Illuminated cup holders Tahoe (How-to)

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Anthony

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Heres the Directions: (Thanks 02TahoeMD) :Handshake:

Time: 90ish minutes


Well, this forum just keeps planting ideas in my head, and I tackled the latest idea today. I added LED lights to the cupholders on my Tahoe, it is a very easy mod to do, and I am happy with the results. Wanna do it yourself? Read on.....

You will need some 12V LEDs. I had some I had gotten from eBay awhile back just laying around, and used them. They are super convenient to use with their long leads. I got mine in red:

CupHolderLEDs.jpg

Next, yank out your cupholder and grab a drill bit that matches the size of the LEDs. I used a bit that was just a touch smaller than the bulb, and worked it around after drilling the hole to widen it just a tiny bit. I only used 4 LEDs for the entire project, since I wanted a subtle light, not too overpowering. I put one one each cupholder and one at each end of the catchall portion of the box.

CupHolder2.jpg

After drilling in the holes, touch a dab of an adhesive to keep them in place. I used a touch of JB Weld on mine. I then routed the wires and connected them together, and then attached them to a quick disconnect plug that I had gotten from Pep Boys.

CupHolder1.jpg

I have a 12V switched source that I routed into my console to have as a "master on" for my GPS and XM radio. I just used this as my power source and spliced in the other side of the connector. Voila! Now I have lights. Of course, you could also splice into the dash lights, or tap a line from the fuse box to do this if you want, anything 12V will work fine.

CupHolder1.jpg

To help cut down on some of the glare directed back at the driver, I painted the tops of the LED bulbs flat black. You can kind of see the bulb tops in this photo:

CupHolder3.jpg

Last, I took a couple of photos at night with no other interior or dash lights on to show the effect that was achieved with just 4 lights. A water bottle helps to add to the overall glow that you see.
 

Eagle

Thansk for all the help -STAFF!
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Great write up.

To answer the above question, they already have a resistor on them (that is what's under the black heatshrink), and they will dim just fine...

I used them to replace some $10-$20 VW only dash bulbs in the wife's Jetta... and i had some in another car to illuminate the trunk mounted changer at night.

one of the tricks you can do is grind the tip flat and sand the entire thing opaque for a more diffused glow.


I beiieve the current 'brand name' is 'pilot', & available at pep boys. They used to be under a different name at best buy. They still come in overpriced packs of 3, but if all you need is one or two... and you need em NOW... well you can get em.
 

vwbeaner

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In the past I bought leds, 330 ohm resisters, and used speaker wire. After they were soldered together they worked very well. I got the stuff at Radio Shack. it was pretty cheap.
 

MikeTheApeman

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one of the tricks you can do is grind the tip flat and sand the entire thing opaque for a more diffused glow.

I just installed LED's in the cubby where (I think) the tape deck usually is. I used 3mm pre-wired white LED's I got off eBay. Based on Eagle's advice, I took a nail file and scuffed the surface of the two I installed, the light is MUCH more subtle and more like a slight glow than a light - just the effect i was looking for.

I'm at work right now, so I can't give any pics, but I plan on doing the other cubby and the cupholders this wekk, so will take some pics then. I also know whatever drill bit I used gave the perfect hole for the 3mm LED's, so I'll list that up as well.
 

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