i am thinking about adding on some 4.7" flexible LED strip from Oznium to use as a light for my glove box. i hate having to dig through the glove box in the dark. don't want to switch on the dome light, but really not as bright either. anyone know how i should install this.

i'm thinking about hooking them up with the parking light so it turns on when i turn on my parking lights. but i kind of don't want it on all the time when i don't need it.

i'm also thinking about hooking it up to a switch so it turns on when i want it to.

or i can hook it up to my current interior led's. its hooked up so when i open the door it's on and when i turn on the switch its on.

which would you guys suggest i should or how i should hook the LED's up? i kind of want to just tap them onto my interior LED's. any one done this mod yet, any pics? and do you guys think 4.7" is good or any other size you guys think i should go with?

 

i'd give them their own switch, etiehr right outside the glovebox in some incon****uous spot or just inside the glovebox. Thats a good idea thouhg, i might invest myself

 

i kind of like how this sounds, with a switch right by the glove box. if i do it like this, how do i wire this? i'm a noob on electrical things, i only know how to do it when people tells me how to do it. lol

do i connect the + wire from the led to the cigarette lighter and the - form the led to the switch and from the switch to the cigarette lighter? and do i solder?

 

I would put the switch in the glovebox, on the top of the back side of it (the surface that is up when the glove box is open and is the back when closed), with the switch button facing towards the inside of the glove box.

Really though to save room I would just get 3 or 4 5mm LEDs from Oznium and just drill 5mm holes along the top of the back side (as noted above) and hot glue them in place from the back of the glove box. Then attach all (+) leads together, and all (-) leads together. Run a wire from the (-) leads to a bolt on the chassis (ground), and then run a wire from the (+) leads to the switch. Then run a wire from the switch's other terminal to the cigarette lighter wire harness.


If you don't have a multimeter, to figure out which wire is (+) on the cigarette lighter, mount your LEDs or LED strip and do the things noted above, and then take that (+) wire and poke it into the pins in the dash harness side of the cigarette lighter plug with the key turned to accessory (1st notch). Whichever pin makes the LEDs illuminate (make sure switch is turned on!) is your (+) wire. Then go down a little from the harness, strip away some of the insulation, and wrap your LED (+) wire around the bare wire. Then solder that to keep the wire secure. If you don't solder that, at least wrap it tightly with electrical tape.

If you can't get the LEDs to turn on using that method, recheck your ground and all connections, and try again


You don't have to solder, but it's a better connection. You can also use crimp caps or male/female quick disconnects.


P.S. the LED switches only light up when turned on, so that won't help you see the switch. You should be able to just feel around for the switch though.

 

i like the sound of this. i think i am going to get one of those switches with the led indicator so i can see where the switch is at night. how do i do the wiring? do i wire it like what i said in the post above?

 

updated my last post with some instructions and another idea

 

thanks, do you know where the closest bolt on the car would be thats near the glove box? would 3 or 4 5mm bulbs be as bright as the led strips?

 

if you want them as bright as the 4.8" LED strips i'd do like 9 LEDs... but in all honesty, a 1.2" LED strip puts way more than enough light to make your glovebox look like you're keeping the sun in there.
3 or 4 5mm bulbs should be enough (I would do 4 of them).


closest bolt... ummmm
I think there are some bolts right there on the pass. side kick panel

 

which would you recommend i do the led strips or the bulbs. which is easier to work with?

which of these switches do you recommend i get that can be mounted easily?
http://www.oznium.com/switches

 

strips are easier to work with, but not much easier to work with. With the strips, you have the strip mounted in there taking up more space and it's not as clean looking.
The only extra work for the bulbs would be drilling those holes and hot glueing them in, and then splicing all of their (+) and (-) leads together into 2 wires.
I would spend the extra 5-10 minutes doing those things and get the bulbs, for the sake of a nice clean installation.

which of these switches do you recommend i get that can be mounted easily?
http://www.oznium.com/switches[/QUOTE]

round rocker switch
use a hole saw or a big drill bit. If you use a big drill bit you might have to move the drill around in the first hole you drill in order to widen the hole. Those switches are great though... all you have to do is drill the hole the right size, push it in the hole, and it clips itself in.