Interior Auto dim ambient blue lighting - Page 2

gray52 · 17th March 2007, 20:39

that looks like a very good diagram, and im now left with 2 options.

i think i will go by the diagram, as when the lights are on the led blue lights will be controlled by the variable resistor (dimmer) and i know i will not be driving with these at full brightness. Then when someone opens the door this will make the leds go to full brightness, then when the courtesy lights dimm so will the leds back to what they are set at via the dimmer.

im putting them under the back seats as well, so they should give an excellent effect, far better than hondas £200 jobbies! these will work out at £25 for the whole job, i will take pics as i go and post them when ive done, and hopefully all will go very well.

also dont forget to fit in line fuses, just to be on the safe side.

crispy · 18th March 2007, 20:16

OK, I'm c onvinced that this is an improvement to my initial attempt.

PS. the LED's do have resistors already in them. They are specifically designed to connect straight to a 12V battery feed.....

So things I need to know....

1. what diodes do I require?
2. What variable resistor will you be using? (where from etc)
3. Why an inline fuse? If there's a problem won't the fuse just blow for the interior lights or the glove lights? If an inline fuse is required, what rating?
4. When I change the setup, I will have a spare set of LED's so will also add them to the back seats.. Where will be best to fit them?

I'm guessing most of these will be answered when you actually fit it all, so the last question is, when can we expect the How to guide???

gray52 · 18th March 2007, 21:56

i had a look at fitting them today and it looks very easy. im going to run all my wireing from the interior lights console in the roof, as there is a supply for the interior and headlights (via the blue led) so there is no need to connect anything to the glove box light.

ive also noticed i do not need to cut any of the original wireing or solder into this, as im going to solder directly to the circuit tracks on the roof centre console.

ive started talking some pics so will get them uploaded when ive finished the job, hopefully tomorrow. done a mock up with the leds tonight and it looks very good

found a good place for the dimmer, well out the way but easy to get to and no holes in any major panels.

pics to follow. cannot beleive honda charge £200 for this, and no manual dimmer either.

crispy · 19th March 2007, 08:10

Sounds like a winner! Can't wait to see the how to.

Bog · 19th March 2007, 10:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by crispy

OK, I'm c onvinced that this is an improvement to my initial attempt.

PS. the LED's do have resistors already in them. They are specifically designed to connect straight to a 12V battery feed.....

So things I need to know....

1. what diodes do I require?
2. What variable resistor will you be using? (where from etc)
3. Why an inline fuse? If there's a problem won't the fuse just blow for the interior lights or the glove lights? If an inline fuse is required, what rating?
4. When I change the setup, I will have a spare set of LED's so will also add them to the back seats.. Where will be best to fit them?

I'm guessing most of these will be answered when you actually fit it all, so the last question is, when can we expect the How to guide???

I gonna use a dimmer from Maplin (Like daiashthomas has here: Flat LED strip lights are now 12" long -15LEDs) and probably put it in the glove box - Gray52, where are you oing to put yours?

I would put your spare set under the front seats, facing the back of the car and run the wiring throught the centre console.

Gray52,

I'm not sure about connecting to the overhead console blue light feed, see here: http://www.civinfo.com/forum/showpos...15&postcount=3

gray52 · 19th March 2007, 20:37

well i had fun and games today!!!!

the finished result is brilliant, but ive only got half the result i wanted.
as honda use switched negative im getting a feedback via the negative path, not the positive, hence the diodes cannot prevent this from happening

the result is:- open the doors and the leds work as per interior lights...great.

but when you put the lights on, it also puts the interior lights on. This is the result of the switched negative, so im now trying to work out how to over come this.

any ideas??

as for taking the a feed from the blue led in the centre console, it has 12volts but is droped to 2.75v via a resistor, so i just tapped into the 12volt side. there is also a diode for this as well.

will post some pics when ive finished the job.

FondaHonda · 19th March 2007, 20:53

I'm a bit late to this post, but here's my input anyway. I'd like to have the lights on at full brightness when I open the door, and then when I close it, they stay on for up to 30 seconds at half brightness. To do this, you'll need a timer (like a bathroom fan timer) that will "run on" after the 12v feed from the door light has been cut. It would be easy to do this with a relay, but it would be even nicer without the intrusive "click" from the relay. My electronics skills are a bit rusty though - anyone got any ideas on this?

crispy · 20th March 2007, 09:21

FondHonda,

This is what we are trying to achieve but we want the lights to come on at full brightness when we open a door or unlock the car (as per the interior lights) and then fade out (as per the interior lights).

