bignoodleboi

you'll notice the light but its not that distracting at all... just imagine that center console light... its almost as if the same lighting that is spread out sometime i don't even notice its there but over all i find that its helpful too trying to find some stuff in the car without using the map light

DLTSX6MT

Did this in the summer when it was warm, I don't think I'd want to do this in the January cold, I'd probably tear my fingers all apart.








For a different look, I aimed the light at the doors. This illuminates the faux aluminum strips and the chromed door handles nicely. I used to think about putting some very dim lights in the little wells behind the doorpull handles, but now I don't need to anymore. The exposure time in the camera was set to be very long, so everything is way brighter than in real life.

TaSeX

hey guys is this legal in NJ? Im getting inspections done soon should i cover up?

spoiledkari

I would highly doubt that it's illegal as the RL's have this as a factory option. Plus, it's not going to be dark when they do the inspection, so they probably won't even know that the lights are there. When mine are on in the daytime, you can't see them. You're fine!

mdkxtreme

aww man can someone show the step by step on the wiring part? I am clueless when it comes to car electronics. I was almost scared shitless trying to install LED license lights so you know where im coming from. it would be of great help if someone can explain or show pictures on how to do the wirings. thanks

mdkxtreme

can someone give me a rough drawing on how they connected the wires to the "tap" thing. I just bought some LEDs and about to just go ahead and install it myself. I just dont know which wire goes through which hole in the "tap" thingy

ZeroCL

Did this today, thanks guys who originally created this DIY. I did it on my 1st gen CL and it provides that subtle look that i was looking for as opposed to the ricey cathode look.

mdkxtreme

well i finally had the balls to do this mod and ill post some pictures later. i asked and i asked and no one helped me so i just said f*ck it and found my way into doing it. it was pretty easy actually. this is my first ever electrical mod i've done on a car so i was pretty nervous. but overall, once i got things exposed, it was down hill from there. if anyone wants a noob break down on how to do this, i'm sure i can provide you a 100% noob proof guide.

shizi

i want a noob breakdown...
im where you were 3 months ago

mdkxtreme

Ok hope this helps


Driver Side:
















Passenger Side:












Compartment Area:






















That should be it. Here are some advice

1. If you're having a hard time running those flimsy LED wires into the back of the compartment, then tape the LED wires to a long stick (chopstick, straw) and stick it through any gap you see behind the panels and pull it from the other side

2. Try not to do this in the day time cause it gets HOT in the car. Oh my goodness it was like a freakin sauna.

3. Try to buy the LEDs from Pep Boys because they're wires are big enough to be spliced properly by the quick connect. I tried to be special and bought some from here (http://www.superbrightleds.com/hobby.htm) and they failed. The wires are too small and so the quick connect could not touch the copper.

4. You don't really have to use plexiglass, just improvise. I used the same plastic that came with the LEDs from Pep Boys and cut it into a square. Get some same sand paper and sand it down. I recommend using atleast 1000 grit sand paper because it will look even. I used 3000 grit on mine.

5. Make sure you sand down the LEDs also because I had the "spot" look on mine and so I redid the LED by sanding it. Make sure you are CAREFUL when you sand because a lot of wiggling back and forth will break the copper near the LED. It is perfect how the LEDs from Pep Boys came with three LEDs because if you mess one up, you still have two. I'll provide a picture below on my spot look.

6. If you sand it down hardcore like the OP, you will get a more subtle look. I didn't sand mind as much and so the LEDs were brighter than the TSX's original courtesy lights


Here are the finished pictures, enjoy


Spot look on the passenger:





Finished product:

CGP06tsx

damn =o great write up! One of these weekends I need to get around to doing this.

amadeus303

iTrader: (2)

MDK - uber snaps for an excellent write-up. This is GREAT for those of you blokes who aren't as familiar with electrical work in the car. I remember what I was like a few years back before I started doing things in my car... I wish I would've had something like this back then, but I ended up just "diving in"

davidspalding

Superb write up and annotated pics. Well done, chum.

kaliraver69

Excellent write up and great pix.

ZeroCL

i taped mine to a wire to send it through that back part. Take a clothes hanger cut it, straighten it and use that. But yeah, during the day, it does get freaking hot. I was in my garage doing it. Oh wow. I wish you would have posted this before i did it cause i used the same connectors but used 4 of them because i didnt know if two of them would work in that side. Good write up though, nice pics.

and for some reason, mine are no where near that bright. hmm..

mdkxtreme

o no its not as bright in the picture. dont be fooled by the pictures cause i used a DSLR camera and had the shutters open for 2 seconds. Just imagine your courtesy light (that long strip of blue light above your compartment) but a little brighter and that's what mine looks like

EscaBoi

Thanks SO much mdkxtreme I was wondering how to hook everything up and how to take out the middle compartment for the longest time since it felt like it was going to snap when you pull on it. I will definitely try this now when I get some free time.

You said you don't recommend buying the leds from superbrightleds, I was wondering if you had any other recommendations online, perhaps ebay? I'm not too sure which leds you're suppose to choose, as we don't have a Pepboys in Canada and I can't find any blue leds with the red/black wires already attached to it at Circuit City either.

ZeroCL

I have a first gen so i dont have that light, but i noticed my passenger footwell light is too dim so im just gonna buy another set. I think i may have sanded it too much. shouldnt be hard for me to find somewhere else to hook up the other two lights. I have one in each footwell then one in my ski pass shining on my amp that i tapped into my remote wire so everytime the amp turns on, the light turns on. then the others are hooked up to the headlights. I'll just rewire it all now that i know you can put two wires in each connector. i'd post pics, but they look ridic since my camera is a simple point and shoot.

ZeroCL

eh, the amp pic came out decent i hate my camera.

n3ok318

iTrader: (1)

I made a horrible mistake while doing this DIY and now my all my ambient lights AND orange lights on the side of headlights don't work.

