LED Bar Suggestions
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teezythakidd
Posts: 120
Joined: November 13th, 2014
Location: Tri-State Area, USA

LED Bar Suggestions

by teezythakidd » April 29th, 2015

Now before I begin, please don't try and condemn me for not wanting to get a "legitimate" LED fog/DRL kit, because that's... not what I'm aiming for with this project. I don't post threads like this to have other people objectively tell me what to do because what I want to do doesn't make sense to them and blah blah blah (hello, certain DA folks). Looking for insight, not ... directions.

What I want, is/are LED bars to put inside the air duct on the middle of my front bumper. I don't have stock fogs, so I'm forced to improvise. I also don't want to drill holes in my bumper just for fogs (like in the College Hills Honda video). So I stumbled across LED bars and such.
Simply put, I want two LED bars to be on while the car is on. You can call them DRLs or fogs, but I do not intend to have them serve the purpose of actual DRLs or fogs. Its just an aesthetic thing for me. I don't care how not-bright they are, I don't care how badly they perform compared to a Phillips Daywhatever kit... that's not because that's not what I want.

Recently, I've just been digging the Audi-style (although not Audi-exclusive) fog lights/DRLs, that are essentially just LED strips on the front bumper of cars/SUVs. I'm wiling to give it a shot on my car. #2 (listed below) actually has a demonstration picture of the LED bars on an 8G Accord sedan, which is pretty cool! I like it the least because I really want an LED bar with a thin form factor (like #1 and #3).

I have a few in particular that I'm looking at on eBay. My question, really, is since the LEDs have two wire leads (+/-), would I be able to drive them with a controller module, exactly how I did with my footwell LEDs? I'd like to have the option of being able to turn them on and off at will, without having to pull a/the fuse.

If you're wondering, these are the bars I'm looking at:

#1: http://www.ebay.com/itm/271809018912?_t ... rmvSB=true

#2: http://www.ebay.com/itm/301559228090?_t ... rmvSB=true
– I really like how this listing has a picture of an 8G Accord sedan as a demo for the lights lol. Gives me a sense of what it would look like on my car.

#3: http://www.ebay.com/itm/151613649192?_t ... rmvSB=true

Also, if you're bored and like wasting money, which of these would you get for your Accord (purely for aesthetic purposes, not performance)?
"Information is not knowledge." – Albert Einstein

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teezythakidd
Posts: 120
Joined: November 13th, 2014
Location: Tri-State Area, USA

Re: LED Bar Suggestions

by teezythakidd » May 4th, 2015

Yay, so much feedback lol, anyway. Like I said, I want the LED bars on when the car is on, but dim when the headlights come on so they aren't blinding oncoming drivers or peds. Should I get a controller (http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 1200025008) to tap directly into a headlight wire? Which wire would I be tapping into, anyway?


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@ccord10
Posts: 78
Joined: November 15th, 2014
Location: N.Y. Capitol region

Re: LED Bar Suggestions

by @ccord10 » May 6th, 2015

I'd go with #3 they look like the best quality, I don't think your gonna need a controller since they wont be bright enough to blind anyone. you can just wire them into any circuit with ignition power and put a switch inline. 500 lumens is probably equal to 40watt light bulb.

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teezythakidd
Posts: 120
Joined: November 13th, 2014
Location: Tri-State Area, USA

LED Bar Suggestions

by teezythakidd » May 23rd, 2015

@ccord10 wrote:I'd go with #3 they look like the best quality, I don't think your gonna need a controller since they wont be bright enough to blind anyone. you can just wire them into any circuit with ignition power and put a switch inline. 500 lumens is probably equal to 40watt light bulb.


I'm just now seeing this haha but ok awesome! Those are the ones I ordered, too.

You think this switch would be good? It's almost the same as the controller I have for my footwell LEDs, just without the wireless remote function.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Low-profile-Inl ... 541d584747

Or how about an add-a-circuit so I can just pull the fuse when I don't want them on at all?

Edit: Silly me. I'd need a fuse anyway, so I'm gonna go with the add-a-circuit and tap into something that has ignition power like you said. Exactly like how I did with my footwell LEDs.
"Information is not knowledge." – Albert Einstein

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teezythakidd
Posts: 120
Joined: November 13th, 2014
Location: Tri-State Area, USA

Re: LED Bar Suggestions

by teezythakidd » June 9th, 2015

Yay? Lol

Tapped into the fan relay fuse (#21, 7.5A) used a 5A fuse for the accessory, and grounded to the battery. Technically to one of the things that secure the battery to the car lol. Mounting bracket or whatever; that washer/nut.

I have a slight problem though. The fusebox cover. You know how the top angled on the right side.. yeah.. the add-a-circuit won't let it lock in place. I'm gonna have to pick a different fuse, and probably will choose #20 (7.5A) "MG Clutch".. whatever that is. Right off the bat I'd assume that that's the "manual gearbox" clutch? But my car is an automatic, so perhaps that's the AC compressor clutch relay fuse? Or something. Nonetheless, the fusebox cover has a flat top on that side, so that will more than likely work out better than fuse #21 (pictured).

I took a test drive to make sure everything would hold up, and the power wire for the left-side light actually came out, so I'm gonna have to redo that tomorrow. Its wrapped in electrical tape so there's no bare wire anywhere, thankfully. It's driving me absolutely nuts to only have one light working lol.
Also, zip ties. I need to consolidate all the loose wire since I used a lot more than I initially thought I'd need lol... anyway, here are pics!

ImageImageImageImage


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User avatar
teezythakidd
Posts: 120
Joined: November 13th, 2014
Location: Tri-State Area, USA

LED Bar Suggestions

by teezythakidd » June 10th, 2015

Just had to pull the fuse. Light was staying on after the car was off. I gave it like 5 minutes, and it was still on. Didn't wanna drain the battery so I pulled the fuse and tied up the add-a-circuit to one of the wire looms on the far right-side of the engine bay. Gonna fix everything later on after work.


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