thallium

Woah, that's weird. I washed my car a week ago and a couple days later I was touching up some paint nicks on the plastic rocker panels and noticed wetness around the door sill and got a rag and wiped it up. I pried up the back and wiped some up but I don't know how it could have still been wet there so long after the car wash. We've been having 90 degree days. I didn't look at it close enough to tell if it ws water or some other liquid.

Back to the lighting, are you going to have to route the LED wires with the rest of the window wiring for the rear door and how do you get that out of the B pillar? Do you have to pull those interior panels too to get the wires out of the pillar and down under the front door sill?

MX73

Yep, I'm going to run it through the window harness to the B pillar. So yes, I'm gonna have to pull the interior panels off. I need to anyways. I hear a distinctive buzzing noise coming from the seat belt height adjuster. lol. It's just a perfect time to rip the interior apart. lol. Well for me. lol.

It's going to be a lot of trial and error. I'll test it off the car before I blow a fuse or something. If it's anything like the RGB controller in a custom gaming rigged I built, all I know is that I need a single 12v power source that controls the OEM ambient lighting system. Wire the controller to that 12v signal and it should be able to provide power to all the led strips.

00goobs

A possible alternative.....

rewire to the rgb strip.

KPGS

Had to do it. Was a PITA though.

MX73

Ok. I tested with the RGB strip. It's fine when in park but once you put it into gear, it will dim but it will also strobe. I don't think the RGB lights can handle low voltage. I don't know how the other guy got it to work.

peasodos

iTrader: (1)

The other guys RGB kit was connected/powered from a centralized controller that got direct power from the fuse box, not the door panels. If you do that then the led's don't dim in drive.

MX73

Ahhh. I see. I wired the bluetooth controller to the door panel.

peasodos

iTrader: (1)

Yeah that's the problem not enough power in drive.

Misonasty

So I started this project using the same led strips and connector that Peasodos did. I started with the rear drivers and got everything to work properly and looked great.

I continued to the rear passenger and realized that the strip wasn't lighting up. Checked all the connections and reinstalled to test. That is when I realized that my rear drivers didn't light up anymore. I opened the driver's door to hopefully reset the interior light and noticed my illuminated door sills were not on. It was late so I buttoned everything back up so I can commute in the morning. Door cup lights and lower puddle lights are working on all doors. The front oem dim door strip lights work but not the rears.

Did I blow a fuse? Any advice for me to check when I got home? I plan on unbuttoning everything and testing if my oem white led works.

Thank you,

peasodos

iTrader: (1)

I would take the rear door panel off and test the led strip then turn the car on with the headlight on and check if there is any power running through the door led wires. It's hard to believe you blew a fuse unless wires got crossed, because it's not a lot of power going to the door panel lighting. The illuminated door sills get power from the front footwell lights.

I had a problem when after I installed it one of the strips didn't work because it had a loose connection, redid it, and worked perfectly. It's better to test before you put the door panel back on. I got a cheap led tester on amazon.

KPGS

Those clips are really cheap and unreliable. Test the led strip with the clips exposed and move it around until it lights up. Then use electrical tape to secure it. Took forever to ensure they stayed on.

peasodos

iTrader: (1)

What helps with the connectors I used is to cut more of the rubber so enough led strip is exposed so the led strips goes as deep into the connector as possible. That way when it bends it still works.

Misonasty

I figured the connection was loose and but found it odd that the finished panel wasn't lit and the door sills weren't on anymore. I will pull them both apart and inspect if I can find a solution and if power is active with the oem connections.

Misonasty

I did this technique on my first panel and after everything was connected and all the points made contact, wrapped it in electrical tape. I spent way longer on the first panel but was trying to not break anything along the way.

thisguy_06

After driving around for about a week with the new white LED strips installed, i think it's the perfect amount of lighting especially on the dark rural roads. However, the rear are definitely brighter than the front but that's a non-issue.

Drastic improvement over the factory lighting.