Matt-01-SS

Ok, I wanna hook up a set of 9" tubes to a switch. Right now, I have them both installed under the dash. One for driver and one for passenger. The way I had them working before was that I routed the wiring near the radio and next to the cigarette lighter by the parking brake. When I wanted to turn them on I would plug the thing into the cigarette lighter. My question is, how exactly do you do the wiring so I can put it on an easy on/off switch? Go slow, I'm really confused about all this kind of stuff.

-Thx in advance

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Matt - Orlando, FL - CFFB #49
The SS emblems alone are enough to scare most cars away.
Camaro SS

megabass

My situation was a little different, but might give you an idea. My neon was under the rear of the car. I tapped into the driver's side parking light for power. Then ran two wires up to the dash for a switch. I have a panel over the cubby hole up there with my amp and neon switches.

This way, the neon is only on whenever the parking lights are on. Can't run the battery down due to the chime. Plus, I can override it and turn it off too.

But you can tap into a 12v power source up front instead of messing with a cigarrette plug.

Matt-01-SS

Ok you lost me. I need someone to explain which wires go where. Like, which one goes into a constant power. Which attaches to which side of the switch or what.

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Matt - Orlando, FL - CFFB #49
The SS emblems alone are enough to scare most cars away.
Camaro SS

megabass

OK, here's what you need to do. Find a 12volt constant power source up front somewhere. You can tap into basically anything in the fuse panel. You can even tap into the cigarrette wires. If you take the cigarrete lighter out, there's two wires. Black and orange. Orange is positive of course.

Anyway, once you find a decent 12v source, run that to one side of the switch. Doesn't matter which side really. Then run a wire from the other side of the switch to the 12v power lead of the neons. You can ground to the chassis practically anywhere or tie into a common grounding point.

If that is too complicated, you shouldn't be doing any wiring at all.

Matt-01-SS

I wired a tach and A/f gauge before, just never neons. So, in recap. One wire goes from 12v which I'll use ASR button power and that wire goes to a side on the switch. Another wire goes from the other side of the switch to the 12v power wire of the neons. The only remaining open wire is now the ground coming off the neons and this just gets grounded? Is this correct?

I drew a picture
http://manifestation.org/~ill/fs/upload/neonsetup.jpg

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Matt - Orlando, FL - CFFB #49
The SS emblems alone are enough to scare most cars away.
Camaro SS

[This message has been edited by Matt-01-SS (edited August 02, 2002).]

megabass

YUP. You got it.

Matt-01-SS

Ok great. The only other thing that concerned me is the button I'm using. The one that I bought a while ago looks just like the one in the picture. It has a black base and a little red top that you push in. Now, can this handle the amount of energy for the neons without blowing or anything?

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Matt - Orlando, FL - CFFB #49
The SS emblems alone are enough to scare most cars away.
Camaro SS

megabass

Sounds like a rocker switch. Yes, it will hand that. Neons don't take much juice at all. Probably around 1amp or so.

There is some sort of transformer in the tube that converts the 12v source into a much higher voltage for the tube to work. You won't have to mess with that though.

I had a set under a car once. Back then, each tube was wired to a little black box. I shocked myself one day and it 'bout lit me up. Closer to house-hold current I'd guess.



[This message has been edited by megabass (edited August 02, 2002).]

Matt-01-SS

So, to being wiring, I cut the plastic cigarette lighter adapter thing off and use the two exposed wires? I thought you needed that adapter.

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Matt - Orlando, FL - CFFB #49
The SS emblems alone are enough to scare most cars away.
Camaro SS

megabass

That's the whole point of hardwiring it. Cut the cigarrtte plug off the end and wire the + to your switch.

Hopefully, one of the wires is marked so you can tell + from -. If not, maybe you can get the end apart to see which wires go where.