SOLVED - A good DC wire to tap for a DC led? By trailheadmike (Read 978 times)

[trailheadmike]

I purchased two nice LED marker lights to replace the rear two red reflectors on my 257cc. I didn't realize they were DC leds, so I cannot tap the license plate light's power like I planned to.

I know the horn and blinkers are DC (they work with just the key turned) but they are operated by a switch, so it seems to me I'd have to make the tap before i got to the switch (to use the horn for example) and those wires are bundled up tight in the harness. I'd rather not cut in if I don't have to. Does anyone know if the power to the enricher is DC? that's pretty accessible.

Am I making this too complicated? Anyone have a suggestion for a good wire? Thanks in advance.

[tvnacman]

battery fuse box

[Cruiser]

I replaced the license plate light with an LED on my YY250T which verifies that it runs on DC like all the rest of the lights on the scoot. I believe your scoot should be the same too. What makes you think that the license light is AC?

I'm running LED marker/directionals both front and rear on my VIP50.



Also added red LED light strips underneath. Gives good visibility at night.

[squeekie]

I tapped into my license plate light to light 2 12" led strips on my scooter. They come on when key is turned on.

[trailheadmike]

Hmmmm. I assumed that the license plate was AC since it (1) does not go on when you turn the key, and (2) the marker lights didn't work when I tapped into the power line.

I just checked the website (http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=%2Fspecs%2FLPC.htm) and sure enough it is DC. So, (a) why doesn't its power line power the markers, and (b) why won't the license plate light come on with the key? The only thing that comes with a key on my scoot that you don't have to hit a switch is the gas gauge.
Here are the markers by the way if it matters:
www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&category=TRUCK&Page2Disp=/specs/m11.htm

[Cruiser]

Just remember that LED's are polarity sensitive. If you hook them up with the leads reversed, they will not light.

Some scoots with the blocking diode will have lights only when the scoot is running. I'm assuming that the license plate light does come on when the scoot is running in your case. This would still be a DC light.

[trailheadmike]

I thought of that too, and even swapped out the ground and power wires to see if there was any difference. no dice.

[Jeff]

On my Vog no lights whatsoever come on unless the engine is running. Turning the key on will power the gas gauge and temp meter, and I think the fan too, but no lights. Should be a simple matter of tying into the license plate light wires.

[trailheadmike]

I finally got the markers working. When I put in an LED license plate light, the black wire was the hot wire. To get the marker lights working, I needed to attach the black wire to ground, and the hot wire goes to the nut on the attaching screw. Crazy but they look good!

[tvnacman]

guys led's will work on ac the diode will convert the ac to usable dc .
the led's may burn out prematurely

John