Tonywp75

Where can I get these parts:


The led Housing/socket

and the white wire from?

06 Acura TL

instead of all this i woulda went with some LED bulbs...just my opinion

Tonywp75

might i ask you why?

Buda

iTrader: (1)

Here is an alternative connection method that I posted in this thread:

https://acurazine.com/forums/ramblings-12/wall-speakers-anyone-have-them-151709/

jayunsplanet

iTrader: (1)

The light spilling over to the entire bumper and back of trunk looks kind of tacky.

Kracker

Yeah, I agree.. Yellow stock lights are much cooler... Almost a awesome as flickering LEDs... Blinking is a sign of class... I dont know why Honda/Acura dont make them blink to begin with..

I really like my CC Lights... Still going strong.

lusid

I myself do like the light and how it looks, yellow vs white lights on the plates, I will take the white lights anyday.

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

Rock, just saw your post...
Not hurtin my feelings.

I only advocate for the LEDS due to thea ease of installation for damn near equivalent effect.

That's a pretty heavy mod for the inexperineced, trivial for guys like me and you.

Swapping bulbs for LEDS anyone can handle.

Now that I'm running out of mods, i may go this route too. When you do the clear lens, it definately is brighter.

PM/Post info on where you got your cathodes and the specs of the lexan plastic if you don't mind.

BTW, how did you adress the camera cable enterring the trunk. I dremmelled the lens... Did the cable interfere with lens?

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

My cathodes are still running strong as well. They survived thunderstorms and carwashes and even slammed trunks by dodo friends. We'll see how they fare this winter. (The true test.)

Where I got the cathodes from is no secret. You can find them all over Ebay dirt cheap. It's the same brand that was pimpin-tl used.

http://cgi.ebay.com/12-DUAL-WHITE-CO...QQcmdZViewItem

Maybe you can get it even cheaper than that. I was impatient, it was cheap and I just used "buy it now".

I didn't use any special plastic for the lens. Just the clear plastic from the package. It will work fine. The main key here is sealing the opening real well.

I have another thread here about my whole AV/camera install etc. I didn't dremel the lens like others have because I planned ahead and knew I was going to do the cathode mod. I didn't want to drill a hole somewhere. Instead I dremeled a small groove in the plastic near the weatherseal for the backup lights and ran the camera wire through there. Worked like a charm.

Kracker

If I were doing this again I would wire in the fault tolerance that tuoncan did...

I have always had good luck with Directron... Their shipping isnt that bad when you order more than 1... Because they dont sell the inverters by themselves, I would buy 3.

Here is a picture where I dremeled the car.

http://people.cs.tamu.edu/mlw8723/CarPics/IMG_1546.jpg

Tonywp75

Hey Kracker,

What Fuse did you hook the under the dash CCT to?

I tried it with the interior light but , i want it to turn on and off when the interior goes out, but the CCT didnt.

Kracker

I spliced into the dome lights GRY/BLU and WHT wires and ran it down thru the center console. The lights will turn on with the On switch or when the door are open.

Tonywp75

Thanks.

I did the mod today ...not completely finish yet. I did the plate light, trunk light, and driver side footwell.

Not sure about the blue under the footwell yet, it look more purple compare to the rest of the blue leds i have on the indside.

I just tap(no splicing) into the drive side doorlights for the footwell light. I wanted to tap into the dome light, but didnt want to splice anything..also was hard to hide the wires.

ballinfizzle89

iTrader: (6)

Tony, pics

I have the LED license plate lights and they work/look just fine.

BUT, I really want to do this footwell lighting, except the install seems kind of difficult. We'll see

Tonywp75

Look more purple then blue and it makes my Leds look a tad green compare to CCT. The picture didnt pick that up. I just ordered some Cream Orange CCT, hope i like those better.

The install wasnt that bad actually, just as long as you know the basic. Red = power Black = ground. Its all about tapping powers and the right tool. The Dremel helped alot since i had to shave some of the connectors i bought i fit into the door light.

This was my first wiring mod.

lusid

Anyone?

Where do you purchase the clips?

TL-773

Click here.

After having two sets of LEDs fail on me, I went with the cold cathodes. I really like the color and the even light distribution. I ended up removing the reflective tape, it was just too bright.

lusid

TY for the link, but I have no idea which one i'm looking for LOL

Tonywp75

I used this method...It actually better for used in other lights too. Thanks Buda

Kracker

I have had so much bad luck with spade connectors... But there are entire industries built on using them. I like the idea, its seems to be easier than cutting away the foamy duct tape.

I have a habit of putting super gel (super glue is too liquid) on the butt end of connector. I also really like heat shrink.

Next time I get into the trunk I'm going to install another inverter, and attach it this way.

Buda

iTrader: (1)

No problem. I've had these installed this way for 11 months now and no problems with it at all.

