Technologies used to create lighting equipment are constantly moving forward and developing. Energy-saving and LED lamps have come to replace incandescent lamps and have helped to significantly reduce energy bills. A relatively new type of illumination is cold neon, which has been actively used in design and car tuning. Let's take a closer look at what such a novelty is, what advantages it has and whether it is possible to independently install the backlight on a vehicle.
General Description
Modern neon lighting is a flexible cable, inside of which there is a wire coated with an electroluminophor. Contact wires - electrodes - are hermetically packed in a PVC sheath. Such a cable has almost the same physical qualities as a regular wire. It can be easily bent or even tied into a knot. In the latter case, the cable should not be tightened: the sheath may crack and it will become unsuitable forfuture use.
In operating mode, cold neon is quite difficult to distinguish from an ordinary neon tube. However, everything immediately becomes clear after the power supply is interrupted. In the off state, it stops glowing, but remains colored in the color of the backlight or even becomes matte.
Properties
The wire is waterproof and sealed, so it can be used to illuminate rooms with high humidity. The cable, unlike the LED strip, glows completely along its entire length and from all sides for 360 °. You can mount this type of backlight on any surface. The wire can be cut into separate parts. To connect the cord, you need a voltage of 12 volts or several AA batteries. Their number will depend on the length of the wire.
Cold neon is not afraid of sunlight, does not fade with their constant exposure. During operation, even during prolonged operation, such a wire does not heat up. The electroluminescent cord used to make the backlight consumes a small amount of electricity. A huge advantage is that, unlike LED strips, neon wire does not require specific maintenance.
Application in tuning
Some vehicle owners want to give their "iron horse" an unusual look. It is for these purposes that tuning exists. It creates an individual and original imagecar. Recently, the use of cold neon has become popular among car owners. Connecting and installing this type of backlight is quite simple to do on your own.
Surely many of you have seen cars with beautiful illumination of the bottom. This is just an example of the use of neon. And if earlier such tuning seemed to be a rarity, it is now becoming more common. Also neon wire can be installed in the interior of the vehicle.
Working principle
Cold neon works on the principle of electroluminescence effect. A high-frequency current is applied to the copper wire inside the cord and the contact wires. This is a drive to the appearance of an electric field that makes the phosphor layer glow, and the neon wire itself begins to emit a beautiful soft, and most importantly, uniform light.
Varieties
Large color range will allow you to choose the most suitable light for a particular occasion. On sale you can find yellow-green, red, blue, turquoise, green, orange, purple and pink. This type of illumination also differs by generation: CW (second generation), CWS (second generation of cold neon with a train), CWH (third generation). The first generation has not been used in practice for a long time, because the light from such a wire is too dim and weak.
Electroluminescent lighting technology can be purchased in several basic forms:
- inthe shape of a luminous flexible wire;
- ribbon-shaped;
- tube-shaped;
- in the form of light paper.
Of all the types, as it has already become clear, it is the luminous wire that has gained the most popularity.
What do you need to install?
Cold neon in a car can be put both outside and inside. The luminous cord can be bent and given absolutely any shape, which means that it will be convenient to use it for interior decoration. What tools are required for this? To successfully mount neon lights, you will need a set of screwdrivers, a fuse, wrenches with asterisks (for unwinding the panels in the cabin), electrical tape, a soldering iron, heat shrink, an inverter and adapters. The latter, by the way, are usually attached to the set with the wire itself.
Experts recommend using the second generation of neon with a train to illuminate the interior. You should also pay attention to the cross section of the cord. Not only the degree of illumination, but also the entire installation process will depend on it. To select a suitable wire, you must first measure the gaps between the panels.
How to install on the car?
Practically any car owner will be able to put cold neon with their own hands into the interior of a vehicle. If there are any doubts about your own abilities, it is better to consult with a specialist or someone who has already had experience in installing this kind of backlight. In some cases, it makes sense to entrust car tuning to professionals.
Before you connect the cold neon, disconnect the battery. Having chosen the place where the wires will pass, it is necessary to calculate the length of the neon cord. At one end of the wire, cut off the outer sheath 10 mm from the edge and prepare the wires for connection to the power supply. To do this, you need to strip the copper wire from the phosphor layer. On the other hand, the wire is closed with sealant or a protective cap.
It is necessary to remove the insulation from the ends of the connector and strip them. After that, you need to take one end of the connector and solder it to the copper wire. The other end of the connector is soldered to thin wires. After these manipulations, it is necessary to close the place of soldering with heat shrinks and warm it up with a hairdryer.
Due to the use of alternating current, the polarity of the wires does not really matter. Therefore, any neon wires can be connected to the inverter. The inverter itself is connected to a power source. Now it remains only to turn it on and check the quality of the work done.
Conclusions
It is quite easy to tune the interior of a car with lighting by yourself. You just need to choose the right diameter of the cold neon cord, calculate the length, arm yourself with a set of tools and a guide to action. Difficulties can arise only when installing neon on the bottom of the vehicle.
