LED Ambient light...

[Leonardo]

Love it! Juasat like on the beemers!

[wcbjr]

Beemer/beamer is a bike, Bimmer is a car. ;)

[Leonardo]

I wouldn't know, I have the SUV (X5 3.0), not the car ;)

[IwannaSportSedan]

Thread resurrection.

 

I just bought a set of three red LEDs from the autoparts store, and I want to do this mod soon.

 

Question 1 is... how does one LED do? is it bright enough or too bright? Should I only use one, and then find uses for the other two?

 

Q2: I am considering lightly sanding the LED plastic to an opaque diffuse finish, and possibly a bit flatter for narrower beam dispersion... does that seem like a good or bad idea?

 

Q3: about the dash light lead... I am thinking of running a wire up the driver's side a-pillar for dash lighting signal... question is, should I use that as a ground or a power lead? I hear that most of the Legacy's wiring is ground switched, so I am wondering if I should use that also as a ground switched lead for the LEDs, with constant accessory power from the auto-dimming mirror.

[scottmcphee]

A few tid bits: you can find constant battery, ignition switch, and accessory power up there - take your choice. Nothing connects to headlights, or auto-dimming up there though, so your LED is either on or off with the car, not illumination controls. If you bring a ground switched line up there, connect it to the cathode side of the LED circuit and tap constant (or switched) power directly into the anode. A typical clear lens red light LED would do well for brightness using about 1K ohm resistor connected in series, to either the anode, or cathode, doesn't matter. If you want 3 LEDs in the circuit, wire them all in series head to toe and use just one resistor in that series, but maybe drop its value to around 470 ohm. A real clean job would add a common diode in parallel with the LED/s but facing the opposite direction - this would allow a surge of reverse voltage to pass safely around the LED.. For the price of an LED, not really important other than you'd never blow the LED and it's a do once and forget job for the life of the car. (If you're using a series of LEDs use one common diode around "all of them" you don't need to match one for one). Sanding the LED lens buggers its ability to project the light where you want it to fall, maybe stick layers of scotch tape over it to diffuse it a bit try that first.

 

Scott

[leggtnut]

I am planning on doing this exact same thing once I can schroung up the dough to get everything. I want to add more accent lights as well. foot well, door cubby's, rear foot wells, ambient light, puddle lights, engine bay lights w/ pressure switch. so much to do, so little time and $$$. But I want to do it all at once so I can wire everything they way I want it.

[plastikman8]

Scary coincidences going on here...

 

I was just thinking about doing this last night riding in my wifes Pilot and then my friends Ridgeline, they add just the right amount of ambience (hers is green, and his is amber). I remember when we bought her car I had to look to figure out where the light was coming from, and the effect is so perfectly subtle that you hardly notice it is there unless you stick your finger over it.

 

Also this morning I got a brand new Digi-Key catalog at work and found these perfect LED's, they look like they have a housing very similar to the Pilot. Check them out:

 

Part Number 67-1147-ND

 

Fig. 3

http://dkc3.digikey.com/PDF/T063/1943.pdf

http://rocky.digikey.com/WebLib/Lumex/Web%20Photo/SSI-LXR1612ID,SSI-LXR1612SRD.jpg

 

I have to figure out the resistor needed (haven't done and electronics since school) and knowing my lazy ass, it will be spring until I try this, but I think that it might work out all right.

 

Later,

Nic

[GTTuner]

Chrysler uses a LED in the overhead console for that, and I think my mother-in-laws B9 has one too. It does add a nice touch.

[BAC5.2]

Anyone who do this notice any glare on the rear view mirror at all?

 

How about artificial dimming of the mirror because of the proximity of a light source?

 

I was going to stop by Radio Shack tomorrow and pick up one of these:

 

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062568#

 

or

 

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062561

 

I think it'll be pretty slick.

 

It's a shame that there is no illumination wire up there, so I'll settle for it being on all of the time. I'll just leach power from my auto-dim mirror, and ground it on the ground wire to the mirror.

[Leonardo]

Check out the 2010 Foresters and Outbacks.

 

As long as the LED is tucked inside the overhead console and shines through a hole (instear of sticking out, you shouldn't have a problem with the mirror.

 

http://henrylee.ca/accord/07/39.jpg

[BAC5.2]

Is that the console for the new Outback?

 

Doesn't look like it'll swap to the 09

 

I was actually thinking I would mount an LED behind the clear plastic lens for the map lights. I wonder how that would do?

[Leonardo]

Right click on it and you will see it's an accord.

That is a pic I borrowed to show how someone else did it.

[BAC5.2]

Ahh.

 

I picked up a few LED's today. I'm going to first try using this one:

 

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062568

 

And just drilling a small access hole in the gray backing plate behind the clear map light lens, and shine straight through the lens unmodified.

 

If it glares or anything, I may remove some of the surface roughness and try that. If it STILL glares, then I might drill a thru-hole above the LED, tape the thing off, and paint the edges of the hole black.

 

Worst case, I also got this:

 

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062555#

 

Which I should be able to mount to the gray plastic piece, and have the chrome ring protrude slightly from the lens. I'll probably paint the holder black, so it's a little less noticeable.

 

I'll keep posted.

 

Oh, and all of these have built inresistors, so I'll just direct wire them to the available wiring.