Piece of advice when attacking the inverter to the trunk as you will have to replace it at some point. Don't us the 3M double side tape you won't get the inverter off. Instead in the walmart hardware department you can buy a long strip of adhesive backed velcro. It sticks well and makes replace inverters quite easy. Of course you could always cable tie it down.

WiLLrOx

The link on the first page doesn't work anymore. Is there another DIY for this mod?

Kracker

Until Pimpin-TL can get it up again... I can put it on my school website.. Since I know the admin I dont think it will ever go away..

http://www.google.com/search?q=cache...ient=firefox-a

lusid

pics appear to be dead. just a fyi.

WiLLrOx

Anyone in the 818 or 949 area willing to help me out with this mod? I've never done any wiring modifications before and I don't trust myself.

Kracker

Its really not that hard... taking the trunk lid apart is alot harder than plugging in the two wires. Then again I'm good at electrical stuff like that.

Read the DYI (without the pictures) and look over the last few pages of this thread for improvments over the dyi (spade connectors, 2 inverters for failure prevention, and the trunk light).

If you need help people can help on the thread, PMs, emails, and even over the phone.

It makes it super easy if you have a simple multimeter and plugin transformer (12v 1000mA). With that it easy to trouble shoot and provide a walk thru to doing it online.

pimpin-tl

I will send Kracker the info tonight so he can update his site with the pics.

Kracker

Pimpin-350z will get the front page updated by a mod sometime soon.

The following URL:

http://people.cs.tamu.edu/mlw8723/CC/cathodeTLhowto.htm

Kracker

FYI!!! My rear bulbs are out! 15 months. Its strange that there is still a little light coming out of one side... I thought the bulbs were continuous, so I dont know why light is on one side.

I dont know what failed... The bulbs, inverter, connections... water damage... I'll finally have something to do this week.

As a public service announcement please check your lights!

ImPoRtHoNdA

i know this thread is about cathode, but can anyone show me the link to the how-to for LEDS? i just wanna see how the install is different. Isn't the LED just unplug, and plug? What size should i get? i think i want to go with the leds, these look really hard to install.

Kracker

It was the inverter.... Too bad I had a stupid attack and took the tubes out before checking the inverter... added a third tube to the top, added an additional inverter (gunna add a third one). I'm gunna hookup switches so I can dim the lights on demand.

Buda

iTrader: (1)

Mine are going out as well, the tubes are getting dim so I'm pretty sure it was them. I was going to add a third tube to the top as well. Glad to see I'm not the only one with that idea. I wonder how bright it will be.

Sean

ecliptics

yeah, LEDs pretty much plug and play. you should try this though. i know it looks hard but its not that bad. i didnt even do any of the complicated 3M fancy stuff.. i just simply stripped the wires and connected them to the ones on our car. it took me a while though ( like 4hrs lol) cause i was a total noobie and did uncessessary work. ( i stripped it on both ends and connected the lights to each.. you only need to connect the lights to 1 end because both of them run together) try it! theres a good sense of acomplishment in DIYs

stavebomb

hey i live in Rancho Santa Margarita and I'm going to be doing this pretty soon and would be more the willing to help you out if i get it right with mine. Where do you live?

WiLLrOx

Thanks, but I actually did it on my own. It wasn't bad at all. The hardest part for me was cutting the spade connectors to fit in the existing sockets. But once I cut them down to the right size, everything was cake.

ImPoRtHoNdA

haha we'll see.

Tonywp75

The spade connector is the way to go. I did some additional lighting using this method. My favorite is the under door lights (blue blade)...lol

stavebomb

ok, cool. i remember reading something about the blue box things wearing out and have to be replaced every once in a while, is that true?

Kracker

Yes it is true... Have you seen that movie Momento?

Post #190 and #188 above, my inverter went bad... Since I was one of the first CC users I would expect to see other people have similar problems very shortly...

I think heat is the biggest killer of the inverters... But its winter (might be 50 degrees right now ) Be sure to mount the vent holes pointing upwards...

I just thought about how much its going to suck to fix all the other inverters in my car... Crap.

Tonywp75, looks good! I still think the trunk lights were by far the very best use of the white CC lights.. But I use my door light every day, maybe I would notice it more if I didnt have them.

Tonywp75

Yeah, I used the CCT on my truck light and Plate light...looks great. I also used then on my foot well, but i might switch to LED strips. The CCT take a min or so to get to it full brightness. I used LED strips on my door caused it didnt need an inverters and it was more flexiable for that application. Plus it looks cool at night, when i open my door.


My inverter are black instead of blue, I think it might be never version or something. The place I got them has a 1 year warrenty on it for all its products.

I will be doing more light wiring on my car soon, once the weather warm up or i have nothing to do. Hopefully, it turns out as good as it is in my mind...lol.