Alright, so I went to a car show today and they had a small swap meet set up in the back corner. I came across this rear panel from a 2003-4 CTS and the guy didn't have a price on it. I offered him $20 and he took it. Looked on ebay, $500 new haha!


So, here's my plan. I've got a house at school next year and thought this would make a pretty cool wall decoration. Get it all wired up so the brake/reverse/license plates lights all lit up. Of course, the problem with that is cars us DC and houses use AC. So I have to find a converter in order to get it to work.

I've looked online and found things like this to convert the current. I guess I'm wondering if you guys had any thoughts or opinions on how to go about this little project.

Thanks for your help!

 

That would probably work. I'm not sure what kind of bulbs are in that but 5A might not be enough power (a single headlight pulls about 3.5-4.5A). If you've got an old computer or game console laying around, you can probably use the power supply from it.

10A should be enough but if you can find out what bulbs and how many of each it would be easy to find out the exact amount of power you'd need.

 

Hmm, all of the bulbs were taken out so I'm not sure how many amps each one draws. I'm gonna have to run up to autozone or something to find all the correct bulbs.

 

Look up what bulbs it takes & get LED replacements. They look cool, draw a LOT less power & last tons longer.

 

I agree, but to give it a purpose, buy a plate like this:



Pop a hole in the middle of the emblem, buy a clock motor (or butcher an old ugly clock) and now you have a one of a kind Cadi trunk clock.

 

can you just use a normal electronic transformer that plugs in wall like for light up sign or something like that or house phones u can get ones that you can change the voltage and stuff

 

Where would be a good place to get LED replacements? Ebay? Would they match the number on the regular bulb and have the same connectors? If I were to use LED's, could I use the kind of transformer that kinter614 suggested?

I like that idea, I've got a licencse plate from the Woodward Dream Cruise I was going to throw in there, but your idea is much better!

 

You might try a hobby store or flea market for your power supply the transformer for a train set usually has adjustable power and are relatively cheap.

 

Well, I found out what lights I need. Still considering the LED's but I'm not sure. The regular bulbs are like $5-6 when the LED's are closer to $15.
Reverse Lights:3157
License Plate Lights: 2825

Any suggestions on whether to go with the normal bulbs or LED's would be appreciated. I have a few 12V transformers that range from 500mA to 1000mA. Would that be sufficient for either of the lights? Thanks guys, appreciate it!

 

I would use LED bulbs, they dont have to be the factory ones either since you are modding it, I would run all the bulbs on a switch so you can turn them on and off when you want, and have the clock motor on constant. I would use one of those big 9V batteries that old school flashlights had (the ones that are like 2"x2"x4") and that battery would run the clock all year.

Very cool find man! Very cool.