I checked all the fuses and they seem to be fine.

I don't know what I was thinking, but when I was tapping the power, I put all 3 red and all 3 black wires together and clamped together.. and after that, all my ambient lights including one next to homelink, one under the radio, green light in storage, and orange light in headlight (not blinkers) don't work.

What could I have possibly damaged?

Everything else works fine, map lights etc.

mdkxtreme

Which wire did you tap into? I have no clue on how all those lights went out. If you ever damaged the wire that goes into the green light in the compartment, then only green light should go out. Check the fuse though. That could be the only thing I know.

mdkxtreme

Umm if you can, search for wires that has 18-14 gauages. If you look at the ones on superbrightleds, it says 30 gauge. Basically the higher the gauge, the smaller the wire. I didn't know that until I bought one. I really don't know where else to buy LEDs that looks like the ones from Pep Boys. But keep searching. It's the internet, you can find anything.

n3ok318

iTrader: (1)

I tapped into the green light. And I checked all the fuses and they seem to be fine. I even replaced #6 Interior Light fuse and it wasn't the problem.

mdkxtreme

what kind of mistake do you think you did? In your previous post, you said you put all three black and red wires together. does that mean you put all six wires into one quick connect?

ZeroCL

black and red wires should never be next to each other or let alon in the same quick connect. taping black into red, is not good. not sure what you did though. did you have your battery disconnected?

intensity2x

I hope for your sake you just didnt find the right fuse. If you shorted out something that wasn't fused or the fuse didn't blow (both unlikely) then you may have done serious damage. Start checking all the fuses if the obvious ones look good.



Back on Topic, I plan to do this mod as soon as I get some time. This is something that the TSX should have come with in my opinion. Its the perfect compliment to the center console blue lights. However I plan on hooking it up such that it dims out with the rest of the interior lights. Someone else wrote a nice how-to about hooking up puddle lights that explains where to tap this power.

ZeroCL

Like when you open and close the door? I tried attaching it to the dimmer switch on mine to say on and dim with the gauges but when the gauges got lighter, the lights got darker and vice versa, so i said screw it. :[

intensity2x

Heres the how-to that shows how to tap the interior light dimmer:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...+puddle+lights

My plan is to have a two-way switch, so that I can have them operate with the rest of the interior lights, fade out etc, or have them on all the time. I already put the extra switches in the blank switch panels (by the sunroof switch) when I did my amp. Just haven't gotten around to this mod yet.

I'd love to do the puddle light mod too, but thats a lot more work than I'm willing to do myself right now. And not to mention I'm a little wary about drilling large holes in my car, call me crazy lol.

odannyboi

^^ And this is why I try to limit my DIY sessions.

Even with pictures telling me what to do, I'd still screw something up since I'm a moron.

mdkxtreme

i don't mean to bring down on the guy, but you gotta be competent when doing something like this. even in the pictures i don't have six wires into one quick connect. i even showed a simplified view clearly with only three wires. i admit, im a moron when it comes to car electronics. like i said before, i got nervous when replacing license plate lights. and thats nothing but unplug and plug, but i still got nervous.


heres another advice: follow directions

afici0nad0

beautiful diy instructions.

with your center stack compartment removal instructions, you've also given me a way to attack my center console rattle.

ZeroCL

I needed to buy a new one since the passenger side light was pretty dim. Although I'm sure most of you wouldnt consider doing this, i wanted to do something with the other two. This is what I came out with:

I'm not a fan of lights outside the car unless they are tastefully done, i.e. puddle lights. But in this case i figured it couldnt hurt. I have them wired with the corners, so when the corners are on, they come on then when the headlights are on, you cant even see em. I'm just hoping the headlight bulbs dont get so hot that the leds break since the bulbs are on/or very close to the bulb.

p.s. sorry for the shitty photo, i used the camera on my phone.

ZeroCL

sorry for the double post, but just in case I get people saying how illegal that is and how cops hate it, when i turn on the headlights or turn off the corners, they're no longer there. I dont drive with my corners on much so i should be fine.

swirlie

I'm undecided whether or not I like it... but that just screams "Pull me over and give me a ticket!" I don't know what your laws are like in your locations, though.

edit after your new post: As a show, it looks nice.

mdkxtreme

yea i guess theyre only good for shows at night though.

ZeroCL

In Pa, my tints illegal, so if that doesnt scream pull me over enough, the led's are just gonna help. I dont run with em on though. Its more for when i lock and unlock the car, the corners flash, as well as the LEDs which matches the blue lights in my car. Just took all of a 10 minute drive in the dark with my headlights on, checked the leds and the one that was touching the bulb is already burnt out. so im gonna have to check the connection maybe something isnt connected right, if not ill just put the 3rd on in there and try finding a better place for the bulb to rest as opposed to next to the bulb.

swirlie

From everything I've read, in most places illegal tint isn't something you can get pulled over for... but if you're already stopped, you can get dinged for it.

ZeroCL

Tell that to the cop that pulled me over at 4am because he noticed i had 'dark' tint on my windows. granted it was 4am and the 30% i used to have on it looked dark. but regardless, i still got pulled over, pretty much for tint. got let go though.

TSX-phan

did mine yesterday and i love it. thanks for the great write ups mdkxtreme and op!

intensity2x

For anyone that tapped the center cubby for power...

Does anyone know if the negative wire is only grounded when the headlights are on? Meaning, the negative wire is only -12V when the headlight are on and nothing when off.

I am doing this mod this weekend (hopefully, looks like it may be a little wet out) and I plan to hook up 2-way switch. One way would operate it like the door lights with fade in/out and the other would be on only when lights are on.

I'll post pics and a quick description if it works the way I plan