[Fockus]

Noobie sayin\' hi and needing help.

Hey everyone, I'm new to focaljet and I'm pretty sure I will like it a lot here. I have a 2000 silver ZTS and so far, my only mods are euro upper and lower grills and clear bumper lights.

I will buy some European 2002 or ST170 headlights (with the turn signals housed in them) shortly ... when I find them at a good price.

But until then, I've rigged up my front turned signals in a really "ghetto" way ... but I still have my 2 bulbs behind my top euro grill and I want to get rid of those. I can't just take them out because if I do, the t/s flashes really quick because it thinks the bulb is broken. So I was thinking about replacing the bulbs with some kind of "electric resistance" just to simulate the load of the bulb in the circuit. Anyone knows the specifications of such a load (wattz, volts, etc, etc, etc).

Thankz in advance.

 

[XmilllmontX]

Re: Noobie sayin\' hi and needing help.

just wait for the money to roll in for those headlights.

 

[Fockus]

Re: Noobie sayin\' hi and needing help.

Yeah I'll buy those lights soon ... but until then ... my 2 front turn signal bulbs are loose near the grill and they will probably brake shortly because nothing is holding them tight. And I can't put the stock grill back cause I kinda messed it up in an attempt to make "clear front signals".

So I really need to know this ... can someone please help me with this ...

 

[Blis]

Re: Noobie sayin\' hi and needing help.

Wrap the bulbs into something heat resistant and opaque (like electrical tape) and secure them somewhere out of the way so that they don't break.

 

[Fockus]

Re: Noobie sayin\' hi and needing help.

Yeah that's what I'll do if I absolutely have no other options ... but I thought that maybe just replacing the bulbs with a resistor could do the trick. Anybody ever done this? What resistance is needed?

 

[Fo' Focus]

Re: Noobie sayin\' hi and needing help.

just goto radio shack and buy a bunch of different sizes

 

[Fockus]

Re: Noobie sayin\' hi and needing help.

mmm ... yeah that's one option ... anyone has a more "precise option" ???

 

[Ataru]

Re: Noobie sayin\' hi and needing help.

Buy a multimeter at Radio Shack and measure the resistance on those bulbs. Then find a resistor with the same value to put in their place.

I THINK that should work. Of course I am not an electrical engineer....

 

[stocksilverfocus]

Re: Noobie sayin\' hi and needing help.

I would recommend what Ataru said, go to Radio shack (or Autozone, Walmart) and get a multimeter to measure the resistance of the bulb. I measured a turn signal bulb out a Toyota that I had sitting around and I got a resistance value of 1.5 ohms. Now, when an incandescent bulb (like the ones in turn signals are cold the resistance is very low. As the filament heats up, the resistance increases. I don't know if turning on the bulb to warm it up for a few minutes, and then quickly removing it and checking it (you have to remove it from the circuit to check it, otherwise you'll be getting the resistance of more than just the bulb.)

The only other way I could think to calculate the resistance would be to multiply the cold resistance by 4 or 5. I'm deriving this from the fact that an incandescent bulb in a DC 12v circuit normally requires a switch 5 times the normal amperage (a derating factor of 5) of the bulb as the when the filament is cold the resistance is that much less than when it is hot. For example, a light that normally operates at 1 amp would need a switch capable of 5 amps because the initial current rush when the bulb is turned on.

I'm not sure what your knowledge on electricity is but heres Ohms Law:

Watts = Volts x Amps

Volts = Ohms x Amps

Looking at Radioshacks website, the smallest resistor I could find was 10 ohms, so you may just want to start with them (they only cost 99 cents for a 5 pack).

Good Luck!

 

[Fockus]

Re: Noobie sayin\' hi and needing help.

Thanx to everyone that replied. I'll try to go to Radio Sheck sometimes this week and if I do get this shiznit working, I'll post the resistance I choose as it might interest other people in the same situation as me.

BTW ... anyone has 02 euro headlamps, mach hids, or ST-170 headlamps for sale ... let me know