VT Berlina LED Light Installation - Boot

[JazaMizon]

Hey guys,
I've been looking around and I really can't find any decent guides on how to do i
I've just installed a sub box in the boot of my VT Berlina and am looking to install two 30cm led strips to show it off a bit. I'm having a little trouble with the wiring with it being in the boot. What's the best way to get the strips hooked up whilst in the boot? I've heard of running it off the interior boot light but most led strips require 12 amps where as interior lights are only 10.
If you haven't guessed already I'm pretty new to the electrical side of things with the car so if explaining it like you would to a child is what it takes feel free.

Cheers guys

 

[axemurderer101]

12 amps? led's draw bugger all power.
got a link to the ones you have?

in my vy i used a long strip of those flexible led's and it works fine.

 

[axemurderer101]

Also you dont need to post the same thread 3 times.

 

[Nut Kracker]

Hey guys,
I've been looking around and I really can't find any decent guides on how to do i
I've just installed a sub box in the boot of my VT Berlina and am looking to install two 30cm led strips to show it off a bit. I'm having a little trouble with the wiring with it being in the boot. What's the best way to get the strips hooked up whilst in the boot? I've heard of running it off the interior boot light but most led strips require 12 amps where as interior lights are only 10.
If you haven't guessed already I'm pretty new to the electrical side of things with the car so if explaining it like you would to a child is what it takes feel free.

Cheers guys

Two 30 cm strips would only draw about .5 of an amp. they have a very low current drain compared to incandecant globes.
So there is no need to change the fuse.
I have multible led's in my boot all connected to the boot lamp.
Where the boot lamp is located, there is a channel that runs the width of the boot. It's ideal for running the wires to either side.
Where you put them is up to you. Experiment a bit, but I have found either side of the original boot light or just in front of it is good.
Pull the fuse first when ever you are doing this kind of work, as it's very easy to short something out.
Just disconnect the original lamp and wire the led's to the globe holder.
My advice is to wire and test the led's in the day light when you can see what you are doing and position them at night. Its no good positioning them in the day light
when you can't see the maximum effect. Or wiring them in the dark when you can't see what you are doing.
When you do wire them up, allow some extra wire so you can experiment where you want to place them. Better to have a bit more wire than not enough.
Make sure all the connections are secure and insulated against shorting.
Led's are polarity sensitive, which means unlike a normal globe that can be put in any way around, the led's have a positive and a negative. If it doesn't work one way,
swap the wiring around. You wont hurt them.
Oh.....And don't forget to put the fuse back in when you are finished. do'h.

I've got ultra violet led's in the boot, inside the car and in the front grill. All switchable, so I can have them on or off, depending how I feel.
Some may think it's a bit much, but......meh.
Here's a couple of photos.
They are a bit grainy as it's an old camera.....sorry.

 

[JazaMizon]

12 amps? led's draw bugger all power.
got a link to the ones you have?

in my vy i used a long strip of those flexible led's and it works fine.

Sorry when i was writing this had something else on my mind haha. My bad. Its got a 12V input. I just need helping figuring out how to hook the LED's to a powersource, some people Ive heard splice the power from the interior light of the boot that switches on whenever you open it or some people run it directly from the battery.
I would prefer it if i could have the lights turn on whenever I open the boot but Im just not 100% sure how to do this as Ive never done this sort of work before

 

[Nut Kracker]

Check above ^^^^^

 

[JazaMizon]

Check above ^^^^^

Very nice work Cracker! Looks awesome!

Thanks for the info!

 

[DAKSTER]

Have you already bought the LED strips or are you just kicking it around at the moment?

I have 5m ( 300 LEDs ) of the flexible LEDs here, bought them on fleabay for 12 bucks delivered. They can be cut into 3 LED segments (50mm) or any combination upwards, 6,9,12 etc or even an uninterrupted 300 LEDs.

The ones I have are only white, but they come in various colours, or also RGB shifting colours. A roll of each at that price, cant go wrong.. and you can have over 1000 LEDs in your boot for under 50 bucks. Power consumption is 3.2W/metre, so 4 rolls of the stuff will use 64W.

Or cut the quantities dramatically by using lots of well located shorter strips, cut from the roll. This entails basic soldering skills, its pretty easy. You should be able to have ample light from less than 10w of LEDs, in custom lengths throughout your boot in 4 colours, for 50 bucks. Since its only 10W, you just splice it into the boot light for basic on/off function, or through switches or controllers if you want something fancier.

The rolls have a single xmas light style controller per roll, these just make them flash in various patterns but a bit of a wank and only one controller per roll.

The most basic of installations simply needs a single roll of your preferred colour (12 bucks), a small soldering iron and fine solder, some wire (medium gauge speaker wire works well) and some patience. Wire them in series or parallel, doesn't matter so long as they all come back to a single pair, which you just splice back into the boot light.

I've just started a little thread on creating LED tail lights, if you want more info on the flexible strips.
LED conversions for VR/VS tail lights
If you already have solid strips, I would just wire them straight to the boot switch, should be no issue at all. If you find they don't work, remember LEDs are polarity sensitive.. reverse the wires lol