el wire and inverter trouble
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Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.
- rini956
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 12:34 am
el wire and inverter trouble
Hello. I recently purchased the 12V EL wire/tape inverter and the High brightness blue el wire - 2.5 meters. I connected it to a car lighter connection which I simply connected then ends of the wires to. When I tried to connect it and power it up nothing happened. Not even a wine noise from the inverter which I figured would happen. Not sure what I did wrong if the inverter isn't good.
- Attachments
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- Connection. Red with black. And red/black with grey/black.
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- IMAG0872.jpg (717.43 KiB) Viewed 422 times
- adafruit_support_bill
- Posts: 88091
- Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:11 am
Re: el wire and inverter trouble
Did you verify the polarity coming from the 12v car adapter? The positive wire should connect to the red wire on the inverter
- rini956
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 12:34 am
Re: el wire and inverter trouble
I connected them both ways after the first way, which I thought was right, didn't work. Solid Red from inverter to solid black from car connection. And red/black from inverter to grey/white from car. Didn't work. So I tried the backwards just in case and nothing either.
- Franklin97355
- Posts: 23910
- Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:33 pm
Re: el wire and inverter trouble
Do you have a way to test the plug to make sure it is powered and it's polarity? Never connect anything up backwards. That can instantly destroy electronics.
- rini956
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 12:34 am
Re: el wire and inverter trouble
The car connection is good I had been using it for led strips. And the fuse in it is good. Just not sure what it could be.
- adafruit_support_bill
- Posts: 88091
- Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:11 am
Re: el wire and inverter trouble
You need to verify the polarity. As Mike says, connecting it backwards can destroy it quickly. If the first connection was wrong, reversing it would not help.
- rini956
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 12:34 am
Re: el wire and inverter trouble
Don't have a way of checking the polarity of the wires. Not sure how
- rini956
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 12:34 am
Re: el wire and inverter trouble
I tested it with a battery pack I had. And it worked fine. Which I'm glad. Inverter had a solid black and solid red. Battery pack has solid red solid black. Matched and worked. I guess the car connection works different maybe? Not sure if it's because the wires have the double color to them.(black with grey line through it.)
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- Works with a battery pack.
- IMAG0881.jpg (701.26 KiB) Viewed 364 times
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- Red and black solids on both
- IMAG0880.jpg (790.6 KiB) Viewed 364 times
- adafruit_support_bill
- Posts: 88091
- Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:11 am
Re: el wire and inverter trouble
The striped wire is 'usually' the positive wire. But I learned (the hard way!) not to trust that to always be true. I have seen more than one device where the striped wire was negative. I always double check the polarity when hooking up a power supply for the first time.
A basic multimeter is a good tool to have for projects like this. It can test voltage and polarity, as well as continuity, resistance and current.
https://www.adafruit.com/products/71
A basic multimeter is a good tool to have for projects like this. It can test voltage and polarity, as well as continuity, resistance and current.
https://www.adafruit.com/products/71
- rini956
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 12:34 am
Re: el wire and inverter trouble
Finally got them connected to the car. But now when the car is idle they flicker. When I move the stay on. Could they be drawing a lot of power because they are the high brightness el wire?
- rini956
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 12:34 am
Re: el wire and inverter trouble
Also. Is there an actual blue el wire? I ordered a blue and it's kinda aqua. Is there a blue kinda purple looking one you all sell? Kinda like the blue lights on the fast n furious skyline. Best example of the color I have
- adafruit_support_bill
- Posts: 88091
- Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:11 am
Re: el wire and inverter trouble
At idle, your car's alternator voltage will drop a bit. That could be the reason for the flicker. You might get more stable results if you can find an adapter with a higher current rating.
The blue does tend to wash out at high brightness. There are purple EL wires out there. You might check one of the sires that specializes in EL:
http://coolglow.com/EL-Wire-Purple-2-Ya ... oCfqDw_wcB
The blue does tend to wash out at high brightness. There are purple EL wires out there. You might check one of the sires that specializes in EL:
http://coolglow.com/EL-Wire-Purple-2-Ya ... oCfqDw_wcB
- rini956
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 12:34 am
Re: el wire and inverter trouble
Do you all have a low brightness blue el? Or are they all the same intensity
- adafruit_support_bill
- Posts: 88091
- Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:11 am
Re: el wire and inverter trouble
We only carry the high-brightness type because it is the most popular . If you check with some of the EL wire specialist sites, they probably have something closer to what you are looking for.
Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.