hwchien

Detail on installing license plate light and back up light
this mod only took me about 30 min or less to do it! and everyone can do it.

1) remove trunk inside cover: there are three steps to move the cover. 1st. remove the black strips, by pulling down at the outside edge and slide toward outside. 2nd. the only screw you will need to remove is in the handle that helps you to pull down the trunk cover. 3rd. last step. there are 11 small black plugs here some pictures to guide you how to remove it.
i.
ii
after you remove all 11 the rest is piece of cake

after you pull down the cover this is what it looks like

2) part number for back up light that i used: PIAA : Part Number: PIA19224

3) the license plate light i used is the 9 Blue LED

(ps you have to try if it works b4 you put everything back, coz the LED bulb only works in certain way)
4) sit back and enjoy your pretty cool car


some of the "Credit" to brewmaster and Road Rage
good luck ya'll
"P.S. i am not sure if i can post here"

trancemission

nice hwchien, looks great.

those piaas look bright. Thats the same bulb I used for my fogs on the CL.

NFLblitze1

great write up...but could u give a little more detail on how to take off the lining?

hwchien

sorry if this is confuse, but tell me where you got lost. So i know where to guide you

NFLblitze1

a few questions:

1) what black strips are u talking about...are u talking about the rubber lining?
2) is this screw right out in the open or is it behind one of the plastic clip
3) what is that ur using to take the clips out
4) is that brightest PIAA makes for the bulbs?

hwchien

answer
#1 under the trunk liner, there are two black strips beside the trunk stoper
#2 inside the handle, if you sit inside of your trunk you will see
#3 you know the "sanford uni-ball pen" take the metal thing of the cover of that pen. that thing is good for the plugs plus take off the doom light cover inside the car
#4 i believe so, i was following brewmaster's description. i bought it at autobarn.

NFLblitze1

thanks!

gonna order the back up bulbs now!


also...you should replace ur vanity lights with the superwhites...they look really good

NFLblitze1

also....from autobarn....

it says twin pack...they give u 2 bulbs right? cause it dosn't mention anywhere that 2 bulbs are included

hwchien

it's two in one set, and good luck

rbf351

wow another kid using blue lights on his car, hope you enjoy a ticket when you get pulled over

DiZlAoSbOiSoFlY

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for the write up. Im going to order some bulbs and try it out!

Brewmaster

Of all the places people have put blue lights I gotta think the rear license plate light is about the most benign ... as long as the cops can read the numbers I think he'll be fine!


By the way hwchien .. thanks for the props .. it's good to see an old contribution coming back to help someone out!!!

stavebomb

I just installed my license plate lights yesterday however I am a little dissapointed with it. I used the 9 led bulb which I ordered off Ebay. I think that the bulbs were too big or something! When I look up where the lights come out it looks as if only 3 or 4 of the leds are showing. This makes the plate looks really dim. I am going to go back and try to fix this today. I will post something on here about how it went.

NFLblitze1

LED's are dimmer than the stock bulbs....whats ur experiencing is most likely normal

flvol77

One thing....u don't have to remove the entire lining/Cover to get to the bulbs....I didn't at least. Only take off the about 4-5 clips and u should be able to access the bulbs

hwchien

yea you don't have to. but when you took all the cover off it's just easier to access to all the connecters.

NFLblitze1

i hate to be a noodnick with this again but i attempted to take off the lining of my trunk...and i couldn't get it off...i removed the clips and took out the screw....but i don't know what these black strips are...are they the things that are glued on? do they just come right off?

hwchien

hey nflblitze1 go check on you owner's manual on pp 216, it tells you how to remove that black stirp thingy.

NFLblitze1

thanks Chien! i figured it out...i thought they were glued to the lining...but they came off with ease! it looks 100x better! a great mod for someone who dosn't know anything about DIY....very fun aswell..looks amazing!

chill_dog

Hey, NFL, since it's so easy, how about a favor? Put in one stock reverse light and one PIAA and take a night shot. Would love to see a side by side.

