# Adding lights



## Seventy7 (Jul 4, 2012)

I'm a noob at upgrades so hopefully someone here can offer some insight. I'm simply looking to add headlights to cars that didn't come stock with it.

When I look under the body of the Trans-Am from the Police Pursuit set it has the area under the hood where the bulb would slide in..just no bulb and wire, so I think it's just a matter of soldering the wires somewhere and that should be it right? 

The other issue is where to get bulbs like that? What are they exactly and where can I get them? Are there tune up kits that might have lighting accessories?

Any input would be greatly appreciated guys! Thanks :thumbsup:

Jess


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

try MicroMark.com and look for grain of rice light bulbs. there are other places to get them and someone will say so.


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## Seventy7 (Jul 4, 2012)

Thanks Al, hopefully these will work on a few old trains I have too.


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## copperhead71 (Aug 2, 2007)

These chassis in picture show where to connect the bulb wire to shoe hanger.not sure if lighting on truck is original?but it works fine!you can also just stick the wire leads of the bulb through the holes on the hanger.(the chassis that is below the black t/am)But its better to just solder it!


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## sjracer (May 25, 2008)

Perhaps this will help.

http://home.comcast.net/~medanic/Headlights/Tech_Lights.htm


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## bobwoodly (Aug 25, 2008)

Check out the Creative Light and Motion section in the Slot Car Modeling/Customizing
area by slotcarman12078, he is the guru of lighting cars. 

For basic single bulb lights I have used both grain of wheat and LEDs. If you really want the lights to work well and last try the link below for LEDS. They are pricey but will not slow your car down or heat up the bodies and are really foolproof (I am a living example). I also use this company's products to create emergency vehicles with flashing lights.

http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/bl-212.html

I use the 3MM size. Because of the added electronics to make it function on a track you have a bit more work in installing them. You just need to solder them to the chassis and route some wiring.

Below is a sample of how I attach my lights to the chassis if they don't have the special side tab for lights.


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Cool!! Another lighting engineer!!  

As far as bulbs are concerned, you do need to be careful with your selection. Some trial and error testing will be required to weed out the ones that get hot really fast. Look for bulbs that are recommended for 12 volts+. Any lower and a resistor might need to be added in line to lower the voltage. 

Here's a couple tips for the soldering job. Scratch up the shoe hanger plates where you're going to solder. You want a rough surface to help the solder stick better. Pre-tin your wires and the plates. Silver content solder has a lower melting temp, so use that. On low riding cars like Maggys, you might have to carefully grind down the solder after you attach the wires. Best bet is to use a small screw driver to hold the wires down on the chassis as you solder them. This way when you grind the excess solder down the wires will be right at the hanger plates. The less solder you use, the less likely you'll need to grind.

For LEDs, you do need to keep a couple things in mind, especially for higher geared/speed cars like JL+AW Tjets, magnatractions and 4 gears. Due to the fact that these cars use less trigger to move, you'll have to tune your resistors to your track and how you drive. A lot of the legwork has been hashed out in the link that SJ Racer posted up. Because these chassis go faster with less trigger of the controller, finding the perfect balance of lighting at slow speeds yet providing over voltage protection at higher speeds can be frustrating. Over loaded LEDs will fail a lot quicker. Unprotected they will cook in less than a second. Beware of wire routings, and avoid bare wires around the pick up shoes, particularly after the resistor! Also, note that LEDs are polarity sensitive. The longer prong is 99% of the time positive, and the shorter is usually negative. If you wire them in series, go long in short out to long in and short to ground. Also note that in US car terms, the driver's side is the positive.

I have found but have yet to try voltage regulator boards which can take up to 18 volts and keep the output at a steady 5 volts (At least that's how I'm interpreting it). If I ever get to test them I'll post up the results in my CL&M thread. 

Evans Designs (linked by Bobwoodly) are great folks to work with. They can custom tailor boards to your application. Their blinkie LEDs are the only ones I've found that work every time (only 1 dud in all of the ones I bought, and they replaced it free). The can run up to 4 blinkies off a single board and they are plug and play. They may also be able to make a board that powers 2 white and 2 red LEDs for headlights and taillights. Best to call them for custom orders to get your order straight. It's also best to talk to the lady there as she's the electrical wizard.


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## Seventy7 (Jul 4, 2012)

Wow!! Awesome info!! Thanks a ton guys! :thumbsup:


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