2012 Ford Explorer Ambient Lighting Wiring

[luis_e6]

hello every body, hope everyone is good and safe. I'm new to the forum as a registered user but have been reading on some other posts for a long time now. still can't figure out quite well how the forum works so if i'm in the wrong place, please i would love to be pointed in the right direction.

i'm making this post since i'm in the middle of modifying the ambient lighting on my explorer (the one that changes color on doors, foot wells and center console cup holders), i already did the swap of the LEDs on each section but i need to figure out where the wires terminate inside the dash, i don't want to make a new wire loom since i already tried but passing the wires from the cabin to the door has proven to be almost impossible if not impossible since the rubber grommet is too tight. another reason i want to get to the end of the loom is because if i want i can just revert back everything to stock without too much trouble and modifying too much. i just need the location of where the wires connect and i'll be good to go. Or if someone has any idea on how to pass new wires from the cabin to the door easily that could work too.

Might not be needed why i wanted to change the lighting, but the reason i wanted to change the ambient lighting is because i didn't had the option on the dash, even tho the LEDs where RGB and supposedly the explorer should have it in the options. the lighting was just stuck on a white-ish/blue-ish color and i really didn't like it. also i'm installing a wireless LED module that lets you change the color to an infinite amount of colors and have different modes on how the lights behave.

with all this been said i hope someone could help me or point me in the right direction. thanks in advance and stay safe.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Luis.
From reading your post it appears as though your XLT did not have the factory installed ambient lighting. The OEM lighting has more than just 3 colours. What you are seeing now is what is called Ice Blue which is the default colour. The OEM ambient lighting also lights the rear door handles and the back of the front console. The setting to change the colours and brightness is located on the MFT screen.
I don't know about the wiring. Unless someone has done this, you may need to get a hold of some wiring diagrams. I know that some members have installed the aftermarket ambient lighting but it is not the same as the OEM.

Peter

 

[luis_e6]

Welcome to the Forum Luis.
From reading your post it appears as though your XLT did not have the factory installed ambient lighting. The OEM lighting has more than just 3 colours. What you are seeing now is what is called Ice Blue which is the default colour. The OEM ambient lighting also lights the rear door handles and the back of the front console. The setting to change the colours and brightness is located on the MFT screen.
I don't know about the wiring. Unless someone has done this, you may need to get a hold of some wiring diagrams. I know that some members have installed the aftermarket ambient lighting but it is not the same as the OEM.

Peter

hey peter thanks for answering. i will asume that XLT is short for Explorer Limited. and yes i know what you mean on the color of the LED being the ice blue but actually my explorer had RGB LEDs installed. i don't know if factory installed or after the fact but they where RGB LEDs reproducing the ice blue color. in some places like the storage compartment under the arm rest and the one under the climate control are that ice blue LED but just one single led capable of reproducing that one light only.

On the color options and how to change them that are located in vehicle settings on the sync 2 system, i know where the option should be and it isn't there, already checked. and the options of the wiring diagram is possible too but i don't have a reliable source on where to get them, if someone know where to get it that would work too.

 

[peterk9]

Are you the original owner?
Sorry, about the trim confusion. I was working on several threads and must have had XLT stuck in my mind. The factory ambient lighting has 7 different colours that can be selected. The Limited's factory installed ambient lighting package has LED's in both footwells, the front door handle pulls, the front door side "pockets", inside the center console, the cupholders and on the rear of the center console to light up the HVAC controls and the rear footwells. It should also have a setting for Ambient Lighting. If you don't have that, it might be an aftermarket installation.


Peter

 

[luis_e6]

It has been a long one. i totally forgot that i posted this thread and never updated on it. And the update is pretty simple and straight forward. At the end of the day, the ambient lighting, although installed, it was not activated on the APIM config and that is why it never showed up on the vehicle settings on MFT. Nothing that my laptop with FORScan couldn't solve but a little late since i decided back when i made the thread that i was going to do my own wiring for the RGB LEDs and installed a RGB wireless module that can be controlled with a remote, I can change it for one controlled with the phone via bluetooth but to me is way simpler just having it on a little remote. So, for those that have the ambient lighting but don't have the setting to change the color on the vehicle section on MFT, you might need to activate it on the APIM configuration via FORScan.