Modifying an EL Inverter

EL Wire/Tape/Panels, LEDs, pixels and strips, LCDs and TFTs, etc products from Adafruit

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ccollins01
 
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Modifying an EL Inverter

Post by ccollins01 »

I'm trying to modify an EL inverter to take a lithium battery. So far I have not been successful at simply removing the individual battery connections and connecting a JST connection to hook up a 3.7v lithium battery. All of the parts I have acquired from this site thus far. Is there something that I'm missing or should be doing differently? I'm needing to get the inverter and power supply as small as possible, but still be able to power the full 2m of EL wire. Is there a special combo of inverter and battery that can make this happen, or do I need some additional pieces to condition the power before sending it to the inverter?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Modifying an EL Inverter

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Which inverter are you modifying, the 2xAA version? I haven't tried that mod, but I would expect the inverter is not super picky about voltage. If you post some pics of what you have so far, we might be able to spot the problem.

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ccollins01
 
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Re: Modifying an EL Inverter

Post by ccollins01 »

Yes, I am using the 2 AA inverter. I'll post some pics tonight when I get back to the project. I've spliced the connectors, but so far not even the LED on the inverter has powered on. The one battery that I have tried with one of my modded inverters was the Lithium Cylindrical 3.7v 2200mah figuring that this would be the closest to the AA power I had. On one of my modded inverters I think something shorted. When I plugged in the battery - after already having the EL wire connected to the other end - there was a tiny "pop", I suspect a capacitor or circuit got blown. On my other one, either it has already blown without giving a sign, or something is not right.

In making my connections I simply spliced color for color on the inverter board and the battery connection, with a JST connector between for disconnecting the battery.

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mjbird
 
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Re: Modifying an EL Inverter

Post by mjbird »

Let me know what you find out. I want to mod my inverter (WY-ELI) (2 AA) so that I can step down from 5V to 3V (I figure a zener diode can do that??) and I'd want to use an external switch (this is going to be embedded in a supersoaker) and finally, if I could get it so it didn't blink but just went to straight on, that would be the best.
Does anyone have a schematic for this inverter so I can figure out what I need to cut or short?

Good luck on your project, too.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Modifying an EL Inverter

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

We don't manufacture these in-house, so we do not have schematics for them.

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