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Wow. That seems like it is going to be mad work. Good luck , hopefully it turns out the way that you plan. I think it would look sweet...

 
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Looks like you have lots of work ahead

Hey I got a really tough question. Okay so when I first start my car after it's been off for a long time, the EL wire is a very nice blue color. Now after I drive around for 5-10 minutes, they start to turn more of an aqua greenish color like in the first pic.

I have a voltmeter and notice that the voltage is a bit higher when the car is warming up (maybe 14.5 or higher sometimes in cold weather). Once the car warms up, the voltage drops back around 14V, and sometimes 12V in warm weather.

Now I'm thinking the indiglo color has to do with this voltage differential. Is there anything I can do to keep them blue like when I first start the car? The wires come with an inverter box in line with the power. Not sure exactly how it works.

OKAY, figured something out. EL uses AC power, so the inverter is just to convert DC to AC. Now how can I make sure the wire receives constant power?

I also figured something else out. The DC input voltage determines the brightness. I think the EL wire looks blue when it's brightest. Then as the DC power drops a little, they lose brightness and look more of a greenish color. So I need to find a way to keep max DC power going into those wires to keep them bright blue. Any ideas? Maybe relays might work, but I wouldn't know what ratings to use. Help anyone?

 
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Hey Gearbox,

You're right, EL wire uses AC power, usually between 1500-4000Hz. I'm not really sure why it's changing colour while you drive. As you know a car battery has a potential difference of 12V. When the car is running, your alternator gives out about 14.4V. Given that your car is giving out a steady 14.4V, I'm not sure why the EL wire would change over time.

I think you mentioned before that you were using 3 individual kits. Are you using all 3 individual transformers? You should do this, since each transformer is designed to handle a certain length of EL wire. You might want to scour the 'net for EL wire and buy a more powerful transformer. Could be that the way you have it wired, the load on the transformer is too much. EL inverters are pretty cheap, under 10 bucks. I did a google search for "Electro luminescent EL Wire" and came up with a good selection of online shops that sell bulk wire and transformers.

 
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Yeah, but the problem is the alternator voltage dropping. The same thing happened with my aftermarket indiglo gauges. As the voltage dropped, they turned from blue to more of a green color. My Pioneer deck with EL display will turn from blue to green as I decrease the brightness. So I guess it's an alternator problem. Our alternators are weird and sometimes in warm weather they will just shut off if there is no need for the power.

 
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Hmmm... well, if it's a steady-state issue of your alternator not generating 14.4V, there's not much you can do from an electronics standpoint. The only thing I can suggest, and this gets a bit tricky, would be to get a DC to DC converter, from 12V to some value above 14.4V. From there you can step down the voltage from the output of the convertor using a suitably beefy power resistor.

First step would be to check how much current your EL back lighting is drawing, by means of a multi-meter just after your car is started so the alternator generates 14.4V. Next, figure out the intrinsic resistance of your entire EL setup. To do this;

I = V/R
therefore R = V/I = 14.4V/(your current value).

Your "circuit" will be the EL wire and the power resistor. Depending on how much current your EL wiring draws, you'll need to select the appropriate wattage. I think using a 5W resistor should be OK, I'm pretty sure that EL wire doesn't draw much current.

OR...

This is the easier way, but would be a bit more expensive. Go to your local RadioShack and get one of those AC converters that fits in your cigarette lighter socket and allows you to plug small household appliances. Then, get a DC power transformer (aka a wall-wart - the ones used for discmans, cellphones and such) that generates about 15V.

Plug in the DC->AC converter in your cigarette lighter socket. Plug the AC->DC transformer in the outlet on the cigarette lighter converter. You now have a STEADY source of 15V DC. Hook it up to your gauges. You could always wire the whole deal behind your dash, with a hidden switch to make it look way neater. I did something similar when I hooked up my 4 interior neon tubes (they are under the dash and rear seats). I spliced the power wires from the cigarette lighter, behind the dash, and wired it all up...

I'm just throwing ideas out here. I think the second idea WOULD work, but I don't know how much voltage your EL wire can take. If you do decide to go this route, I suggest measuring the output voltage of the Radio Shack transformer, to make sure it's really 15V. I "acquired" a 13.4V transformer - going to use it to test the LEDs in my gauges while I'm building them. I measured the voltage and it's more like 14V. Just be careful, I wouldn't want you to have an EL wire meltdown!

Here's a link to a 15V power transformer:
http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...Fid=273%2D1691

And here's a link to the 12V -> 110V AC converter:
http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...%5Fid=22%2D144

I think you can find the second one cheaper at WalMart...


EL

 
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Thanks for the ideas, but it's gonna be way too expensive. I also don't know how much the wire can take.


I'm liking the first idea, but where do I find a DC to DC converter? And maybe I won't need resistors.

 
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Okay, more bad news. I found that EL cable will degrade over time. After 4000 hours, it will only be half as bright due to the phosphor chemical coating.

Voltage Range: 50-130V AC (RMS)

 
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We need more people like ELaudio working on stock gauges so we wouldn't have to go through all this just to make the colors better.

Here are some pics of the power window area taken apart.

 
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Thanks for posting those pics. I'll take a closer look this weekend.

Here's a link for a DC to DC converter, 12V in 15V out.

http://www.e-sonic.com/electrosonic/...++++++++++++++


Note that the price is in CDN dollars. They also have prices in USD and stores in the U.S., just re-do a search in american dollars on the e-sonic.com site.

 
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Thanks for the info. I don't think I'm gonna bother with it, because increasing the voltage will also shorten the life of the EL wire.

