MyNameIsEarl

Hey everyone,

So recently, I have been replacing some of the incandescent lights in my car with LEDs, not only because the incandescents burn out after a while, but the LEDs just look so much sharper.

Some things I have done already include the replacing the instrument cluster bulbs with white LEDs, replacing the key ring light with a blue LED, and replacing the cigarette lighter/ash tray light with blue LEDs.

The ones for the key light ring, cigarette lighter, and ash tray are all the same and can be bought here. http://www.ebay.com/itm/280647987365...84.m1497.l2649

But, onto my question, has anyone ever tackled replacing the radio/navigation/climate control bulbs? I have actually taken them apart before and believe me, the bulbs are TINY! I'm not sure if an LED exists with the resistors built-on that could just plug and play into the light housings. But if anyone has ever heard or seen of someone doing this with our cars, please let me know! Or if you have any advice on the subject, I'll take what I can get, as well.

PS, have you ever looked at the whole list of smilies for the site? There are tons and tons of them!

Pro-Pilot

Do you know if you can replace the little light where the cup holder is? I would like to make that a little brighter but i'm not sure how to get to it. I assume you have to take out the center....blah

I'm not sure about your question, though I have done a full retrofit of all my interior lights (with the exception of course of the radio stack and controls) to leds using VLEDS.COM which I find to be one of the best places to get LED's. Maybe you can find the correct bulb there?

MyNameIsEarl

I have a 98 RL, so my cupholder does not have the light in it, I actually thought of putting on in, I am just worried about marring up the plastic with the drill and missing my one shot at it. If the layout of 99+'s is the same as pre-99, then remove the shifter plate, pull up on the wood trim and you should have instant access to what you need.

A way to check if you can replace it would be to compare the size of the cupholder bulb vs the size of other bulbs you have replaced, if they are the same size, you shouldn't have a problem!

What else have you done on the inside?

Not_So_Fast_Eddie

A little tid bit I'd like to add in is the light behind the gear letters by the shifter is also a T10. I put a blue led in just to have an led over the standard bulb. I wouldn't recommend blue as it doesn't light up the red letters at all. I will be popping in one of my white leds as soon as I stop being lazy.

MyNameIsEarl

I tried that as well. I would not recommend any LEDs at all. Because the downfall to LEDs vs incandescents is that LEDs have a lot smaller range of light emission and are limited to a certain angle. I think a multidirectional LED would be best for that spot. Let me know if the white works out at all though!

Pro-Pilot

I have to replace the shifter bulb as well, not sure what I am going to switch it out with just yet though. MyNameIsEarl, I have switched out all of the interior map and center lamps, as well as all of the puddle lamps to LED's. I have converted all of my tail lights, as well as my turn signal lamps to LED's as well (with the hyper flash fix ). I have yet to replace my reverse lights, though I will do that soon as it is nearly impossible for me to see when reversing due to my tints.

I would like to try the cluster led conversion when I get a chance, although that seem like a half day affair where a lot could go wrong, so i'm still on the fence about that one. I DO want to know about the radio bulbs, as some are burning out and the lcd has a tendency to go off and on at random times.

Not_So_Fast_Eddie

I'll proabably convert two of the leds into a dual head one. All I'll need to do is change out the resistor. I made a 3x 5mm white LED dome light for up top with some solder and hot glue. Works really good too. I had bought some LED domelights but they were too tall.

Only issue is finding specs on the SMD LED.

Pro-Pilot

http://www.vleds.com/bulb-type/minia...74-1-pair.html

Would these work? They are multi-directional...

MyNameIsEarl

Those look like a good bet. Pro-Pilot, when you changed your tail lights to LEDs, what exactly does that look like? Would you mind posting a couple of pictures?

I thought of changing the map lights and the door lights, but the amber kind of looks nice I think...

Not_So_Fast_Eddie

Where are you putting them?


Also I just opened one of those T10 leds, it uses 2 80 ohm resistors. Now using V=IR I found that the led draws .075 amps on the 12v feed. So for 2 leds all I would need is a single 80 ohm resistor. Does this math check out or did I make a mistake somewhere?

Pro-Pilot

Amber would look good, although I changed mine all to a cool white.

You have to find the right kind of LED for the tail light. If you go with the cheapy ones, they will look dim, not to mention you will hardly be able to differentiate when you put on your brake-lights with the headlights on. I am absolutely brutal when it comes to judging LED's on vehicles. In my opinion, do it right or don't do it at all lol .

