Awning LED's

[snowy55]

Awning LEDs

After reading this topic http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/forum/viewt ... 127&t=4379

I thought I would have a go. I purchased all the parts of Ebay.



This photo shows the lighter plug, 2 different dimmers, rotary and electronic, and the two wires with plugs and sockets fitted.



This shows the LED strip on the fixed side of the awning there is a similar strip on the wind out part. I used about 2 metres on each part, so I have about 1 metre spare.



This is the LED strip on the wind out part of the awning showing the socket and a short wire soldered on.

I didn't fancy drilling the body with permanent fitted wires, so I use either the boot socket or the socket half hidden under the seat behind the sliding door and run a cable through one of the dimmers to the first LED strip and then another wire along the folding arm to the other LED strip.

I bought the 2 different dimmers to see which I preferred, the rotary one in the photo is, off - click on, then progressive to full brightness but it doesn't go quite as bright as the electronic dimmer in the photo which also allows various flashing and "chasing" patterns if you want them! but as they cost very little it doesn't matter.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281199866036? ... EBIDX%3AIT
The electronic dimmer.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161471947850? ... EBIDX%3AIT
The lighter plug.


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0163029013
The LED strip.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4pcs-DC-Power ... 2598514e38
These are the plugs and sockets used to join it all together. The LED strip comes with a socket already attached at one end, after you cut it to length you solder plugs and sockets on the ends of the strips as required, look on You Tube for how to do it. The rotary dimmer comes with a plug and socket fitted.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0236866026
The rotary dimmer.

 

[calikev]

Good work very smart

 

[snowy55]

Good work very smart

Thanks

It's a lot brighter then it looks in the photo so a dimmer is needed IMO.

 

[Argo&Liebe]

It looks fantastic , very good job

 

[Bramco]

Nice one! Thanks for the links.

 

[Bjohnson]

Good links and write up. I've just ordered some kit to install ready for the spring

 

[Goldie]

Snowy,

The eBay link for the LED strip is now dead. Did you use cool white or warm white?

What power LEDs were they? I'm looking at 72W/5metre 780 lumens per meter or 24W/5 metre 300 lumens per metre.

Is it just two core cable to connect the two strips?

Andy

 

[snowy55]

Snowy,

The eBay link for the LED strip is now dead. Did you use cool white or warm white?

Hi Goldie
I used the 72w/5metre in warm white, the cool white imo makes peoples skin look blue, yes it's 2 core between the strips.

 

[Bjohnson]

I put mine together without the dimmer switch, and used some 2 core flat sheathed cable from eBay rather than the red/black stuff from maplin or halfords as it matches the size of the 'tails' on the led strip.

 

[Goldie]

Cheers Snowy,

Ordered the kit on the weekend and it arrived Tuesday. All put together and tested in about an hour, warm white was good advice. Bought a 5 metre strip and I'm thinking that I'll have enough left over to create a decent light strip to go across the top of the boot area which is not well lit in the Beach.

Andy

 

[robo]

Did you use the dimmer?

rob

 

[Goldie]

Did you use the dimmer?

rob

I bought an in-line device for NZ$5 (£2.50) that allows you you to dim as well as apply various patterns to the lights. The ability to change the brightness seems invaluable as the lights are very bright on the max setting, but don't worry as you can always add it in as as the parts are 'plug and play'. I've bought a remote control dimer from UK for £5 that I can easily swap in when it arrives.

Whole lot cost me £30-£35 which is trivial compared to the Cali and most accessories.

As recommended by others, go for warm white - imho.

Andy

 

[veg_frenzy]

Excellent help here. I have ordered my bits. Thanks.

 

[Goldie]

Did you use the dimmer?

rob

The electronic dimmer arrived from UK today. Now tested and ready to install. The remote dimmer (£5 including postage) is much better than the in-line dimmer. Settings are instant with 100%, 50% and 25% brightness settings and a number of fancy modes best left alone, or until after a few beers!

Andy

 

[robo]

Do you think that a 2m strip on the van side only would give sufficent light?
What watts per meter tape did you use?

 

[johnyboy]

Yes - I need to redo my soldering so currently only have them on the van side :S

 

[Goldie]

Do you think that a 2m strip on the van side only would give sufficent light?
What watts per meter tape did you use?

Haven't installed mine yet but I bought this one with a dimmer. 72W/5metre 780 lumens per meter. If you are going for just the one side, go bright!

 

[snowy55]

I also used the 72w 5metre led strip, although you can't get much more then 2 metres on the van and 2 metres on the awning. Still haven't decided what to do with the leftover metre

 

[Goldie]

Fitted mine yesterday. Rather than using soldering on the wires I used clips. To put clips on the LED strips you need to carefully remove about 4mm of the clear plastic covering the connector spots.

I also put the clips through the awning frame at the front on both the inboard and outboard ends as I was worried about the plugs getting crushed by the folding arms when the awning was retracted, although on second thoughts it was probably not necessary. To put it through the frame use a 5mm allen key to loosen off the bolt and slide the piece of metal underneath out. Once you have the clip through, replace and tighten in the same position. The inboard one slides straight through nothing to undo - just close the clip and slide in from front.

In the first pic you can see my mock-up pod in MDF - no doors on it. The containers were bigger than I wanted but needed to be at least 24ltr fresh and 26ltr waste to pass the self-containment exam.

The left over bit would make a good light across the back of the van as the Beach just has a single light on the passenger side.

Andy

 

[snowy55]

The plug on my wind out arm I noticed has got trapped so l have swapped it for a Tamiya RC battery type plug and socket looks to lie better in the channel when it's being wound back in.

 

[johnyboy]

I used some sugru to keep mine in place FWIW

 

[snowy55]

I used some sugru to keep mine in place FWIW

Never heard of this stuff, just ordered some of the bay of evil

 

[johnyboy]

Like clay, mould it, sets hard like plastic

 

[rippers]

What would be cool is if you could get a really long thin solar panel to fit along the top of the awning to power the lights, had a little look and couldn't find anything even close.

 

[snowy55]

What would be cool is if you could get a really long thin solar panel to fit along the top of the awning to power the lights, had a little look and couldn't find anything even close.

We only use our awning lights at night so I don't think that this would work for us.