All Wheel Drive Club

Isuzu Trooper Owners Club UK™
Isuzu Trooper, Rodeo, Bighorn, Mu & VehiCROSS Owners Club
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   Watched TopicsWatched Topics   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your personal messagesLog in to check your personal messages   Log inLog in 
CalendarCalendar  ITOCUK Club ShopClub Shop  ITOCUK Classified Ads serviceClassified Ads
ITOCUK HomeITOCUK Home   dynamic online chat serviceChatrooms  Yellow Diamond ClubsYellow Diamond Clubs

Adding backlighting for the elusive door handles.

Goto page 1, 2  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Isuzu Trooper Owners Club UK™ Forum Index -> Electrics / wiring / lights etc
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
C.B.
***


Joined: 08 Mar 2008
Posts: 144
Location: Central Scotland

PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 2:07    Post subject: Adding backlighting for the elusive door handles. Reply with quote

Something that has bugged me slightly for years, especially when I have a passenger unused to being in the Trooper, is the question of “Where’s the door handle?”
I guess because it’s fairly small and recessed almost behind the grab handle, folk’s seem to have difficulty finding it and usually results in me opening the drivers door to shed some light on the matter.
The subject also came to the fore when another member recently posted a question about the illumination of the drivers door switches…

After looking at the schematics in the manual, probing about in the door power connectors with a meter and then scratching my head…scratch I came up with a fairly easy way to backlight the handles without even removing the door panels. Idea
All that was needed was 2 x surface mount PLCC-2 (3528) LED’s (blue), 2 x 47KΩ resistors, 4 short bits of 7/0.2mm wire, a bit of old scrap printed circuit board and a couple of hours of my time.

First off here’s the power wiring schematic from the manual, the connections in blue are the ones I used, the ones in red are just to show how the rest of the connectors are populated (front view).




I found an old scrap bit of circuit board and soldered the tiny LED onto it ensuring I had a couple of holes to solder the connection wires onto, like this:-




Now it was time to fit and wire, I took the screw out of the door handles and drilled a 3.2mm hole in the top of the moulding, filed it to a rectangular shape and popped the pre-wired LED into the hole with 2 dots of plastic glue to hold it in place.
Then I threaded the wire ends (between the trim and the door inner skin) down towards the door switches and popped the handle back into place.








After pulling the switch panel out, I spliced the connections to the +12v Ignition and Earth wires and added the 47KΩ resistor in line with the positive feed to the LED. Heat-shrinked, taped up the connections and put the panel back.




Powered it up to see the result…. Subtle backlighting which also manages to cast some light onto the door grab handle too. I used a high resistor value to reduce the current to the LED so much it’s extremely dull compared to its potential light output.
The pictures here were taken from waist level and light enhanced slightly, but you don’t actually see any pin-point of light in the sitting position so it’s not any distraction while driving.  Cool

Drivers side


Passengers side


Another niggle sorted.  Smile
_________________
'00 3.5i V6 SWB Trooper (18 MPG Embarassed Sad )
'02 SAAB 95T Aero (F.A.F.  Cool )
'19 1.5D Nissan Van (Mr. NV  alien )
Back to top
View user's profile Send personal message
Google
Sponsor





PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 2:07    Post subject: Google Ads keep this community free to join!


Back to top
d12
Lifetime member
Lifetime member


Joined: 15 Apr 2009
Posts: 1214
Location: dublin ireland

PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:47    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice touch that !
_________________
96 3.1 bighorn lwb ,widetrack
Back to top
View user's profile Send personal message
Red Robbo
Lifetime member
Lifetime member


Joined: 17 Feb 2008
Posts: 4129
Location: Where ever I happen to be in my imagination but mainly Far East Sussex

PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:59    Post subject: Reply with quote

d12 wrote:
Nice touch that !


Agreed  Cool
_________________
Khotso...........
Back to top
View user's profile Send personal message
andymac
*


Joined: 19 Aug 2014
Posts: 21
Location: northants

PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 17:16    Post subject: Reply with quote

like that
Back to top
View user's profile Send personal message
Matt Quinn
***


Joined: 08 Dec 2009
Posts: 233
Location: Near Edinburgh

PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 17:48    Post subject: Reply with quote

Worth mentioning that a wee strip of Veroboard would make a good easily-available base for those that don't happen to have a wee bit PCB lying around....
Back to top
View user's profile Send personal message Visit poster's website
eithan h
Moderator
Moderator


Joined: 11 Dec 2005
Posts: 8195
Location: oxfordish

PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 18:14    Post subject: Reply with quote

made it a sticky as i've been wanting to do this for a while!
Back to top
View user's profile Send personal message
Red Robbo
Lifetime member
Lifetime member


Joined: 17 Feb 2008
Posts: 4129
Location: Where ever I happen to be in my imagination but mainly Far East Sussex

PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 21:04    Post subject: Reply with quote

eithan h wrote:
made it a sticky as i've been wanting to do this for a while!


