LED tray lighting

[BANKS]

After doing a search i couldnt find anything about lighting in the tray of a ute. Im getting sick of not being able to see anything at night so ive decided i want to put some LED lights around boths sides and back wall of the tray. Theres a lip where the LEDS would sit very nicely.

Anyways my questions are where can i get LED lights in a 600mm strip form that would be easy to mount? I need around 6 of them to fully go around the tray. Mood lighting would be good aswell, being able to change colour or make them cycle threw several colours, but also be able to select white when getting something lol... demanding much

Is there a constant 12v source in the tray? was thinking the fuel pump but didnt wanna mess around with the voltage to it. thought tail lights but i want to be able to use them while the car is off via a switch.

Can the LED be dimmed via a rotary switch?

Also how hard would it be to put a 12v outlet aka cig lighter in the tray?

cheers

[vy_storm]

Have a squiz at my ride thread, might give you some inspiration.

I have tapped 12v power into the tray from the centre console through the accessories and also put a lighter socket in.

Edit, I better get the stuff in the thread I suppose, thought it was there, but actually on another forum......

[BANKS]

hahah yeah i just noticed you added it after you told me to go have a look lol where did you run the power from for the lights?

[vy_storm]

Tapped a hole in the top of the front of the tray between the front seats and then ran the wires down to each side. Put a junction box in the tray to run other stuff later on of if it screws up I can disconnect everything.
I reckon it all flattened my battery one day, but can't be 100% sure, lol

[BANKS]

is it complete or are you in the stage of doing it aswell? where did you get all the gear from?

[vy_storm]

It's as complete as its going to be for now. It's a pain taking the liner out every time you want to do anything (including changing tail light globes)

Wasn't a huge outlay, think it was about $80 or so for the CCFL tubes from Jaycar (which they don't sell anymore) then bits and pieces like wire, terminal blocks, switches etc. I work for an electronics manufacturer, so a few things kinda landed in the back of the ute so to speak.....

[BANKS]

things just happen to land in your ute aswell?! must be the weather lol yeah had a look at jaycar lastnight. ive seen a couple of switches etc in autobarn that i like. i want it to look factory just gotta try and find some leds, saw some on ebay but they look real cheaps and nasty. Shouldnt be to hard to wire up. Might get onto it this weekend

[vy_storm]

My main aim was to have something that was relatively water proof and smash proof from throwing things in the tray. I did look at LEDs, but found them too focussed and not enough light spread, plus dimming them isn't easy without some more stuff added to the circuitry.

Have you got a tray liner? Hiding the wiring is pretty hard other wise.

[BANKS]

yeah i was thinking about the LEDs being to focussed but i thought by putting more in it would be alright n adding stuff doesnt really bother me, i can see this isnt an easy thing to do but i want/need to do it.

Nar no tray liner, just a fitted rubber mat. Ive had a good look at it and theres places where theres no where to hide the wires so ill have to think up something. hard and expensive no doubt lol

[BANKS]

Ok, So I went out and bought some gear for my little project.

All Narva

P/No: 81028BL - Surface Mount Accessory Socket 12v
P/No: 62058BL - Rocker Switch Off/on with GREEN LED 30 Amp 12v (x 2)
P/No: 54420BL - 4 Way Blade Fuse Box

All up so far cost = $43

Still to get the actual LED strips, 1 into 4 spliter and more cable.

Just a quick question, I’ve attached a diagram on how I think the wiring should go. Just need someone to say yeah that'll work or no stay away. Im a bit confused on which terminal to plug in the actual 12v power. Would it be supply or load? Any suggestions on the way I plan to wire it would be great before I set it in concrete



So far:

[vy_storm]

I think the power should go onto the Supply terminal as that will switch on both the LED in the switch and what ever is connected.

As a fail safe I ran everything back to a main switch in the cabin so it can isolate all power to the tray. I also added an option of having it switch on and off with a relay off the accessories, that way if I have the fridge on board it shuts down when the car isn't running.

[BANKS]

That sounds like a good idea, did you have the relay in the tray? i've put the second switch in the tray, one for the leds and the other for the 12v source, but another one in the cab sounds good to me. I had the cable running to the supply just wasnt sure if it was right. also do i have to earth the switches out? or just the leds and 12v source like in the diagram?

[vy_storm]

All the smarts for mine are under the centre console, so all I ran to the tray was the switched power and then a switch in the tray to turn the lights on and off.
I ran all of the earth points back to a common point in a terminal block and then back into the cabin so they all come back to one point.

