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View Full Version : Ambient lighting for the center console - *pics* 56k warning



jaydub
10-20-2002, 08:25 PM
As soon as I purchased my EP, I noticed that the area where the cig. lighter and cupholder are is really dark when you're driving along at night. I know that a lot of high end cars have ambient lighting (sort of like a "glow" about certain areas) which switches on and off with the lights. I found that the area right where the cig. lighter is has a large blank space where an LED could be mounted and could illuminate the area with a faint red glow. Here are some installation instructions. You will need:

*Drill
*Drill Bit (I cannot recall the size, but the LED package tells you what size)
*1 LED with holder, from Radio Shack. It's $1.99, has a red LED in it, and an inline resistor so you can connect it directly to a 12v source without burning it out. Part #2760084 ONLY.
*2' length of cable, for positive and negative leads.

here's a photo of the hole drilled. You can see that once the panel is back in place, the LED or hole will not be visible.
http://www.dubfusion.com/leds/led01.jpg

Closer view of the drilled hole.
http://www.dubfusion.com/leds/led02.jpg

The LED should look like this when you've pushed it in..
http://www.dubfusion.com/leds/led03.jpg

Feed the wire up through the hole, in front of the shifter, up next to the hazard light plug. That plug will have the correct wire to plug into, so that the LED will only be on when the interior lights are on.
http://www.dubfusion.com/leds/led04.jpg

Here's a closeup of the plug with the pos./neg. wires attached. ONE POINT OF CLARIFICATION: I would recommend using the ground from the cig. lighter plug, because for some reason the LED shines brighter when you use that. For power, use the wire that is red with a black stripe. I would recommend double checking this with a light tester
http://www.dubfusion.com/leds/led05.jpg


put everything back together, and it should look something like this. :) (sorry for the shitty pics)

http://www.dubfusion.com/leds/led06.jpg

http://www.dubfusion.com/leds/led07.jpg

It's very subtle, but it does help. :)

Jpax
10-20-2002, 08:29 PM
Nice i like it, good job. hey can i have some of your yahoo.:p

jaydub
10-20-2002, 08:31 PM
Originally posted by PaXiE
Nice i like it, good job. hey can i have some of your yahoo.:p

:D I was working so hard to get done with the mod, that i forgot to drink it all. :D You can have the rest.

BlasTech
10-20-2002, 08:35 PM
Very Nice! I wonder if you can get amber LEDs.

jaydub
10-20-2002, 08:36 PM
I'm sure you can, I was just limited to what was available at Radio Shack. They told me that the amount of small goods that they carry like that has really been cut down.

jaydub
10-20-2002, 08:40 PM
Oh, and just for grins, i installed this over the weekend as well. I will say that a kit will make all the difference, because as it stands, you can see a gap over the stereo. :\

http://www.dubfusion.com/civic_si/head_unit.jpg

Jpax
10-20-2002, 08:43 PM
looks good, i wish i had my kenwood ... :( touch screen dvd.

SmoothOperator
10-20-2002, 08:43 PM
Nice personal touch man. Wish I had the time and patience to do this stuff.

jaydub
10-20-2002, 09:15 PM
I dunno, sometimes little things like this can cure the urge to spend money on mods and things like that... for the time being these are all I can really afford to do. :D

ssvr6
10-21-2002, 04:31 AM
I hear that! I'll be getting new Honda "H's" and painting them gun metal to replace the stock ones(might even put the civic badge back on). I'll also be getting some cahones and will be painting my stock lights. I'm just scared I'm going to jack up a light and have to shell out some cash for them.

BTW--Very cool install!

Steve

02blksi
10-22-2002, 08:05 PM
neat idea good work! --joe

MINIVANKILLER
10-22-2002, 08:41 PM
Nice job on the LED. I put one in the secret compartment, my LED had three seperate lights on it and they look clear. I mounted it on the drink holder, on the back of it so you can see what you are picking up and you can get rid of the light when you close the sliding door.:D

IceD out N CALI
10-22-2002, 09:46 PM
that is a nice personal touch-good job

HondaMan
10-22-2002, 10:11 PM
Coolness!

2k2civicSi
10-22-2002, 10:17 PM
thats pretty cool keep up the good work

ek9jdmhb
10-22-2002, 11:41 PM
Yoohoo is like chocolate flavored water. its the best!!

Jpax
10-23-2002, 03:31 PM
Ill post my lighting when im done. should be tonight.

Dam part #s are wrong jay, I went to my radio shack and the guy look at me like i was a retaird.

So i bitch slaped him. and bought the blue leds. instead.

BlasTech
10-26-2002, 03:10 PM
Umm, where can I get some info about getting into the center console. Anyone know about a tutorial for getting the thing apart? Is there something I should look out for that could get broken easily? Where do you start?

B18CXR, do you have anything in the manual about removing the center console?

bokhan
11-07-2002, 01:40 PM
wow! jaydub rocks!