The ones I have are a tad bit brighter than the halogen ones. Put them side by side, you most likely wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I bought them for the instantaneous on/off and so I wouldn't have to purchase replacements anymore. Remember, you will have to purchase the voltage-fix box for each light you replace or you will get the "bulb out" indicator. The ones I have now I bought about 2 years ago and they are still going strong. Unfortunately, I don't see them on the V-Led's site anymore (where I got them) and it looks like some of the prices have gone up quiet a bit since I purchased them. I'll take a picture so you can see what they look like when I get a chance.

BTW I also converted the High Mount Stop to an LED as well, which give all the tail-lights a nice even look when going on and off

Pro-Pilot

[QUOTE=Not_So_Fast_Eddie;14477672]Where are you putting them?


In the shifter space....although its 1.5mm larger than the e-bay ones so maybe it won't fit?

hmmm.....

MyNameIsEarl

So for the tail lights, it basically looks the same then? And trust me I know what you mean about being brutally picky, I am the same exact way on pretty much everything about my vehicle. In my father's TL, there are the really dim blue LEDs in the roof console that make a moonlight type affect at night, I'm thinking of trying to replicate that somehow... I just don't know where I would mount it, wiring it would be very easy, just where to put it...

Pro-Pilot

Yes, the light output is mostly the same, the only time you would notice a difference is when they flash on and off. The LED's i got, there are no "center spots". I cant stand when I see someone with some cheap LED's and all you see are tiny dots of light in a huge housing lol.

Yes, I would love to do the ambient light effect in my car. I've only seen one other person do it and they screwed it up royally. I acquired a 2012 TL for a few days and studied the lighting a bit. How to make the holder would be my question, and what exact kind of LED to get as well. We would need an LED where almost all of the light is pointed downward.

MyNameIsEarl

http://thumbs1.ebaystatic.com/d/l225...8kDzNWJtQw.jpg

The LEDs are in the two holes in the plastic. Our cars are mostly just carpet up there. Can't put the LEDs in the moonroof switch, sunglass holder, and I don't feel that the map lights would be a good spot for it. I think drilling through the carpet somehow would be best. And I totally know what you mean about the center spots...

Pro-Pilot

That sounds good, it would have to be in a spot where the lights would shine down towards the center console and not towards the radio/hvac/navi. I also wouldn't mind some dim foot-well lights as well......where would you wire these into?

MyNameIsEarl

I actually put in some foot lighting, and trust me, they look AWESOME! I wired it into my car such that they turn on when the headlights turn on. I'll post some pictures later tonight when it get's dark! I just used a couple of LED light kits from Pepboys, but the hard part is wiring it to your car without that stupid cigarette lighter plug in. It's actually all pretty basic stuff, but you have to kind of take apart the car to do it right. If you want to know exactly what I did, just ask!

Not_So_Fast_Eddie

What color did you choose? If I were to do this mod I'd go with blue strips as I have blue lights in the corners of my doors, but white on the dome lights up top.

Pro-Pilot

Yes I would like to know I would want to mimic the blue light like the TL has in the foot-wells, not too bright. But i'm not sure where I would get dim LED's lol. And I would definitely want to stay away from the cigarette plug in lights

MyNameIsEarl

Things you will need.
Grounding Crimps http://www.elecdirect.com/images/pag...eterminals.jpg
LED Lights
Switch (optional)
Wire Splicing Connectors http://www.gordonrichards.net/300zx/....connector.jpg

So the lights I got were from pep boys, they come in pairs, so I had to buy two sets. You can find them online here http://www.pepboys.com/product/detai...ed/?quantity=1 or just go to your local store, I'm sure they have them.

So, assuming you have some basic electrical skills, cut the cigarette lighter clean off. Find a wire that is hot when you want it to be. I chose the hot wire that goes to the bulb in the shift plate housing because that light comes on if the headlights are on parking mode, auto, or on. So that way the floor lights come on when the car lights are on. You will need to solder the tiny little wire on the LEDs to a thicker wire that the wire crimps can really hold onto. You will also want to solder the hot wire of the second set (only if you are doing the back seat as well) to the soldering point of the first set to the thicker wire. After that, crimp it onto the hot wire of the bulb. Now, using one of those grounding crimps (I crimped AND soldered, for the best connection), find a good place to ground the wires.

