Little help with LED lighting? a4Pat?
 

Ok, so I just bought the red LED lighting bulbs, but I have to admit I need help in installing it. I need a constant 12 v source and a grounding wire. What I want to do is hook it up so that the footwells glow red! I have an on/off switch too. Is it possible to just hook it up to the footwell outlets? I appreciate any guidance or input on this one! thanks!

is it just me or does anyone else think the interior is too red?
 

how about a blue bulb?

Seriously?
 

I think that the red is what makes Audi universally classy. I know that in our RX300, there's really no sense of order because there's just so many different colors. The touchscreen is an LCD, the buttons below are green, and the speedo and tach are electrolumin. white. It doesn't really match. The red is easy on the eyes and give the cabin a aircraft type ambiance that isn't seen very often in cars, especially at this price. In a Bimmer, the orange that is used matches throughout, but I don't really like how muted it is, especially compared to the dark, blood red of the Audi line interiors. I normally love driving at night on deserted highways without lights, and driving in this car at night has enhanced the experience that much more. It's all just personal preference.

PS --> there's two blue lights for the climate control :-)

And the red lighting doesn't destroy your night vision.
 

That's why it's used on aircraft and warships and why sailors who work on the flight deck at night wear red goggles when they have to go into lighted areas.

Here is what I did...
 

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13979/pedal_night_1.jpg"></center><p>I wired the power to a switched fuse n the fuse box. They draw so little power it will not hurt anything....just yank out a fuse and push the end of the wire in when you replace the fuse.....you can find constant power and switched power fuses...

There is a small bolt above the fusebox that makes a great ground wire...use it...

Next I ran wire behind the fusebox above the knee bolster, above the pedals and behind the console...
I used wire taps from radio shack to tap the led wires into the wire that I ran throughout the front of the car....
I positioned the leds so that they are directly across from each other and their light pattern forms an "X" and lights the whole footwell under the knee bolster.....look at the pic slosely and you will see the LED on the left side of the drivers area...you have to get waay under the knee bolster to see them....i atached them witht the supplied double sided tape....in retrospect, i wish i woulda used velcro in case i need to take the knee bolster off again....all of the tiny led wires are tucked neatly under the insulation of the knee bolsters..

let me know if you have any further questions...

You should add a small resistor (1K ohm) when using LED's...or they'll eventually burn out...->
 

Most LED's hooked straight up to 12V will burn out - unless they are designed for 12V use. Most LED's like to run at 1.6-3V, so they need a resistor to handle the 12V from the car.

Check when you get your LED's if they are low voltage or resisted 'made for 12v' ones.

I've blown plenty of LED's before i figured this out...

these are made for 12V...
 

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Re: these are made for 12V...
 

It can be made for 12V, but what is it's maximum foward bias current? Keep in mind that LEDs are current driven devices. It may say it's built for 12V but by connecting it straight to the source without a current limiting resistor, you may already be exeeding that limit. Small as it may end up being, I use resistors on all LEDs.
Like Ahorizon said, they will eventually burn out.

We have to assume that current limiting is built into the LED package. The LED would suffer a ...
 

dramatic death if 12 volts was placed directly across that forward biased LED junction.

I hear ya, but always play it safe...
 

Do not assume anything. Unless the spec sheet said it's curent limiting is built in, use a resistor, just in case =)That's been my experience.