How to make a neon hit light when subs hit?

[KRN 10+ year member]

I was thinking about getting a neon or cold cathode light and hooking it up so when my subs hit the light goes with it. How would I go about doing it? I know if I hooked it up to the speaker outputs on the amp it would work but eventually would blow the light on power spikes. Any suggestions on wiring? Also, what would you guys recommend more...neon, led, or cold cathode? I was trying to avoid getting anything that triggers the light from a microphone input.

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[maylar 10+ year member]

LEDs would probably be the most versitile, since you can run them from any voltage with the right series limiting resistor (and a rectifier diode for DC). But a quick Google reveals that StreetGlow has an interface made for their neons...

StreetGlow ANMI2 Musical Interface Your neon lights will dance to the music! at Crutchfield.com

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

I ran LED's in a sub box before, I used a bridge rectifier, Zener diode, and a few resistors so the LEDs were powered from the amp and strobed with the music.

The amp was fine and they lasted a few years until I no longer used them. Still wired up somewhere.

IIRC the bridge rectifier was first, then a resistor limited current, the Zener controlled the max voltage across an LED and resistor in series pairs. I did the math to choose the proper ratings and values based on my amplifier.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

I would do this with a relay and shock sensor module from an alarm.

Though as someone else said, simplest method may be a neon kit designed to do this.