JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

I was able to finally get some pictures as it was very hard to capture the output of exactly what I did so that people can see it in the pictures. Im the kind of guy that likes OEM looking improvements and mods so this is a very subtle mod that matches the OEM ambient lighting perfectly. So dont expect some crazy blue or red interior lights...basically, I dont want the inside of my car to look like a night club. I was inspired to do this mod after being in a few newer vehicles that have very similar OEM night ambient lighting. One of them being the new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland that has an unbelievable interior.
Since I have a Type S I used red 3mm LED's however this mod can be done to the base TL's in blue as well. I dont think the older 04-06 TL's have footwell ambient lighting but all 07+ TL's do and these match the overhead lights and footwell lights perfectly. Just adds a real nice touch to the interior that is not overdone and looks like it could have come factory.

To do this all you will need is a total of 4 pre-wired (with resistors) 3mm LED's in the color of your choice. To match OEM Type S would be red, and base TL would be blue. To help diffuse the light output of the LED I trimmed off the edge of the LED's and also sanded them down slightly so the lens appeared frosted. The door handle LED's are mounted in the top rear corner, and the lower door pocket lights get mounted in the screw access hole for the door panel. Obviously the door panels have to come off as all the work is done from inside the door panel. Thats a simple job though. I drilled holes from inside the door panel and mounted the LED's inside the holes and secured with a heat glue gun. From inside the cabin you cannot see the actual bulbs they are hidden just like the footwell lights or overhead ambient lights. To power these lights I simply stole power and ground from the door lock switch. So these lights will go on and off with the other interior lights and even dim with the rest of them too. I wanted to get a power source from within the door panel that way if for whatever reason I needed to remove the door panel at later date I didnt have to worry about cutting wires that ran into the door. Sorry I dont have pics of the actual install but it really was not that hard so hopefully my description is good enough.

Here are the final results:










This is the car that insprired this mod the 2011+ Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland...LOVE these things and will probably be getting one for the wife in the not too distant future.

Dsrtne1

iTrader: (1)

Looks good!

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Nice!

usmarinedelta

iTrader: (1)

Great job, thinks it looks great but only if it matches the rest of the LEDs like you have. For those with oem stereo, how hard was it to change the color btw?

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

James, I really like the one in the door handle.
awesome job!

Have you considered adding an LED inside of each cup holder?

cjTL

iTrader: (2)

Very nicely done. The Type-S interior is lit so much differently than the base TLs. Does the color/brightness ever bother you? That bright red upper brow would piss me off at night.

BigPZ

James (We'll be on a first name basis now, as your handle is a bitch to type) AGAIN with the lights!! Looks great my friend...you've given me even more lighting ideas! Nice job!!!

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

Well remember these are pictures so you can't really base the cars interior lighting based on those. No the oem interior lighting does not piss me off it's not too bright and I personally think the red is easy on the eyes. I may have had the "full bright" button pressed in those pictures which is maybe why it appears very bright. As far as the color I think the read looks really cool although I also enjoyed the color of my base 07 TL as well. They are both nice in their own ways I guess you could say.


Justnspace,
Good idea on the cup holder one. I have not really considered it but mainly because I have that cover closed all the time unless there is a drink in there. But I do have several extra LED's so I can try anything. The other reason is technically that area is already illuminated by the overhead ambient lights, but if I wanted something a little more pronounced kind of like that Jeep interior above I could.


Usmarinedelta,
Thanks for the compliments. As for the color I think you may have confused the two extra pictures of the newer Grand Cherokee interior as being my TL's interior. That is not my TL I simply posted those to show what some newer cars have done with putting LED's in certain places. The only thing I did to my interior was added an LED to the door handle pockets and door panel storage pocket. Like I said it's real subtle, but looks nice at night.

Nutz4life

Very nice work. Although red is not my taste, it does look nice. Well done!

oneonlywgs

looks good

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

I hear ya, but if you have a Type S you dont have much choice in the matter haha

DeathMetal

iTrader: (2)

Hogwash.

Looks good, dude.

cjTL

iTrader: (2)

True, pictures do tend to overexpose things. I do like the red lighting with the Type-S interior though. Brings us back to a time when Acura had a personality.

CubanLynx84

iTrader: (2)

Looks good!! I am going to be doing this sometime soon myself. I thought about the door handle lights a long time ago when I did my footwells over and my cup holders. Just haven't had time.

DeathMetal

iTrader: (2)

The DIYs are in the garage if you need a reference point.

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

I know I already stated this and its all personal preference, but if you want to keep it looking OEM be sure to use 3mm LED's. As I stated before to spread the light better I flattened the end of the LED bulb and sanded the rest of it so it had a frosted look. The light spread now was perfect, then after the bulb is installed if its still too bright you can simply touch the bulb with a permanant marker a few times to get the desired brightness you want. Easiest place to catch power and ground for your door panel bulbs is at the door lock switch. I just ran the wires to that and soldered to the appropriate leads. Doing this method will get you door panel pocket and handle light that matches the OEM footwell LED's (for 07+ guys) and overhead LED's perfectly. Looks killer at night!!

