Adding LED Dome lights in the cargo area

[sandange]

Looks pretty cool
Gotta share some pics when you're done

 

[RobertC]

maybe someone can explain the process of removing the door panels, breaking as few of the plastic clips as possible. While I'm in there, I probably will also insulate the doors and fix the rattle in the fronts. My napkin trick isn't working anymore.

Removing the door panels is a piece of cake. I have done it several times for the front and back doors for both of my MiEV's and have never broken a plastic clip.

Front doors:
1. Remove three phillips head screws.
2. Remove the front door sash trim. (Pull out from the top)
3. Slide your fingers under the panel at the bottom of the door and pull out toward you. (I brace the door with my knee.)
4. Slide the panel up to release it from the window.

Back doors:
1. Remove four phillips head screws.
2. Slide your fingers under the panel at the bottom of the door and pull out toward you. (I brace the door with my knee.)
3. Slide the panel up to release it from the window.

To completely remove the panel, you have to disconnect the cables for the door lock and handle and the electrical connectors.

 

[PV1]

Thanks for the info. The lights are supposed to be here tomorrow.

 

[PV1]

Lights arrived at home! I'll pick up the insulation bits from Lowe's, and maybe rear speakers as well, on the way home and get to work.

 

[PV1]

They're in! After 12 hours of work, they're in. Rear speakers and insulation in the rear doors completed, as well. Didn't get the front insulated as I was running short on time, but now I can get a comparison both with and without.

I read in another thread about speaker upgrades (actually called Speaker "Upgrade"), and it was mentioned to stick with Mitsubishi OEM speakers. I highly, highly recommend you do, solely for ease of installation. I bought a pair of Pioneer speakers and they were a real pain to install, taking about 30 minutes each, at least. Mitsubishi speakers twist-lock into place and done, about 10 seconds each. The Pioneer speakers sound good, though. The front speakers are 4 ohm, 15 watts.

Pictures coming soon. The car needs cleaned first.

 

[PV1]

Here's some photos of the install. Like I said earlier, I was running short on time and didn't get a chance to take pictures of the front door installs. They required some thought, since the window spans the whole door. I ended up running the wires straight down and across the bottom of the door (I still have to insulate the front, so I'll get pictures when I do that). I also finished the rear seat dome and accent lights yesterday morning. They make the car look much more refined. Check back later as I'll add a few more pictures tonight.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zvvksa0yosmvstk/AADitwavCux4JjShfEW2gDIsa?dl=0

 

[JoeS]

They're in! After 12 hours of work, they're in....

PV1, that's too much work! Thanks for posting the photos. I'm still waiting for you to build your transportable solar recharging station...

 

[DonDakin]

Very very cool....

I like those lights in the handles. Very nice job on wiring it into the existing lighting system.

Kudos to you for the great ideas. It took a long time to install but you did 3 major upgrades at the same time. Well planned and executed....

Don......

 

[PV1]

Thank you. I'm glad you like it.

Last night, I had a chance to try them out, and they work quite well. The best part is that no drilling is required. They peel and stick to the inside of the handle. Except for the switch blanks, the light mod is completely reversible. It wasn't hard work, just time consuming and requiring some forethought.

I might work on that solar trailer soon. I heard this winter is supposed to be worse, so having off-grid solar backup would be beneficial.

 

[PV1]

More pictures going up now. I'll also be working on an updated schematic. Keep checking back at the Dropbox link above.

 

[sandange]

Nice job - looks classy

 

[PV1]

Thank you. Wait till you see my latest pictures.

 

[PV1]

Just an update on this.

This past Spring, all 8 of the LEDs in the doorhandles failed . I recently replaced them all and used a different method of mounting them. Instead of the lights being tucked up in the handle and the resulting sharp bend in the ribbon, I placed them on the handle supports pointing straight down. Before I installed them, I put two coats of clear nail polish over the LEDs and the ribbon pad to seal out water, salt, and other debris. Now, the contacts behind the LED should not corrode and break, and the ribbons should not tear as a few of the old ones did. I have strain reliefs inside the door keeping the ribbons loose, plus there are no twists in the ribbons. Unfortunately, one of the LEDs is defective, so the right rear door only has one working light in the handle. I should've ordered a few spares. I haven't gotten around to fixing it yet.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l4bamghemf4sdmj/AACSzImHdCVgSjl3PY3UcZCKa?dl=0

While the doorhandles don't light up as uniformly as they used to, the ground around the car is much brighter now .

