wiring a strobe to a pincab

[jaharr01]

Hey guys would anyone have any idea how this http://www.ebay.com/itm/201105766405?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT should be wired to an LED wiz without the box. I tried it with the box and when power is cut and restarted you have to hit a button on the box to get the strobes to come on. It is for my mini pin cab. it is wired like below. My guess is you would wire in ground to LED wiz and positive to hot x9 (for each light). My concern is do you all think it wold need a resistor? I don't want to burn them up. Do you think it would need a relay? I tried to wire it around the led wiz to test with a car relay I had.It clicked but it wouldn't let it come on. Probably not enough juice to trigger the relay. Do I need a relay or could I just fuse each input? It says output power is 12v x 30W I'm not sure that is correct, possibly 3x9 LED= 27watts but all that energy is not transferred to the LED wiz right? Also, they are only going to be on 3 at a time rotating for a few seconds.

[RandyT]

I'm not familiar with these units, but it's designed for vehicle flasher systems.  The box is likely not going to work unless there is a slow pulse of considerable current, such as what is produced by the vehicle flasher circuit.   An SSR of the appropriate size, controlled by the LED-Wiz, could allow you to use the box if the output is pulsed like a car flasher.  If you just want to use the individual LED units (they appear to have resistors in them already), I would approach it like this:

30w @ 12vDC = 2.5A, 2.5A/4 (the number of LEDs units) = 625ma per LED unit.  This is pushing the envelope for the amount of current which can be directly pulled from a single pin on the LED-Wiz driver chip.  However, if the software can synch multiple outputs to a single event, two of the outputs can be used together to get more current.  It may work using only one output per LED unit for very short flashes, but it's really not recommended and would be putting the driver chip at risk.  I certainly wouldn't try the single output approach without a heatsink on the driver chip, and some extensive testing to make sure it's safe.

Also be aware that the software you may be using to control the lighting, like any software, is not infallible and there could be instances where your PC locks up at the just the wrong time, leaving the light on for far longer than you expect it to.  It's always a good idea to take this into account when deciding how to power these kinds of things.

[jaharr01]

I could run another relay to it and it is already fused. What is an SSR?. I'm not exactly sure when or how often flashers go off in visual pinball. They are blindingly bright I wonder if u could run them on 5v ?

[jaharr01]

SSR - solid state relay got it. What size SSR would I need?

[RandyT]

What is an SSR?. I'm not exactly sure when or how often flashers go off in visual pinball. They are blindingly bright I wonder if u could run them on 5v ?

Unlikely, but you could try it.  Some LED's will light more dimly at lower than the specified voltage, while others won't work at all. 

SSR - solid state relay got it. What size SSR would I need?

They come in many varieties.  You just need to make sure that the specifications meet what you wish to do with them.  In your case, you would need a DC SSR, capable of handling at least 12vDC @ 3A, with a low voltage control (usually somewhere betwen 3-28v DC).  Some are pricey, so shop around.  A little overkill can be a good thing, but no need to go overboard.