Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

Technical => Electrical Tech => Topic started by: dragon574444 on February 19, 2010, 03:39:18 PM

Title: Electroluminescet Emblems
Post by: dragon574444 on February 19, 2010, 03:39:18 PM
So, I'm trying to repair mine. Both inverters are good, they both whine when I put 12 volts across them. At first only one worked, but after messing with the other one (12 volts this way, 12 volts that way, what's under that label?) it works! So, I opened them up and desoldered the panels. Now, if I buy these

http://www.allelectronics.com/index.php?page=item&id=EL-5&extra=a%3A2%3A{i%3A0%3Bs%3A40%3A%2203823345592a403b2f4a37a59384e7ab28f02be1%22%3Bi%3A1%3Bs%3A0%3A%22%22%3B}

I know they'll glow green. But, can the panels be cut to size, and can they work with the stock inverters?
Title: Electroluminescet Emblems
Post by: dragon574444 on February 20, 2010, 09:21:35 PM
Eh, I ordered them anyway. I'll report back when they get here, hopefully with pics!
Title: Electroluminescet Emblems
Post by: jcassity on February 21, 2010, 10:01:36 PM
what part of Inverter did you over look:hick:

they put out AC only,,:D:D

the add clearly states  120vac or inverter input.  therefore the panels require an AC input so why are you putting 12vdc  across them?

maybe you just found your whine
Title: Electroluminescet Emblems
Post by: dragon574444 on February 26, 2010, 06:40:21 PM
Oh, no. I wasn't putting 12 volts across the panels, I was putting 12 volts across the inverter. So, to anyone wondering, you can cut the panels, but don't fold them and expect them to light up after the fold...sizzle sizzle crack....They glow blueish, not really green, and I think they look  nice.

So, behold!!!

(http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l280/dragon574444/102_1433.jpg)

That dead spot on the side is the terminals, unfortunately you can't fold them behind the panel to hide them, the original panel had the lead coming off the bottom. 

One of my inverters died anyway, probably the same one I revived. I'm gonna try to build a circuit to deliver the same voltage/frequency. The inverters gave off 280 volts at 30KHz, they feel kinda like one of those shocking pens when you touch the terminals. Ask me how I know.

*Edit* That reminds me, the site I ordered from is excellent. They shipped the product out the day after the order and they arrived two days later, all the way from California and they gave me a tracking number as well.
Title: Electroluminescet Emblems
Post by: hypostang on February 26, 2010, 07:29:31 PM
WOW  pretty groovy man :D
Title: Electroluminescet Emblems
Post by: cougarcragar on February 26, 2010, 08:14:50 PM
Quote from: dragon574444;311681

*Edit* That reminds me, the site I ordered from is excellent. They shipped the product out the day after the order and they arrived two days later, all the way from California and they gave me a tracking number as well.

I've been ordering from All Electronics Corp. for over a decade; to put it simply, they rock. I've never been let down by them.

Nice work on the lamps. I rebuilt one of the Cougar lamps with a small "wheat-grain" bulb about 12 years ago, but it had a hot spot of light in the center and never looked perfectly right. It looked good enough to use on the car, though.
Title: Electroluminescet Emblems
Post by: Watchdevil on February 26, 2010, 08:34:00 PM
:roxor:: The light color is nice!
Title: Electroluminescet Emblems
Post by: dragon574444 on February 27, 2010, 10:27:01 AM
I'm glad you guys like them. Maybe after I do a little more research and figure out how to rebuild an inverter, I'll offer to restore these emblems for you guys.
Title: Electroluminescet Emblems
Post by: Romeo2k on February 27, 2010, 01:40:24 PM
:iagree:

:rollin:

Great Work!
Title: Electroluminescet Emblems
Post by: rodsterh on March 02, 2010, 09:35:56 AM
Cool, keep us posted. Both of mine are out and I only have one NOS replacement.

Looking for one more NOS unit...:hick:
Title: Electroluminescet Emblems
Post by: dragon574444 on March 02, 2010, 04:03:45 PM
Of course. I've been a bit busy, but I'll get to them soon. I can tell you the new inverter I'm building won't be nearly as pretty as the stock ones. Those were pretty small, at first I thought it was just a cap...