How to put LED Lights in your Car – Your Next to Know Guide!
Among so many choices available, LEDs remain the top choice for most of our lighting needs. LED lighting inside your car would sure make it look so utterly cool.
Customize your car interior with colored LEDs that not only make for the look on fleek but also add to interior lighting to be used while roaming about!
Create a fun and trendy car interior by just following simple and understandable instructions.
Installing LED lights in the interior or exterior of your car isn’t too tricky. It’s simple, doable, and looks chic.
Let’s begin your guide on how to install LED strip lights in the car interior!
Table of Contents
1. CHOOSE YOUR SPOT
Pick where you want your LEDs to light up. There are a few possibilities to go with.
Under the dashboard.
On edges of the front seat.
Backseat edges.
Along with the doors.
A good idea is to install the lighting where the LED lights themselves aren’t visible, they are concealed and only the glow of lights is seen. Choose the spots that are preferable for you and give a boost to your interior!
2. CHOOSE SPOT FOR CONTROLLER
Before beginning the work, select a spot in your car where you will install the controller. You must consider it is easily reachable and in a place where it can sense music (for music mode lights).
3. CHOOSE THE LIGHT COLORS
LED lights are usually available in the following colors:
Red
Blue
Green
Pick out a color (you can even pick the one that can change colors). Pick something that also compliments your car interior.
4. SELECTING LED LIGHTS
There are several factors that you should put into consideration before you purchase the LED lights.
Look if the:
Lights are easy to install.
Lights have modes that change with the music.
Lights have modes in color rotation.
Controllable brightness.
Lights are multi-colored.
Easy to use a controller.
5. CHOOSE THE NUMBER OF LIGHTS
This will majorly depend upon the places you want to install your lights in. 4 is usually a good quantity but you can add more if you want!
6. SUPPLIES YOU’LL REQUIRE
For installing LED lights in your car, you’ll need a few things before starting.
Pliers
Screwdriver
Crimp tool.
Zip ties.
High-adhesive glue.
Electrical tape.
Cleaning alcohol.
Cleaning cloth.
7. CLEANING UP!
Clean up the surface where you want to install the lights in. A dirty surface may not respond well with adhering glue.
Also, some car protective products aren’t good for adhesion so, clean up before you begin.
8. ATTACH THE LIGHTS
There are a few ways you can use to attach the lights to your car’s interior.
Self-adhesive lights:
You may use the self-adhesive LED light strips. This option however is less recommended as its adhesiveness wears off in heat exposure.
The lights tend to come off easily with all the vibration and shoe touch. Other ways to put LED lights are further discussed.
Highly-adhesive glue:
Use good adhesive quality glue to put up lights on the desired area. A drop after 5-6 inches would do well. Make sure you keep an evenly proportioned distance while using glue.
Make sure whatever glue you purchase is easy to work with and is strong enough to hold the LED lights in place for a long period.
Zip Ties for other areas:
If you’re installing the lights under the dashboard, there’s also an option to go with wire ties or zip ties.
Zip ties are great to work with, easy to use, and can be easily cut whenever you want to. You can use any hole or any object to use zip ties.
9. INSTALL THE CONTROLLER
Install the controller where it’s reachable. The most usual place is the driver’s side of the dashboard console.
Use glue or wire ties to firmly place it. Make sure you can control it with a remote from even the back of the car when you install it.
10. POWERING THE CONNECTIONS
Now, there are two ways you can power your LED light strips.
By using the fuse box of your car.
By using a cigarette lighter.
We’ll brief you about both ways so you may choose whichever is better for you to perform.
11. USING FUSE BOX
Look for your car’s manual and find the fuse box diagram. Search for the accessory fuse and find where it is located.
The perk of using this fuse is that your car’s battery won’t drain and it will only light the LEDs when the car is turned on.
Steps to follow for fuse box method:
Remove the accessory fuse from the fuse box.
Place it inside the fuse adaptor and insert it into its original place.
Connect the other end of the wire of the fuse adaptor with the LED light controller.
Locate the grounding point and connect the black wire to it.
Your lights will not work if the wires aren’t connected to the grounding point. So this step is crucial.
12. USING CIGARETTE LIGHTER
Search the location of a 12-volt power outlet in your car. By using the wire cutter, expose the wires of a cigarette lighter. Connect them to butt connectors, while making sure they are secure. Use the crimps for connectors.
Now, connect the charger adaptor of the cigarette lighter to the butt connectors. Now plug it into the 12-v outlet.
13. SECURE THE WIRING
Carefully use the electric tape to tape any hanging wiring. Tape any exposed wire so it may not hinder you while you drive your car. Place the wires under the dashboard carefully and tape them up.
14. CLEAN UP AGAIN!
Clean up the glue residue from the surfaces where you put lights up. Additional glue will later on just turn out to look terrible job on your end!
15. TEST YOUR LIGHTS!
Time to wrap it all up and test your lighting! Turn the power on and test the lights. See how they look and how good your car looks.
Make sure you try each setting on. Test your controller as well as your remote. If the lights do not turn on, try going back to the tutorial and see what step you missed.
16. ENJOY YOUR RIDE!!!
Enjoy the ride with your newly lit car and keep grooving just like the lights change with the music!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. Can you put LED lights in your car?
Yes, you can put LED lights in your car at various places. Those may include: Headlights area, brake, parking, reverse, blinker, and interior lights. These car areas can be improved by adding LED lights. As, LED lights offer long life as compared to other car light bulbs.
Q. How much does it cost to put LED lights in the car?
Among the foremost economical options installing LEDs inside a car costs, as little as, $100! In turn, there exist much different quality LED lights available today. Also, there’s an outsized number of various quality LED lighting lately, so that medium quality lighting may require between 300 and $500.
Q. Do our LED car lights worth it?
The most obvious disadvantage of using LED car lights is the cost. However, the great thing is that over the years, LED light for cars costs has gone down. They’re still costlier than halogen bulbs but with all the advantages that LEDs accompany, they’re well worth the price.
Q. Do LED lights drain car batteries?
LED headlights barely use much power while running. Even if you put your LED headlights on entire night they’re not going to drain your battery as compared to halogen headlights. So certainly, when the car is off, absolutely no power should be spent.
Q. How long will LED lights run on a car battery?
A typical automobile battery with an inverter can power one incandescent light bulb for 1.5-3 hours (60-100 watts), a CFL bulb for 9-17 hours (14-23 watts), or a 9-watt LED bulb for 29 hours and still be ready to start the car’s engine.
Q. Can I connect an LED to a battery?
Never connect an LED onto a battery or power supply because the LED is probably going to destroy by the excessive current passing through it. The resistor is suitable for many LEDs if your supply voltage is 12V or less. Remember to attach the LED the right way round.
Q. Is it worth upgrading to LED headlights?
The answer is a clear NO. This is because LED headlights are noticeably brighter, whiter, and are with high intensity discharge as compared to halogen headlights. But, obviously while driving; LED headlights with bright light do not assist you in viewing better. Also, they cost more as compared to normal headlights.
BOTTOM LINE
Have you been struggling to put LED lights in your car? Then this blog might have helped you to a large extent.
Thanks for making it this far till the end. The blog represents a detailed guide about how to put LED lights in your car. After reading every step carefully, you might feel that it is child’s play for you now.
So don’t waste your time and install a couple of captivating LED lights in your car to create a romantic atmosphere.
Do let us know which type of LED light you will install in your car. We’ll see you in the next blog. Till then, Be Sound!
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