Light-Up AC Vents/Cup Holders! Tommy's write up

[TRD_Celica00]

Today I did the mod and it was a success!

Skills Needed:
Basic electrical skills
Removal of center console
Common Sense

Tools:
Drill
Drill bit that is .5mm smaller than the LED's that your working with
Wired LED's, 4 if your doing the AC vent's, 1 for cup holder, 5 if your doing both
Screw Driver
Wires(18 gauge)
Wire caps
Wire splicers so you won't run int electrical problems in the future

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01481.jpg

Remove the center console

I started splicing all the wires necessary
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01470.jpg

then routing the wires to the cig light so it will turn on when my lights come on, if you know your electrical then you should know what Im talking about ;)
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01472.jpg

then drill 4 holes(2 on each side) in the AC tunnel, if you chose the correct size drill bit then the led's should just plug right in place
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01465.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01467.jpg

then cut the necessary wire and run it down the center console, time to cap all the wires together!
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01468.jpg

after you wire them up correctly, test them out before you put everything together
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01477.jpg

For the led's in the cup holder,remove the window switch then you will have some visible view of the cup holder. You might need to use a smaller drill it then move up to a bigger one because your drilling at an angle and it might not bite. And after you successfully drilled the hole shove the LED right through about 1/3 of the way so it won't stick out much and interfere with objects getting put in the cup holder. Run the wire's to the Cig light and turn it on to see if it works, if not try switching the connection. When it turns on try fiddling it to center the beam.

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01480.jpg

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01475.jpg

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01474.jpg

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01473.jpg

Any questions just post em here :)

Some mid-day shots
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01479.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01478.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01487.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01488.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01484.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01494.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01495.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01491.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh233/trd_celica00/DSC01489.jpg

i need a tripod

[imp]

any nighttime shots?

[MastaBman]

I must have a nighttime pic!

[TRD_Celica00]

ill post them tonight when it gets dark :)

[adalos]

all that work and you used orange leds? =/

nice writeup tho.

[MastaBman]

It's nighttime =o

[Sty09]

:wiggle:

[Celica402GTS]

u need one more led on the other side of the cup holder..it'll light up more..not bad..i guess u going for the oem orange color scheme eh?? not my cup of tea but..nicely done..

[TRD_Celica00]

all that work and you used orange leds? =/

nice writeup tho.

yea any other colors besides red are ricey to me :/
u need one more led on the other side of the cup holder..it'll light up more..not bad..i guess u going for the oem orange color scheme eh?? not my cup of tea but..nicely done..

it bright enough in person, and the other side is pretty hard to access/drill

I went with orange to match the gauge cluster and keep its retail value :gap:

[whoadizzle]

What about the other 2 a/c vents?

[MastaBman]

http://i27.tinypic.com/zls0oi.gif

[TRD_Celica00]

:chuckles:

What about the other 2 a/c vents?


I havnt found a way to access them yet without taking out the dash

Nighttime pics are up BTW

[chillan420]

wire nuts in vehicle? bad idea!!! major no no. too much vibration causes friction which causes heat which causes fire. hope you have good insurance if you plan on doing more wiring in your car.

[vegeta4ss]

http://i27.tinypic.com/zls0oi.gif
^ :chuckles:

I'm glad to see someone do this mod. I bought the LED's to do it but when I was painting my dash and other interior stuff it looked a pain in the ass so I did not do it.

I did however put LED's in the rear cupholders, and at the rear seatbelt connectors for a short while.

I agree w/ the wire nuts comment but if they are on there good they probably aren't coming loose. The best things to use are the pinch clips that you stick both wires in and clip it together. But I always seem to be out of them....

[TRD_Celica00]

I need some pinch clips now because I have 6-8 wire nuts :(

cant I fill the wire nuts with some electrical silicon or somthing?

[h8eternal]

where exactly did you tap for power and where did you ground?

[silentchaos]

from the look of the pictures he taped in to the pos and neg of the light for the cig lighter ring and ashtray. that way they are controllable from the dimmer dial for the interior lights

[oONoGoAutoOo]

good job