SeeMeGovan
Greenie N00B Member
I haven't seen a legit write up for something like this in my internet travels so here goes. The project is "done" but I'll be improving the power connection soon. The pictures below only show 4 of the 15+ color combos using combination RGB LED's (and yes they're real pictures). The white is less blue and the blue is less purple than they appear. The bumper glow was a complete accident but it makes it look like I'm opening a spaceship at night.
Edit: Added product links for splitter and extension at very bottom. If I were to do this again I would get the 5050 LED elements on a SEALED strip instead of having the exposed LED elements as I have knocked off a few (the rest still work).
TIME: ~4 hours (I took my sweet time)
COST: ~$40 for all parts (chinese knockoffs), assuming you have adhesives and tools
Goals:
Products Used:
Tools Used:
~~~
Procedure:
TEST ALL YOUR ELECTRONICS. You should do this before you even start and at several points throughout the install. You will not be happy if you install a dead string of LED's or you short out your controller and discover 5 steps later.
Start by removing almost everything from your hatch. The privacy cover, then the floormat, then the styrofoam piece, then the hard plastic piece (that's screwed down), and then the spare tire. Leave the styrofoam piece under the spare. I sat on this while I was in there. Fold your rear seats all the way forward.
Next, start disconnecting all the interior plastic paneling. I'm not gonna hold your hand for this part, sorry. The general order you remove the panels is first the black trim around the hatch latch, then the top trim piece (with the seatbelt coming out of it under the triangle window), then the black door trim on the rear edge of the side rear door (you don't need to fully remove this, just take out the 3 snaps you can see and pop it out of place), then the big main fuzzy side panel. On the right side, this large piece has 2 power wires clipped onto the light socket from behind. Be careful and unclip these, we will be using that power for the LED power.
The only fastener that gave me trouble is a metal clip that holds the big fuzzy panel into the frame along the rubber hatch seal. It takes a bit of force and went flying off when I got it out but nothing broke. I attached a picture of this clip. The rest of the non-fastener connections are just plastic wedges that pop out of slots. Be forceful but don't jerk and you shouldn't break anything important.
Take this time to vacuum out all the crud that's been accumulating beneath all your hatch paneling. I know it's dirty, don't lie to me.
~
Ok, now you have all the paneling completely or partially detached. Time to cut and attach the strips. I put them underneath a ledge on the window/seatbelt trim with the connectors towards the hatch. To get some slack in the seatbelt so you can work with the trim, stick the seatbelt through the seat bracket and loop it around some pliers or whatever.
You'll need to cut the strips along one of the "cut here" zones. You want the length of the strip to prevent any protrusion front or rear and also to put the connector near the part of the trim where it contours in slightly (on the rear side of the seatbelt trim, scroll down a bit to find the picture). This is crucial for allowing the wire to squeeze between the top trim piece and the fuzzy piece. Feel free to only run a single strip on each side but I cut a double length strip and folded it in the middle. I'm very glad I doubled up, it's super bright and sexy.
Remember me saying to test your electronics? TEST BOTH YOUR CUT STRIPS NOW. To test them in the car, chop ~12" off the end of your wall power supply (the end with the little plug) and wrap the bare wires around the contacts in the stock light socket with needlenose pliers. My LED supply was a 12V 2A MAX output and the light socket in the car will put out about 0.75A with the number of LED's we're hooking up. And don't worry, you won't shock yourself, even with the light on. Your body is a giant resistor.
The picture below is from project completion so ignore the IR sensor for now.
Before you attach the strips, wipe down the trim piece with an alcohol wipe and let it dry completely. If you're doubling up, only peel back the adhesive backing just past the fold, lay the first half, then peel and lay the rest. I used duct tape to anchor both ends of the strip, especially near the connectors. Also use those double-sided and electrical tapes appropriately for reinforcing the strip attachments.
~
Now run the extension cable from one side to the other. I ran it down under the L brackets on both sides that connect to the wheel well and the chassis floor, then clipped the wire into the clips that hold the gas flap release cable.
At this point, the left side of the car is essentially done. Hook up the extension to the LED strip and take almost all the slack out of the extension cable on this side, feeding the slack back to the right side. I put a single zip tie around the extension on the left side and attached it to the painted black steel seatbelt bracket (which is hidden behind the big fuzzy trim panel). You can reattach all the paneling on this side now, including fasteners.
Now you want to find a place to mount the splitter so it's not flopping around. This is on the right side of the car near the stock hatch light. I found a very convenient unused hole in the frame that I put a zip tie through. Make sure that the orientation/location of your splitter allows you to connect it to the strip you mounted on the top trim and also reach the extension cable. Also predict that the LED controller (little white box) will be mounted to the big fuzzy panel so make sure that the splitter input end comes within a couple inches of this main panel. Notice I permanently attached the extension to the splitter with electrical tape. I did NOT do this for any other connection, however, to allow for easy disassembly in case something craps out (cheap chinese stuff).
