RE: Hooking up euro lights.

["L. M. Lloyd" <ubik@austin.rr.com>]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

That is a cool idea! I have not worked much with automotive voltages
before, so I don't know exactly what components would be needed to
handle that range of voltages and amps, but it is just a matter of
getting out the trusty multimeter, and looking through some catalogs,
which I can do no problem. As far as a PCB goes, I can photoetch a
single layer board no problem, but if there is anyone who can easily
do them in quantity, then I can also provide artwork for the board to
be etched. The thing I was thinking about, was if I wanted to put in
a light sensor, so that the lights would switch on automatically when
it got dark. Might be more trouble than it is worth as far as finding
a good place to mount the sensor, but I think it would be pretty cool
to not even have to manually switch them on! This weekend I will sit
down and measure everything, and see what needs to be done. I might
have access to a wave solderer if I need it, so mounting the
components in quantity might not be a problem. I can also design and
mill a nice case for the board, and at least for mine, I was thinking
about making custom connectors (or at least connector covers) to hook
up to the lights for better weatherproofing. All in all I think this
could be a lot of fun.

The first thing I would want to know though, is what is the upper
range of voltage in a Scirocco. Mine seems to tap out at 13.05V, but
I have heard people throwing around numbers up around 14V. I have
already gathered that the system would need to handle 30 amps max (40
amps to be ultra safe), so what I really need to know now is peak
incoming voltage.

This requires more reference material on lamp elements, what fun, a
car project that is actually up my alley!

BTW, my first name is Lee

Signing everything L. M. Lloyd is a family thing, please call me Lee.








The goal is to overcome the deliberate nature of the process. 
- -----Original Message-----
From: Fry, Larry [mailto:LEF@chem-tronics.com]
Sent: Friday, September 28, 2001 8:10 AM
To: L. M. Lloyd; Jeffrey Lowe; Scirocco List
Subject: RE: Hooking up euro lights.


LM- Amperage:  as you know it's amps that light up incandescent
bulbs.  (ie the filaments resistance to current flow, current flow is
amps..yadda, yadda, yadda)  Stock HL switch is one contact for all
lights and can literally melt down if asked to carry more than stock
amps.  You can configure your relay system so that each bulb, or even
each filament, can have its own switch/relay.  This will allow you to
put massive amps to your lights (using higher-amp bulbs, of course)
and do it reliably. 
You are correct about the low-tech aspect of relays.  Electronic
switching would be so much more ...well, cool.  As one who seems to
have the skills to do it, can you design an electronic system for
us??!!  No mechanical switches... just solid state?  If you could do
this, include part numbers and sources for each component, if
possible?  I'd build one in a hearbeat, because I, too, think this
mechanical stuff and their spade connectors are all too vulnerable to
the elements.  One of our listers might even have the capablitity to
manufacture a suitable board to which we could just solder
components.  Whadda' ya' think?
Larry  sandiego16V 


-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: PGPfreeware 6.5.8 for non-commercial use <http://www.pgp.com>

iQA/AwUBO7SH5gO3tw2TqB1hEQKCAACfQ43WrScqwkJI+xvSBIFUBiFLj6kAoJR9
hxflptIuAVFcGDpbbqQVq6NK
=PNEO
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----


--
Email LIST problems to: scirocco-l-probs@scirocco.org.
To unsubscibe send "unsubscribe scirocco-l" in the message to majordomo@scirocco.org