Would It Be Possible?

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

Ah, the master mind. So, it should not be an issue if I just splice into those wires accordingly? talnlnky has me worried. I don't want to mess up/total my car. hehehe. THANKS!

It's definitely safe to do. The dome light protected by a 10A fuse.

If you wanted to be super safe, you would add a fuse between your tap point and the LED strings that is appropriately rated for the current draw of the LEDs and the current carrying capacity of the wires that feed them. 24 AWG wire (which would be typically the smallest wire size for the leads of strips like those) is rated for 2.1A enclosed or 3.5A free-air. The LED strips would draw less than 0.25A per strip, so you could add a 2A inline fuse and be safe for the wire size. The 2A fuse would allow you to connect up to 8 of the strips.

When you have a huge discrepancy, like tapping a 50A fused circuit with 24 AWG wire, is where you really run into the issue that talnlnky is talking about. In that case, if you shorted your 24 AWG wires, the 50A fuse would need to pop, but the 24 AWG wires aren't rated for anywhere near 50A, so they would fail before the fuse, potentially catastrophically (i.e. fire).

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Originally Posted by CTScott

It's definitely safe to do. The dome light protected by a 10A fuse.

If you wanted to be super safe, you would add a fuse between your tap point and the LED strings that is appropriately rated for the current draw of the LEDs and the current carrying capacity of the wires that feed them. 24 AWG wire (which would be typically the smallest wire size for the leads of strips like those) is rated for 2.1A enclosed or 3.5A free-air. The LED strips would draw less than 0.25A per strip, so you could add a 2A inline fuse and be safe for the wire size. The 2A fuse would allow you to connect up to 8 of the strips.

When you have a huge discrepancy, like tapping a 50A fused circuit with 24 AWG wire, is where you really run into the issue that talnlnky is talking about. In that case, if you shorted your 24 AWG wires, the 50A fuse would need to pop, but the 24 AWG wires aren't rated for anywhere near 50A, so they would fail before the fuse, potentially catastrophically (i.e. fire).

Another question for you. I'd like to run two of those LED strips, one for the driver side and one for the passenger side. How would I go about doing so? Is there a splice connector that I can buy to do that? I've never done installs like this before (only just replacing). All help is very much appreciated.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

Another question for you. I'd like to run two of those LED strips, one for the driver side and one for the passenger side. How would I go about doing so? Is there a splice connector that I can buy to do that? I've never done installs like this before (only just replacing). All help is very much appreciated.

You would connect the two strips in parallel (i.e. positive wire to positive wire and ground wire to ground wire). You could then tap the dome wires using tap splices (pictured below). Even though this is pretty simple, if you have never messed with this kind of thing before, it's not a bad idea to have someone who has give you a hand.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Originally Posted by CTScott

You would connect the two strips in parallel (i.e. positive wire to positive wire and ground wire to ground wire). You could then tap the dome wires using tap splices (pictured below). Even though this is pretty simple, if you have never messed with this kind of thing before, it's not a bad idea to have someone who has give you a hand.

I'm not sure if I'm getting this right. Okay, so, with the passenger side one, I should splice it's positive into the positive of the driver side one, and the same with the ground? Then with the driver side wires, splice into the blue and pink wires accordingly? Hehe, I kinda don't want to call my friend over for a "simple" job like this since I don't want to take up his time and gas. hehehehe. Well, actually, I'll probably do this at a car meet and have one of my friends oversee what I'm doing. hehehehe.

So, I should order at least 4 of those tap/splice connectors? They're sold in pairs on v-leds.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

I'm not sure if I'm getting this right. Okay, so, with the passenger side one, I should splice it's positive into the positive of the driver side one, and the same with the ground? Then with the driver side wires, splice into the blue and pink wires accordingly? Hehe, I kinda don't want to call my friend over for a "simple" job like this since I don't want to take up his time and gas. hehehehe. Well, actually, I'll probably do this at a car meet and have one of my friends oversee what I'm doing. hehehehe.

So, I should order at least 4 of those tap/splice connectors? They're sold in pairs on v-leds.

You have it correct.

The splice connectors from v-leds are rated for 18-16AWG wire (which is correct for the car's wires that you are tapping onto). If the led strips have leads in that same size range, then you are OK. If they are smaller (24 - 20 AWG), then you would want tap splices that accommodate both (22 - 18 AWG for example). Auto parts stores typically carry a variety of tap splices.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Originally Posted by CTScott

You have it correct.

The splice connectors from v-leds are rated for 18-16AWG wire (which is correct for the car's wires that you are tapping onto). If the led strips have leads in that same size range, then you are OK. If they are smaller (24 - 20 AWG), then you would want tap splices that accommodate both (22 - 18 AWG for example). Auto parts stores typically carry a variety of tap splices.

Cool. I'll order the LED strips and two of the splice connectors from v-leds. I'll wait until they come in to see what gauge wire the leads on the strips are, then I'll go to an auto parts store to get the right connectors. Thanks CTScott!