{"id":6311,"date":"2015-01-02T23:39:00","date_gmt":"2015-01-03T04:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spookyblue.com\/spookyblog\/?p=6311"},"modified":"2015-05-21T16:54:04","modified_gmt":"2015-05-21T21:54:04","slug":"12v-haunt-lighting-with-hacked-led-christmas-lights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/spookyblue.com\/spookyblog\/12v-haunt-lighting-with-hacked-led-christmas-lights","title":{"rendered":"12V Haunt Lighting with Hacked LED Christmas Lights"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Green<\/a><\/p>\n

I think the secret to a successful blog is to write only about five articles a year. Your traffic, if you ever had any, will fall through the floor, and that really takes the pressure off.<\/p>\n

This makes perfect sense to anyone who has ever been labeled a curmudgeon<\/em>. If it doesn’t describe you, however, then my definition of “successful” is almost certainly different from yours, in which case you should probably just ignore that first bit altogether.<\/p>\n

If you’re just joining the party, we are transforming LED Christmas lights into a 12V haunt lighting system. In part I<\/a>, we touched on the genesis of this project. Part II<\/a> covered some LED basics, and in this third and final part, we tackle the wiring, lamp construction, and a few other bits that should be helpful if you decide to build your own LED haunt lights.<\/p>\n

\"Experimenting<\/a>Prep the wire<\/h3>\n

You’ll need at least one spool\u00a0of LED Christmas lights that you don’t mind destroying. It’s easier to work in sections, so unspool about four feet and snip all three wires.\"Three-wire<\/a> Yes, there are three wires, and you’ll notice the middle wire connects every nth<\/em> LED. Snip this middle wire about an inch\u00a0from every LED to which it is connected, then unravel these longer wires and set them aside. They will come in handy later. You’ll have a pretty good pile of extra wire before long, so toss the pieces\u00a0into a shoe box, or a bucket.<\/p>\n

Separate the LEDs<\/h3>\n

You should now have a\u00a0strand of LEDs on a single wire. Separate them by snipping the wire\u00a0halfway between each LED. \u00a0When you’re finished, you’ll have a small stockpile of LEDs, most with two leads, and a handful with three leads.\u00a0Trim the leads so they’re all the same length and strip about 1\/2″ of insulation from the ends. Repeat until you get bored.<\/p>\n

Mark the LED polarity<\/h3>\n

\"Red<\/a>As we discussed in Part II<\/a>, LEDs are polarized. Current will only flow through an LED when the negative lead is connected to the negative side of the voltage source. You’ll need to identify the positive and negative sides. There are several ways to\u00a0do this.<\/p>\n