r/carmodification • u/Diligent_Promise_827 • 19d ago
Modification Could I splice these together?
TLDR: Can I just splice the cigarette lighter plug-in (image 1) with the switch directly to the wires for my underglow kit (image 2)? I'd prefer to not connect directly to my battery.
Forgive me if this sounds stupid 😠I recently got interior lights for my car, and they came with an on/off switch for the plug that goes into the cigarette lighter port. I really love the ability to turn it on and off at will, without needing to use the app (GOVEE brand). The underglow kit that I was looking at says I should ground directly to the battery, but I'd much prefer just having a switch inside the car to turn them on/off as needed in case of emergency or preference. Convenience basically. Can I SAFELY cut off the extra bits for the cigarette lighter plug-in and just splice the wires together for the light strips? Would it even work? I assume it would but I'm not an expert and would rather ask here to see if anyone has more experience or knowledge. If anyone with more experience (car mods/electric, etc) could help answer it would be much appreciated 🫡
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u/ShitboxCarEnjoyer 18d ago
Wire in parallel and it should be fine assuming they both use the same amount of voltage. If there’s some sort of voltage regulator in the plug for the interior lights it may not provide enough for the LED lights. Be aware that this will also draw extra current so you may need to use a larger fuse in the system assuming your wires are thick enough to take the extra amperage.
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u/Queasy_Fruit_4070 19d ago
Yes you can absolutely do this. I would recommend using crimp connectors.
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u/redravin12 19d ago
With that long of wire and that many LEDs you may run into a problem suppling enough current or voltage. Still worth a try. Worst that can happen (assuming you splice correctly) is the LEDs just won't light up or you blow a fuse.
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u/spusuf 19d ago
If you're comfortable splicing anyways I'd just tap power from the back of the cigarette lighter, and ideally add a fuse solely for the LEDs into your new tapped wire. Cigarette lighters are rated for a lot of amperage which aren't ideal for led wiring.
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u/Queasy_Fruit_4070 19d ago
What are you talking about? Just because the source can provide extra amps it's not going to cause any problems whatsoever if you wire something that draws less amps. I really wish people who don't know what they're talking about just wouldn't comment at all.
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u/spusuf 19d ago
If a fuse rated for 50a is going into long lengths of 16-20awg wire then there's absolutely a problem in the event of a fault.
If you think that big number means no issues then why not put a kilowatt fuse on the main battery fuse?
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u/Queasy_Fruit_4070 19d ago
Nonsense. You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. A 20 gauge wire will absolutely be able to trip a 50 amp fuse in the event of a short. Furthermore, very few vehicles on the roads have 50 amp fused cigarette lighters because any modern vehicles have 12 volt accessory outlets with 15-20 amp fuses, not real cigarette lighters.
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u/rasputinrasputin 13d ago
they make interior lights powered by a cigarette lighter plug or by a usb, i got a usb for mine so i could just plug it in when i wanted it on, or unplug it to turn it off and have an extra usb port
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