May 13, 2011

Well, I should be studying but playing with electricity is 100x more fun *sarcastically speaking*.  Anyhow, I've gotten onto my second part of the LED Project.  So, I have bought 4 Blue 30cm LED strips from Ebay and  I've installed them as interior lighting following a DIY on 8th Civic.  However, I went the ghetto way and didn't follow 100%.  I went cheapo by a) simply using masking tape and electric tape to hold the strips and wires, b) used the electric tape to connect the two wires (again, I don't know where my sodder gun/sodder is in my basement, c) didn't take anything apart to "hide" the wires except for the left kick panel which was in the way, and d) used one color wire for everything (to indicate negative, I got a sharpie and electric tape and made markings on the wire).  Therefore, I will not do a DIY but instead give you hints and tips if you want to follow this project.

Overall, the difficulty is about 7/10 since there are a lot of "panels" to remove (if you wanna professionally hide the wires).  It took about a total of 4 hours because I was noob at wiring and also because I kept testing with a 9v battery to make sure the connections were secure, and because the kick panel was so annoying to remove.  Also, eBay LEDs are not too bad.  One of them had a  bad connection in the strip from the way they packaged it, but it eventually worked out.  Another one had one LED bulb that was misfiring, but it had no effect on overall lighting (Thank goodness).  But don't worry if you get a bad strip because eBay sellers are generally really nice.  If anything, threaten them with a rating of 1 star.  Enjoy those pics and hints! (Scroll down)

Hints:

1) Masking tape hold the strip really well without affecting the light.
2) Electric Tape can replace soddering, but for more secure connections, use sodder and or butt connectors or male/female connectors for easy disconnection
3) Total cost should not exceed $20.  Wires and switch were the most expensive, at $5 per 30ft roll and $4 per switch.  4 Blue LED strips cost only $6 incl. shipping.  Parallel-Taps will work just as well as T-Taps and they cost $1.50 for 4.  Female insulated connectors cost me $1.50.
4) Make sure you DISCONNECT YOUR FUSE #22 (it's 7.5Amp) in your fuse box BEFORE TAPPING THE PINK AND Light BLUE WIRE of the blue harness.  That way, you won't short and blow a fuse.. which costs $5 for 5 fuses.  Pink is the negative wire that allows the fading while light blue is the postive constant wire.
5) Remove the left kick panel by the interior fuse box for better access to the wires.  You should remove the dead pedal (simply get a hex screw to remove the bottom clip and your fingernail or flathead screwdriver to remove the upper clip).  You don't have to remove the door sill panel but just loosen the section closest to the kick panel because the kick panel is held underneath the door sill panel.  Refer to Trim Removal DIY on 8th Civic. for details.
6) For better access to the wires, you should disconnect the blue harness (there's a tab at the bottom of the clip that you depress to release the clip).  You should strip away the electric tape and the black wire protectors (3 cm should suffice).
7) IF YOU LEAVE IT IN "ALWAYS ON MODE", REMEMBER TO TURN OFF YOUR LIGHTS OR SET THE 3 WAY SWITCH TO AUTO WHEN YOU LEAVE OR RISK DRAINING YOUR BATTERY.
8) T-Taps and Parallel Taps Must be Clamped on HARD in order to puncture the rubber sheath of the wire.  Clamp the metal portion FIRST before you close it, incase you didn't figure it out.

And here are the pics.  Enjoy!  Feel free to post a comment!  I'll try my best to help solve your problems

(Nice Blue to match the instrument panel)

(To illustrate how bright the strips are and yes, the passenger LED  is not taped yet.)

(Voila, everything mounted.  Note the white 12smd LED map lights)

(Rear passenger lights)

April 27, 2010

I am finally done all my exams. Hurray.  Finally, I can install the first of my 5 LED strips.  Wanting to fully do a LED conversion for interior, I've ordered a 60 cm white LED strip from eBay.  Of course, again with my free money from Swagbucks, I've paid $0 for this strip, which originally is priced at $5 with shipping.  The quality is acceptable, with a few LED bulbs that are whitish yellow, and the rest purplish white like my interior map lights.  A DIY/post will be written up soon for that as well.  Nonetheless, this strip was placed in my trunk, replacing the yellow 168 bulb.  I am very satisfied with my work, except for my junk electrical skills which cost me 2 7.5 amp fuses.  Below is a DIY for anyone wishing to follow suit.  The ideology is same for other vehicles, but you would need to just test the polarity of the wires and items.


Here is the DIY for LED Trunk Conversion:

1. Tools needed are 1 LED strip of your choice of color and size.  I went with white, 60cm.  You need 2 Quick connectors (Parallel or T-taps 22-18awg) would suffice for a neat job instead of cutting the wires and soldering.  You also need electrical tape, 16 awg wire, multimeter, wire stripper, scissors, crimper, 9v battery, flathead screwdriver, and flashlight.

