DIY - EL Tape Sidemarkers (no hole drilling required)
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DIY - EL Tape Sidemarkers (no hole drilling required)
Many of you have seen the pics of my DIY EL Tape Sidemarkers. If you've been to Oct 5 Chicago Area meet, you've also seen these things in person. Trust me, the pics do not express just how cool these things look at night. Anyways, on to the DIY!
Shopping List.
EL Tape - I bought the EL Tape kits from pcmods.com. They currently have blue, green, and red EL tape. I chose blue because I have blue turn signal bulbs.
PC Power wires and plugs (optional)
I didn’t want to cut the plug off the EL Tape power supply in case it didn’t work. Then I had the option of putting the EL Tape in my PC.
3M Double-Sided Outdoor Tape
I found this in the window insulation section at Home Depot. This stuff is pretty thin and good for outdoor use. You could substitute the indoor equivalent, but I suspect is won’t be UV resistant and turn yellow and curl up and look terrible. Make sure the stuff you buy is for OUTDOOR use.
Double Sided Tape (Foam type)
This is the more common foam based double sided sticky tape. It will be used for keeping the tape in place inside the fender.
12 Volt SPDT Automotive Relays (optional)
If you want your sidemarkers to alternate the on/off with the corner turn signal bulbs, you have to use a SPDT relay. If you don’t care if they alternate or not, wire the power for the sidemarker directly to the corner bulb wires. I ordered the relays from Parts Express.
Other Stuff
Duct Tape, Electrical Tape, Wire Tappers, Cable Ties, Plastic Bag
Step 0
Jack the car up, use jackstands to support the car, remove the front wheels, remove clips holding the inner fenderwell in place, peel back inner fender.
Step 1
Figure out how long you want your sidemarker to be. Mine is approximately 4” long. Now measure out the desired length of you EL Tape sidemarker. Please not that there are two sides to the tape, a white side and a slightly yellowish side. Make sure the white side (illuminating side) is on the outside. Here comes the scary part. BEND the EL tape at this location. The bend may have to be at a slight angle, depending on how high you want the sidemarker to be. It should look like this:
Don’t worry if you mess up the bend, the tape will withstand a couple tries before the EL tape past the bend doesn’t work anymore. If this should happen (or if the tape is damaged later on), you can just cut off the bad part and start over.
Step 2
Clean the EL tape with alcohol (or similar). Cut a piece of double sided tape off slightly longer than the sidemarker length. Stick this on the back side of the EL tape, be sure to put the tape on the yellowish back side. Trim off the excess double sided tape, since the sticky tape is wider than the EL tape.
Step 3
Cut off a 2” length of double sided foam tape. Stick this at the end of the 3M Tape. Trim the width if necessary.
Now you should have something that looks like this:
Step 4 (optional)
Take some black electrical tape, and stick it on the outside of the EL tape that will be inside the fender. This will mask the unused part of the EL tape.
Step 5
Fish the EL Tape between the fender and the door and between the black inner guard thing (inside the fender).
Step 6
Clean the mounting area with alcohol (or similar). Peel off the liners of the double sided tape. CAREFULLY position the EL tape on your fender. Start at the gap between the fender and the door, and press the tape on, working toward the front. Reach between the fender and door to press the foam based double sided tape to the inside of the fender. Everything should look like this:
Step 7
Take your trusty roll of duct tape, and secure the EL tape to the inside of the fender.
Step 8
Wire the Parking/Turn/Ground wires to the SPDT relay and sidemarker as listed below:
30 - Parking Lights (+)
85 - Turn Signal (+)
86 - Parking/Turn Ground (-) AND Sidemarker (-)
87 - No connection
87a - Sidemarker (+)
DIY - Wiring Sidemarkers to blink out of sequence w/ corner turnsignals
Enjoy!
BTW, these things don’t seem to like rain. Water seems to get between the laminations and keeps the EL tape from illuminating. Once it dries out, it works fine again. I may try putting a tiny bit of silicone sealant on the top part of the EL Tape to keep moisture out.
Shopping List.
EL Tape - I bought the EL Tape kits from pcmods.com. They currently have blue, green, and red EL tape. I chose blue because I have blue turn signal bulbs.
PC Power wires and plugs (optional)
I didn’t want to cut the plug off the EL Tape power supply in case it didn’t work. Then I had the option of putting the EL Tape in my PC.
3M Double-Sided Outdoor Tape
I found this in the window insulation section at Home Depot. This stuff is pretty thin and good for outdoor use. You could substitute the indoor equivalent, but I suspect is won’t be UV resistant and turn yellow and curl up and look terrible. Make sure the stuff you buy is for OUTDOOR use.
Double Sided Tape (Foam type)
This is the more common foam based double sided sticky tape. It will be used for keeping the tape in place inside the fender.
12 Volt SPDT Automotive Relays (optional)
If you want your sidemarkers to alternate the on/off with the corner turn signal bulbs, you have to use a SPDT relay. If you don’t care if they alternate or not, wire the power for the sidemarker directly to the corner bulb wires. I ordered the relays from Parts Express.
Other Stuff
Duct Tape, Electrical Tape, Wire Tappers, Cable Ties, Plastic Bag
Step 0
Jack the car up, use jackstands to support the car, remove the front wheels, remove clips holding the inner fenderwell in place, peel back inner fender.
Step 1
Figure out how long you want your sidemarker to be. Mine is approximately 4” long. Now measure out the desired length of you EL Tape sidemarker. Please not that there are two sides to the tape, a white side and a slightly yellowish side. Make sure the white side (illuminating side) is on the outside. Here comes the scary part. BEND the EL tape at this location. The bend may have to be at a slight angle, depending on how high you want the sidemarker to be. It should look like this:
Don’t worry if you mess up the bend, the tape will withstand a couple tries before the EL tape past the bend doesn’t work anymore. If this should happen (or if the tape is damaged later on), you can just cut off the bad part and start over.
Step 2
Clean the EL tape with alcohol (or similar). Cut a piece of double sided tape off slightly longer than the sidemarker length. Stick this on the back side of the EL tape, be sure to put the tape on the yellowish back side. Trim off the excess double sided tape, since the sticky tape is wider than the EL tape.
Step 3
Cut off a 2” length of double sided foam tape. Stick this at the end of the 3M Tape. Trim the width if necessary.
Now you should have something that looks like this:
Step 4 (optional)
Take some black electrical tape, and stick it on the outside of the EL tape that will be inside the fender. This will mask the unused part of the EL tape.
Step 5
Fish the EL Tape between the fender and the door and between the black inner guard thing (inside the fender).
Step 6
Clean the mounting area with alcohol (or similar). Peel off the liners of the double sided tape. CAREFULLY position the EL tape on your fender. Start at the gap between the fender and the door, and press the tape on, working toward the front. Reach between the fender and door to press the foam based double sided tape to the inside of the fender. Everything should look like this:
Step 7
Take your trusty roll of duct tape, and secure the EL tape to the inside of the fender.
Step 8
Wire the Parking/Turn/Ground wires to the SPDT relay and sidemarker as listed below:
30 - Parking Lights (+)
85 - Turn Signal (+)
86 - Parking/Turn Ground (-) AND Sidemarker (-)
87 - No connection
87a - Sidemarker (+)
DIY - Wiring Sidemarkers to blink out of sequence w/ corner turnsignals
Enjoy!
BTW, these things don’t seem to like rain. Water seems to get between the laminations and keeps the EL tape from illuminating. Once it dries out, it works fine again. I may try putting a tiny bit of silicone sealant on the top part of the EL Tape to keep moisture out.
Last edited by InanimateCarbonRod; Apr 4, 2003 at 08:48 PM.
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Quote
[hr]Originally posted by: Elite
You have some pretty nasty dents on the side of the door other than that DIY looks good, Imma do it thanks.
[hr]
[hr]Originally posted by: Elite
You have some pretty nasty dents on the side of the door other than that DIY looks good, Imma do it thanks.
[hr]
Wow thats a nice job... will that fly as street legal? 
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Rep Power: 319 FYI, the snow and cold killed the exposed part of the EL Tape. I'm gonna redo them when I get a chance. This time I'll run a thin layer of silicone sealant over the edges. That or find some kind of clear plastic sheath to put them in.
Oh yea, I also think bending the EL Tape cold didn't help either. It led to the tape delaminating. I'll be heating up the tape before I bend it this time.
I'll post updates as they happen.
Oh yea, I also think bending the EL Tape cold didn't help either. It led to the tape delaminating. I'll be heating up the tape before I bend it this time.
I'll post updates as they happen.
Last edited by InanimateCarbonRod; Apr 4, 2003 at 08:42 PM.
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Rep Power: 319 ok, I updated the dead link for DIY - Wiring Sidemarkers to blink out of sequence w/ corner turnsignals
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