As for my speaker install, the Pioneer rear speakers still seem to be holding their own. I must say, the OEM radio and speakers are quite difficult to beat in regards to sound quality. I've tried different radios and adding a subwoofer, but just can't beat the stock setup plus my Pioneer rear speakers. I think the only improvement I could make is to swap the rear aftermarket speakers with a set of OEM rear speakers. The front door speakers match and completely drown out the sub I got. The only way I know the sub is working is that I can hear it rattling (should that happen?). Of course, I could get larger/more powerful subs, but I was hoping to find one worth installing and have it fit in the open space behind the removable cover in the cargo area.

 

[bennelson]

I got to see this car in person a few months ago. The light upgrades looked great!

 

[bennelson]

I just upgraded the dome lights and rear license plate lights with plug-n-play LED bulbs, but I'm sure I'll be doing some more LED work in the future.

http://300mpg.org/2016/01/01/led-lighting-upgrade/

 

[PV1]

Nice upgrades, Ben.

I swapped out my front two dome lights for LED lights that I bought at Advance Auto Parts. They aren't bad, but not very bright. I might give SBL lights a try.

On this topic, is anyone else having problems with the dome lights flickering and/or not lighting up? There is something up with the spring connection that keeps cutting power to the lights. I started noticing it with the stock lights, so I replaced them with the LED, only to find they do the same.

 

[tigger19687]

I have not noticed that, but then again I have them shut off when I open the car door.
I have done this with all my cars, must be a throw back from my good old police days.

I do need to get a little lite for the shifter tho.
Such a pain that I can't see the letters on the Right side NOR the stickers I put on the Left side.
I just sent for a USB little reader light, hope that works enough and not too bright.

 

[PV1]

So, a recent cold-snap showed just how fragile the solder points are underneath the LEDs in the door handle lights. When it gets below 5 F, several other lights stop working. I'm not sure if I pushed too hard on them when installing them or if the manufacturing just isn't that great.

Also, when washing the car in my friend's shop the other night, I noticed that one of the lights in the driver's doorhandle would light up if I touched it. The nail polish must have broken down as the light was being externally grounded (the dome lights have constant +12 volts to them, as the computer drives them with the ground connection). It now no longer works .

The search continues for robust door handle lights. Maybe I'll try the flexible modules (same modules I used for interior lighting) mounted to the bottom of each mirror.

 

[Anonymous]

Inspired from the postings in here I did this on our iOn:

LED light 3000K 0.25W
- footwells front
- ignition key
- each side of cargo area behind panel
- outside door handles.

Very inspiring PV1 and thanks for sharing your experiences!

I'm testing some LEDRIVE FOG101 from Osram for DRL and foglights, lended to me from Osram for 2 weeks. However I need the ignition wire and unable to locate it in the front compartment. Can somebody tell me where to locate this wire in the front so I dont need to pull it from the cabin?

I've checked the 3 fuseboxes in front and so far connected it to the 7.5A fuse which seams to respond when the ignition is on. Sadly this is also activated when charging which means the lights come on which is of course useless. Any knowledge where to connect to the ignition wire out in front?

Thanks.

Unable to see how to share the photos in here.
They can be viewed on this iOn fb group number 4 from the top showing the DRL/foglights as front photo. 2 other photos shows in the comment area. Photos of door-handle-lights still to come.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1738688933043200/?fref=ts

Photos of ev chargings which I have done can be viewed here https://www.facebook.com/%C3%98kotek-ApS-507010686070572/?ref=hl

 

[DoubleTrouble]

Quote: "I've checked the 3 fuseboxes in front and so far connected it to the 7.5A fuse which seams to respond when the ignition is on. Sadly this is also activated when charging which means the lights come on which is of course useless. Any knowledge where to connect to the ignition wire out in front?"


Tell us which fuse it is )) i wanna make a lion logo on a front light up blue a-la " LEAF` s " 3 charging lights on dash.
Will give visual indication is car still charging or stopped.
Could be a useful as well as visually appealing mod.