HondaCivicForum.com - HOW TO INSTALL INTERIOR LIGHTS! (NEONS + L.E.DS ETC.!!!

INTERIOR NEON / LED LIGHTS

How to Install Interior Car Lights
(Neon & LED)
My guess is that you've got all the components of your LED or Neon interior car lights in front of you and you're now a bit confused as to what you should be doing next... am i right? And now you're asking yourself - "where the heck do all these bits go?" Then fear not, save the gray hairs for a later date, cause you just landed on the right page to help you find out all the "whys" & "Hows" of this type of installation - which i should mention, has been designed with the "Novice" in mind.

PLEASE READ THROUGH THE NEXT FEW PARAGRAPHS FROM START-TO-FINISH VERY CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH THE INSTALLATION

The instruction page below is broken-up into TWO PARTS. Each part focuses on a separate way of accessing the 12v power for your interior or exterior car lighting accessories.

Part 1) The First place that you would naturally get power from, is DIRECTLY from the car battery. This set-up is the Number 1, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, and EASIEST method of all.

Part 2) The second place to get power for your LED's and Neons would be from a live 12v wire located under the dash area. This method of installation is somewhat more complicated. However, we have many customers requesting how to install interior car lights when the ignition is turned on, so we decided to help you with this type of set-up anyway.
Your most likely wondering, why is power from under the dash NOT the best way to install them? Well basically, it can cause car wires to overheat and burn out if they are not installed correctly, should you happen to wire up your lights the wrong way, or "tap" into the wrong wire to access power, which happens too often. But we figured, if there are people out there that want their power from under the dash, so their lights come on when the ignition is turned on, then we may as well show you how to install them the correct way.

WARNING: Please keep in mind that the main issue we face with having neon or LED car lights on our vehicles these days is the fact that they are sometimes frowned upon by the authorities. So to avoid any uninvited fines, and to have total control at your fingertips, its best to install neon or LED lights so as they can be activated through a separate switch for ease of use, rather than having them come on when the headlights are turned on. If you do have your neons come on when the ignition is turned on, your best bet is to have a switch installed to get you out of trouble, should the police be on the prowl, or if there is some "overheating" going on.

Another Word of Caution on how to install interior car lights, BE WARNED, if you do obtain a 12V power supply for your LED/Neons from one of the wires under the dash, be sure that it's not the headlight wires, because you cannot turn the neons or LED's off while driving at night, (unless you have an in-line switch) and be twice as sure that the wire your tapping into has 12volts of power running through it by using a voltage meter and circuit tester, and be tripply sure to install a fuse on the power wire going to your LED/Neons.

But it is still highly advised to access your power supply from the car battery and NOT from under the dash. However, if this type installation is done correctly, you should have no problems, it's been done many times before without any drama, but we'll leave the "risk-taking" up to you, we'll just supply the guide, but it is by NO MEANS meant to be taken as a solid "blue-print", because cars, people and situations differ.
Remember, with some later model cars and messing around with wires under the dash board could accidentally activate the air bags, so don't say we did'nt warn you!
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How to Install Interior Car Lights via the car battery

Step 1
The tools your going to need to do this installation.
You'll need...
Soldering gun and solder
Electrical tap or heat shrink tubing
Silicone
Flat head screw driver
Star head screw driver (should you need to remove any interior panels)

These instructions have been designed with the "Novice" in mind, so if thats you, then please read-on carfully - its really not that hard.

How to Install Interior Car Lights via the car battery

Step 2
As a rule, before doing *Any* electrical work on your vehicle, always disconnect the battery before starting (be aware that in later model cars, disconnecting the battery can disrupt the cars electronic systems). Do this by disconnecting the negative battery cable and laying it to one side so its not touching any metel parts. It's also wise to have your vehicles service manual handy for information about the specifics of the electrical system on your vehicle should you need it, but you should not.

Ok, lets get started. In this installation we'll be showing you how to install interior car lights using ONE neon tube as an example. What you'll need to do first is find where you want to mount the tube and keep its location in mind while doing the wiring part of the installation, so you can allow for the correct lengths of the wires.
The RED and BLACK wires can be extended to any length without loss of Brightness to the Neon Tube.
Please note that no fixing kits are suppled with our neon lighting kits as everyones install is different. You can use sticky pads or tie wraps which are available from any good DIY / Motor Store.

For the interior, the best place to mount the tube is under the dash just above where the feet go, but high enough so as not to kick the tube or damage it. They also look very effective mounted under the front seats and towards the "back area" of the seats so the light shines into the rear part of the car floor.

How to Install Interior Car Lights via the car battery

Step 3
In this set-up, you'll be running both the main power wire (with in-line fuse attached) and earth wire from your light kits directly to the car battery. This Method is HIGHLY recommended for one or two car lighting accessories, and is the easiest way to do it, but after two or more light kits are installed this way, your car wiring system coming from the battery will start getting real messy. So to install many accessories via the car battery, you going to need some kind of fuse protected distribution control panel that all your lights will plug into, and that you have easy access to. This is the coolest, easiest and "most-hassle-free-way" of hooking up and controlling multiple lights.

To operate your lights manually you can use the switch that came with your neon/led tube kit or you can buy others from your nearest auto accessories store. This switch will be inserted into (in-line with) the main power wire that supplies the kit with 12Volt power.

You simply cut this power wire for the kit (making sure you have positioned "ALL" components in their locations and are sure the wires are long enough) and then join each end of the power wires you just cut into each side of the toggle switch. This will allow you to switch the tubes on & off independently from a direct power source. You can mount this switch in any "easy-to-get-to" location on your dash if you wish. The switch supplied will fit in place of the ciggarette lighter if required.

How to Install Interior Car Lights via the car battery

Step 4
Now that you have joined the switch into the power wire of the light kit, you'll now need to run a "fuse-protected" power wire from the battery going to the switch. The fuse should be no more then 18 inches away from the positive terminal on the battery. You may need to solder the fuse to the power wire for your lights, or the fuse may have already come complete in the kit, however, if you need to solder any wires together, be sure to use heat shrink to cover your soldered connection (put heat shrink on first BEFORE you solder wires together). O