James

Aneurysm9

Any chance you could post pictures showing where you tapped into the door lock switch? As I recall from the last time I had my door panels off there are about 892 wires back there!

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

I wish I could but I did not think to take pictures of the actual install. To give you an idea you do not have to put any wires into the actual door so all the work can be done on your kitchen table with the door panel in front of you. So again, you are not splicing into any wires you are simply soldering the two wires for the LED's onto the circuit board for the door lock switch. I used my multi meter to find which circuit was 12V when the lights were switched on then I figured out which one was ground. Very simple and im sorry I didnt think to take a picture.
Depending on how happy I feel tonight or tomorrow I will possibly remove my door panel to help you guys out and will post some pics.

stand by

James

DeathMetal

iTrader: (2)

The DIY is in the garage. You will need to tap the RED wire with a BLACK stripe and TWO SILVER bands. This is the illumination wire for all harnesses.

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

Here guys I went ahead and took off my passenger side door panel and took pictures. Hopefully these are better than whats in the garage. As mentioned above you can tap into the wires but then your making a huge hassle when it comes time to remove the door panel as your going to have wires from the door panel into the door shell which is a huge pain. My method and you have every self contained inside the door panel.

Here are the pics hope this is what you guys were looking for.

















This is the location of the lower pocket LED. Drill the hole from the other side then push the LED through and secure with hot glue gun. I like this stuff as it dries pretty much right away, but is easy to remove if need be. its also clean and easy to use.



This is the location of the upper door handle LED. Its covered in electrical tape but drill this hole from this side and secure using the same method as the lower LED.



Here is the door lock switch. You can see where the 12V side goes and the ground is the lowest prong. You are looking at the switch from the top of it. So when your looking at the door panel the black wire gets soldered to the lowest spot, and the red one goes to the third from the bottom. You will have to remove the switch to do this but its just two screws.









Here is an over exposed picture but its just to show the lights. In person they are much more subtle and are about the same brightness as the other OEM ambient lights.

DeathMetal

iTrader: (2)

Nice write-up!

FYI: Just one man's opinion, but I would NOT recommend tapping an OE board lead for power; tap the supply line.

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

Looks very "sweet" indeed!

Not too bright =)

Hondaforlife954

I might have to add this mod to my led lighting set-up.....

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

Well I didnt see what the problem was as the two leads I tapped were directly from the wire harness themselves so I dont really see what the difference is. I followed the wiring from the harness and it literally goes directly to these prongs and does not go through any other circuitry prior to that point. The other spots however do so do not go to any other spot except for what I have shown. So if there is something im missing please let me know as I do want to know.



EDIT:
I accidentially said the wrong thing on which points to solder to. The black wire gets soldered to the lowest spot, and the red wire goes to the 3rd from the bottom (not second like I original stated). So if the switch was held upright black is at bottom, then you skip a spot, then red one gets soldered in.

DeathMetal

iTrader: (2)

The TL, for whatever reason, is EXTREMELY temperamental when it comes to a consistent power delivery and I've replaced LEDs in select spots 2, even 3 times before I finally resort to throwing a voltage regulator in the line.

By tapping an already relatively unstable source (the lock switch is one of them), you can confound the matter and may create additional draw on the source for the doorhandle. It SHOULDN'T. But the power flow in this car is a goddamn mystery at some spots.

Aneurysm9

Thanks for the additional pictures. This looks like it would go great with the all red interior lighting I've already got.

rayraysupreme

Sweet mod! I may have to do that one day...

LoveMyTL-S

Fixed in the original post..... Great work! Very clean and subtle lighting.

vietxquangstah

iTrader: (7)

nice mod, you need some LED's for the front passenger and driver doors!

can you post a link to where you got your LED's for these subtle oem looking mods?

omnuts

Very nice mod, looks great

Flipster23

iTrader: (15)

damn looks good

I'm actually in the works on a project like this on my Mazda

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

What exactly do you mean? Thats what this entire thread is about is how I now have LED's installed in my front driver and passenger doors

Here is the link for the LED's that I purchased. Keep in mind these are red since I have a Type S, but I would assume base TL owners would use blue.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/320588187775

eduthesamurai

Awesome

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

I think he means the stock (yellow) door light as seen in this picture =) :

tungml3

very nice

LicoLpz121

Nice Mod Clean Look!

phatrick

I'm a pansy and I don't mess with the electrical's in my car haha, but dope I wish I could do it!

boyhamdzui

iTrader: (1)

I think it would be interesting ,a LED strip in the cup holder .

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

James, I love it! That looks fantastic-come back to Kansas City and let's do that to my Type S!

DeathMetal

iTrader: (2)

A strip is overkill and will not make it look 'ambient', per say. 2 LEDs do the trick...