(60 cm White LED Strip Ordered from Ebay)

(22-18 awg Quick connectors, wire stripper, 16awg wire, tape, multimeter, crimper, 9v battery, scissors, flathead screwdriver)

2. Remove the existing light cover as if you were changing your trunk bulb.  Basically, get a screwdriver and push into the tab and pull out the cover.  Your instruction manual should tell you how to do this.  For the civic, you can remove the entire cover.  I think it is ok to leave your cover on if you cannot do so but you should remove the light bulb because you do not want to draw extra current in your circuit, and it'll ruin the LED lighting.

3. Once the cover is removed, note the wires going into the blue adapter that you will be tapping into.  White wire is positive and blue is negative.  The reason for a multimeter is to check your polarity if you're doing this for another vehicle as the wires are different.  While on the topic of testing for polarity, your LED strip's polarity can be tested with the 9v battery.  LEDs work one way so polarity matters.  Simply place one end of the wire on the positive node and the other on the negative.  If it lights up, remember which wire is positive/negative.  If not, reverse it.

4. With that said, now comes the fun but scary part.  Scary is because I shorted circuit twice.  Grab one quick connector (I used parallel ones because I can't find T-tap ones).  Place one of them into the slot for the wire you wish to tap into such as the blue wire.  By the way, start with the blue wire because it's negative.  You won't risk unnecessarily shorting stuff.  Place the wire of the LED strip (corresponding polarity) to the other slot so that when you crimp it, it'll connect the two wires.  Depending on whether your original wire is long enough, you may need to extend your wire like I did.  I simply cut an extra feet of 16awg, stripped one end of it and twisted the wire from the LED to it.  Yes, you can solder but I couldn't find any in my home.  Once everything is ready, you can close the quick connector.  I've found out that you need to first use the crimper and clamp the metal splitter down before you can close it.  Make sure the connection's tight or you'll risk shorting your wires and blowing the fuse :(  If you do blow your fuse, its #22 in the engine bay that you'll need to switch out.  I ran out of 7.5A, so I used a 10A.  Safe?  I don't know but I'll switch back soon after I am done my second part of this project.

(There's the blue adaptor, the blue wire which is negative, the white wire which is positive, red wires are for extensions)

5. Repeat for the other wire.  It should light up if it works.  If not, you either mixed up the polarity of the wires or your connections are loose.  If your LED flickers, it's most likely that your connectors are not clamping the wires tightly.

6. Attach where you want the LED strip to be.  I held it in place with electric tape, although the 3M doublesided tape works just as well.

7. Tuck all the wires in neatly and witness your masterpiece.  Use more electric tape if necessary =)

Finished product (well, I did not tuck the wires yet).

(Looking in from inside the car with seats folded of course)

Reading Week!

I figured keeping track of days is confusing for me.  That doesn't mean I have short memory.. I just don't want to count the number of days since I bought the car.

Anyway, it's reading week, which means I have a week off from school.  This year's reading week was surprisingly relaxing.  Hence, I ordered some white LED plate lights and a dome lights from eBay for a total of $10.  I did not pay for the mods because of the awesome site called Swagbucks that gives you free money and Amazon GC.  Join it!  Rewards to Effort ratio is 10:1.  Nontheless, don't hate on eBay because they're not that bad.  Cheap, yet effective.  You just have to read the descriptions and buy from trusted sellers.  Even "professional" stores/sites get their products made in China.

So, at the end of the reading week, I've gotten my plate lights and installed them. :)  They are super duper bright.  If you wish to do a simple conversion for your Civic, get flanked ones.  They shine the light directly onto the plate for optimal output.  Enjoy!

Here's a little DIY guide should that be needed:

1. You will need one philips screw driver to remove the clips, 2 plate lights of course (168/194 bulbs)

(Philips Screwdriver, 2 platelights)

(Plate light: High Power Dual Flank LED White)

2. Open trunk and unscrew the clips that hold the inner trunk trim on the hatch itself.  There are 5-6 I think.  Basically they are self-tapping screws.  If you don't know where it is, the user manual will have all the details on how to change the bulbs.

(Self-Tapping Screws)

3. Unplug the white base holder by pressing the two sides and pull.  Take out the bulb and put the new one in.  It may be hard to pull out the old bulb but brute force will suffice.

(Just fits!  The dimensions I believe were 21mm in length and 10mm in width)

  4. Put the white holder back in to the slots.  It'll snap back into place.  Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the other side.

(Finished Product!  I haven't had a chance to show the light output at night but will do in future!)