[TSiWRX]

BAC2.5 -

 

I'm honestly not sure if you'll be happy with the results in using any of the items you cited:

 

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062568#

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062561

 

I used 276-270 as a "pilot light" for a previous-iteration of my speed-detection countermeasures control blanks, and it was, to be frank, quite bright, tapping "straight" 12V power. Placed down low, in the factory ashtray location, it was still quite noticeable and much, much brighter than the diffuse haze from the lighter/outlet's surrounding ring - and as-such, I don't know how well it will serve in an "overhead" role, naked.

 

I think that your latter considerations to minimize glare/brightness may be necessary, outright.

 

Certainly, there's the possibility that if you're going to place the LED in the same area as what the OP did, the passenger seat-belt warning display should all but make direct-viewing glare a non-concern, but even then, I still harbor some doubts, having used that very LED setup, before.

 

The idea you have of placing the LED behind the map/dome light lens is very interesting, though. Indeed, I wonder what that would look like?

 

My '05 sedan's main cabin dome is fitted with a 25-LED (red) "SMT" panel, and it's *quite* bright in terms of rear-seat illumination, which is what I'd biased it for (the front is very dimly lit). I wonder what a single, lower-powered LED would do, in terms of providing the necessary "ambiance" yet "focus," which is what's seen with, as Leonardo pointed out, the '09+ Foresters and '10+ Outbacks and Legacys, which truly is *very* subtle.

 

The OP's second attachment - that of his console - illustrates well what the "mood lighting" of the newer Subarus accomplish. In my wife's '09 FXT, that little blue overhead LED illuminates virtually *only* the shifter surround area without even the "spot glare" that you can see in that photo, at the lower-right corner of the ashtray cubby door's surface. On her FXT, at first, I thought that LED was a pilot-light for the overhead console/moonroof switchgear. It wasn't until I accidentally covered the LED with my finger/hand that I realized it was also (or may have been primarily intended as) mood/ambient lighting.

[BAC5.2]

The 5mm one was really that bright? I'm kind of surprised! It is only rated for a few mcd!

 

I got the hankering for this after driving my mother-in-laws X3 to dinner the other night. It was nice to be able to see the center console and the shifter.

 

I'm going to be getting a few of these:

 

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii287/bac52/77.jpg

 

But that have red lights instead of blue. That alone might provide sufficient ambient light for what I want. I'm mounting them in the sunroof control console, right behind the map lights. They'll be hard-wired to my garage door opener.

[TSiWRX]

^ I ninja-edited my original reply to you after taking a short break. Sorry!

 

The 5mm one was really that bright? I'm kind of surprised! It is only rated for a few mcd!

 

Yep...

 

End-on, it was nearly obnoxious.

 

Luckily, the light faded decently fast as you went more and more off-axis, but you can imagine the setup I had, with the LED at knee-level, "inside" (but still at the same plane as the cover of) the ashtray. It wasn't enough to be distracting to me, but it was definitely brighter than I'd have liked, and I'm one of those guys who really doesn't dim the interior lighting much, as most of my driving occurs in-city.

 

But again, that was with the item situated in a place where I was "looking at it." As an overhead source, things may indeed be quite different...but still, I don't know.

 

I figured that I should lend you my experience, so that you can make an informed judgment, rather than have you head off into it without any other input. I just hope I haven't guided you wrong!

 

I'm going to be getting a few of these:

 

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii287/bac52/77.jpg

 

But that have red lights instead of blue. That alone might provide sufficient ambient light for what I want. I'm mounting them in the sunroof control console, right behind the map lights. They'll be hard-wired to my garage door opener.

That may be perfect!

 

Please do keep us updated on your project!

[BAC5.2]

I appreciate your experience! I am going to return the bits I don't end up using.

 

I'm waiting to hear back on those switches. They are bloody expensive ($17 each!), but I need a bunch of them for a project I'm working on so I am trying to get a quantity discount to take a bit of the sting out of it.

 

Can you snag a picture of the FXT ambient light arrangement?

[Leonardo]

i tok the console off and it has a lamp holder that the light clips on. Will see if I can do it again and take pics at the dealer.

[TSiWRX]

I'll try to do so on my end, too - the problem is that there's a death in the extended family and Sara and I are undertaking some babysitting this evening so that those affected can go for calls.

 

I'll have pix by this weekend, for sure, but I can't promise you anything sooner.

[crash]

The 5mm one was really that bright? I'm kind of surprised! It is only rated for a few mcd!

 

I got the hankering for this after driving my mother-in-laws X3 to dinner the other night. It was nice to be able to see the center console and the shifter.

 

I'm going to be getting a few of these:

 

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii287/bac52/77.jpg

 

But that have red lights instead of blue. That alone might provide sufficient ambient light for what I want. I'm mounting them in the sunroof control console, right behind the map lights. They'll be hard-wired to my garage door opener.

 

Where can you get this LED?

[BAC5.2]

It's not an LED, it's a push-button momentary switch.

 

I am looking at e-switch.com but any major electronics supplier (digi-key, for example) should be able to get them.

[Leonardo]

In that case, that would be a nice switch for an IC sprayer!

[BAC5.2]

Probably!

 

I'm going to put 2 next to my sunroof controls (one on either side), and hardwire them to my garage door opener.

 

I just wish they weren't bright silver! Hopefully they won't stand out too much.

[Leonardo]

Like a black man in a KKK gathering!

 

Meant as a j/k!