Car mechanics - need your help

[SHYNEMAN123]

Re: Car mechanics - need your help

Haha I guess I'll take it to a local electrical shop or something tomorrow and have them check it out. Will keep you guys posted.

Do you have any cordless pwr tools ? one of those batterys would work

[Eddie6th]

Re: Car mechanics - need your help

Haha I guess I'll take it to a local electrical shop or something tomorrow and have them check it out. Will keep you guys posted.

If you're not sure,you're doing the best thing and going to an auto electrician.

If you are just wanting to see if the lights are functioning properly,just use the connector for the lighter. That is about the simplest way.

Are these lights for underneath your car. A lot of young guys are into them here,but the cops aren't to keen on them. I believe it's okay,as long as you are not actually driving while they are turned on. So,you might want to put a switch nearby on your dash.

[agp423]

Re: Car mechanics - need your help

If you're not sure,you're doing the best thing and going to an auto electrician.

If you are just wanting to see if the lights are functioning properly,just use the connector for the lighter. That is about the simplest way.

Are these lights for underneath your car. A lot of young guys are into them here,but the cops aren't to keen on them. I believe it's okay,as long as you are not actually driving while they are turned on. So,you might want to put a switch nearby on your dash.

Nope, haha last thing I want to do is to make my Cadillac look like an 1995 Civic
How do I hook up the lights to the cig lighter inside?

[Eddie6th]

Re: Car mechanics - need your help

Nope, haha last thing I want to do is to make my Cadillac look like an 1995 Civic
How do I hook up the lights to the cig lighter inside?

I'm glad to hear that!...Sorry to insult you!

Most of them around here are Fiat Puntos or Peugot 106's..

Normally,the connector is directly behind the lighter. I don't know what the facia is like in your car,so I don't know how it is constructed. On many cars,it just involves a simple removal of the panel where the lighter is,normaly a couple of screws,but again,I don't know for your car .On my car,it's actually possible to reach the connector without removing,just as an example. You could have a look. If it's a big deal to get to it,you might aswell wait 'till tomorrow.

What kind of lights are they?

[agp423]

Re: Car mechanics - need your help

I don't have a cig lighter in my car, but I do have the 12V outlet, but I'm assuming they're almost the same if you can use the cig lighter as a power outlet. The lights are strips of LED lights.

[agp423]

Re: Car mechanics - need your help

I just tested the lights on a 12V battery, the lights work fine and are very bright, so the possibility that the lights are blown or they are not bright enough to be seen in day light can be eliminated. The only possibility is that the spare fuse slot gets no power. But then again, I hooked it up to the fog light's fuse with hot and negative on the battery with ground and the lights don't come on when I turn on the car/fog lights (although the fogs lights do come on). Any idea what's wrong?

[Eddie6th]

Re: Car mechanics - need your help

Be carefull there! You don't want any damage done,like overload. You're trying to use a point that is already in use for something else.

Can you not get in touch with a dealership? They will be able to tell you precisely where you can attatch it. Even if you go and speak to one of the mechanics,they will show you where to take the source from and where's the easiest place to pass the cables. That will save you a lot of hassle and guesswork.

[agp423]

Re: Car mechanics - need your help

I'd rather not go through the dealer since anything with them will make everything more complicated (voiding warranty, charges, using maintenance pts etc).

I got a multimeter and did some testing on 2 fuse slots, one is spare, one is for fog lights, here are the results.

Spare Fuse:
Continuity - No
Power with key in without fuse - No
Power with ignition without fuse - No

Fog Fuse:
Continuity - Yes
Power with key in without fuse - No
Power with ignition without fuse - No
Fog lights without fuse - off

We know that the foglight fuse is there because of the foglights, not just to fill in random open spots, so it should have worked when I put the hot on the fuse in the fog slot and the ground on the common ground, but it didn't.

[Eddie6th]

Re: Car mechanics - need your help

Okay. You've tested and that's fine. I would forget the fog lights. You're adding something to it,which is not a good idea.

I know that looking for a free point is giving you a bit of bother here. That is your easiest and safest option.

You mentioned earlier about the cables not being long enough to pass from the cabin to the bay. Just buy some of the same wiring and connect them. If you pass wiring through the bay,which is normal,you'll have to make sure it is tidy,secure,and insulated from heat.

An example: 3+ years ago,I fitted guages on the dash. I found a point behind the instrument cluster,using a multimeter. On my car,it was a blanked off ABS sensor connector. My car doesn't have ABS,whereas other models do. I used that to supply the current to the guages.

Obviously,I can't specifically tell you what is okay to use on your car....as I have no idea. But if you can find a point like that,then you'll be up an' running in no time. That was why I suggested the fag lighter/connector. It is the easiest to locate,without asking 'which','what' and 'where'?connector.

Apart from all that,there's not really anything else I can suggest. Maybe you could try a forum for Cadillac car owners?

[agp423]

Re: Car mechanics - need your help

The only person I know from Cadillac forums who did this mod (successfully) is on vacation right now, so I can't get a hold of him. I'll have to make a thread on the forum or ask a mechanic. I'll post the results when I find out how to make the lights work.

[Eddie6th]

Re: Car mechanics - need your help

Okay. Maybe put in a pic or 2 when you're done

[roushstage2]

Re: Car mechanics - need your help

I just tested the lights on a 12V battery, the lights work fine and are very bright, so the possibility that the lights are blown

If they work, how could they be blown? If you want to add it to a fuse spot, I believe they sell "Add-A-Fuse" kits at parts stores...

[Tim Lingor]

Re: Car mechanics - need your help

Morning,

From your tests, those are empty, non-powered slots on the fuse block.

Firstly, if it were me, I would not be trying to tap into the fuse block in the first place. The likelihood of you popping fuses, doing damage or even accidently shorting things out deploying the very expensive air bags are very high.

I would use a relay system and hook directly to your battery. Websites like PIAA or Hella should have wiring diagrams on how to hook up a set of lights.



Tim

[LacViet]

Re: Car mechanics - need your help

You can buy an Add a Circuit such as this one online or at local auto part:

http://www.parts-express.com//pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=071-585

Then find the circuit for the dome light, remove the fuse, add the add a circuit, put back the fuse, and connect the positive wire of the LED light strip to the wire on add a circuit, negative to any ground point inside the fuse box. Hope it helps.

[agp423]

Re: Car mechanics - need your help

You can buy an Add a Circuit such as this one online or at local auto part:

http://www.parts-express.com//pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=071-585

Then find the circuit for the dome light, remove the fuse, add the add a circuit, put back the fuse, and connect the positive wire of the LED light strip to the wire on add a circuit, negative to any ground point inside the fuse box. Hope it helps.

I think I'll try this. I'm going to go my local NAPA and see if they have these things.