We then want the lights to come on at half brightness if the headlights are on. As per the honda ambient lights....

I have come quite close by using 2 sets of LED's. 1 set functions with the interior lights the second set with the headlights.

However gray52 is trying to merge into 1 set by combining the input of the interior lights and headlights onto 1 set of LED's but using diode's to control the current flow dependant on whether the headlights or interior lights are on..

Gray52...

I've been looking at this and I think i see a few flaws with our cct diagram...

Firstly, the diodes should only allow current to flow positive to earth, this means that:-

if the headlights are on, current should flow to the led's.

If the interior lights are on current should flow to the LED's

During either of these cases, no current should back flow into the headlights or interior lights. However, with both sets on you effectively have 2 12v sources and could therefore knacker the LED's...

Now regarding the negative switched supply from the headlight cct, I think this may be because you have picked up the supply from the interior LED. I think if you pick it up off the glove light you will find its not negative switched.. (i'll tell you later as i'm going to try this.....) But we would still have the problem of the 2 12v sources...

Ps. have you added resistors to the diode's? as if i remember a resistor is required in front of the diode... can't remember why though!!

pcr · 20th March 2007, 09:45

Crispy,
There is no problem with 2 12v sources as you say it. There is only one source, the battery, and also two connections to 12v still gives 12v. The current is controlled by the resistors, if there are two paths then some goes one way and some the other, the current through the leds remains the same.

crispy · 20th March 2007, 09:56

Lol.. was just going over what I have said and thought i was talking rubbish!!

Am i right in thinking that the headlight supply needs to be less than the interior light supply (voltage wise) for the diode to become reverse biased?

pcr · 20th March 2007, 12:15

Crispy,
You are right but it doesn't matter, if the voltages are similar, some current flows through each diode, not a problem. The whole point is that no current ever flows from one supply to the other, in either direction.

crispy · 20th March 2007, 17:23

ah well.. tried the glove light for the switched supply and had the same problems as you gray52...

In the end i have gone back to the 2 sets of LED's but added a dimmer into the headlight switched supply. As the 2 sets of LED's are next to each other you can't tell that they are different sets...

This gives the effect of the footwells lighting up when the doors are opened and dimming with the interior lights.
The footwells lighting up when the headlights are switched on (but not as bright, but adjustable with dimmer switch) then if the door is opened with the footwell lit (headlights on) then the footwells get brighter and then dim again with the interior lights to the low lit level..

Looks pretty good and gives the same effect as the honda ones but with a manual dimmer switch

Just out of interest, where did you fit your dimmer? I put mine in the armrest storage as its out of the way but easy to get to if I want to change the setting...

Also did you fit the rear footwell lights? If so where did you put them?

gray52 · 20th March 2007, 20:30

well sorted this problem.... i bought another set of lights for the the front. cheat or what!!.

i put my dimmer under the drivers side dash, there is a hole already there and another hole for another dimmer if i need to put one on the interior lights.

i will up load some pics, but im very pleased with the out come and you do need a dimmer as ther are to bright without one, easy to fit through.

gray52 · 20th March 2007, 21:14

her are some pics:-
1) interior lighting circuit, with feed for the side/headlighs via the blue led.
2) dimmer to controll the brightness, this is recommended.
3) finished pic.
4) finished pic.
5) rear light fitting, run the wires under the side trims, either side.

ive forgot to take one of the dimmer in its finished postion, will post one tomorrow.

this was an easy mod to the car & i havent cut into any of the original wiring in the car.

run the wires from the light console under the edge of the roof lining and down the sides of the door pillers, and then behind the pull of panel on the side of the dash. all the wires have ended up by the fuse box and this is where ive placed the dimmer, there is a hole already in the plastic trim, and space for another if reqired (will need to drill this one)

Then just plase your leds (i used the flat flexable strip ones) where you want them, and tuck them under as far as you can, then you wont see any leds when there on, so will look like a professional job.

i wired up the lights to the 2 different circuit wires from the interior light console.
i have soldered all my connections and covered the joins with heat shrink.

this has cost me around £35 so is a big saving on the honda option.

the pics dont do the job justice (taken on camera phone) but ther do look the biz at night, and im now very happy with the finished job, would look good on the type r in red.

crispy · 21st March 2007, 21:34

Gray52, that looks good mate...

