- Joined
- Jul 14, 2001
- Location
- Hutchinson, KS
If you've seen the show, David Hasselhoff's car had a light bar on the front that lit up from one end to the other and then turned off again. Here's a way to do that without using any chips.
I've noticed from the relay that I'm using to activate my second power supply that when you apply power to the relay coil, it takes about half a second to turn on. Remove power and it takes about that long to turn off again.
Here's my theory: Get a whole bunch of relays, preferably all the same type. These instructions are written with a Radio Shack relay in mind. It has two wires for the coil, one for a common wire, one for a normally closed (NC) switch, and one for a normally open (NO) switch.
Apply power to the coil and the NC switch opens and the NO switch closes.
Feed 12V into the common wire of relay 1, and attach a ground wire to one of the coil wires. Connect the NC wire of relay 1 to one of the coil wires of relay 2 as well as the common wire of relay 2. Connect the other coil wire to ground.
Run a wire from the NO wire of relay 2 to a coil wire of relay 3 and its common wire, and connect the other coil wire to ground. This is where you can put in as many relays as you want. Connect one coil wire of each to ground, and connect the NO wire of one to the other coil wire and the common wire of the next one.
When you get to the last relay, run a wire from the NO wire on it to the other coil wire on the first relay.
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How would it work? Simple. When power is applied, it goes through the NC switch on the first relay to the coil of the next. After a short delay, that relay closes and sends power to the coil of the next relay.
When it reaches the end of the line, the current will go to the coil of the first relay and power up its coil, opening the NC switch. All the relays will turn off in sequence again, each with a short delay. When the last relay switches off, it will switch off relay 1 and close its NC switch again, making the cycle repeat.
I'm probably going to try this out sometime soon. Just be advised that you'll probably want to have this device buried deep in the case with wires leading to the lights, since the relays will make clicking sounds when they open and close.
Yet another weird idea from me.
I've noticed from the relay that I'm using to activate my second power supply that when you apply power to the relay coil, it takes about half a second to turn on. Remove power and it takes about that long to turn off again.
Here's my theory: Get a whole bunch of relays, preferably all the same type. These instructions are written with a Radio Shack relay in mind. It has two wires for the coil, one for a common wire, one for a normally closed (NC) switch, and one for a normally open (NO) switch.
Apply power to the coil and the NC switch opens and the NO switch closes.
Feed 12V into the common wire of relay 1, and attach a ground wire to one of the coil wires. Connect the NC wire of relay 1 to one of the coil wires of relay 2 as well as the common wire of relay 2. Connect the other coil wire to ground.
Run a wire from the NO wire of relay 2 to a coil wire of relay 3 and its common wire, and connect the other coil wire to ground. This is where you can put in as many relays as you want. Connect one coil wire of each to ground, and connect the NO wire of one to the other coil wire and the common wire of the next one.
When you get to the last relay, run a wire from the NO wire on it to the other coil wire on the first relay.
----
How would it work? Simple. When power is applied, it goes through the NC switch on the first relay to the coil of the next. After a short delay, that relay closes and sends power to the coil of the next relay.
When it reaches the end of the line, the current will go to the coil of the first relay and power up its coil, opening the NC switch. All the relays will turn off in sequence again, each with a short delay. When the last relay switches off, it will switch off relay 1 and close its NC switch again, making the cycle repeat.
I'm probably going to try this out sometime soon. Just be advised that you'll probably want to have this device buried deep in the case with wires leading to the lights, since the relays will make clicking sounds when they open and close.
Yet another weird idea from me.