~
Ok, now it's time to mount the LED controller (which I've mislabeled as P.S. in most of the pictures). Fortunately, the one I bought has 2 little through holes in the housing for mounting. These holes are too small for the zip ties I had so I cut a zip tie in half lengthwise and it fit perfect. I left this zip tie a bit loose so that I can run the power cable through it later after I make a more permanent power connection. You want to be able to feed the IR sensor through the fuzzy panel (you must cut a hole) near the stock light housing and also be able to connect the controller's 4-pin output cable to the splitter's input. I mounted mine to the back of the indents in the fuzzy panel where what look like air vents blow down from the top seatbelt trim (the piece you've mounted your LED strips to). I used a pocketknife to drill holes in the fuzzy panel from the backside (because the holes were chamfered) but an electric drill would work nicely. Take your time with the IR sensor hole because you want it to go through but be a tight fit so it doesn't pull back through. Make sure you have the stock light socket cover ON when marking the IR sensor hole because the cover is bigger than the bracket it attaches to. Also remember that the top trim piece covers much of the fuzzy panel so there really is only a <1/2" gap between the light socket cover and the top trip when fully assembled. Use my picture as a guide.
After you've mounted the controller, it's time to hook everything up and test the system as a whole. You'll need to push all the trim panels back into their approximate positions (don't worry about fasteners) to get everything hooked up. You need to reattach the 2 power connectors to the light socket. Wrap the bare wire ends of your power cable through the holes on the contacts in the light socket and plug the other end into your LED controller. Don't forget to test the IR remote! Your setup should look something like this (excuse the extra long black power cable):
If you're banging on all cylinders, start to reassemble all the remaining trim panels. Once you get everything back in, set your lights to "FADE" and watch it cycle as you crack a beer or three. You're done.
~
UPDATE:
I intentionally blew out the light bulb from the trunk by plugging it into a wall outlet. Then I soldered the power cable leads onto the blown fuse-type bulb and plugged the blown bulb into the light socket. This is obviously a much more consistent/secure power connection than just wrapping contacts.
Blowing a Lightbulb - YouTube
COMING SOON:
PRODUCTS:
2.5m (8.2ft) LED Extension
LED Y-Splitter 2-Pack w/ 6 4-pin Connectors
Edit: Added product links for splitter and extension at very bottom. If I were to do this again I would get the 5050 LED elements on a SEALED strip instead of having the exposed LED elements as I have knocked off a few (the rest still work).
TIME: ~4 hours (I took my sweet time)
COST: ~$40 for all parts (chinese knockoffs), assuming you have adhesives and tools
Goals:
- Replace single stock bulb in hatch with LED strips on both sides of the trunk space.
- Maintain auto on/off behavior when opening/closing hatch.
- Maintain use of manual on/off switch.
- NO SOLDERING. NO SPLICING. NO VOLTAGE CONVERTERS. :dunno: ish (after update)
Products Used:
- 6+ feet of CUTTABLE 12V color-change LED strip w/ adhesive back. Most come with connectors on BOTH ends of the strip. You want this. I cut 2 strips that were slightly different lengths because of where you could cut. Wait to cut the strips until you have the trim pieces in your hands to make sure your lengths fit.
- 12V LED controller w/ IR remote (including wall power supply). Buy a new button-cell battery for the IR remote (mine died in <10 min).
- LED wire "Y" splitter (4-pin)
- Four 4-pin LED wire male-male connectors
- 2.5m (8.2ft) LED 4-pin wire extension (female-female)
- Zip ties
- Duct tape
- Electrical tape
- Double-sided tape (3M)
- Beer
Tools Used:
- Phillips-head screwdriver
- Flat-head screwdriver
- Socket wrench (1/4" & 3/8" drive)
- 10mm socket
- 12mm socket
- Good scissors
- Flashlight
- Needle-nose pliers (for zip ties)
- Wire cutters
- Wire strippers
- Vacuum
~~~
Procedure:
TEST ALL YOUR ELECTRONICS. You should do this before you even start and at several points throughout the install. You will not be happy if you install a dead string of LED's or you short out your controller and discover 5 steps later.
Start by removing almost everything from your hatch. The privacy cover, then the floormat, then the styrofoam piece, then the hard plastic piece (that's screwed down), and then the spare tire. Leave the styrofoam piece under the spare. I sat on this while I was in there. Fold your rear seats all the way forward.
Next, start disconnecting all the interior plastic paneling. I'm not gonna hold your hand for this part, sorry. The general order you remove the panels is first the black trim around the hatch latch, then the top trim piece (with the seatbelt coming out of it under the triangle window), then the black door trim on the rear edge of the side rear door (you don't need to fully remove this, just take out the 3 snaps you can see and pop it out of place), then the big main fuzzy side panel. On the right side, this large piece has 2 power wires clipped onto the light socket from behind. Be careful and unclip these, we will be using that power for the LED power.
The only fastener that gave me trouble is a metal clip that holds the big fuzzy panel into the frame along the rubber hatch seal. It takes a bit of force and went flying off when I got it out but nothing broke. I attached a picture of this clip. The rest of the non-fastener connections are just plastic wedges that pop out of slots. Be forceful but don't jerk and you shouldn't break anything important.
Take this time to vacuum out all the crud that's been accumulating beneath all your hatch paneling. I know it's dirty, don't lie to me.
