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Ok guys, long story short. My buddies girlfriend is in college and her car got broken into and her amp, subs, and what not got stolen. She doesn't have enough for an alarm so he wants the red flashing LED to make it at least look like she does. How would he go about hooking one up? Thanks!

 
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http://www.rainbowkits.com/kits/car-1p.html

That's an option.

 
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Thanks, repped.

 
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here check this out http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/sh...ight=alarm+led

 
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radioshack has flashing led, then wire it to battery or other constant power. . i doubt it will ever drain the battery but if youre worried put a switch on it.

 
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Yea....I'd go with the radioshack idea. Prolly the easiest.
My car was dying from sitting a week when my car was armed but that was prolly the alarm itself and the old battery(replaced now)

 
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Get some LoJack stickers n stick em on your car

 
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i took the LED of a sears Laser Level display and hooked a 9v up to it,

worked like a charm

 
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ya one led (esp flashing) will not drain anything. you can leave it hooked up for a year prolly and nothing will happen.

 
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Thanks everyone. I showed this to my buddy and hopefully now after he's done, a thief will see it and HOPEFULLY keep walking.

 
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as RHCP said, you can do it like in my thread i had done a while ago, sorry the pics arent there anymore, so i posted them here instead. it is better than having it on a switch, cause this way it turns on automatically when you turn off the car, and turns off automatically when the car is on, so there is no need to remember to turn on the switch. Also, there is no worry to drain the battery with that led, a led would never drain a car battery, it draws almost no power. the flashing led i bought was 10$ at future shop. here's the link to the led: http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...47&catid=10908

 
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Take it from me, you want to add a resistor with those leds that is a good amount larger than it needs be. Calculate the voltage from 14.0 not 12.0 when calculating the resistor to use. Get a higher wattage resistor than you need. Also if the LED is rated from say 3V DC to 5 V DC keep it below 4. It will last forever.
Thats all of the EE lecture im going to force on you for this one.

 
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correct if you have a stand alone LED, but the varad flashing led i bought at future shop already has a resistor built in the flashing speed controller, so no need to add a resister

 
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The resistor built in is fine, but chances are the flashing led is rated for an input of 12 volts. If you have a capacitor hooked up in your car the voltage will be over 12 volts, close to 12.5 or 13 volts when the car is off. You shouldnt be running the led this high.
If you dont have a capacitor, then i guess it doesnt matter. i forgot that this is only for when the car is off and thus most people will only have 12volts supplied to it.

 
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i have a capacitor in my car and never had a problem. varad (the company of leds i use including the flashing led and the leds over my feet) makes led's to be used for when the car is running, cause i also have leds over my feet turn on when i turn on my headlights, and they never went out. But i do know what you mean cause, i had that problem with led's i bought on ebay, they had sent me resistors that were too low in resistance for those leds on 14v and always burnt the leds. IMO, all led company's should give the right resisters with the leds to go with 14.4v, cause they should know people will most likely run them with the car on

 
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I just saw a BMW SUV with the alarm LED on the rear view mirror. Nice location, Hmmm....

The tolerance on some resistors is + or - 20%

Most super bright LEDs are just overdriven (not all) It can shorten their life.