Where did you get the led strips from? I just used the 4 led packs from halfords which is why they aren't too bright. (I still added the dimmer as it gives me the choice of dimming or not)..

If I could get some cheap led strips I think i'd change to these....

Bog · 22nd March 2007, 09:26

Wild mats there Gray52

Lights look good! I never thought of putting them under the rear seats!

generationgav · 22nd March 2007, 10:10

http://www.civinfo.com/forum/showpos...06&postcount=1

gray52 · 22nd March 2007, 11:22

crispy, follow that link for the strip leds, i got mine from a wholesaler, as i said the job cost £35, this is for 6 led strip lights (2 large & 4 smaller), dimmer and extra wiring.

you may be able to find them in a car spares shop near you, the wholesaler i got mine from are runninglow on the blue ones and are not restocking them.

im going to fit a switched dimmer so i can turn them off as well.

also found out last night, if i put the drivers interior light on by the manual switch in the roof centre console that it also turns on the leds as well, so looks very good.

i got the mats as a joke when i 1st got the car (£10 from halfords) i cut the drivers one to fit the civics profile, and they now look good with the blue leds on, and eveyone says how good the mats look!

crispy · 22nd March 2007, 15:38

Cheers mate. I can get similar from maplins but its 10 quid for 1 strip!!! that would make the overall mod a bit expensive....

At present I have beaten you on price by using the halfords 4 LED pack at 4.99. 2 packs plus wiring and dimmer switch cost 13 quid or thereabouts... Not done the back seats yet mind...

Beats paying hoonda!!

crispy · 22nd March 2007, 15:40

Cheers mate. I can get similar from maplins but its 10 quid for 1 strp!!! that would make the overall mod a bit expensive....

At present I have beaten you on price by using the halfords 4 LED pack at 4.99. 2 packs plus wiring and dimmer switch cost 13 quid or thereabouts... Not done the back seats yet mind...

Beats paying honda!!

Sorry double post.. and don't know how to delete it

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This thread is about: Auto dim ambient blue lighting, it's in Lights at the Honda Civic forum Civinfo; that looks like a very good diagram, and im now left with 2 options. i think i will go by the diagram, as when the ...

17th March 2007, 20:39	#21 (permalink)
gray52 Supporter Magic Rear Seat Join Date: 23rd November 2006 Location: peterborough Posts: 858 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	that looks like a very good diagram, and im now left with 2 options. i think i will go by the diagram, as when the lights are on the led blue lights will be controlled by the variable resistor (dimmer) and i know i will not be driving with these at full brightness. Then when someone opens the door this will make the leds go to full brightness, then when the courtesy lights dimm so will the leds back to what they are set at via the dimmer. im putting them under the back seats as well, so they should give an excellent effect, far better than hondas £200 jobbies! these will work out at £25 for the whole job, i will take pics as i go and post them when ive done, and hopefully all will go very well. also dont forget to fit in line fuses, just to be on the safe side.

18th March 2007, 20:16	#22 (permalink)
crispy Wheelnut Join Date: 7th March 2007 Location: Birmingham Posts: 64 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	OK, I'm c onvinced that this is an improvement to my initial attempt. PS. the LED's do have resistors already in them. They are specifically designed to connect straight to a 12V battery feed..... So things I need to know.... 1. what diodes do I require? 2. What variable resistor will you be using? (where from etc) 3. Why an inline fuse? If there's a problem won't the fuse just blow for the interior lights or the glove lights? If an inline fuse is required, what rating? 4. When I change the setup, I will have a spare set of LED's so will also add them to the back seats.. Where will be best to fit them? I'm guessing most of these will be answered when you actually fit it all, so the last question is, when can we expect the How to guide???