~
Ok, now you have all the paneling completely or partially detached. Time to cut and attach the strips. I put them underneath a ledge on the window/seatbelt trim with the connectors towards the hatch. To get some slack in the seatbelt so you can work with the trim, stick the seatbelt through the seat bracket and loop it around some pliers or whatever.
You'll need to cut the strips along one of the "cut here" zones. You want the length of the strip to prevent any protrusion front or rear and also to put the connector near the part of the trim where it contours in slightly (on the rear side of the seatbelt trim, scroll down a bit to find the picture). This is crucial for allowing the wire to squeeze between the top trim piece and the fuzzy piece. Feel free to only run a single strip on each side but I cut a double length strip and folded it in the middle. I'm very glad I doubled up, it's super bright and sexy.
Remember me saying to test your electronics? TEST BOTH YOUR CUT STRIPS NOW. To test them in the car, chop ~12" off the end of your wall power supply (the end with the little plug) and wrap the bare wires around the contacts in the stock light socket with needlenose pliers. My LED supply was a 12V 2A MAX output and the light socket in the car will put out about 0.75A with the number of LED's we're hooking up. And don't worry, you won't shock yourself, even with the light on. Your body is a giant resistor.
The picture below is from project completion so ignore the IR sensor for now.
Before you attach the strips, wipe down the trim piece with an alcohol wipe and let it dry completely. If you're doubling up, only peel back the adhesive backing just past the fold, lay the first half, then peel and lay the rest. I used duct tape to anchor both ends of the strip, especially near the connectors. Also use those double-sided and electrical tapes appropriately for reinforcing the strip attachments.
~
Now run the extension cable from one side to the other. I ran it down under the L brackets on both sides that connect to the wheel well and the chassis floor, then clipped the wire into the clips that hold the gas flap release cable.
At this point, the left side of the car is essentially done. Hook up the extension to the LED strip and take almost all the slack out of the extension cable on this side, feeding the slack back to the right side. I put a single zip tie around the extension on the left side and attached it to the painted black steel seatbelt bracket (which is hidden behind the big fuzzy trim panel). You can reattach all the paneling on this side now, including fasteners.
Now you want to find a place to mount the splitter so it's not flopping around. This is on the right side of the car near the stock hatch light. I found a very convenient unused hole in the frame that I put a zip tie through. Make sure that the orientation/location of your splitter allows you to connect it to the strip you mounted on the top trim and also reach the extension cable. Also predict that the LED controller (little white box) will be mounted to the big fuzzy panel so make sure that the splitter input end comes within a couple inches of this main panel. Notice I permanently attached the extension to the splitter with electrical tape. I did NOT do this for any other connection, however, to allow for easy disassembly in case something craps out (cheap chinese stuff).
~
Ok, now it's time to mount the LED controller (which I've mislabeled as P.S. in most of the pictures). Fortunately, the one I bought has 2 little through holes in the housing for mounting. These holes are too small for the zip ties I had so I cut a zip tie in half lengthwise and it fit perfect. I left this zip tie a bit loose so that I can run the power cable through it later after I make a more permanent power connection. You want to be able to feed the IR sensor through the fuzzy panel (you must cut a hole) near the stock light housing and also be able to connect the controller's 4-pin output cable to the splitter's input. I mounted mine to the back of the indents in the fuzzy panel where what look like air vents blow down from the top seatbelt trim (the piece you've mounted your LED strips to). I used a pocketknife to drill holes in the fuzzy panel from the backside (because the holes were chamfered) but an electric drill would work nicely. Take your time with the IR sensor hole because you want it to go through but be a tight fit so it doesn't pull back through. Make sure you have the stock light socket cover ON when marking the IR sensor hole because the cover is bigger than the bracket it attaches to. Also remember that the top trim piece covers much of the fuzzy panel so there really is only a <1/2" gap between the light socket cover and the top trip when fully assembled. Use my picture as a guide.
After you've mounted the controller, it's time to hook everything up and test the system as a whole. You'll need to push all the trim panels back into their approximate positions (don't worry about fasteners) to get everything hooked up. You need to reattach the 2 power connectors to the light socket. Wrap the bare wire ends of your power cable through the holes on the contacts in the light socket and plug the other end into your LED controller. Don't forget to test the IR remote! Your setup should look something like this (excuse the extra long black power cable):
If you're banging on all cylinders, start to reassemble all the remaining trim panels. Once you get everything back in, set your lights to "FADE" and watch it cycle as you crack a beer or three. You're done.
~
UPDATE:
I intentionally blew out the light bulb from the trunk by plugging it into a wall outlet. Then I soldered the power cable leads onto the blown fuse-type bulb and plugged the blown bulb into the light socket. This is obviously a much more consistent/secure power connection than just wrapping contacts.
Blowing a Lightbulb - YouTube
COMING SOON:
- Attach the IR remote in a sneaky spot on the big fuzzy trim panel with velcro.
PRODUCTS:
2.5m (8.2ft) LED Extension
LED Y-Splitter 2-Pack w/ 6 4-pin Connectors
Last edited:
