For the upcoming show, I want to showcase the new Rear Sequential full LED taillights but am running into a problem. Obviously if you run the lights (brake and signal) for 8-10 hours my battery will be DEAD. So I was told to simply hook up a battery charger hooked to AC for constant power.

Went out and bought http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows...A%25252B4A.jsp and with the battery still connected, hooked up the 12 volt end of the charger to the 12volt socket in the car, and the AC to the house. Placed 2 weights on the brake pedal to hold it down to light up the brake lights, and turned on the signals. Charger indicating charging. (Course seems if you disconnect 12volt from car it still says charging).

2 hours later I go out to discover the battery has drained to about 5 remaining volts and the signal is flashing VERY slowly.

I then tried to run it thru the unit so I disconnected the battery (neg) and plugged in the 12volt in the car but absolutely no power to anything so seems it can't be used like a power pack. I DO have a power pack: http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows...r%252BPack.jsp which allows for 12Volt power to external accessories.

I assume this means I would need to find a 2 sided 12volt cord? Would I be able to run the brake & signals on the powerpack (plugged to DC for current) WITHOUT killing the battery or do I have to disconnect the Neg on the battery? Can I run a powerpack thru the car's 12volt socket WITHOUT a battery hooked up? (Since this one above isn't working that way).

If not, then HOW are these owners running their Amps, lighting and sound systems at indoor shows without killing their batteries? I have seen power packs under the cars.

Thanks,

Paul

 

To run lights continuously at shows...Get you a battery isolater, so that your standard battery can not get drained at the shows. And get a 110v AC to 12v DC inverter, to run your lights off of at shows.

 

I agree, just get a 12V power supply, disconnect the battery at shows, and connect the PS to the battery cables. I picked one up similar to this one for around 20 bucks, it puts out 3 amps. That's more than enough current to run just the brake lights and signals.

http://www.12volt-travel.com/3-amp-1...08951c33214dc7

 

the one you bought puts out 2/4 amps. i dont understand why it doesnt work.
was it connected to the battery terminals directly?
if not, do that.
however it might be the "intelligent" part that is messing it up.

at "big" car shows, the fire marshal makes sure each car has its battery completely disconnected (around here at least)
if the car needs power for lights or whatever, then the owner runs a box similar to what ward posted and connects that to the battery cables from underneath the car

 

I would think that small 2/4 amp charger isn't enough - 2/4 amps is only going to maintain a battery that is in storage, not a battery that is getting drained from use. You need at least a 10amp charger to keep the battery up while it's being used.

 

At the battery terminal, when the signal flashed it was 9.01amp at the max. So the 4amp wasn't enough, so the front bulbs were draining the battery more than the 4amp could replenish :-(

 

I have a power pack http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows...r%252BPack.jsp

Rated at 700Amps and 2 external 12volt ports. I was thinking of either buying making a 2 ended 12volt extension. Do you think if I plugged in the powerpack (v12 lighter socket) and powerpack transformer to the Wall socket (to keep the power pack constantly charging), do you think I could disconnect the battery (as per requirement of show fire department), and just run the lights just off the powerpack thru the 12volt cigarette lighter? Would the transformer be able to keep the pack charged continiously that the pack would then be sufficiently enough to keep lights on without draining the pack 8 hours later?

Thanks,

Paul

 

the 2057 bulbs that are used in the turn signals and front markers only draw 0.48 amps each.

you have two side markers, two front parking lights, two rear markers, and four rear lights...

thats 10 total, plus whatever is inside the car...
the ones in the dash draw 1/3 amp each, and there are 14 of them IIRC

apparently 4A isnt enough lol.
the math says you are going to draw about 9.7 amps with your lights on the first stage
i'd say that a 10A charger would be perfect for this

the best way would be to measure though.

do you have a multimeter?
if you do, turn the car off, and wait about five minutes for the computer to do its thing (i dont know if our computers do any shutdown procedures, but new cars continue to draw significant power for up to 5 minutes in some cases while the computer does stuff)

disconnect the negative battery terminal, and connect your amp meter between the battery and the cable like this


turn on any accessories you want on, and read the amps being drawn.
this is your magic number, and your supply must exceed this, but not by too much, or you could damage the battery.

if you dont have a multimeter, buy one. they cost less than $15 at radio shack and will help you out of many snags more than once


edit:
one thing to remember is that those jump boxes do not put out 12V.
they put out more like 15-16V in my experience
the reason is that power flows from low to high.
voltage is only a potential for flow, while amperage is a measure of flow density (sorta)
the box must provide more voltage than the battery, and most new batteries put out 14.5V when new.
just keep this in mind, because if you are consistantly feeding your bulbs 16V, they could overheat and blow... not a big deal, its only a bulb, but its an inconvenience, and something you should be aware of

 

Red_dragon: One part you missed above.. I don't have any bulbs in the rear ;-) As a result there are only 2 bulbs (2 signals up front) With the car off, there are no side marker lights on nor any other lights (dash, dome, etc) :-)

I appreciate your diagram but I also did note above that I did that which showed 9.01amps :-)

Not sure what you mean by "jump box". I wouldn't want to blow anything since I'm not running bulbs in the rear. And those were not cheap at all so I definitely wouldn't want nor, nor able to burn them out and replace.