                                   thumbup
_________________
Khotso...........
Back to top
View user's profile Send personal message
Red Robbo
Lifetime member
Lifetime member


Joined: 17 Feb 2008
Posts: 4129
Location: Where ever I happen to be in my imagination but mainly Far East Sussex

PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 21:06    Post subject: Reply with quote

Matt Quinn wrote:
Worth mentioning that a wee strip of Veroboard would make a good easily-available base for those that don't happen to have a wee bit PCB lying around....


Shocked    Not seen that stuff for a while  Smile
_________________
Khotso...........
Back to top
View user's profile Send personal message
Gribble
*******


Joined: 11 Oct 2007
Posts: 8448
Location: Holset H221W

PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 21:47    Post subject: Reply with quote

Its so good to see the right way to do this stuff ,I'm ok with most bits but the values of the components and the reasons for them - ahh .

Nice post CB .
_________________
2 New Troopers !
Back to top
View user's profile Send personal message
Matt Quinn
***


Joined: 08 Dec 2009
Posts: 233
Location: Near Edinburgh

PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 22:03    Post subject: Reply with quote

Red Robbo wrote:
Matt Quinn wrote:
Worth mentioning that a wee strip of Veroboard would make a good easily-available base for those that don't happen to have a wee bit PCB lying around....


Shocked    Not seen that stuff for a while  Smile


Aye... Maplins still carry it, and the Bay of Fleas has plenty. - We still use it to sling together the odd buffer-amp, voltage regulator, charger or the like...

It beats tagstrip!  Laughing
Back to top
View user's profile Send personal message Visit poster's website
C.B.
***


Joined: 08 Mar 2008
Posts: 144
Location: Central Scotland

PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 0:56    Post subject: Reply with quote

I used an old bit of board with gold plated edge connector fingers to give a nice flat solderable surface suitable for the LED and ease of hand soldering a tiny surface mount LED package. But an easy way to find a suitable small board is going to E.B.A.Y. and typing “circuit board prototype” in search, then filter to UK Only and Buy it Now.

You will get over 200 results to choose from, but the best type for this is the Double sided Glass Fibre (FR4) - green colour and with finger pads at the side (pre-tinned with solder will also help).  Paper/Bakelite based (brown) single sided old school veroboard will work, but it’s not so good for this job. Apart from the fact that the copper foil comes away easily from such a small section with a bit of heat applied, the main thing is that you want the LED body to mount flat and fit right into the hole in the door handle plastic with the connection wires soldered to the reverse side. That way the board will mount flat against the back and stick securely, also the LED front will be close to flush with the inside of the plastic moulding giving maximum spread angle for the light. i.e. as designed and shown above.

LED’s to the spec above are also aplenty on the same site, various colours, usually available packed in minimum of 10’s or 25’s for less than £2 delivered to your letter box.
_________________
'00 3.5i V6 SWB Trooper (18 MPG Embarassed Sad )
'02 SAAB 95T Aero (F.A.F.  Cool )
'19 1.5D Nissan Van (Mr. NV  alien )
Back to top
View user's profile Send personal message
Matt Quinn
***


Joined: 08 Dec 2009
Posts: 233
Location: Near Edinburgh

PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 10:43    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Apart from the fact that the copper foil comes away easily from such a small section with a bit of heat applied


Laughing Having taught circuit assembly at FE and HE colleges for many years (I'm old enough to have trained as a cameraman back in the days when the first thing you did was a practical course in broadcast electronics)  And having been 'messing' with more general electronics for around 40 years (since I was about 10) I can tell you categorically that this only happens if you just can't solder properly!  

In which case you'll probably manage to destroy more SMD devices than you'll ever connect!

It's also worth noting that there are FAR easier ways of achieving this...  

Do a search for Pre Wired SMD 3528 Led and you'll find that a packet of twenty, already mounted on a 1Cm square PCB with wires and a current limiting resisitor are about eight quid to your door!  

And for the really adventurious there are pre-soldered micro SMD Leds or 'Pre-Soldered Micro Litz' on the market - We regularly fit these into the most improbable of spaces where a piece of equipment needs illumination that the manufacturer forgot to provide!  They can be literally about the size of a grain of sugar! These do require the limiting resistor to be fitted 'in line' (easy) prefereably covered with a bit of heat shrink. But they open up all sorts of possibilities...

Current Bay Of Fleas listings to search for include...  

