Adding lights to 8109 flatbed truck

[OleBM]

I love the idea of adding this sort of lights to lego models. I don't know ANYTHING about electronics or soldering, so does anyone know if there's a "guide" for dummies on the net? This looks so much better than the normal PF lights, which doesn't light things up that much..

[Someonenamedjon]

Just buy some leds and add a battery!

[Robvdveer]

Hi Ole, I dd put up a little tutorial earlier on fitting the lights, i don,t know if you saw it: http://simplicate.weebly.com/1/post/2013/05/about-adding-led-lights-to-lego-technics.html

And there are massive amounts of tutorials on the internet about electronics and soldering. I especially liked the tutorials at www.sparkfun.com they range from basic soldering all the way to creating custom PCB's.

[OleBM]

Thanks! That looks like a simple enough tutorial to start with

But will any LEDs do? And how do you make them compatible with PF battery boxes?

[Someonenamedjon]

so, there is a positive and negative side. if you look inside the LED you will find a big flat thing and a smaller flat thing that make up a square.

EDIT: CRAP PICTURE MESSED UP

https://www.google.com/search?q=led+map&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS479US479&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=PL29UfizL4ioyAHV8IBg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1536&bih=783#rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS479US479&tbm=isch&oq=led+&gs_l=img.3..0l10.2358.2670.0.3178.3.3.0.0.0.0.219.403.1j1j1.3.0...0.0.0..1c.1.17.img.srW1hLWaUEQ&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.47883778,d.aWc&fp=ebc11b426b797c01&biw=1536&bih=783&q=led

So any LED will work, but you will need to find out its voltage. IF you use, say. 5 volts on a 1 volt led, it will blow up, but only on the inside. IF you only have these two, you can use a resistor, which powers the battery power down. To make them compatible with pf you will need to cut wires. find the positive and negative, connect them, and then you are done.

WARNING: DO NOT TOUCH THE TWO WIRES TOGETHER! THEY WILL SHORT CIRCUIT, BECOME VERY HOT, AND MAY BLOWUP.

Edited June 16, 2013 by Someonenamedjon

[Robvdveer]

Always use a resistor when lighting a led. Without, it won't burn your hose down, but your batteries will be flat instantly, and the led will be ready for the trashcan. It's not difficult, just get a good tutorial from google or youtube..

[Someonenamedjon]

You don't always need a resistor, i currently have some leds on my chinese yoyo without a resistor, and many of the key chain flashlights don't use resistors.

[Robvdveer]

I'm sure there are situations where the leds have some kind of built in resistor, but that's not common. Not everybody knows how a multimeter works and how electronics work, so the basic advice still stands: Just use the resistor unless you know what you are doing.

[Someonenamedjon]

I'm sure there are situations where the leds have some kind of built in resistor, but that's not common. Not everybody knows how a multimeter works and how electronics work, so the basic advice still stands: Just use the resistor unless you know what you are doing.

If the resistor is too high, the led will not shine as bright too.

[Robvdveer]

All this is probably why a PF light costs around €8. I bought 50 hibright leds in China with resistors and heat shrink for €5 incl. P&P.