18th March 2007, 21:56	#23 (permalink)
gray52 Supporter Magic Rear Seat Join Date: 23rd November 2006 Location: peterborough Posts: 858 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	i had a look at fitting them today and it looks very easy. im going to run all my wireing from the interior lights console in the roof, as there is a supply for the interior and headlights (via the blue led) so there is no need to connect anything to the glove box light. ive also noticed i do not need to cut any of the original wireing or solder into this, as im going to solder directly to the circuit tracks on the roof centre console. ive started talking some pics so will get them uploaded when ive finished the job, hopefully tomorrow. done a mock up with the leds tonight and it looks very good found a good place for the dimmer, well out the way but easy to get to and no holes in any major panels. pics to follow. cannot beleive honda charge £200 for this, and no manual dimmer either.

19th March 2007, 08:10	#24 (permalink)
crispy Wheelnut Join Date: 7th March 2007 Location: Birmingham Posts: 64 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Sounds like a winner! Can't wait to see the how to.

19th March 2007, 20:37	#26 (permalink)
gray52 Supporter Magic Rear Seat Join Date: 23rd November 2006 Location: peterborough Posts: 858 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	well i had fun and games today!!!! the finished result is brilliant, but ive only got half the result i wanted. as honda use switched negative im getting a feedback via the negative path, not the positive, hence the diodes cannot prevent this from happening the result is:- open the doors and the leds work as per interior lights...great. but when you put the lights on, it also puts the interior lights on. This is the result of the switched negative, so im now trying to work out how to over come this. any ideas?? as for taking the a feed from the blue led in the centre console, it has 12volts but is droped to 2.75v via a resistor, so i just tapped into the 12volt side. there is also a diode for this as well. will post some pics when ive finished the job.

19th March 2007, 20:53	#27 (permalink)
FondaHonda Valve Cap Join Date: 13th January 2007 Location: Cheshire Posts: 11 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I'm a bit late to this post, but here's my input anyway. I'd like to have the lights on at full brightness when I open the door, and then when I close it, they stay on for up to 30 seconds at half brightness. To do this, you'll need a timer (like a bathroom fan timer) that will "run on" after the 12v feed from the door light has been cut. It would be easy to do this with a relay, but it would be even nicer without the intrusive "click" from the relay. My electronics skills are a bit rusty though - anyone got any ideas on this?

20th March 2007, 09:21	#28 (permalink)
crispy Wheelnut Join Date: 7th March 2007 Location: Birmingham Posts: 64 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	FondHonda, This is what we are trying to achieve but we want the lights to come on at full brightness when we open a door or unlock the car (as per the interior lights) and then fade out (as per the interior lights). We then want the lights to come on at half brightness if the headlights are on. As per the honda ambient lights.... I have come quite close by using 2 sets of LED's. 1 set functions with the interior lights the second set with the headlights. However gray52 is trying to merge into 1 set by combining the input of the interior lights and headlights onto 1 set of LED's but using diode's to control the current flow dependant on whether the headlights or interior lights are on.. Gray52... I've been looking at this and I think i see a few flaws with our cct diagram... Firstly, the diodes should only allow current to flow positive to earth, this means that:- if the headlights are on, current should flow to the led's. If the interior lights are on current should flow to the LED's During either of these cases, no current should back flow into the headlights or interior lights. However, with both sets on you effectively have 2 12v sources and could therefore knacker the LED's... Now regarding the negative switched supply from the headlight cct, I think this may be because you have picked up the supply from the interior LED. I think if you pick it up off the glove light you will find its not negative switched.. (i'll tell you later as i'm going to try this.....) But we would still have the problem of the 2 12v sources... Ps. have you added resistors to the diode's? as if i remember a resistor is required in front of the diode... can't remember why though!!

20th March 2007, 09:45	#29 (permalink)
pcr Magic Rear Seat Join Date: 5th September 2006 Location: Shropshire Posts: 832 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Crispy, There is no problem with 2 12v sources as you say it. There is only one source, the battery, and also two connections to 12v still gives 12v. The current is controlled by the resistors, if there are two paths then some goes one way and some the other, the current through the leds remains the same.

20th March 2007, 09:56	#30 (permalink)
crispy Wheelnut Join Date: 7th March 2007 Location: Birmingham Posts: 64 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Lol.. was just going over what I have said and thought i was talking rubbish!! Am i right in thinking that the headlight supply needs to be less than the interior light supply (voltage wise) for the diode to become reverse biased?

