Lexbox

I think Im going to get in on this mod. I have some LEDs laying around I would really like to see the door handles illuminated.

cliffud

iTrader: (3)

Well Ladies and Gents,

I started this thread over 18 months ago and I have had an extra overhead console sitting in my garage for almost as long. And I never did anything...

Until tonight.

As the saying goes - "no guts no glory" - so I started taking apart my interior... Below are the steps I believe will need to take place. I've gotten as far as step 6 so far. Will post more photos as the project develops in the next few hours.

Step 1) I took off the homelink panel and the semi-clear lamp shade part. Below is a pic of where you need to press with your flat head screw driver so you don't screw up the finish.


Step 2) I unscrewed the upper console and took it down. Below is a pic of the screw hole points for reference.


Step 3) I'll be honest, I hacked up the wiring for the overhead lights and then realized that if I hook it up to the lights, the LEDs will be on 24/7. Not Good. If you're reading this- AVOID THIS STEP!!!


Step 4) I thought to myself - there's got to be a way to get power only when the car is on... Lookie here... the moonroof switch only gets power when the car is on!!


Step 5) Figuring out which wire... This is crucial since we want the LEDs to go off when the car is off. I hacked the ground wire and connected a couple of LEDs and plugged it back in and touched each wire until the lights went on. After the ignition was turned off, the lights stayed on for 30 seconds or so and then blinked very very dimly. It's almost like an alarm type of blinking and since I can't figure out why it does it, and it only sips battery power, I'm going to consider it a mod that is a byproduct of this mod. I say it only sips power because Lexus must have thought it was ok to have a blinking LED since our alarms have blinking LEDs. Anyway- here's the appropriate wire on your wiring harness to hook up the LEDs.

NOTE: You want to SPLICE the LED power into the wire for that spot, NOT put the wires into the harness like it is pictured above. I was only testing it in this photo.

Step 6) Wiring it up
(still waiting for the glue to dry... and I need to go to home depot to get a crimper or a soldering gun...)

cliffud

iTrader: (3)

Step 7) Drilling your holes. Talk about measuring MULTIPLE times before drilling ONCE!! I kept changing my mind on where to put the holes... finally decided to put them closer towards the front. In the photos, they're pretty rough but that's nothing a little sandpaper can't solve...






Step 8) Seating the LEDs into the homelink panel


Step 9) Let it dry...
Going to sleep - will update when I wake up and go to home depot for a good butt connector crimper tool or a soldering gun...

Step 10) Install it...

Tranman

iTrader: (1)

Nice write up...I just did the overhead console in mine a few days ago. I ended up doing mine similar to the ones in the LS430, but I actually mounted them closer to the back edge so you can barely see them. They illuminate the area around the shifter and looks pretty good since I did them in green LEDs..matches the rest of the dash lights. I'm gonna be doing the footwell areas and interior door handles when I get some time.

cliffud

iTrader: (3)

OK- It's daytime so this is the best I can do as far as getting night time photos in the garage.

(You see 4 lights because it's reflecting in the mirror)

Neil64

How ell do the new LEDs illuminate the homelink, tthe map light buttons and the sunroof controls?

Thanks..

Neil

cliffud

iTrader: (3)

The LED lights illuminate the center console just "ok" because of the color I chose to use. After a few nights looking at the blue LEDs, I think I'm going to go with the default BMW amber or the Lexus green that will match the climate control display.

I'm also going to mount the LEDs on a very thin panel of wood and install that behind the panel so you cannot see the source of the light, just the output.

Here's a photo:

corkycal

iTrader: (8)

nice write up and finalizing this project.

ILOVEGIRLS

iTrader: (3)

how do you link multiple LED's together ( daisy chain )? do i need resistors?

cliffud

iTrader: (3)

no resistors needed... or maybe the LEDs i bought already had them installed? not sure. I'll take photos of the resistors and show you the way I mounted them when I get home.

cliffud

iTrader: (3)

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

I'm going to do that in my IS, but I am going to use surface mount's because the 5mm clear are just too bright/distracting for me. If I use the surface mounts they'll just barely produce a glow, and I'll use amber.

Also, since SMD's are only 1mm, you'll never be able to see them and you COULD (if you wanted) pack 35 or more into a 1 inch square. I'm guessing 2 per side will do fine for what I want. Just a SLIGHT glow in the car.

On another thought, I do have some 2mm dome style that would be easier to work with and should be the correct brightness. I wish I had a camera (first time in 4 yrs I don't) I'd take a pic of it.

Here's a couple stock photo's I took a few yrs ago of the 2mm ambers

cliffud

iTrader: (3)

that looks like a good LED to use. does it project the light or does it just glow. If it just glows, it may not light up the center console as much.

in the most recent photos that I took, the LED protrudes from the wood a little bit, it's so little though that they don't actually protrude from the plastic housing once they're mounted and they are more of a "spot light" type of LED rather than the "flood light" type so they focus on the center console.

hope that clears any confusion up for anyone interested in doing this. it's kind of important i guess so you don't have lights shining back into your eyes.

THE_CEO

when you finished this mod. does the light stay on constantly?

CEO

cliffud

iTrader: (3)

no, i wired it up to the sunroof power so it only gets full power when the car is on. i think there may be a little bit of power going through there though when the car is off - the led lights blink when the car is off. pretty cool actually.