Ground wire on 12V system

[ConnieKat]

Hi,
I have a long string of small LED lights that I hope to
put over and around my sink area. Has anyone installed these in their van? I was wondering how difficult these “strip” type light are to install. Has anyone had problems.....or suggestions for installing them?
Thanks🤗
ConnieKat

[IanF]

Oh yeah... multiple standards will drive you crazy. On the modern European cars (Bosch wiring) I work on, the ground wires are typically brown. On my vintage British and Volvo cars (Lucas wiring or similar), the grounds are black. Then there is residential (110V to 120V AC): power is black, neutral is white and ground is green.

The power wiring in old British cars is color coded, so you can look at a bundle of wires and know exactly what those wires are supposed to do.

I haven't given much thought to how I'll wire my van when I add 12VDC and 120VAC power. For the DC wiring, I'll probably look at some sort of industry standard so the wiring makes sense to a future owner (and I'll create wiring diagrams). I lean towards MC cable for the AC wiring for the simplicity and added protection. The way I see Romex wiring run in some van conversions scares me. But I design industrial electrical systems for a living, so my tendency is to over-engineer.

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by ConnieKat

Hi,

I have a long string of small LED lights that I hope to

put over and around my sink area. Has anyone installed these in their van? I was wondering how difficult these “strip” type light are to install. Has anyone had problems.....or suggestions for installing them?

Thanks[emoji847]

ConnieKat

Many here have done that. The wires are usually very small and can be difficult to crimp or solder but it can and is done.

[shadetreevanman]

Originally Posted by ConnieKat

Hi,
I have a long string of small LED lights that I hope to
put over and around my sink area. Has anyone had problems.....or suggestions for installing them?
Thanks��
ConnieKat

Those strip lights can typically be cut to length. If you look at the strip, there are two copper spots between every third light. Cutting at the copper spots, cut the spot in half to get the length you need.

Assuming you don't have any pre-made connectors at this point; Once you've cut the strip, solder a small drop of solder onto each copper spot, then cut and tin the end of the wire you are using to connect to it. Finally, lay the tinned wire on top of your solder/copper spot and quickly solder them together. At the end of the day, make sure the two copper spots do not have any overlap of wire or solder. These need to be two separate connections. When soldering onto the LED Strip, make sure to only hold the heat on it until you observe the solder start flowing. No need to heat the strip up any more than necessary.

Some LED strips are clearly marked + Positive and - Negative, but if in doubt use a 9V battery to determine which is which. The LED strip will only light up if polarity is correct. If you're using some small lamp cord to connect to the LED Strip, (I've found it works well) the ribbed or otherwise marked side of the cord should be used for the negative wire. Why does it matter? It only matters to the person trying to follow you some day. That person may be you, always be consistent.

Once the wire is soldered securely, place an appropriately sized piece of heat shrink over the end of the LED Strip and wire connections.

I've found that the Amazon sourced LED Lighting double sided tape doesn't always hold. In places where I'm mounting to a hard surface, such as my awning, I run a small bead of silicone down each edge of the Strip to fasten it securely. Inside, where I've mounted mine to the backside of my plywood bulkheads, I used spray adhesive on the plywood and the back of the Strip before putting them in place.

Your mileage may vary...

Good luck with your project.