As far as running the wires goes...

Zip tie one the where the carpet meets the metal under the steering wheel collumn, for the passenger seat I think I actually used the adhesive that comes with the packaging. For the backseats, I poked two holes (two in each seat) and drilled two holes in each LED mount and ran a zip tie through them, it's tricky, but once you get it, it's the best spot to mount it. When you go from the front seat area, take off the kick plate things at the bottom of the doorway, lift up the carpet, run the light under the carpet until it comes out of the little access cut in the carpet under the seat, this will make sure all your wires are hidden and out of the way. It's a lot of tedious work, but if you run into any problems let me know. Maybe one of these days, I'll write up a proper DIY for this, because I actually rather enjoy the results. Also assuming you know how to wire a switch up, that shouldn't be a problem for you. I'd stay away from any of those lighted switches though, they look so tacky! I drilled a whole in my knee kicker thing and put it down there, it has two modes for me off and auto (meaning the floor lights come on when the car lights do).

I hope this helps!

MyNameIsEarl

Oh, and the back seat, I poked the holes UNDER the front seats, so right there were the feet go basically, in the black fabricky (fabricy?) material.

You can see the results here. And I cannot emphasize enough how much better it looks in person. For whatever reason, the camera magnified the effects of the light, they are really quite subtle. The mounts are adjustable too so you can make it more obvious if you wish.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ighlight=share

Pro-Pilot

This is a big help, really appreciate it man. I love the way it looks, and your wayyy ahead of me in your instrument clustered LED setup (which I would happily pay someone to convert since I'm too scared to do it myself lol ) I have 2 questions though (sorry). 1--Can I just splice into the shift plate light so I don't lose it? (and do i definitely need to cut the cig lighter off to access this or can I just leave it on and not lose it). 2--Do you recommend any specific kind of wire that might be well-shielded? I already have my sub and amp wires running down the kick plate so i'm afraid that this might cause more interference...maybe?

I like the LED's you used because I know they won't be too bright, however I'm afraid that they will be kicked or damaged (I occasionally have multiple people in my car), so I might go with the LED strip kind like this....

http://www.vleds.com/strip-lights-le...twell-kit.html

or this, where you can use your festoon bulb base or wedge base to power em..

http://www.vleds.com/strip-lights-le...twell-kit.html


...they help you build your own kit at the bottom. However I do like your setup...

hmm.. decisions decisions

MyNameIsEarl

I would not worry too much about shielding. You can pay more for some shielded wire if you'd like, but it really probably wont be a problem. Keep in mind, there are only 12V running through the wire, it's not like a power line were you have thousands, and then you really need the shielding! : ) As far as the cigarette lighter plug in that comes with the lights goes, I would still just cut that sucker off, unless you really intend on using it to power the lights, but for a very professional looking install, you definitely do not need it. And I'm not sure what you mean by

You are in no danger of losing the shift plate. I only chose to splice it in there because the bulb that powers the light in the shift plate gets current when the parking lights, headlight, or any other lights are on. And LEDs draw so little power, were talking miliWatts here, so the amount of power it takes away from the shifter plate selector bulb is really not even noticeable.

I do like the idea of strip LEDs, but keep this in mind. Although I vary rarely have back seat passengers, they are not really in danger of being kicked. They are on the very top of the bottom (yeah, cause that makes sense) of the front seats, So, where your feet go in the backseat they are a few inches up of them. It is a valid point about them getting damaged, but I like these ones because they are adjustable, so you can choose how bright (or dim) you want to make them shine just by angling them a different direction. If you get the strip ones, or maybe the other ones, I don't think you will have that option.

