Help, Smoke!

Thesystem3 · 07-26-2012, 03:14 PM

I wired my led strip to the green and black parking wire exactly like im supposed to. They worked fine. But then after a little bit they dont work and the positive led wire gets real hot and smokes.. Im so confused as to why this is happening.

After this i took the strip out and hooked it up to a 9v battery to see if it still works and it was fine. I originally had them wired to my headlights but I wanted to change that today.. Help!!

The Wires of the LED are very very tiny if that has anything to do with it

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Jack ffr1846 · 07-26-2012, 03:37 PM

Do you have a link to the LED strip?

If it's nothing but LED's, then that's the problem. LEDs run on current, not voltage and the voltage drop across each one varies with temp, age, current through it etc. If you put a resistor ahead of them, you can turn your car's voltage supply into a rough current source.

Thesystem3 · 07-26-2012, 05:11 PM

I dont have a link because i bought them almost 2 years ago and they were working fine on my headlight wires so the resistor is already built in, i just dont understand why I only have this problem with parking lights and everyone else can wire theres up to their parking lights

minifreak · 07-27-2012, 06:16 PM

Park light as in your DRL maybe? DRL runs on a reduced voltage/pulsing and probably a good power source...

Cougar4 · 07-28-2012, 11:57 AM

You stated you tried the LEDs on a 9 volt source but you have a 12 volt source in the car. One or more of the LEDs may be shorted and that is allowing more current to flow than should be. If some of the LEDs aren't lighting up then that may be the problem. You could also try connecting the lights directly to the battery to see if they work ok with a 12 volt power source. Hopefully you didn't damage any of the wiring in the car when things smoked. When the smoke comes out things it usually means permanent damage has been done and replacement is neccessary.

07-26-2012, 03:14 PM	#1
Thesystem3 Scooby Newbie Member#: 233014 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: PA Vehicle: 2008 Impreza Hatch Satin White Pearl	Help, Smoke! I wired my led strip to the green and black parking wire exactly like im supposed to. They worked fine. But then after a little bit they dont work and the positive led wire gets real hot and smokes.. Im so confused as to why this is happening. After this i took the strip out and hooked it up to a 9v battery to see if it still works and it was fine. I originally had them wired to my headlights but I wanted to change that today.. Help!! The Wires of the LED are very very tiny if that has anything to do with it * Registered users of the site do not see these ads. Last edited by Thesystem3; 07-26-2012 at 03:22 PM.

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07-26-2012, 03:37 PM	#2
Jack ffr1846 Add Lightness Moderator Member#: 13699 Join Date: Dec 2001 Chapter/Region: NESIC Location: Hopkinton, MA Vehicle: 2007 Lotus Elise (From General)	Do you have a link to the LED strip? If it's nothing but LED's, then that's the problem. LEDs run on current, not voltage and the voltage drop across each one varies with temp, age, current through it etc. If you put a resistor ahead of them, you can turn your car's voltage supply into a rough current source.

07-26-2012, 05:11 PM	#3
Thesystem3 Scooby Newbie Member#: 233014 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: PA Vehicle: 2008 Impreza Hatch Satin White Pearl	I dont have a link because i bought them almost 2 years ago and they were working fine on my headlight wires so the resistor is already built in, i just dont understand why I only have this problem with parking lights and everyone else can wire theres up to their parking lights

07-27-2012, 06:16 PM	#4
minifreak Scooby Specialist Member#: 116914 Join Date: Jun 2006 Chapter/Region: VIC Location: Beautiful British Columbia Vehicle: 2006 WRX Wagon Obsidian Black	Park light as in your DRL maybe? DRL runs on a reduced voltage/pulsing and probably a good power source...

07-28-2012, 11:57 AM	#5
Cougar4 Scooby Specialist Member#: 53443 Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Anchorage, AK Vehicle: 2001 LL Bean Outback Winestone	You stated you tried the LEDs on a 9 volt source but you have a 12 volt source in the car. One or more of the LEDs may be shorted and that is allowing more current to flow than should be. If some of the LEDs aren't lighting up then that may be the problem. You could also try connecting the lights directly to the battery to see if they work ok with a 12 volt power source. Hopefully you didn't damage any of the wiring in the car when things smoked. When the smoke comes out things it usually means permanent damage has been done and replacement is neccessary.