You should start with the easier center console lights and save the hard ones for later.

 
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that was definitly HARDCORE DIY.. YOU OWN!!! GOOD JOB!!

 
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Gearbox - I'm in the process of doing all the buttons and switches. I did a simpler method of wiring up the power mirror light. I soldered the LED and a new resistor right onto the circuit board, so the whole thing is one self-contained module. I'm trying to do that with all the switches, makes it easier to connect up afterwards.

All the lighting runs off of 12/14.4V, so it's just a matter of soldering wires onto the right part of the circuit board. I'm doing a pretty crazy mod on the three rotary controls for the ventilation system. I'm putting 4 LEDs behind each ****, plus two to light up the **** itself. Should be pretty blinding! While drilling the clear plastic light guides the damn thing cracked, but I glued it back together - no probs. Will post pics later today once I re-install everything.

 
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Nice job. I had used two LEDs per hole for the control *****, and it came out slightly dimmer than the rest. So your idea is cool. Post some pics when you finish up some of it.

 
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UPDATE: Holy crap this is a lot of work. I'm wiring everything up to the stock circuits, so the dimmer control will work. I'm nowhere near done and my car's interior is in pieces right now.

Check out this out:

 
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Wow.. This is badass. gearbox good job man. thats awesome. i dont think i will be doing the DIY cause it looks hard and d ont want to mess anything up. dont want to spend money on my car that i dont have to (messups) but that is a good idea. I am glad i started this thread. great information to be gotten out there.

Brad

 
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Here are some pics of inside my car and my work-in-process...


My setup's light output is really bright. I mean ridiculously bright! Compared to my stock gauge cluster this looks like having a flashlight aimed at your eyes. I took this pic in my parking garage which has bright lighting.




Here's the heated seat control.




A scan of my stock gauge cluster. I didn't really need to do this for my DIY, but I was bored at work and plopped it in my scanner.




Here's my cluster, taken apart, with photocopies of the gauge faces on top. After cutting out the photocopies to the required size, I glue-sticked them onto a transluscent plastic garbage can. From there I cut out the pieces with a dremel tool.




This is a front view of one of the "gauge inserts". Note that I haven't trimmed and polished the LEDs yet.




Rear view of the gauge insert. Haven't wired the LEDs yet.


Unfortunately, my car is in the shop right now getting fixed. I'm having some overheating problems, temp gauge going into the red zone, no coolant flow through the engine. Bad. So, my DIY is on hold, although if I get my car back I'm hoping to complete the gauge cluster by Sunday or Monday night. Final pics to follow!

EL

 
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dude, ur going to have to raise the resistance on those LEDs to make them a little dimmer !!! I used 13 in total for my whole cluster and I'm already getting blinded.. 13 for just the speedo will kill your eyes !!!

Looks great though

 
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Oh ya, I've calculated out all the circuits pretty well. I'm also modifying the car's stock dimming system so it can go from 0ohms up to 50K+ohms, to better control the light output. Right now, even at the dimmest setting, my ventilation controls are freaking bright.

I figure this way is the best approach to get uniform lighting across the gauges. No bright or dark spots. The only thing is that the numbers and the adjacent graduation will be brighter than minor graduation every odd 10km/h. It'll look cool though. Pics to be posted once complete!

 
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That already looks amazing. I wish mine was brigher. Can't wait to see more!

 
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I have several hours set aside tomorrow for my project. I also modified the cruise control switch to be brighter. It was really dim, so I took it out and opened it up. Turns out the LED was aimed totally wrong. I also added a drop of Cyanoacrylate glue to the tip of the sanded LED. This effectively polishes the surface, giving better light output. I'll let you know how it goes! Can't wait! My heater controls look freaking awesome, I've never seen a car with gauges this crisp and bright. I hope my gauges turn out just as well.

 
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Woohoo I finished this DIY! I must admit it takes a lot of patience and some creativity as well. I would like to start off by saying, please be careful with a soldering iron. Dont give yourself a new scar like i did. THAt $hit hurts! Thanks so much to gearbox for making this DIy i get hecka comments on my interior already. Its soo much fun. Elaudio your interior lights are ganna be crazy, sooooo bright, might need some shades to drive at nite 2 Because of your pix i might decide to have my center consol with more than 4 leds. even brighter If anyone does this DIy be sure to tape up everything with black electrical tape, no need to blow endless number of fuses.

 
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So I guess that makes you the third civic owner to do this? How did everything work out? Pics?

I just disconnected the red hazard light, so now there's only blue colors in the car. So much better than stock. I see stock civic lights sometimes and can't imagine driving like that.

 
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Vinnie - lol. I got a NASTY burn on the the underside of my forearm from the soldering iron.

I'm about 75% complete on the gauges, probably will be done by later this week.

 
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ill be sure to post some pix, hopefully by tonite

 
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Sounds good. Glad everything worked out for you.

 
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I love my dash so much! its so bright at nite. I think the sunroof button was by far the hardest. Had to make sure that it still worked right with the leds in there. Thanks again gearbox, your DIY kicks a$$.

 
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Looking good! So did you have reverse indiglo gauges for the cluster? I can't really tell from the pics. Dash looks great, and the sunroof area came out somehow. That was incredibly difficult.

 
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YEp i have idiglos too whole dash area is blue

 
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Haven't posted here in a while. I've been busy doing other things with my car, installing Hayames so my gauge project is on hold. I have all the LEDs in my gauges hooked up and working - really REALLY bright. But, I haven't aligned them to the numbers and haven't masked off the white/blue LEDs. I'll probably finish up next week...