Wiring a Light-bar discharger

[MJ]

I built a light bar discharger by soldering ten 1157 auto lamps together but I am wondering if I did it right. Should I wire them in series or parallel? I wired them in parallel because it was easier. Does it matter?

[RS4_MT_DUDE]

I believe you did it correctly.

[J mAn]

yes it dose. You did it right. BTW you might want to use a cut-off device with your bulb discharger. deans makes a nice one.

[BBalak]

Unfortunatly, Deans has discontinued the Black Box (At least you can't get it from Tower Hobbies). I don't know if they are going to be making a Black Box III or not. You might be able to find one at your local hobby shop though.

Bryan

[rvrrun]

Not that it really matters, but would 1156 bulbs (single filiment) be better than 1157's (dual filliment) or are they wired across both poles? The 1156's usually cost a bit less.

If the Deans Black Box is just a voltage cutoff, building one from scratch should not be too difficult.

MS

[MJ]

I soldered them across both polls, so I guess I am OK there.

I have some zener diodes that cut off at 5 volts though I don’t think they are rated at 20 amps. Any suggestions on how to do the circuit? I guess I could find a mechanical relay to route the amps through the light bar. Does that sound right?

I realize the parts could cost as much as the black box, but just buying it wouldn’t be nearly as fun, and besides, I want to know how it works…

[XXXER]

Check out the past articles on the home page, and go to feb 2000, they have an article on how to build a bulb discharger, and RVRUN, YES, it does matter, the dual element is what makes the 2A draw, that is how they say a 20A disc. with 10 bulbs, that is just the draw of the bulbs, and i think that i have heard there are No. 1157 with single element, YOU WANT THE DUAL ELEMENT! trust the mighty stevoo(me)