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need help wiring up some headlights/taillights etc 4 rc car

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speedingpenguin

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Hey everyone i'm new here, one thing i've been wanting to do for a long time is rig up some headlights/taillights/turn signals/underbody neon lights for my nitro RC truck. The body is made of a thin plastic, and is about ...oh maybe 17 inches long by 6 or so inches wide....probably off on the measurements but you get the point (1:10 scale).
I've talked to a friend who works at radio shack and he has no clue...i've looked everywhere online and the best i could find was www.rcneon.com but i dont want to pay alot for something i can probably do myself. I have basic electronic knowladge and am looking forward to learning more. I have built a few computers in the last few months and stuff...big into the computers/overclocking stuff but not too good with smaller stuff. Basicaly i want to be able to flip a switch on the body of the truck and have some nice and bright headlights come on so i can drive the truck when its dark out without loosing it. I'd also like some taillights that stay on whenever the headlights are on as well as brake lights so when i put on the brakes a second set of red LED's or whatever turn on on the back. Another thing that would be kinda cool but not really necisary is turn signals. I know i wouldnt be able to control them before i was gonna turn, but like i'd like to have them turn on on the correct side whenever i turn the car in that direction. Undercarrage neon style lights would probably not be that hard, but if you could help me with that too i would appreciate it. Maybe after that, depending on what body i buy next and use the lights on, i might wanna have some of those yellow offroad fog lights on the roll bar i'm making for the truck body. Please help me in any way you can, the more specific the better i will understand (i dont know all the electronic terms and stuff). Also if anyone has AIM (AOL instant messager), please send me a message. Thanks
 
A LED needs a resistor in series to keep it from blowing up.
I calculate the resistor this way: r=[Vcc-Vled]/LED I
Or the resistor is equal to the the supply voltage minus the LED voltage divided by the LED amperage.
You don't say how much voltage you have to work from.
Lets say you want to hook this up to a 6 volt battery and a LED rated at 2 volts - 36 ma.
So subtract 2 from 6 and divide by .036 which equals 111.
This is pretty close to 120 ohms.
Go higher so you don't exceed the ratings.
Higher means not as bright, but your battery and LED last longer.
You may want 220 ohms.
LEDs come in different colors.
White for headlights, red for tail lights, yellow for fog.
You can buy blinking LEDs.
Wire a switch in series to turn your light on when needed.
This could be from your radio control or a mechanical switch.
 
You wanted brakelights? I never saw an RC car that had breaks. You'll probably need a circuit to turn the brakelights off when the motor is on.
 
lol most of like the toy RC cars dont have brakes, your right. This thing has a .15 nitro engine (like a gas engine), runs usually at about 40MPH on the road, a little less offroad, and let me tell you without brakes this thing would be out of control...Its not like 4 wheel disk brakes or anything, its just a small little brake pad right next to the clutch with a little calaper on it to stop it from spinning....it activates when you push the throtle trigger forward...i dunno if there would be a way to rig the switch up with the servos or something... :roll:

edit here is a picture of the truck...you can see it, its kinda sitting on the little cabanet in the corner of my room...lol pardon the mess lol**broken link removed**
 
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