LEDing your interior

[Martin Roy]

Thanks Matttail ! The problem was really with the "thought" and "through". As for the There/Their/They're, I got a perfect score .

About what you said, LEDs are wired in parallel, not in series.

and from dimmer to passenger side, how did you run a wire there?

It's easier to run it behind the console, next to the firewall. I've added a wiring diagram showing approximately where the wires go. I'll take pictures tomorrow, in daylight.
Modified by Martin Roy at 10:20 PM 9/3/2007

[matttail]

About what you said, LEDs are wired in parallel, not in series. Modified by Martin Roy at 10:20 PM 9/3/2007

Actually that was an other spelling mistake - in the diagram you've added in the first post you put "serie" and it's series. That's all. :smile

[daffyack]

next to the firewall. Modified by Martin Roy at 10:20 PM 9/3/2007

what is firewall? I guess after you putting up pics of how you did it, I will understand, but til then, can you explain to me what you mean by firewall?

thank you

[matttail]

the firewall is the wall between the passenger compartment and the engine compartment. With luck if there's a fire in/around your engine that will save your life. For the purposes of running wire, just locate the most forward part of your car.

[Martin Roy]

what is firewall?

Stretch your right foot as far as you can and touch the wall behind the pedals: That's the firewall. You can see it in step 5 of the tutorial.

in the first post you put "serie" and it's series

My bad ! In French, we say "en série" (singular). I'll correct that !Thanks !

[Martin Roy]

I checked: 50 LEDs in parallel = 0,75 Amps, or about 0.015 amps / LED

Dimmer: I used a brushed aluminium dimmer with up to 10 000 Ohms resistance and a turn off switch after a 3/4 rotation. Turns out this dimmer isn't the best solution, since the LEDs emit no light after only 1/4 turn. A lower resistance dimmer would work better. Radioshack or any other store like it have those in stock.

LEDs: For the cupholders, I used two "Super yellow" 3000mcd LED. Sadly, they looked more redish then the amber I was hoping for. The light output is also very weak.

Just some tips I think you should know .

[daffyack]

I almost dont want to ask you this, but I just gotta.

if i lighten up cupholder and interior exactly like you did and get the power from dimmer, the light will come on when I turn on the headlight, right?

and it could be dimmed with the dimmer switch located right next to side mirror control.

[Clipsed]

remember I told you about answering questions Martin? Prime example haha.

[Martin Roy]

if i lighten up cupholder and interior exactly like you did and get the power from dimmer, the light will come on when I turn on the headlight, right? and it could be dimmed with the dimmer switch located right next to side mirror control.

Exactly ! Parts One and Two explain how to do that. It's funny because I actually never mentionned it in my tutorial. My bad.

[Flatline]

3000mcd's gave you dim output?!?

Standard LED's (the kind you find in most indicating applications like home stereo power indicators for instance) is only 150mcds (give or take). superbright LED's range from 1500 - 5000 mcd's!!! (mcd's is a measure of how bright the led is for those who are wondering). 3000mcd's with a standard current limiting resistor should give you a nasty "camera flash" feeling if you looked straight into it.

One other factor when selecting LED's is the "viewing angle". This determines if you get a flooding light effect or a concentrated beam. For illumination of an area (as opposed to a specific point, you probably want a higher viewing angle.

On a separate note, if you plan on using LED's in your cup holders...if you are anything like me with coffee, you will inadvertently spill something in the cup holder and onto the LED. If your hole is loose (oh geez that sounds baaad), liquid can leak down onto your wiring. I would suggest that any wiring that potentially could get wet, use some silicone or some other means to prevent a possible short (silicone the back side of the LED where it comes through the hole for instance..making the cupholder "watertight") My opinion only of course.

I found this if anyone wants to know more about LED's http://www.theledlight.com/technical.html ...sorry if I have posted this in the wrong area.

[Martin Roy]

Flatline, well said about the cupholders, since some of us intended to light them from underneath. But as it turns out, it's simpler to put the LEDs over the cupholders as shown in the tutorial. Not only are they always lite when something's in them, there is also no chances of getting liquids in. If it gets wet, that means you did one helloffa mess !

Thanks for the site also !

[vpnavy]

Martin Roy - I just wanted to say thanks! I only installed one LED (it was enough) per your instructions (cup holder) and it works like a champ! Thanks for posting the procedures.

[Martin Roy]

You're welcome. These are the kinds of small mods that are fun and simple to do, as well as being useful.

[kaze0]

Any opinions on what color to use? I'm cautious about trying to do amber even though I think it'll look best. I just think that if the colors off itll look really bad, and I can't really judge from picture onlines.

I got a black versa with beige interior.I was leaning towards red since there is some red on the dash and I don't think a difference in red color would be as noticeable as a difference in amber, but am open to suggestions.

[coxcj]

Any opinions on what color to use? I'm cautious about trying to do amber even though I think it'll look best. I just think that if the colors off itll look really bad, and I can't really judge from picture onlines.

I got a black versa with beige interior.I was leaning towards red since there is some red on the dash and I don't think a difference in red color would be as noticeable as a difference in amber, but am open to suggestions.

