WestCoastin31

So I was browsing around looking at different LED options on various websites for replacing my interior lighting, and I was stuck on choosing between red or white for my dome light. I'm a Marine, and we use red lights for reading maps and performing other tasks at night because white light effectively destroys your natural "night vision" that builds up after being in a dark environment. I liked the idea of having red dome lights. But, there is always that situation where you drop your wallet or phone or something and red light just wouldn't cut it. Not to mention it's hard to read red writing on labels and stuff with red light.

SO! I thought, why not do both, and be able to switch between the two!? I'm going to rig up a switch next to my dome light to toggle between red and white, and install two bulbs in each housing. It's either this, or find switchbacks and some kind of circuit board to allow for toggling of the switchbacks.

Any thoughts, ideas, insight is welcomed, and if anyone is interested, I'll put together a nice DIY.

luder917

iTrader: (1)

How about red on the left and white on the right?

felixthecat

How about running a SPDT push-button switch on each dome light with the push-button located near the covering housing. When you push the dome light covering, it will turn on the light and also switch the light as well. When you push the dome light covering again, it will turn off the light and switch back to the previous light again.

Might be useful if you want to manually toggle to get white lights, but want red lights the rest of the time.

WestCoastin31

I considered this until I checked and observed that although it is very minimal, the lights focus more of their light to their respective side. Plus it's a bit tacky for an Acura

So correct me if i'm not understanding you right, this switch would allow me to push the light once for red, and again for white?

IntactACK

iTrader: (1)

Definitely white!

WestCoastin31

I don't think you read my original post very carefully lol

truonghthe

I don't think they are making red LED they only make according to Kevin temperature color scale.

Eternity

i've been pondering the same actually.
i've put white on my license plate light, and red on my door lights, just to try things out.

i've been thinking what about putting red in the dome lights, and white in the vanity lights, and just using the vanity if you need to read something where the red wont do?

or you can put white in the rear, red in the front, but i imagine the rear is hard to reach for driver...

sixsixfour

I have red LEDs before, I used to put them on the door lights but i switched them back to white.

WestCoastin31

Ya my whole thing is ease of use and practicality. I wouldn't want to reach all the way in the back to select a certain color light. I need just go to radio shack and check out their switches and stuff and see if it cues my imagination.

Ya I currently have red LEDs in my doors, I don't like how it creates a hot spot. I need to find a clear cover for the door lights so the cover doesn't block so much of the light.

felixthecat

Yes, that's the gist of it. Here's the detailed scenario if you care to read.

By default, the switch will be set on the red LEDs. When you unlock or open your doors, or if you use the 3-way toggle switch (OFF-DOOR-ON), it will turn on the red LEDs. When you press on the housing, you will be triggering both switches. The main switch is obviously the default ON-OFF switch that turns the light on/off. The second switch will be the SPDT switch you put in, that will switch the LED from red to white.

Note that the three-toggle ON-OFF switch and the push ON-OFF switch run in parallel, so if you wire it up correctly, you will never be able to get it to the point where the white LED becomes the default color (even if you pull out the battery when the white LED is on).

I forgot to add, if you want the white LEDs by default, just reverse the situation I described.

WestCoastin31

So would the spdt switch just be spliced into the wiring up behind the housing or is that something i'd have to put in both lights and physically place it so that it is tripped when i press on a light? Sorry if i'm not getting it lol... I'm having a hard time visualizing this. If I had a wiring diagram of the whole system for the dome lights I could make sense of it.

I removed the light covers to install the red LEDs I got just to see if they are bright enough (They are decent, pics later) and I noticed that there are ~1" diameter holes that are ~2" deep, perfect places to mount the white LEDs as a secondary option. My idea was going to be to just splice into the wiring behind the housing and have a toggle switch to be able to switch between red or white as my default as a desire, that way i'd avoid having to pick a permanent default. I'd have to cut a notch in the ceiling right next to the housing for a switch... and I'd want to find a nice looking switch that wouldn't detract from the OEM look. I hate having off-brand switches and gadgets showing in the car, so I'd be breaking my own rule, but I'm sure I can find a nice looking switch.

Thanks for the input... maybe I'm just not understanding you correctly but I definitely wouldn't want to have to switch my bulbs around every time I wanted to change my default. Will I want to change my default? Maybe not. Who knows

SpiderX1016

or just keep a flashlight in the car. Much more versatile than the leds.

felixthecat

I'm not sure if I'm answering right, but I'll try my best. Also included wiring diagrams. As a side note, I included terminal resistors in the diagrams but you most likely won't need it since I assume you'll be getting PnP LEDs.

Diagram

The SPDT switches are placed on both sides; one in the left and one in the right. They get spliced in BEFORE the LEDs, but in order to switch the lighting, you must place BOTH of them near the light housing so when you push the light housing, it will push on the SPDT switch and switch the active LED.

I've attached a diagram to visualize how your idea might look, taking the simplest route possible. Note that you'll need to run more wires for your toggle set up.

Diagram

From my understanding, you didn't seem too caring for the white LEDs, which was why I made the assumption that you won't be changing your default LED much. But actually, to change the default, you don't need to switch the bulbs around. You'd only need to remove the light housing, and push the switch once, and then replace the light housing. When you push the switch with the light covering off, you are effectively switching your default LED because the switch will be pointing to the second LED once you put the light covering back on.

WestCoastin31

Wow. Thank you so much, those diagrams rock! You make those yourself? Seriously, thanks for the great reply, I'm going to toy around with some different stuff this weekend and let you know how it goes. My damn lights didn't come even though I selected 3 days shipping like... Monday. Bummer. Oh well, still going to see if I can get it all wired up and ready for the bulbs to get here.