111429551450

111023847842

For those who want to make life even easier - a 'UK only' search for '12V Pre Wired LED' will yield (among others) item number 291360226621 - £4.89 for TEN pre-wired 12v 3mm LEDs that require nothing more sophisticated than a small hole, some araldite  and a connection straight to the lighting supply...
Back to top
View user's profile Send personal message Visit poster's website
eithan h
Moderator
Moderator


Joined: 11 Dec 2005
Posts: 8195
Location: oxfordish

PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 18:49    Post subject: Reply with quote

im liking the look of the prewired micro litz ones, i take it they would be ok to use the resistor as mentioned by c.b so that they only just light the area needed instead of flooding it with light?
Back to top
View user's profile Send personal message
Matt Quinn
***


Joined: 08 Dec 2009
Posts: 233
Location: Near Edinburgh

PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 19:14    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd suggest yes... We often drill an 0.8mm with a PCB drill into a plastic or alloy shell (on a camera say) and just glue the led to the backside of the hole - (if you're on metal use a layer of glue as insulation)

They actually come WITH the resistor usually... It just needs soldering in-line .  But if you feel the need to use a higher/different value  - 111614890225 -  A pack of 100 47K is £1.59

But in all honesty the 3mm are probably a bit more manageable for most folk...  One trick with these is to drill a 0.8mm/1mm hole and 'countersink' it slightly from behind, glueing the LED into the 'dent' - Test it first to see you've got 'enough' light for what you want - if you need more just open the 'aperture' up a tad.
Back to top
View user's profile Send personal message Visit poster's website
C.B.
***


Joined: 08 Mar 2008
Posts: 144
Location: Central Scotland

PostPosted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 1:59    Post subject: Reply with quote

I apologize if I’ve caused any confusion and then not been back much to monitor or to answer a couple of incoming messages. Unfortunately a dear and very close friend suffered a stroke which left him severely brain damaged, so we have been busy helping his wife sort out some fairly serious issues at home.  Also my apologies if I missed out some information in the initial post, it was rushed slightly to get it finished and up here, but I was pleased to see that some members had found it useful.

If you are going to try this, there are several ways it can be approached with different components and different results. Before you rush off and buy parts, here’s some more information about the concept behind my project:-
The position for the LED was chosen carefully to make fitting relatively easy with no cutting or drilling required in the door or the door trim panel. As there’s not much room between the actual handle and the moulding I wanted to make sure that fingers didn’t catch the LED when a door is being opened.  Also I didn’t want the light to cause any distraction whilst driving, thus excluding use of the bottom of the plastic moulding or the front upright edge.  The back upright edge has the hinge in it and the rear of the moulding fits virtually right up against the solid metal inner skin of the door, as shown in this photo that I didn’t use in the original post (from whilst the glue was drying):-



That left the top, but again there’s a restriction at the hinge end because the moulding curves up to accommodate the hinge (top right in photo). So for me the best position was where it ended up in the first set of photos.  Even at that, the component used has to be very low profile as there’s only about 5mm gap to allow re-insertion of the door handle moulding without it fouling on the aperture. Here’s a rough sketch of the spaces involved:-



As for the choice of connection, the only suitable power with easy access is the “ignition on” from the door switch panel. There is no cabin illumination or lighting circuit in the door (other than the door open courtesy lamp), so to feed from that type of power source would involve threading a new supply wire behind the panels beside the foot area, through the door conduits and into the doors, thus requiring complete removal of the door panels to fit.

If you are using a 3528 LED a 47K ohm resistor is a good value for intensity in this application, but if other smaller or lower intensity LED’s are chosen it will probably require a lower value to achieve a similar effect. You can go almost as low as you want (therefore as bright as you want) as long as you have at least something like 820 ohms to protect the LED at alternator level voltages.  Similarly if a pre-wired option with its own current limiting resistor is used, it will probably have a low resistor value on the board and will probably be very bright - in which case you can reduce the brightness by added another (higher value) resistor at the wiring connection end.
Lastly, the 3528 has a fairly wide viewing angle (typically 120 degrees) so is good for “floodlighting”, also of note is the LED polarity mark which is a small triangular cut at one corner to show the cathode side of the device (earth side).

I hope that guides readers through my approach (which worked exactly as I wanted it to) and I wish you happy lighting!  Smile
_________________
'00 3.5i V6 SWB Trooper (18 MPG Embarassed Sad )
'02 SAAB 95T Aero (F.A.F.  Cool )
'19 1.5D Nissan Van (Mr. NV  alien )
Back to top
View user's profile Send personal message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Isuzu Trooper Owners Club UK™ Forum Index -> Electrics / wiring / lights etc All times are GMT + 1 Hour
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


All contents © Hobson's Choice IT Solutions Ltd 1997 on
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group