anyone know how to get EL wire to glow

[RJs.bargains]

I bought a whole slew of LEDs and other lighting things from diyelectronics, and the LEDs work fine but I cant get the EL wire its basically a wire that glows, to glow. any help would be appreciated.

 

[ScuBaLlama]

Hey bud, a link or some photos would help to describe your issue.

 

[skylix001]

Whats the details on the psu that you are using?

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

 

[∀Z‾soʇɐuɐɥ┴]

Just spitballing here, but have you tried powering the EL Wire?

You get a special balast or something made for it...

 

[∀Z‾soʇɐuɐɥ┴]

EL Wire Pocket Inverter | 2xAA Batteries to AC Output

This lightweight & portable EL Wire Pocket Inverter uses the input of 2xAA Batteries to produce AC Output for funky El Wires, Tapes and Sheets.

www.diyelectronics.co.za

You likely need something like this though you get non battery variants too

 

[skylix001]

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[skylix001]

Used to love these back in the day when you could get it at Naked IT..... now onlt esquire express shop seems to have ready to do units

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[∀Z‾soʇɐuɐɥ┴]

Used to love these back in the day when you could get it at Naked IT..... now onlt esquire express shop seems to have ready to do units

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

Try DIY Electronics.
They have some, albeit limited variety

 

[skylix001]

@Moemfie_ZA thanks for the heads up however most on my systems are now old man builds....

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[∀Z‾soʇɐuɐɥ┴]

@Moemfie_ZA thanks for the heads up however most on my systems are now old man builds....

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

yea, these seem to have gone the route of the CCFL lights that everyone had in their pc's back in 2007-2012 before RGB became a thing.

 

[naughty]

yea, these seem to have gone the route of the CCFL lights that everyone had in their pc's back in 2007-2012 before RGB became a thing.

some of us were using those CCFL lights and watercooling and case windows even before 2007 - i remember self importing a lot of modding stuff a really long time back

 

[Confucius]

I bought a whole slew of LEDs and other lighting things from diyelectronics, and the LEDs work fine but I cant get the EL wire its basically a wire that glows, to glow. any help would be appreciated.

As @Moemfie_ZA said. There’s a little ballast kind of think that you need to get it to work. I may have 1 or 2 lying around that you can have. May have some ccfl tube as well.

 

[BillNaaai]

What car is this for?

 

[∀Z‾soʇɐuɐɥ┴]

What car is this for?

If for a car, it's likely gona be a old MK2 golf or a Polio

 

[RJs.bargains]

Hey bud, a link or some photos would help to describe your issue.

I have connector but I cant get it to light up

 

[Confucius]

View attachment 61162
I have connector but I cant get it to light up

What connector do You have?

El wire works with AC (not 220v). You need something like this to drive it.

3m Neon Light Electroluminescent Wire - GeeWiz

3m Neon Light Electroluminescent Wire for sale online at the Best Prices! Door to Door and Overnight Delivery

www.geewiz.co.za

 

[RJs.bargains]

What car is this for?

its for my interior trim glow

 

[lowracer]

What connector do You have?

El wire works with AC (not 220v). You need something like this to drive it.

3m Neon Light Electroluminescent Wire - GeeWiz

3m Neon Light Electroluminescent Wire for sale online at the Best Prices! Door to Door and Overnight Delivery

www.geewiz.co.za

you mean DC?

last we ran EL Wire, it was through a PC molex connector .

 

[Confucius]

you mean DC?

last we ran EL Wire, it was through a PC molex connector .

No. I meant AC.

That’s what the little driver circuit is there for. To convert the DC into AC.

Electroluminescent wire - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[lowracer]

No. I meant AC.

That’s what the little driver circuit is there for. To convert the DC into AC.

Electroluminescent wire - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

oh. I just checked the EL kits we used, and although it has molex at the end (12v dc in), it has the little converter box

(no I am not mad, when i say we, i mean my daughter and I - was for a school project of hers)

 

[RJs.bargains]

oh. I just checked the EL kits we used, and although it has molex at the end (12v dc in), it has the little converter box

(no I am not mad, when i say we, i mean my daughter and I - was for a school project of hers)

thanks

 

[skylix001]

What i used to love EL was for wrappi g around the case window made it look so mich better. @op how much wire did you buy?

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[RJs.bargains]

What i used to love EL was for wrappi g around the case window made it look so mich better. @op how much wire did you buy?

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I bought about 12m of it.

 

[RJs.bargains]

quick update I have got it working using wall power, thanks for all the help

 

[TSZ]

I bought a whole slew of LEDs and other lighting things from diyelectronics, and the LEDs work fine but I cant get the EL wire its basically a wire that glows, to glow. any help would be appreciated.

You need a high frequency inverter for that.
They're sensitive to frequency and voltage. A good starting point is 400Hz at 220V RMS

 

[TSZ]

quick update I have got it working using wall power, thanks for all the help
View attachment 61168

At 50Hz? That's amazing... The ones I worked with always needed an inverter (with current limiting)

 

[RJs.bargains]

At 50Hz? That's amazing... The ones I worked with always needed an inverter (with current limiting)

no idea where to buy all the inverters and stuff, though the wire is a bit dim which a higher frequency should fix

 

[TSZ]

no idea where to buy all the inverters and stuff, though the wire is a bit dim which a higher frequency should fix

Yes and be aware that lower frequencies (as I remember reading in manuals) will shorten the life