with the positive at your dash.

alright ill give it a try

[Bitter]

Originally Posted by PhatRoyale

Don't mind him, he's just Bitter.

an ex-coworkers car caught on fire after he wired up some 'phat neons n stuff'. he was asking me the same questions you were, and i'm giving you the same advice i gave him.

are you going to use a power and ground distribution block with one main power feed from the battery to cabin? what size fuse are you going to use? what gauge wire are you going to use? are you going to have each light on its own fuse or one fuse for the whole setup? how many total additional amps are you going to be drawing from the alternator?

etc etc.

[kevmac]

yeah, why don't you either spell out the model of lights or look up the power draw. Then figure what you want to do and check back to see if others think it is o.k. When I was 18, I did a lot of stupid things with car stereo wiring. Think of the wires in your car like the water pipes in your home. Little wires are like little pipes. You can fill a bucket a lot faster in the bath tube than in the bathroom sink because the piping/ valve cross sectional area is much larger at the bathtub valve than at the sink. When in doubt with wire size, just remember the golden rule: Bigger Wire is ALWAYS Better 16 gauge wire is safe for 5 amps (~60-75 watts) total current, but I would not run the wire more than 15 total feet. Ebay again sells nice wiring (at least I think so)

[sequoiasoon]

Originally Posted by Bitter

you'll start your car on fire, don't mess with it until you know more about car wiring.

No offense but I'm kinda with bitter on this one. At the VERY least get some decent manuals to follow. There are MANY resources available on the web like http://www.bcae1.com/ for car audio wiring. Enthusiasm to learn and want to do things is GREAT but you need to learn the basics either by reading or hands on learning. My father taught me along the way explaining everything and how to read the diagrams. I started helping him install lights and stereos in his cars at like 10 years old.

Directions are your friend and there for a reason, USE THEM. Get a multi meter and test light and learn how to use them.

As for which wire on your lights take the plug apart you cut off and se which one went THROUGH THE FUSE to the center pin, that one is +. Most LED setups are polarity sensitive so you need to get the right one.

Also recommended is soldering skills combined with heat shrink to prevent short circuits and/or solderless crimp terminals that might also need to be wrapped with electrical tape to insulate pending the style of them.

As a fireman I have been to MANY car and house fires caused by electrical shorts/overloads by people that that thought they knew what they were doing but didn't actually understand the basic principles and had trouble following directions diagrams.

Good luck and keep learning.