For your instrument cluster, you should totally take on the job. If you are capable of replacing the taillights and wiring in resistances to them to account for the lack of a voltage drop, then you can totally handle the instrument cluster, and believe me, it's totally worth it! I don't want to scare you by saying this, but just be extremely careful. Make sure the screws go in exactly where they came out. A good way to manage that is to put them in the shape they were put in on a towel or a blanket, just make sure they do not slide around. And make sure when you put the screws back in not to over torque them. You will need a precision screwdriver for that job. And also, electronics are very sensitive, make sure not to touch any of the chips/transistors/contacts whatever when you open the case up. If you touch them a little bit, you'll be fine, but don't go rubbing your whole hand over it. What I'm basically saying is if you can work slowly and have patience, you'll do just fine. Oh, and make sure the LEDs go in with the right polarity!!! These next few sentences will make much more sense when you open your cluster up to do the job. What I did when I was doing this was I had it taken apart and I put the LEDs in, only put the white cover on without the screws, plugged the green leads back in, put it back into the car (and again did not screw it down). Turned it on and checked if they all worked. Now, if they do not, one of three things happened. 1. You did not push the light in all the way. 2. The polarity is wrong. 3. The contacts between the LED and the base are not touching, take an O-ring puller or a small pick and bend them out so they are touch, it's good to kind of do this anyway just so they do not fall out.

Now that I've written an essay. :p I hope you go and do this!!! I'll go grab some pictures of the wiring for you.

MyNameIsEarl

Here is a very basic wiring diagram for you. If you chose to put a switch in, it'll be a little more work, and it's not really worth it. I only have the switch because the first time I installed the lights, I wanted to have to turn them on or off. So I rewired the system now so that the switch works on "off mode" or "auto mode".



Here are some pictures of how I mounted the lights and just some other pictures.

Pro-Pilot

WOW!
Thank you so much, this is a huge help The pics definitely make all the difference!
(I especially like the little direction-of-the-car picture lol)

The question I asked that you didn't understand, I misunderstood you and thought you meant I would have to cut the wires to MY cig lighter in the car, I didn't realize that you were talking about the cig adapter connected to the LED's lol (sorry, slow moment there)....when I said slicing into the shift plate light, I saw that that's exactly what you did. I think your right, I will stay with the Pep Boys LED and if it breaks it breaks and Ill just replace it if that time comes.

I assume it's easy to lift up the shift plate like you did with just a screwdriver in the second to last pic...Is there anything I have to unscrew before I attempt to pry it up?

Also, how did you access the key bulb, cig light bulb and the ashtray bulb.....do you go through the shift plate as well to access them?

As far as the speedo, I think I will take it on
I will need to practice taking everything apart one of these days and devote a day or two to actually completing the project. I see you used white LED's, I might use blue on the tach and speedo and use white for the gear indicator. Hopefully everything will be okay lol

MyNameIsEarl

Accessing the cigarette lighter bulb and ashtray bulb is very easy. Just take your fingernails and pry up on the black plastic piece, it will give, no screws, just clips.

Same goes for the wood trim, just gently kind of pull up on it.

To get to the key ring bulb, you have to pry off the knee guard piece (again, no screws) and it should be pretty easy to see from there.

I got the chance to pretty much dismantle the entire inside of the car and put it back together. A while ago, someone crashed into my RL and the replacement car's interior was in horrible shape, the lady let her kids grow up in the car, so the leather was torn, carpet was stained, etc. So other than the two trashed door panels on the side that got hit and the dash board, everything in my car now is taken from the wrecked car, and I mean EVERYTHING. It's actually all pretty simple to take apart...

I would go with just all white on the instrument cluster, but that is just my opinion. I think having different colors would make it look non-OEM. The white looks very Acura-ish, and its not even OEM, but looks way more OEM than the actual OEM bulbs! I kind of liked the blue, but you have to use a white bulb in the tachometer section to light up the red parts. And if you are as OCD as me, the white-blue mix wont look good. The white will light up all the sections and colors no problem. And it also saves you from having to order a second color.

Pro-Pilot

Okay, that took me no time at all to retrieve the bulbs (except for the one bulb that broke because it didn't want to come out of the socket). I'm surprised how easy that was. Just need to find the right bulb.....did the bulb you linked to ebay above, the blue one..how does that look in the shifter socket....I assume since its blue it doesn't show all the colors correct? Im starting to wonder if the vleds one I linked above will fit. Its such a small freakin space.

Yes, I am very OCD about the LED's looking good. White appeals to me, I just don't know if blue would look better. But yea, I wouldn't want the blue and white mix, so that's probably gonna be the deciding factor in that.

MyNameIsEarl

So, there are also two carpet panels right where the carpet flooring meets the dashboard, those are held in with clips, so when you go to run your floor light wires, you will want to go through there. Also, be sure to zip tie the slack of the wire onto some other wires in the footwells so they don't hang down and look stupid, or worse, prevent you from reaching the brake pedal or something.