Pretty much lay everything out in the open, power it all up, make sure it works and then you shouldn't have any issues. Nothing worse than tracking down wiring issues once it has all been tucked away.

[BANKS]

another good idea, Did you earth it out anywhere in particular or just where ever was easiest? I was planning on earthing it somewhere in the tray, would this be alright or should i bring it all back? what amperage cable did you use from the battery? and what fuse do you have in? you said you run a fridge of it which is what i've put it there for aswell.

[vy_storm]

My earth ran back into the cabin and is the same earth for the accessories I think. I just couldn't be bothered running another one. As for cable, I just used a decent gauge figure 8 cable for the whole thing, it landed in the ute from work so I was more than happy with that. Its all relatively low current stuff, the fridge is a 3 way type (not compressor) and it seems to run quite well.

[BANKS]

Ended up going with a 25amp main wire (from the battery) for the 12v source, and 15amp wire for the lights. with a 25amp earth wire for the 12v source and the lights piggy backed with 15amp wire. Ill post some pictures up when i get a chance. Just gotta find the LEDS now and she'll be sweet

[wrx884]

Hey man just been reading this thread great idea u got goin here just a question how bright do u really want or need 2 b able 2 light up the tray at night? ive got an idea but dunno if they will b bright enough 4 wat u want.....

[BANKS]

thanks mate just enough to be able to see everything in the tray. as bright as a normal LED i suppose. I was thinking about putting a dimmer rotary switch in to be able to control the amount of light but that all depends on the LEDS i get.

whats the idea?

[wrx884]

May not b he cheapest option either but if u really wanna go LEDs id give these a go they r water proof and if u can get a couple of them i rekon it would b enough

50cm White 12V Superflux LED Strip Light Lamp Boat Car - eBay Batteries, Electrical, Parts, Accessories, Boats, Watercraft, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 20-Feb-08 22:06:05 AEDST)

These were my 1st idea coz i use somthing similar just not the water proof type, the ideas there u can get these on 5m reels more than enough 4 ur trays size they r water proof and even have an adheasive backing but yeah ud have 2 try them i think n see wat u rekon bout the lighting.

25cm 12V Waterproof SMD LED Strip Neon Lights Car White - eBay Neon, Lights, Indicators, Car Parts, Accessories, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 20-Feb-08 21:42:56 AEDST)

hope it gives u some ideas oh and with the dimmer i wouldnt really recommend them u can do it and they can work but no where near as effeciant as wat globes can b controled. Really u dont wanna dim them coz uve got such a large area 2 get the light across with LEDs ud want ur LEDs 2 b as bright as posible if u get me.

[vy_storm]

Also some other stuff that is on DealExtreme.

DealExtreme Search: LED strip

If you can be bothered waiting for the freight to arrive there may be some cheaper alternatives on there.

[BANKS]

thanks guys :thumbsup theres a place on ebay called hiline-lighting that do LED strips. They said they could make me a waterproof red/green/blue and white led strip but it will take 30 days which i dont really care about. i can control the colour and the speed that it cycles threw the colours which was exactly what i was after. just gotta get a price lol

[BANKS]

I've been working heaps so i havent had alot of time to do this lately but since its easter i might get all the wiring out of the way Just a quick question, where should i earth it? can i earth it anywhere?

[BANKS]

Did all the wiring today, ill say one thing, the rear shelf in the utes are a CU*T! did not want to come out and didnt want to go back in. Had to take virtually every panel off upto the dash... Ended up taking the passenger seat out aswell to make life easier. Run the cable of all the factory mounts and its looks factory! pretty proud if i do say so myself. It all works fine. LED switches light up sweet and the 12v source in the tray works perfectly! One thing thou im getting an SRS airbag fault warning coming up now, i think it has something to do with me taking the seat out, anyone had this?

Found these on ebay: eBay Motors: 1 SET 30cm 12V 5050 SMD RGB LED Strip t W/Control+Drive (item 260220874294 end time Mar-20-08 10:30:00 PDT)

EXACTLY what im after. all up it'll cost $250 AUS for the unit and remote, 10x 30cm LED strips all prewired for my car. Not bad i thought.

[wrx884]

good 2 see u got it sorted man got ne pics of ur work?

[BANKS]

I left my camera at work, but ive got another one laying around somewhere, ill get some pics up tomorrow, to dark atm lol i thought it was going to be a bit of a mission to feed it threw to the cab but it was surprisingly easy. i love how it all looks factory aswell. I've been thinking about making a kit and selling em