When I did mine, the LED's came out looking more orange than amber, but they actually complement the color of the needles on the spedometer and tachometer. You would be hard pressed to find an exact match, but the orange/amber colored ones work out really well and I have had no comments about it looking out of place.

Another thought is whether you plan on changing out the stereo deck. The reason I mention that is because you could always match colors that way. If you get one with a blue backlight, then you might want to have the blue LED's, or whatever the case.

Good luck.

[kaze0]

Thanks for the advice. I am planning to swap out the stereo. Looking at the Jensen VM9312. I think the bulk of the GUI is bluish so that might be a good idea to do blue. I always feel like blue lights are brighter too.

I initially was gonna keep the factory stereo in, but the tuner is sooo awful that I can't really tolerate it. And if I'm upgrading the stereo, might as well go a little overboard and get a completely unecessary in dash dvd.

[AwesomelyIsaac]

Nice write-up, makes this seem like a quick way of increasing the interior looks of the versa with minimal time and money spent. I was wondering though if a spare dash dimmer would work as substitute for the low resistor dimmer? I figure that would keep more with a clean look instead of having a knob sticking out.

[jfanaselle]

Actually, he tapped into the existing dimmer for the dash lights and interior lights. This way, there is no knob sticking out anywhere. I did this mod and I love it. I also installed an amber LED between the two map lights on the upper console (near the rear view mirror) for "mood lighting" and it's tapped into the same existing dimmer.

[bulld0g]

Actually, he tapped into the existing dimmer for the dash lights and interior lights. This way, there is no knob sticking out anywhere. I did this mod and I love it. I also installed an amber LED between the two map lights on the upper console (near the rear view mirror) for "mood lighting" and it's tapped into the same existing dimmer.

Got Pix?

[kaze0]

I somehow managed to stop my dimmer from working. Anyone have ideas?

It worked fine for a week or so, then I changed LEDs. Those LEDs worked fine for a little while, but I noticed the connection must have been loose cause they flickered when I was driving. So I took them out and tried sticking them back in. Then the dimmer stopped working next time I started the car, the LEDs were off as well. The light on the dimmer is off, as well as the radio and air conditioning button backlights. I'm assuming it's a fuse but no idea which one. I pulled a few random ones to check and they looked fine, but it was cold and windy and dark so I gave up.

Yeah editing again, so I don't forget to try this in the A.M. zer...26380

Modified by kaze0 at 3:15 PM 2/2/2008

Modified by kaze0 at 4:20 PM 2/2/2008
Modified by kaze0 at 4:21 PM 2/2/2008

[AwesomelyIsaac]

I was talking about the second part of the mod, where he added a dedicated dimmer for the floor LEDs. I like the idea of being about to control the dash and LEDs separately. Does the dash dimmer have any limitations on it though? Like I said, I was interested in finding a spare dash dimmer and wondered if the LEDs would light up on low settings.

[pfc369]

[QUOTE=kaze0]I somehow managed to stop my dimmer from working. Anyone have ideas?

just connected to the glove compartment light. that what i did. you have to remove the glove box.

[RitzburyGD3]

if what happened to him, is what happened to me, his glove box light is out too

[jfanaselle]

Got Pix?

I didn't take any pics of the installation process, but I took some pics of the final product. Came out really good. Check out this thread:

zerothread?id=303243

[kaze0]

I managed to blow my fuse again.

Any idea what I'm doing to cause this? I taped all the wires together this time to make sure there was no chance of bumps knocking the wires loose. I even used different lights as well, these http://www.superbrightleds.com/specs/FLS.htm.

[niennumb1]

Is doing this illegal in any states or is it okay? I thought there were legalities to interior LED lighting, but am not sure.

Looks cool!

[kaze0]

Can't see it from outside. At least not mine. Although from inside I do get some reflection on the window, but it doesn't show looking in from outside.

[jmaclean]

Martin, re: "the dimmer to the left of the mirror adjustment switch . . ." I've only had my V a couple of months. On my last vehicle (a Kia Sorento) this switch turned all the interior lights on in the vehicle when I rolled the switch up into the top position, just past the point where you feel the "bump". However, this doesn't seem to affect anything in the V beyond making sure that the dash lights are locked in the bright position. Is there something wrong with this switch on my V, or is that simply all it does?

[jfanaselle]

Is doing this illegal in any states or is it okay? I thought there were legalities to interior LED lighting, but am not sure.

Check your local laws, but in California, as long as red light can't be seen from outside the vehicle from the front, and blue or purple can't be seen from outside the vehicle from any direction, then you're ok. LED lights are very directional and usually the light fades out when you get 30 degrees or so off axis from the center of the light (depending on what type/brand of LEDs you're using). As long as you don't have bright colors lighting up every object inside your car, you sould be ok. Another good rule of thumb: you're almost always safe with white (clear) or amber.

jmaclean: my dimmer switch operates exactly like yours. it reaches it's brightest intensity prior to "clicking" into it's locked position. I think the locking position is simply to ensure it doesn't roll to a dimmer setting on it's own while driving over bumps, etc.

[Martin Roy]

However, this doesn't seem to affect anything in the V beyond making sure that the dash lights are locked in the bright position. Is there something wrong with this switch on my V, or is that simply all it does?

jfanaselle is right.