The link in the very first post on this thread takes you to an ebay seller, and yes those lights do work. Just note that the blue does not work well in the shifter plate selector, the LEDs have too narrow a ranger of light emission, hence why we need to find some multi-directional ones that'll look good!

What year is your RL, by the way? When I was choosing blue/white I was very on the fence about it and every ten seconds I would change my mind, without any bit of certainty in myself, I pulled the trigger on the white ones, and am really happy I did. The guy who made the original DIY post on these lights even said that if he were to do it again, he would go with the white. Keep in mind, also, that you do not want to blue-out your car. The white on the instrument cluster with the blue on the floor lights will provide a very nice contrast and looks very sharp. It kind of separates the mechanics of the car from the ambience, I think.

Don't forget to post pictures when you're done!

PS. Some turtle wax on the wood trim works wonders for getting scratches and a hazy look out of it! Just be careful not to break the trim from pushing on it too hard! But it does take a little bit of pressure. If you scroll up a tiny bit you can see what a little wax did for my trim.

Pro-Pilot

You know, I just realized they do have multi-colored LED's that can be changed on the fly. I will have to look into that and see if they make them that small. That way, I would be able to change certain sections to whatever color I wanted too, or have everything just white, or have it blue and white etc etc...

My RL is an 02 w/Navi, and ZipTies are one of my favorite items to use lol. I think I will go with the multi-directional VLED's that I linked to above for the cig and ashtray. For the shifter Ill use the same one just in white. However, they will not be shipping until May 23rd says the site, so I will have to wait .


I also will be attempting to change the center tray light despite the fact that 3 dealers said they are not replaceable and I would have to buy a whole new center tray blah.

Yea, the inside of my car is pretty dirty at the moment. I usually keep it cleaner but iv'e been busy recently. I used to be a service advisor at an Acura dealer and one of the detail people would detail it every month....nothing like getting in a clean car lol

MyNameIsEarl

I'm not sure how color changing LEDs would work, they would have to be tied into another power source I think. I'm pretty sure that would take some extensive modification, too. You can use the LEDs in my first post for the key ring light, cigarette lighter, and ashtray and have really good results. You don't need multidirectional for those spots. The ebay link I posted on the top is great, but they ship from hong kong, so it's killer having to wait a couple weeks for them to arrive. Especially since China Post is so damn slow.

Pro-Pilot

Okay I just ordered them. I guess Ill just go with white then for the cluster. Do you have the link for the exact bulbs you got for your cluster build?

I will try Turtle Wax...I was using a few other things trying to get the streaks out, good you know what to use

MyNameIsEarl

It doesn't look like the seller warden_jp2002 isn't selling them anymore. But they were listed as 2pcs 24 T6.5 Instrument Panel 5 SMD LED Bulbs(Blue/White)

It looks like this listing might work though.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-White-1210-SMD-37-73-74-T5-T4-LED-Bulbs-For-Car-Speedo-Gauge-Cluster-Lights-/130770373125?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3A5&hash=item1e72858a05&vxp=mtr

Pro-Pilot

Wait its like the same kind as the ashtray lights? There both 74 it looks like....

MyNameIsEarl

The dash lights and the ash tray lights are different, I think. But I wouldn't put white in the ashtray anyway...

Pro-Pilot

Hmm, I was reading the sticky on the LED conversion and it seem like some people have different issues with the bulb fitting in the 02 vs the 98....seems a little complicated to find the exact size....the #74 stock works but not the led #74, the T6.5 works but only in the 98....dont buy from Warde DO buy from Warden.....AHHH lol

MyNameIsEarl

Hmm is right, that's tricky. I hope you can find some LEDs that work! Let me know if you do, it'd be good information to pass onto other forum users.

Pro-Pilot

Okay I will, your from Missouri right?

MyNameIsEarl

Nope, what gave you that idea? California!

Pro-Pilot

I thought i saw a Missouri license plate but it must have not been your car in the pic lol my bad

Pro-Pilot

In addition to the foot-wells, I was thinking of putting a blue LED strip under each door-sill so when I opened the door I would get a nice illuminated ground. I would probably have to wire that into the puddle lamps so I wouldn't have them on when the door was closed.....unless......actually that might look cool. A whole kit with 4 strips, adapter, extension and y-cable is only like 15 bucks.....

hmm....