Return to the BUILD

“In this stage, you fit the LEDs for the roof lights to the electrical system of your Ectomobile.”

Contents

Parts

Materials: All of the parts in this stage are electrical.

Magazine – Issue 19

• Model Instructions
• Magic Mike: Mike Smithson
• Spook Central: Huge Sets Designed by John DeCuir
• Bernie Wrightson Concepts: Illustrations by the Revered Artist
• Fur Coat Ghost: The Story Behind the Snarling Garment
• Ecto-101: The Phone Number

Build

Roof Light LEDs

To complete this stage, we are going to need the four short extension wires that we had left over from back in Stage 65:

Step 01

Retrieve your Chassis assembly from the previous stage. Connect the grey/red Federal 19 Propello-Ray Wire extension (marked ‘J’) to the matching plug (marked ‘J’) at the left rear of your Ecto-1, as shown:

Then, connect the grey/black Federal 19 Propello-Ray LED (from this stage, marked ‘J’) to the end of this extension, as shown:

Step 02

In the same way, connect the white/grey Whelen HRDF-200 Strobe Wire extension (marked ‘K’) to the matching plug (marked ‘K’), as shown:

Then, connect the grey/black Whelen HRDF-200 Strobe LED (from this stage, marked ‘K’) to the end of this extension, as shown:

Step 03

Connect the black/grey Front Deck Light Wire extension (marked ‘L’) to the matching plug (marked ‘L’), as shown:

Then, connect the grey/black Front Deck Light LED wire (from this stage, marked ‘L’) to the end of this extension, as shown:

Next, connect the black/grey Rear Deck Light Wire extension (marked ‘m’) to the matching plug (marked ‘m’), as shown.

These are the only wires that use lowercase letter designation labels to avoid confusion with the ‘W’ wire:

Finally, connect the grey/black Rear Deck Light LED wire (from this stage, marked ‘m’) to the end of this extension, as shown:

At this point, we can test these roof light LEDs. Power up the car and press this left radio button.

This button acts as a toggle switch. Each press turns the Roof Rack lights on or off:

The red LED for the Federal 19 Propello-Ray should light up steady:

The four blue LEDs for the Front and Rear Deck Lights (the round PARs) should blink on and off fairly quickly:

And, the white LED for the Whelen HRDF-200 Strobe Light should also blink on and off, but much slower:

Step 04

First, connect the wider plugs of the red/white Code 3 Force 4 XL Wire extension (marked ‘N’) and the grey/black Code 3 Force 4 XL Extension Wire (from this stage, marked ‘N’) together, as shown:

Next, connect the two Code 3 Force 4 XL LEDs to the open ends of the Code 3 Force 4 XL Extension Wire, as shown:

Then, connect the red/white Code 3 Force 4 XL Wire extension to the matching Chassis assembly plug (marked ‘N’):

Slide the switch on each Code 3 Force 4 XL LED assembly to the ‘ON’ position and all eight blue LEDs should light up steady.

NOTE: If any of your lights do not work as expected, check the following areas:

• Fresh batteries installed/power connected
• All connections are secure and fully seated
• Make sure no wires are damaged or broken off from the plugs/PCB

Thoughts

You probably already know how much I love electronics and lighting for our models, but I am a bit bummed by the lighting pattern of some of these LEDs. For example, the four LEDs for the pair of Front and Rear Deck Lights (round PARs) blink on and off. On the real Ecto-1, these were lit by incandescent bulbs, so I was hoping ours would at least fade in and out. And, the Whelen HRDF-200 Strobe LED should actually ‘strobe’. Instead, it slowly blinks with long periods of being lit and unlit. I have a feeling I am going to have to fix this lighting soon.

Next Up

Stage 68 – Body Front Frames, Hood Lock Pin, Engine Information Plate