 

I am thinking of buying two of these http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows...p#BVRRWidgetID

which would mean 1 long double ended 12volt. I would then connect it to the power pack. Apparently it has a 5amp fuse.. Would this blow if I tried to use the power pack (connected to the AC wall jack to seem it charged) to run the rear taillights and brake lights for like 8 hours straight?

 

i think you are making this more complicated than it needs to be.
get something like this
http://www.hobbico.com/fieldequip/hcap0250.html

and attach it to your battery cables, leaving the battery disconected completely.
get long enough cables so it can sit on the ground under the car and run an extension cord to it.


what all do you have on?
9 amps for just the two front bulbs is excessive.
make sure your fan is off, your radio is off, ect.

are you sure nothing else is on?

 

also, yes, if it has a 5A fuse, and you are pushing 9.01A thru it, it will most certainly blow, or at least it should blow.

 

what is the cost on that and can you buy it at any R/C hobby place? What's it actually for? (Hobby car wise).. I have a hobby shop actually 1 block up the road from me :-)

 

Nothing else is on except for the basics for those parts.. which would include:

2 front signal lights
1 electronic flasher (since it's set to hazard lights flashing)
Upper rear brake light (bulb)
2 LED Circuit boards with a total of 378 high intensity wide angle LED, and 4 LED bulbs (multple LED's per bulb)

The brake light is always ON, the flashers flash every 1 second or so)..

 

thats your amp draw...

i think it was around 70 dollars.
either way, i would find a supply that you can connect to the battery cables.
you can actually turn a PC power supply into a 12V power supply.

a lab type power supply would be ideal because you can set your supply voltage and amperage independently.
those are expensive though.

its a battery charger for stuff you use when playing with RC stuff.
typically you have a "power box" powered by a motorcycle battery.
you run your engine starters and glow plugs off the power box.
most people also keep various tools and accoutrement in there as well.

it should be available at any hobby store

 

I'm into hobby's so this is my calling

Your best bet would be to make a power supply. I myself have made one out of a computer power supply. It puts out 12v 25a.
http://web2.murraystate.edu/andy.bat...OWERSUPPLY.HTM
Theres a link on how to build one. I would tend to agree that 9a is a lot of current for just bulbs...
If you do not want to build one, http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXWGU7&P=ML would be a good one.
If you eBay however, http://cgi.ebay.com/12V-10A-Switchin...item1c0fddec4d

 

The hobby shop 1 block up the street from me has the Dynamite 4055
http://www.dynamiterc.com/Products/D...ProdID=DYN4055

Do you think this would be sufficiant enough or do I need a larger one? Specs on this one:

12V 10-Amp Power Supply
Features

* Use to power DC chargers indoors
* 110 AC input
* Clean switching power supply for fewer false peaks
* Adjustable 10-14 volts DC output
* Built-in cooling fan
* Banana plug output connection


Remember the lights were drawing 9.01 at peak.. This one is 10Amps so should I go for the 15amp one? (They have to order and am not sure the brand or specs).

What would happen if the lights drew more than 10amp and the max is 10amp on the power supply; blow a fuse?

Thanks

 

How important is the VOLTAGE setting and AMP's? The peak amps at the battery is 9.01. Is a 10AMP power supply not enough? What about a 12amp?

And what voltage should it be set it? (what amount, or MAX amount?). I have some VERY expensive LED taillights and obviously do not want to burn them out or blow them. The lights would be on for 6-8 hours a day for 3 days. (Turning them off at night and restarting them up the next morning before the show starts again).

Here are a few selections i've run acrossed:

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=DYN4055
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...rodID=OFN92135
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...?ProdID=AST120
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...rodID=INTE2052
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...rodID=TRI22005
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...rodID=OFN92136
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=INT1277
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ID=ASCLRP43150
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...rodID=MRCRB982

Thanks

 

without following all your links, here is some basic guidlines.
1) the battery puts out anywhere from 12.5-14.5 volts.
2) the amp draw is 9.01 so you want to supply about that much consistantly.
3) if you supply too many volts or amps, it will be ok, but up to a point.

if you run them low, it will only flash slower and less brightly.

remember... the bulbs will only use the current that they require

i like these ones the best
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...#quickOverview
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...?ProdID=AST120

they are bigger units and look more ruggedly built.

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...rodID=TRI22005
that one is probably the best, but most expensive.

anyway, when you pick one, measure the voltage at your battery terminals with the engine running, and set the supply to match.
again, disconnect the battery completely.

if it is rated at 10A, that means it can supply a MAX of 10A.
i would upsize just a little bit, but you dont need to go crazy or you can spend a lot of money

 

I went to the hobby shop conveniently 1 block up the street and the one they were looking at was in fact the one you mentioned being one of the best.

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...#quickOverview :-)

$119cdn. Anything I should know about hooking it up? Safe to be on for 6-7 hours?

 

you could be extra careful and put a rubber foot under each corner so that it could get airflow all around, but i think it should be fine as is.