Wiring an Illumination Switch???

[SuperDaveGulvak]

So I have a left over stock illumination (interior light dimmer) switch. I was wondering if it would be possible to use it to adjust some 8" blue neon tubes I have laying around? In this picture I can clearly see the black ground but was wondering about the yellow (says -ILL) & red (INS) wires & was wondering how to hook them up to my lights (just some of those ones you can get at Wally World or AutoZone w/ a cigarette plug). Thought yellow to a constant + and the red would be the hot coming out of the switch??? Got this stuff laying around and just trying to make something outta of it to fill my coverless switch hole in my dash next to the stock illumination/dimmer & between the mirror switch cap. So does this sound doable?

[NicholasJackson]

Yeah it's do-able, i can maybe draw up a wiring diagram for you if you like. ill just get my multimetre and tinkle with the stock dimmer switch first.

Edit: But first you going to have to see if the neons can dim, im pretty sure they just cut out if it goes any less than 12v?

[MTec007]

be very very careful. i know that you are not supposed to dim florescent lights.. i dont know if neon are much different than florescent.. you can blow them easyily because they warm up, if your dimming it it will constantly try to warm up, which will cause a shorter lifespan

[SuperDaveGulvak]

Ok thanks for the input guys. I don't know if they are real neon or just LEDs w/ a bendy plastic tube. Ill look closer to try to find wattage and stuff tomorrow in the fuse holder/power plug. Try to post some pics to

[NicholasJackson]

If they're leds you'll be sweet. I have led strips hooked up to the dimmer behind my speedo and they work great.

[SuperDaveGulvak]

Ok so pretty sure they are just LED neon bendy tubes. The only info I could get off the plug was the fuse type (F2AL 250 volt- just a glass tube w/ a straight piece of wire in it) if that helps any in your wiring diagram NicholasJackson. Here's a pic of the light if that helps also. I can't just tap into the stock dimmer tho. I thought I had my interior lights fixed but when I was putting the HVAC controls back in the dash I lost the lights again (after replacing all the bulbs) and found a wonderful mess from PO's hack job on the stereo- see 2nd pic So if you could give me a write up on how to use a stock illumination/dimmer switch to adjust these tube lights or LED light strips it would be appreciated