NFLblitze1

i wish i would have taken pictures of the difference...if you search around u can see the dome light SUPERWHITES difference...its the same as that..its absolutely stunning...it makes it look very classy. in new jersey we have Yellow License Plates...sooo it makes a big difference instead of the yellowish bulbs reflecting off the yellow plate....but i honestly don't feel like taking hte lining off again because as its very easy and simple...it takes time...when i get the piaa reverse bulbs..and put those in...ill take pics...

stavebomb

I put in my lights 921 9 led white bulbs in my license plate slot and they are like too big or something! if you look at it from the outside you can see that only 2-4 are showing, making it kinda dim. Do you think i would have better luck with just one big ass led?

tallfuq

with the piaa reverse lights and the 6led bulb abso! love it

jwmraz

I'm looking to obtain a look similar to the new Lexus GS's pure white license plate light. I don't want the blue light as shown in the pics above. I also don’t really want to use LED lights because of their higher cost (I've read about their flickering problems, and I don’t want to have to change these lights multiple times).

I'm also planning to install the PIAA 19224 reverse lights, too, so I'm looking to buy both types of lights from the same vendor to save on shipping. I’ve been looking at pepboys.com to order these, but I need to be sure about the license plate lights…

For the license plate lights, I wanted to use a wedge super white bulb like the PIAA 19168 (aka Wedge 186), but I can't seem to find out for sure what non-LED lamp I should use that will fit the license plate light sockets and not blow a fuse or something. The 19168 is rated at 5w. I could have sworn that I read on this board a while back that people were using 19168’s but I’ve searched multiple times now and can't find any references to non-LED lights for this application.

I called the dealership and all they could tell me was that the stock lamps are 12V 21cp (I assume that means 21 candlepower).

Does anyone have any suggestions or knowledge from their experience for getting a pure white, non-LED lamp for the license plate lights? I’d like PIAA because I seem to be able to order most all of them from pepboys.com and have free shipping, but I’m open to other vendors that would have the two types of lights I’m looking for. Thanks in advance!

gurneyeagle

Sorry, but does this accomplish? I swear, I think you guys sit around and try to think of things to do. You guys must be running out of ideas.

Seriously, I appreciate your desire to personalize your car, but this seems like a real reach.

Great post though - very well written and the pictures are excellent. That's the way to do a "How To".

NFLblitze1

^^^ it makes it look nicer...i don't know if uve noticed.....but LED's look far nicer than stock bulbs....the bulbs have a yellowish cheapie look to them....LED's have a nice white look to them....ive gotten compliments about them...

MasterShake

iTrader: (1)

Are the reverse lights any brighter?

I dont care so much about the looks. I want reverse lights that show whats behind me in the dark.

jwmraz

...so back to my post and original question, does anyone have any knowledge about non-LED lamps for the license plate lights? Thanks.

TCMS

Go warn Lexus, the IS has a bluish tint bulb on the license plate.

TorontoR

Maybe it's HIDs?

whatjones911

Which PIAA light do i order for the reverse lights at autobarn..??

Also, can we just use those wedge bulbs Xtreme Super White PIAA from autobarn for the license plate light instead of LEDS. Has anyone tried using those instead of the LEDs?

sqzbox

If you want a good match for the back-lights and the license plates with PIAA bulbs, you want the 19224 Xtreme White bulb for the back-up lights and the 19172 Xtreme White for the license plate.

ltbmotorsport.com has both of these at $10.88 a pair.

bibby

Anyone know what Lexus IS uses for license plate lights? I've seen them on the road, it looks damn hot.

sixsixfour

it uses LEDs.

one cheap trick i did with mine is i got the PIAA high intensity LEDs. i lined the inside of the bulb case with aluminum foil (i taped it so call it a ghetto mod). that made the LED's light shine more and I have a brighter license plate light. you see our backup lights are aimed at an angle. so LEDs (which are usually directional - meaning they are only at their brightest if they are aimed properly) are usually aimed at an angle away from the license plate light, hence the dim light.

KC-Dub

Check this thread...

https://acurazine.com/forums/ramblings-12/dog-who-saved-toronto-145720/

Here's mine with the cold cathode mod...

bforbrian

iTrader: (11)

hey hwchien, you're from flushing? i live in queens haha i go to flushing every now and then.. i'm only 15-20 min away.. near little neck

if you ever see an '05 NBP with TL-S tails, you know it's me
i have the cornell decal on the back

kappa821

decent write up i was trying to do this the other day and didnt know how to take the 11 circle things out......anyone know on how to take the interior overhead bulbs out.....i get the cover out but i cant pull the light bulb out is it just pull straight out or do i have to click and pull (pretty sad i cant do it i know)

TL1999

man, what you want it so BRIGHT???

shayan

iTrader: (1)

I going to try this myself!! Hopefully it will work

pinina

iTrader: (2)

they just pull out