Q about lead wire to EL wire connection..

[meow the troublemaker]

hey ya'll

i have this lead wire that houses two actual wires, individually sheathed and then with plastic sheath connecting the two. one of the wires appears copper, the other appears silver.

my question: do i cut/sauder the copper lead to the copper thread in my EL wire or does it matter which side of the lead wire connects to the copper thread of my EL wire



i did a neat EL wire fire-breathing-bunny last year, but i had a different lead wire. i understand the EL wire methods in general.. of so i thought. heh.

PLEASE HELP!!!! thanks a million.

[Token]

The wire is colored so that you can keep track of polarity if the wire is used in an application that requires this.

Battery to EL Driver - Polarized - Red = + ; Black = -
El Driver to El Wire - Not Polarized, either way is fine.

[meow the troublemaker]

what about doing a parallel connection instead of doing a series connection?

[Token]

Since you are not specific, I'll assume you are asking about connecting multiple strands of EL wire in parallel to the same driver.

As long as the combined length of all the EL wire running in series or in parallel is less than the maximum length supported by the driver, it makes no difference how you solder it, series or parallel.

El wire is always a “parallel load” and the impedance is a function of the total length regardless of how you connect it.

[meow the troublemaker]

are you saying that it doesnt matter [i]how[/i] the EL wire is connected to the lead wire, as long as the total feet corresponds with what the driver can accomodate. ..?

but in terms of [b]how[/b], does 1 lead wire functionally connect to 3 EL wire pieces?
EL wire
leadwireleadwireleadlead ? ? ? EL wire -_-_-_-_-_-
^here EL wire ------------

p.s. you are so helpful, thankyou thankyou!

[capjbadger]

Just connect the EL wire's small wire together, and the large wires together. Then connect those bundles to the lead wire just like you would if it was only one EL wire:

\|/ }-EL wires
.| }-Lead wire
[=] }-Inverter/Driver

[Token]

Just so there is no confusion...

EL wire has the following:

Center of the assembly has a wire.
Electroluminescent phosphor surrounds the center wire and insulates it.
Two thin wires are the next layer, each on opposite sides of the center wire/phosphor.
Finally the protective plastic layer.

Connecting single EL Wire to the driver:

Remove ~ 1/2 inch of outer protective plastic from one end taking care not to damage the two small wires or the center core wire. Pull two thin wires back and twist together - This is one point where you will solder. Remove phosphor coating from 1/4 inch of the center core wire - This is the second point where you will solder. Solder the lead wire to each point listed.

You now have a functional EL Wire and lead wire connection.

If you want to string together multiple strands of EL Wire, End to End so that the first few feet are say Red, then the next few feet Blue then the last few feet Green ... repeat the above procedure such that you connect the Driver -- Lead-- Red -- Blue -- Green. The Red El Wire becomes the lead for the Blue, Blue becomes the lead for the Green. You would do this to create say a multi color triangle, or circle.

If you want to connect your Red, Blue and Green EL Wire into a point to make spokes, a star or whatnot, execute the same step for the single EL strand connection for all 3 EL wire colors such that you have EL Wire with a few inches of lead wire attached. Then you twist together all three lead wire pairs and solder that to a main lead wire that goes to the driver.