hey,
iv just recieved a pair of new rectangular LEDs for the front of my car. i need help on how to wire them up to the battery. theres two thin black wires which are supposed to be connected to a power supply, but i do not know how to do it. i think they have to be attached to the battery but i want them to come on when i select my sidelights. please can anyone help me???

In that case you would need to wire them up to the sidelights and not the battery. Wire the positive of the led's to the power wire on the side lights and the negative on the led's to the earth of the sidelights (usually black or brown.) The led's should say which wire is positive and which is negative.

is it whole new lights or just "bulbs"

if its the second just wire them up to were your side lights went

if they dont work swap the wires around cause there diodes remember

its whole new lights and just new bulbs. theres only two black wires and they dont even say if they are negative or earth. i guess il hv to try each one. would you know how to wire them up to the side lights?

sorry, not bulbs

you got any pics m8 cause im mighty cofused now

is there any sockets to plug more wires into at the back of the headlight

and is it mk1 or 2

are these those marker lights? like mini fog lamp units?

i just brought them from ebay which came from china. they look really good. here is what it looks like, and what the end of the wire looks like as well. i dunno which one is earth or live? i have a fiat punto 1.2 MK2 8v

how big are they, they look like they'd be bulbs

there not that big at all. the LEDs are really small. the total length is about 7 cm i would say.

right i can help you a bit...

the black wire needs to go to earth... either back onto the battery or onto a bit of metal work with the help of an eyelet crimp and bolt/rivet....

the live wire needs to be connected to a fused supply how you do this is up to you but....

I'd have them switched if they arnt EEC approved as running lights (like the ring Cruise lights http://www.ringautomotive.co.uk/product_detail.asp?prod=1074 ) they wont be legal for use on the highway so an way to turn them on and off independently of the side lights is always a good idea to keep plod off your back...

I would hazzard a guess that they can be run direct off the sidelight circuit but i'd rather run them off a sepperate supply via a relay to keep them entirely sepperate from the cars electrics (knowing what fiat and electrics are like )

does your fag lighter have a glow ring which lights up when you turn your side lights on??

if so look at this rough diagram..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16533236@N04/1779707270/in/set-72157602743587496/

obviously this was done for Fog lamps of a far higher wattage hence the big cable and 20 A fuse you'd get away with a 3 amp on those if they are anything like my LED strobe beacons.....

this way you only need one wire through the bulkhead....

i put the relay in a water proof box to protect it

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16533236@N04/1779707532/in/set-72157602743587496/

a fuse is a must...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16533236@N04/1779707774/in/set-72157602743587496/

after seeing this...

http://i3.tinypic.com/6wqmy52.jpg


i used this switch

http://www.emergencyequipmentshop.c....html?osCsid=c9a833493a8e2e44ad28f718fd97251a

hope that helps and i take it your not doing electonics at uni and your loan is been spent well on your car and E-Bay

thanks for the help, i will have to try it when im free. i do have a cig lighter with the ring round it, hopefully everything should work out fine, but you never know with fiats!