how do you hook up christmas lights to a car battery

by Miss Vivianne Morissette MD Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

How to Connect Christmas Lights to a Car Battery

Step 1 Purchase a strand of LED Christmas lights rather than incandescent. The lights will last longer and use less battery power. ...
Step 2 Look at the base of the bulb closest to the end of the strand. ...

Step 3 Disconnect your car battery before you attempt to connect the light's wires. ...
Step 4 ...

Step 5 ...
Step 6 ...

Attach the negative side of the LED light to the negative side, and then bring the negative battery wire back to its original position. Make sure both are connected well, and tighten the screw. This will reconnect your car battery as well as connect your Christmas lights.

Full Answer

How to connect led Christmas lights to a car battery?

Attach the negative side of the LED light to the negative side, and then bring the negative battery wire back to its original position. Make sure both are connected well, and tighten the screw. This will reconnect your car battery as well as connect your Christmas lights. When you turn the car on, the LED lights should turn on, as well.

How do you power Christmas lights?

The first is to use a 12V battery and an inverter. An inverter is a little device that converts electricity from DC to AC (or less technically, from battery-type to wall-type). You connect a 12V battery to the inverter, and then just plug your Christmas lights into the standard AC outlet on the inverter. It's like a mini-power plant.

How do I Run my Xmas lights off batteries?

If you don't want to buy a battery-powered set, there are two ways to run your normal (120V AC) Xmas lights off batteries. The first is to use a 12V battery and an inverter. An inverter is a little device that converts electricity from DC to AC (or less technically, from battery-type to wall-type).

How do you wire a car battery to a light switch?

Disconnect your car battery before you attempt to connect the light's wires. Do this by disconnecting the negative wire--unscrew the screw holding the wire down--and then laying the wire where it is not touching anything made of metal.

Can you wire Christmas lights to a car battery?

The inverter allows you to use normal Christmas lights by changing the DC current to a useable AC current. All you do is hook it up to your vehicle's battery by following the manufacturer's instructions, then plug the lights into the inverter. You can get inverters at your local auto supply store or online.

How do you power Christmas lights in a car?

0:452:51How to: Christmas Lights On Your Car or Truck - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipTurn on the lights all you have to do is hold down this button for the power inverter. Some powerMoreTurn on the lights all you have to do is hold down this button for the power inverter. Some power inverters operate differently. And the lights turn on it's kind of hard to see during the daytime.

How do you connect Christmas lights to a battery?

0:111:44Canadian Energy™ - Powering Christmas Lights with BatteriesYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo we could hook numerous strings up to this inverter. So there we go we're hooked up we've got theMoreSo we could hook numerous strings up to this inverter. So there we go we're hooked up we've got the lights on. It's a real minimal power draw on this particular size of a battery of inverter.

Can you wire Christmas lights to a 12-volt battery?

The first is to use a 12V battery and an inverter. You connect a 12V battery to the inverter, and then just plug your Christmas lights into the standard AC outlet on the inverter.

Can I have Christmas lights on my car?

Is it Legal to Have Christmas Lights on Your Car? The general consensus is “no”—it is technically not legal to have Christmas lights (and other light-up decorations) on the inside or outside of your car.

What size power inverter do I need to run Christmas lights?

Many folks use inverters ranging from 150 watts to 1,500 watts. To figure out how big your inverter should be, first find out how much wattage your car's cigarette lighter can handle by multiplying voltage by amps (Volts x Amps = Watts). Add up the total wattage your Christmas lights will be using.

Can you run LED lights off a car battery?

Answering your question: you can't use a 12v battery to power a 12v led strip directly. a fully charged lead acid will have 13.8v which will burn out your led strip if you are doing so. You don't need a current limited device.

How do I power Christmas lights without an outlet?

7 Best Christmas Light Options Without an Outlet!Use Extension Cords.Give Solar Lights a Chance!Use Battery Operated Lights.Bluetooth Lights Are an Option.Don't Forget Rechargeable Lights.Use USB Lights.Give Light Socket Adapters a Go.

Can you run LED lights off a battery?

The most common LED strip and battery voltage combination is 12V DC. Unless you have a specific situation that requires something else, 12V should work just fine. If you want to use standard AA batteries, you can use a battery holder that creates a 12V voltage from 8x 1.5V AA batteries.

What voltage do Christmas lights use?

Common is a set of 60 (2 volts per bulb), but white LED sets use two circuits of 30 (4 volts per bulb).

How do you wire a 12 volt car battery?

