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View Full Version : How to wire Dual Blue Cold Cathode Light Kit to a wall plug?


333cxj
Jan 22, 2009, 07:38 AM
Sorry, here is the picture of the product and spec. Thanks

How do I wire a Dual Blue Cold Cathode Light Kit that is made for computers, to just "simply" plug directly to a wall outlet? What materials do I need and how?

How to wire from the computer connection to the ac plug?

Product Description:

"Cold Cathode lighting is the most commonly used form of case lighting on the market. Advancing on the standard 12V neon, cold cathode lamps operate by use on a power inverter, which converts the standard 12V input to hundreds of volts of power. This is done by minimizing the amperage, via the inverter unit (included with the kit). The end effect is an intensely bright and thin tube, the most popular form of lighting today.

Our kit is fine tuned to push out as much brightness as possible, while still keeping the best lifespan to brightness ratios. We have tuned our kits to operate for up to 30,000 hours of burn time, while still competing with the brightest tubes on the market.

This kit includes everything you need for a complete lighting solution. We include a Molex connector with power splitter, boxed inverter, and 2 acrylic encased cold cathodes.

The cold cathode mounts easily via adhesive square attached to the end of the tubes.

Specifications
Length: 12.25 inches
Average Current Damand +/- 3.7w
Encased in a 100% acrylic shell for proper light distribution
Encased inverter for safety
Dual light capability
Huge Lifespan"

WallyHelps
Jan 22, 2009, 09:17 AM
Disclaimer: This could be considered dangerous. Proceed at your own risk!

You need a source of 12 volt power. The easiest thing to do is to find a wall-mounted unit (something like this (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2191852&y=8&x=12&retainProdsInSession=1)).

To calculate the required capacity of the power supply, you use the formula:

P=I*E (P=watts, I=amps, E=volts).

In this case P=3.7 (call it 4) and E=12, thus
I=12/4 or about .333 amps (or 333 mA)

You should always add a safety factor, so round up to 500mA for your power supply.

Next, I'd cut the 2-wire cable that goes to the little box--leaving as much wire as you can. Strip the wires and hook the red one to the positive (+) wire from the power supply and the black one to the negative (-) wire from the power supply. Hint: Use a voltmeter to make sure you know which power supply wire is + and which is -. If you can, solder the respective wires together. Then tape each wire securely with electrical tape individually, and tape the pair of wires together with more electrical tape. That should do it.

Safety note: There will be high voltage (several hundreds of volts) coming out of the little box (from the description: "Encased inverter for safety"), so keep these wires away from each other and from combustible items. And also your fingers :p
I cannot accept responsibility for anything that goes wrong here!

Hope this helps,
WallyH