Under dash LED lighting

I wanted to do this for a long time, and I finally got some time last week. Very cheap only cost about $8.00 used 5 15,000 MCD 5mm Blue LEDs on each side, mounted on project boards that can be found at Radio Shack. I Highly recommend this, it gets a lot of attention and is a nice accent to any vehicle. This is practice for my chassis under glow project Im doing this spring. What do you guys think?

 

[CJL]

Hey mustang, How do you know what ''MCD'' leds to use for each project?

 

[MustangP51]

Hey mustang, How do you know what ''MCD'' leds to use for each project?

15,000 MCD for the under dash / under seat.

 

[CJL]

I remember seeing that in your other thread but Im talking about other projects,such as headlight switch or something,do you have a rule of thumb?

 

[MustangP51]

I remember seeing that in your other thread but Im talking about other projects,such as headlight switch or something,do you have a rule of thumb?

Really I don't have a rule of thumb, I prefer just to try different brightnesses until I find something that works. More of trial and error then careful calculations lol

 

[CJL]

oic,thanks mustang.

 

[soon2bsick]

hmm.. I really want to do this!

but uh.. I have no idea how to do LEDs/boards ect. Is it possible that I could get something like this:

http://http://cgi.ebay.com/10-X-5MM-Blue-DIFFUSED-PRE-WIRED-LED-12V-DC-20cm-DIY_W0QQitemZ350308157397QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item518ffe47d5


and just wire them together on a makeshift board?

 

[Bill Kemp]

Your link does not work.
But if you have no idea how to wire a board, after reading all the info on the site, how are you gonna make something else work?

 

[soon2bsick]

because the link was for the LEDs mentioned only they were pre-wired and have the resistors built in. I know how to "wire" things that already have wires attached and I'm sure I could figure out how to do a board but that would require learning to solder, buying a soldering iron, ect ect. So if I could just wire them together using the pre-wired lights I found on ebay I could save myself a lot of headache AND could put them in more areas than just on a project board.... make sense?

 

[my pos mounty]

You could also do what I did. I wanted to add lighting down on the floor as the factory didnt install them down there for some unknown reason. I am much like soon2bsick as I can wire things, but soldering and all that isn't my game. So, I went to autozone and got a couple of light sockets that will hold the 194 bulb. I then used 5SMD LED's in the socket and wired it the dimmer switch. 2 lights on the passenger side and one on the drivers side. I got my 5SMD LED's on e-bay and bought something like 20 of them for about $40 or so with shipping. It takes a couple of weeks to get them though.

 

[soon2bsick]

hmm thats a cool idea mounty, how did you mount them?

I'm actually doing this for more than just floor board. I want to do under the seats (both front and back) ac vents, console compartment, and rig something for the overhead console.

 

[my pos mounty]

I used the ULTRA-HIGH TECH way of mounting them. Zipties! lol
Why do you want to put them in the AC vents? Want to see dirt inside to clean? No thanks on that one.
The 5SMD LED's are not going to fit/look good in the vents (IMO).
If you can convert the size of the board (from good old american sae measurement to milimeters) you can buy a presized/pre soldered LED's on a board with wiring attached. That would work for the larger light in the overhead console.
I tried the 5SMD's in the "maplights" I didnt care for them as they were not bright enough, perhaps if you got the 9SMD's they would be better in that location.

Check this out, you'll be ordering something from here
http://superlumination.com/906.htm
The 921's will fit in the 194 bulb holder. Alot brighter and may be better for the overhead "maplights"

 

[CJL]

Hey mustang,do you have a picture of behind the board? Curious to see how you routed everything.

 

[gonyea75]

do you have a switch for the lights.. or are they wired to come one with your headlights?

 

[MustangP51]

sorry i dont have a picture of the back of the board, and yes i have a switch that turns them on and off

 

[Nixthebomb]

Okay so I didn't make a board, but went out and bought an LED strip, where is the wire I need to tap into for them to come on with the dome light? and what color is it?

 

[my pos mounty]

Go digging behind the headlight switch on the left hand side of the dash. On the plug that plugs into the back of that switch has a black wire that, if you follow it, it will joint with another black wire within about 2 inches of the switch. (in the 99 model year anyway, do not know about other years)
These 2 black wires are what I tapped into to get power to the LED's that I added to light up the floor. They come on with the interior lights.

 

[Nixthebomb]

Well it was only 5:30 when I snapped the pics, and still sunny outside, so here's a few pics of them installed, off, and of them on.

Drivers Side

Passenger Side

Off

On

And they're set up to come on with the dome lights. After I do the rear seats(hopefully within the next 2 weeks) I'm planning on getting this to wire up with them. http://www.oznium.com/12v-remote-dimmer-strobe-switch

I'll get the other pics up when it's dark

 

[Arctic-Thunder]

So, If one wanted to hard-wire these into their truck and just put a manual switch somewhere, what would be the best place to tap for power?

 

[Nixthebomb]

The extra cigarette light under the radio by the ash tray, it always has power though

 

[Nixthebomb]

And here's a night shot, not pitch black outside, but not light, that sorta kinda still blue sky I guess, I'll compare to see if a pitch dark makes a difference.