Once you have the right size resistor, simply connect it between the positive lead of the LED and the positive terminal of the battery. Then connect the negative lead of the LED to the negative terminal of the battery. That's it! Now when you flip the switch, your LED should light up.

Can Christmas lights run on DC?

As a starting point, most Christmas light sets are wired for standard household AC, or alternating current. This means that they cannot be powered with DC, or direct current, without some modification. However, there are some sets of LED Christmas lights that are battery operated and are already wired for DC.

How do you turn on Christmas lights without an outlet?

How can I decorate my car for Christmas?

10 Ways to Decorate Your Car this ChristmasReindeer decoration kit. ... Reflective light bulb magnets. ... Outdoor LED rope lights. ... Santa Claus side window decal. ... Reflective reindeer magnets. ... Reflective peek-a-boo reindeer decoration. ... Snowflake window stickers. ... Front grille Christmas wreath.More items...•

How do you hook up Christmas lights to a golf cart?

Plug the electrical plug into the 12v socket if your golf cart has a normal AC outlet. If your golf cart has a DC outlet (the cigarette lighter outlet) then pull the lighter plug out and put in the DC to AC converter plug. Then plug the LED Christmas light plug into the 12v socket on the inverter plug.

How do I change a plug in to a battery operated light?

How to Convert a Lamp to Battery PowerTurn the lamp upside down and locate its wire. ... Gently disconnect the wire from the lamp's electrical unit. ... Purchase a 6-volt rechargeable Lantern battery (see Resources) with an AC/DC wire attached.Use a screwdriver to gently pry open the lamp's electrical unit.More items...

How many watts does a Christmas light bulb use?

A typical 50-bulb strand of (non-LED) Christmas lights uses 25 wat ts. So each bulb uses about half a watt. (Remember that, we'll use it later.) Now we need to see how much electricity is stored in a battery.

How many AA batteries are needed for LED lights?

Most LED strands wired for batteries take three AA batteries. In my experience, rechargeable NiMH work just fine and give great runtime, despite their initial lower voltage than alkalines, so I recommend (and use) NiMH.

How much does a 12V NiMH battery cost?

A 12V NiMH rechargeable battery pack and charger will set you back about $20 each . You can get them from Amazon ( battery pack, charger ) or Powerizer ( battery pack, charger ). If your battery, charger, or lights need connectors, you can get those at Radio Shack or Powerizer.

How much does a Radio Shack inverter cost?

Radio Shack has inverters as cheap as $14. You can also probably find good inverters on eBay . Note that many inverters come with a cigarette-lighter plug. If the inverter is an all-in-one device, you'll run wires from the inverter to the battery. If the lighter plug is separate, then chop it off and attach the wires to your battery source. It expects 12V input, which could be met by a battery pack or ten 1.2V NiMH batteries.

How many watts does a AA battery use?

A typical rechargeable AA battery ( NiMH ) puts out 1.2V and is rated at 2200mAh. Remembering that V x A = W, we see that a single battery has a capacity of 1.2V x 2.2Ah = 2.64Wh. But the lights use 25 watts. So you'd need ten batteries to power your lights for just one hour. Ouch.

How to power more than 4 measley lights?

But what if you want to power more than four measley lights? Easy, just create several sets of four lights and hook them all together. You can have as many sets of four as you like, though the more lights you have the quicker the batteries will run out. Here's how to wire three sets of four bulbs together.

Can you run AC Christmas lights off batteries?

The second way to run AC Christmas lights off batteries is to rewire them, as I explain below. But it's such a hassle that you probably wouldn't want to rewire a whole bunch of them.

Step 1: Stuff

There aren't many things you need for this. Just a set of LED Christmas lights, two AA batteries, and a battery case that you can connect to the Christmas lights. A pair of scissors might help too, as well as duct tape or heat shrink tubing.

Step 2: What to Do

Cut off the plug and strip about an inch or less of the insulation stuff off the wire. Then connect the wires to the battery case by either soldering them or twisting them together. If you twist them together use duct tape to put tape around both of the wires separately and then put tape around both of them.

Step 3: All Done :D

Think of all the possibilities for these lights! :D Just a word of warning, once you cut off the plug do not connect the lights to it again and try plugging it in. My mom told me that

What is the first thing that needs to be done when connecting LEDs to a battery?

The first thing that needs to be done when connecting LEDs to a battery is to consider where they will go. Batteries operating lights on a high wall, for example, will need to have something supporting their weight.

Where do you solder the cathode to a 12V battery?

The cathode goes into the ground—it can be soldered directly to the negative port of the 12v battery. The anode should be wired into the on/off switch, which is then wired into the positive port of the battery.