20th March 2007, 12:15	#31 (permalink)
pcr Magic Rear Seat Join Date: 5th September 2006 Location: Shropshire Posts: 832 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Crispy, You are right but it doesn't matter, if the voltages are similar, some current flows through each diode, not a problem. The whole point is that no current ever flows from one supply to the other, in either direction.

20th March 2007, 17:23	#32 (permalink)
crispy Wheelnut Join Date: 7th March 2007 Location: Birmingham Posts: 64 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	ah well.. tried the glove light for the switched supply and had the same problems as you gray52... In the end i have gone back to the 2 sets of LED's but added a dimmer into the headlight switched supply. As the 2 sets of LED's are next to each other you can't tell that they are different sets... This gives the effect of the footwells lighting up when the doors are opened and dimming with the interior lights. The footwells lighting up when the headlights are switched on (but not as bright, but adjustable with dimmer switch) then if the door is opened with the footwell lit (headlights on) then the footwells get brighter and then dim again with the interior lights to the low lit level.. Looks pretty good and gives the same effect as the honda ones but with a manual dimmer switch Just out of interest, where did you fit your dimmer? I put mine in the armrest storage as its out of the way but easy to get to if I want to change the setting... Also did you fit the rear footwell lights? If so where did you put them?

20th March 2007, 20:30	#33 (permalink)
gray52 Supporter Magic Rear Seat Join Date: 23rd November 2006 Location: peterborough Posts: 858 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	well sorted this problem.... i bought another set of lights for the the front. cheat or what!!. i put my dimmer under the drivers side dash, there is a hole already there and another hole for another dimmer if i need to put one on the interior lights. i will up load some pics, but im very pleased with the out come and you do need a dimmer as ther are to bright without one, easy to fit through.

21st March 2007, 21:34	#35 (permalink)
crispy Wheelnut Join Date: 7th March 2007 Location: Birmingham Posts: 64 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Gray52, that looks good mate... Where did you get the led strips from? I just used the 4 led packs from halfords which is why they aren't too bright. (I still added the dimmer as it gives me the choice of dimming or not).. If I could get some cheap led strips I think i'd change to these....

22nd March 2007, 09:26	#36 (permalink)
Bog Supporter Magic Rear Seat Join Date: 5th October 2006 Location: Romford, Essex Posts: 886 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Wild mats there Gray52 Lights look good! I never thought of putting them under the rear seats!

22nd March 2007, 10:10	#37 (permalink)
generationgav Supporter Magic Rear Seat Join Date: 29th May 2006 Posts: 797 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	http://www.civinfo.com/forum/showpos...06&postcount=1

22nd March 2007, 11:22	#38 (permalink)
gray52 Supporter Magic Rear Seat Join Date: 23rd November 2006 Location: peterborough Posts: 858 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	crispy, follow that link for the strip leds, i got mine from a wholesaler, as i said the job cost £35, this is for 6 led strip lights (2 large & 4 smaller), dimmer and extra wiring. you may be able to find them in a car spares shop near you, the wholesaler i got mine from are runninglow on the blue ones and are not restocking them. im going to fit a switched dimmer so i can turn them off as well. also found out last night, if i put the drivers interior light on by the manual switch in the roof centre console that it also turns on the leds as well, so looks very good. i got the mats as a joke when i 1st got the car (£10 from halfords) i cut the drivers one to fit the civics profile, and they now look good with the blue leds on, and eveyone says how good the mats look!

22nd March 2007, 15:38	#39 (permalink)
crispy Wheelnut Join Date: 7th March 2007 Location: Birmingham Posts: 64 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Cheers mate. I can get similar from maplins but its 10 quid for 1 strip!!! that would make the overall mod a bit expensive.... At present I have beaten you on price by using the halfords 4 LED pack at 4.99. 2 packs plus wiring and dimmer switch cost 13 quid or thereabouts... Not done the back seats yet mind... Beats paying hoonda!!

22nd March 2007, 15:40	#40 (permalink)
crispy Wheelnut Join Date: 7th March 2007 Location: Birmingham Posts: 64 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Cheers mate. I can get similar from maplins but its 10 quid for 1 strp!!! that would make the overall mod a bit expensive.... At present I have beaten you on price by using the halfords 4 LED pack at 4.99. 2 packs plus wiring and dimmer switch cost 13 quid or thereabouts... Not done the back seats yet mind... Beats paying honda!! Sorry double post.. and don't know how to delete it