el wire and inverter trouble

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rini956
 
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el wire and inverter trouble

Post by rini956 »

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.
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Connection. Red with black. And red/black with grey/black.
Connection. Red with black. And red/black with grey/black.
IMAG0873.jpg (773.7 KiB) Viewed 422 times
IMAG0872.jpg
IMAG0872.jpg (717.43 KiB) Viewed 422 times

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: el wire and inverter trouble

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Did you verify the polarity coming from the 12v car adapter? The positive wire should connect to the red wire on the inverter

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rini956
 
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Re: el wire and inverter trouble

Post by rini956 »

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.

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Franklin97355
 
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Re: el wire and inverter trouble

Post by Franklin97355 »

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.

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rini956
 
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Re: el wire and inverter trouble

Post by rini956 »

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.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: el wire and inverter trouble

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

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.

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rini956
 
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Re: el wire and inverter trouble

Post by rini956 »

Don't have a way of checking the polarity of the wires. Not sure how

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rini956
 
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Re: el wire and inverter trouble

Post by rini956 »

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.
Works with a battery pack.
IMAG0881.jpg (701.26 KiB) Viewed 364 times
Red and black solids on both
Red and black solids on both
IMAG0880.jpg (790.6 KiB) Viewed 364 times

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: el wire and inverter trouble

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

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

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rini956
 
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Re: el wire and inverter trouble

Post by rini956 »

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?

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rini956
 
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Re: el wire and inverter trouble

Post by rini956 »

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

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: el wire and inverter trouble

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

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

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rini956
 
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Re: el wire and inverter trouble

Post by rini956 »

Do you all have a low brightness blue el? Or are they all the same intensity

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: el wire and inverter trouble

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

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.

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