Underbody/Interior/Moustache Individually Addressable LED Light Effects
#1
Underbody/Interior/Moustache Individually Addressable LED Light Effects
Hello!
Today I'm going to introduce the first major project I'll be undertaking on my new CT200h. I had previously done this once on my 2013 Veloster, though I used a mass produced version that didn't really meet my standards in retrospect, so I'll doing it right this time!
I'll be installing a full hand-built, custom engineered RGBW (Red/Green/Blue/White) interior, exterior and underbody lighting effects system. To break it down bit, I'm going to be installing 35 feet of NeoPixels (https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-...guide/overview) in and around the vehicle.
What are NeoPixels you ask?
Well they're a lot like your computer monitor and are made up of a bunch of tiny lights that can each be individually addressed by an onboard computer to create lighting effects! You can make them virtually any color and brightness you want and even sync them up with your sound system (something I will be doing!).
Doing this is no small feat and will require a power supply capable of 50 amps at 5v, transforming the cars 12v power. There's a lot of electric issues to figure out and I hope you find it interesting, as well as provide welcomed feedback.
Today I'm going to introduce the first major project I'll be undertaking on my new CT200h. I had previously done this once on my 2013 Veloster, though I used a mass produced version that didn't really meet my standards in retrospect, so I'll doing it right this time!
I'll be installing a full hand-built, custom engineered RGBW (Red/Green/Blue/White) interior, exterior and underbody lighting effects system. To break it down bit, I'm going to be installing 35 feet of NeoPixels (https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-...guide/overview) in and around the vehicle.
What are NeoPixels you ask?
Well they're a lot like your computer monitor and are made up of a bunch of tiny lights that can each be individually addressed by an onboard computer to create lighting effects! You can make them virtually any color and brightness you want and even sync them up with your sound system (something I will be doing!).
Doing this is no small feat and will require a power supply capable of 50 amps at 5v, transforming the cars 12v power. There's a lot of electric issues to figure out and I hope you find it interesting, as well as provide welcomed feedback.
Last edited by Belarr; 05-13-17 at 06:08 AM.
#2
(04/29/2017)
As you may know, there's a few unused fuse positions on the fuse panel in the car, which as it turns out are a great place to tap in to get power and at the same time, stay safe by being able to use built in fuses. I disassembled the fuse box and stripped it down the bare PCB, which took a lot longer than I hoped due to how cramped the inside of the dash is. Once the fuse box was open I was able to test the unused circuits and make sure where I wanted to tap into was electrically isolated from the rest of the car. I soldered and ran 4 new power lines (3 are always on and 1 is ignition controlled) out of the face of the fuse box using appropriate gauge wire.
Looks nice and clean!
#3
(04/30/2017)
- Parking Sensor - Controls retrofit of factory parking system
- Underbody Lights - Lights under the body of the car
- Party Lights - Interior lighting effects
- Moustache Lights - Lights sew in to the Carstache on my car (more on that later...)
- Mode Select - Cycles through lighting effects
Switches installed!
Wires bundled!
Trying to keep it clean in the dash...
It lives!
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Belarr (05-17-17)
#5
Thanks! It's definitely very labor intensive, I have about 50 labor hours invested so far in it (and god knows how many research hours!).
I ran a cable larger than your wrist through the center console this weekend and am in the process of posting that update!
I ran a cable larger than your wrist through the center console this weekend and am in the process of posting that update!
#7
05/14/2017
I installed the 50 amp 12v -> 5v transformer that will power all this as well as the microcontroller that manages these lights, as well as soldering the 10 inputs that I can use as points of data to create light sequences. The inputs are as follows:
- Left Turn Signal
- Right Turn Signal
- Brake Signal
- Moustache Switch
- Mode Switch
- Underbody Switch
- Party Mode Switch
- Subwoofer Audio
- 12v+ Ignition
- Dash 12v+
Once all the wire harnesses were run and installed I used a 12 pin aviation connector in the engine bay to create a removable harness. The removable harness allows me to create and test the engine bay side of the harness outside the car.
Onto the outside harness! Seeing as I haven't installed anything except the Moustache yet, I decided to only create that part of the harness for the time being. Each pair of wires requires various inline capacitors and resistors to shield the LEDs from voltages spikes and various electrical gremlins, so I'm adding them here at the ends.
That's it for now, more to come soon! (I should be posting a video here shortly!)
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#9
http://www.ch4x4.com/product/ch4x4-c...push-switches/
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ISFPOWER (05-18-17)
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mthornto88 (06-26-17)
#12
So, I did get the interior lights done and will be posting a video shortly! The interior consists of 6 strips running all the way back to the trunk of the car.
I am also custom engraving lighted door sills!
Last weekend I did a ton of fine tuning of software and some vinyl work!
I am also custom engraving lighted door sills!
Last weekend I did a ton of fine tuning of software and some vinyl work!
#13
This weekend was a fun one, I got the Angel Eyes installed in the fog light housing and the brake light internals replaced with my own (it even still functions as a brake light!)
Last edited by Belarr; 06-27-17 at 05:56 PM.
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