Hi All, I hope that you are well.
I am seeking advice for my VW T5 Transporter camper van conversion project.
As standard fit these vans have a courtesy light in the back which can be either off / on / on when door opens. There is a permanent live, and a switched live which also turns off the light after a minute or so, as it does so the voltage is reduced slowly to produce a dimming effect which is quite pleasing.
I am converting my van to a camper, in the back will be several led bars for lighting, in normal use these will be powered by the leisure battery.
What I would like to do is have them come on when the door is opened using the original circuit, this will give the occupant time to get into the van and turn on the lights using the leisure battery circuit. I'm no electronics expert but I suspect this is not straight forward, here are my possible solutions:
1/ Use a relay, I can turn on the leds by energising the leisure battery circuit using the existing van circuit. I like this solution because the 2 power sources and circuits are kept separate but I will lose the dimming effect ( provided the leds can be dimmed but that's another story ).
2/ Place diodes into the + of each circuit to prevent flow. This should allow the dimming effect but I don't know what other issues might arise - over voltage? too many amps? I just don't know and since my kids will be in this vehicle I don't want to take any chances but I would like the lighting to be nice and trick.
Any suggestions on how I can accomplish this safely?
Regards,
Darren
I am seeking advice for my VW T5 Transporter camper van conversion project.
As standard fit these vans have a courtesy light in the back which can be either off / on / on when door opens. There is a permanent live, and a switched live which also turns off the light after a minute or so, as it does so the voltage is reduced slowly to produce a dimming effect which is quite pleasing.
I am converting my van to a camper, in the back will be several led bars for lighting, in normal use these will be powered by the leisure battery.
What I would like to do is have them come on when the door is opened using the original circuit, this will give the occupant time to get into the van and turn on the lights using the leisure battery circuit. I'm no electronics expert but I suspect this is not straight forward, here are my possible solutions:
1/ Use a relay, I can turn on the leds by energising the leisure battery circuit using the existing van circuit. I like this solution because the 2 power sources and circuits are kept separate but I will lose the dimming effect ( provided the leds can be dimmed but that's another story ).
2/ Place diodes into the + of each circuit to prevent flow. This should allow the dimming effect but I don't know what other issues might arise - over voltage? too many amps? I just don't know and since my kids will be in this vehicle I don't want to take any chances but I would like the lighting to be nice and trick.
Any suggestions on how I can accomplish this safely?
Regards,
Darren