Use Car CCFL's in a computer?

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prodigee

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May 27, 2008
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Is this possible? I went to auto zone yesterday and saw some ccfl's that I really liked, they had a switch and all that good stuff, the only problem is that they used a cigarette lighter adapter instead of just loose ends. My question is that is it possible to use these in a computer? I never really have done any electrical mods so the more info you guys can give me the better.
 
If it'll fit inside your case, why not? You'll just have to find someway of powering it, most likely externally out of the case.
 
They do fit in my case they are only 6 inch tubes. And that is my question, how to I power them? I would like to be able to use the switch, and they are sound activated which is also a feature that I would love to keep. If there is a way to mount them using a battery pack of sorts, That would be interesting to hear about as well. I will continue to do research on this matter as well.

Many thanks.
 
Yeah, you should have no problems, assuming your PSU has enough grunt for the task. Your car's electrical system runs on 12V just like (most of) your computer.
 
Well, it probably uses an inverter, right? Find the inputs on the inverter PCB and make an adapter to connect it to the PSU connector.
 
Wow, I have no idea what I would have to do for that. Is there any way that I could just hook it up to like a battery pack or something?
 
Oh sorry, I didn't catch the cigarette lighter connector part in your original post. In that case you can either use the female counterpart to it connected to a PSU connector (female molex -> female cigarette lighter adapter) if you absolutely want to avoid voiding any warranties. Otherwise you could chop off the cigarette lighter connector and connect a female molex connector instead.
 
I guess that would work. Where would I buy the end pins and the molex connectors? Preferably from a store that I could go to and not a website.
 
Not sure, I generally recycle the connectors on old equipment :) An electronics store might have it, though.
 
find an old psu that came with a case you bought. i keep those around just for the wires, fans, grills, and connectors. awful handy.
 
ekuest said:
find an old psu that came with a case you bought. i keep those around just for the wires, fans, grills, and connectors. awful handy.
Click to expand...

Exactly. If you know what they expect you to pay for new Molex connectors, you'd scrounge up every PSU others don't need any more :D

*looks at the pile of b0rked PSUs in her room*
 
Oh my thank god I actually keep all my old stuff. Cause I can just hack the hell out of that stuff. Thanks alot guys. Also my friend just got an extra molex removal tool, and is mailing it to me, however its going to take a few days to get here is there anything else that I could use in the mean time until it comes?
 
ekuest said:
find an old psu that came with a case you bought. i keep those around just for the wires, fans, grills, and connectors. awful handy.
Click to expand...

-Should he really expect to find a male molex connector on a PSU? An old fan would be a better source.

-Is the inverter in the cigarette plug? If so, you'll need to make a molex->car 12v adapter.

-Make sure you check which wire is going where. There's a + and - to respect.
 
How would I know where the inverter is? I am a real novice when it comes to this stuff.
 
prodigee said:
How would I know where the inverter is? I am a real novice when it comes to this stuff.
Click to expand...

It's not an exact science... in case of doubt don't rip things apart and use it as-is.
 
Is there a box other than the plug for the cigarette lighter? If so, that is more than likely the inverter and you should have nothing to worry about. If there is, you have to wire a molex connector to the cigarette plug or find an adapter.
 
For the cost and the effort of hacking apart and putting together the kit from Autozone, why not buy actual CCFL's for PC's?
 
Just for future reference, I've used automotive ccfl's/led's in my comp.

All I did was chop off the cigarette lighter, then wire it thru the 12v line of a molex on my psu.

I discarded the fuse when chopping the cigarette lighter off, but I figure the 12v line on most power supplies doesn't fluctuate too much it'd be okay. Its worked for a few months so far.
 
Yeah, the power provided by the cigarette lighter outlet of a car is generally quite 'dirty' power. Not too surprising with the wildly varying loads on it. The 12V rail of a good computer PSU has 5% regulation with a max of 120 mV ripple, and is aimed at sensitive equipment. I don't think a CCFL's inverter would have any issues with it :)
 
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