Illuminated cup holders Tahoe (How-to)

[Anthony]

Heres the Directions: (Thanks 02TahoeMD)

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:

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

 

[tybardy]

what kind of LEDs do i buy?

 

[Anthony]

what kind of LEDs do i buy?

Something like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/10PCS-12V-DC-20cm-WIRED-10mm-WHITE-LEDS_W0QQitemZ310156124051QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4836bedf93&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

Just search eBay for: 10mm WIRED LEDs
I paid under $10.00 shipped for 20 of them.

 

[AtomicHoe094]

hmm nice right up.

 

[tybardy]

what kind of resistors do i need with these?

 

[02TahoeMD]

what kind of resistors do i need with these?

None. I wired them directly to the 12V switched line. I do not know if you can get them to dim or not, that may require a resistor of some kind.

 

[tybardy]

yea i want to hook these into the dash lights

 

[Eagle]

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]

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]

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.

 

[Tahoewhat]

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.

Sorry for bringing up old thread, but it is a DIY one, so this may help..

but did you ever get some pics of your install and what are you guys that did this wiring the lights to so they can dim. Im thinking of doing this subtle look and just curious what you wired them to. I know 12v, but what? Like the cig lighter? Or if you have a pic also of where you wired them.

thanks

 

[ScottL4619]

If you have the Bose system with the subwoofer under the console, you can wire the positive for the LED's to the pink wire in the harness directly under the cupholders. Just buy one of those crimp splice pieces. I just found a screw attached to metal near the same place (console mount) to ground them. They don't dim, but only turn on when the subwoofer does (key turned, doors unlocked, etc). I bought radio shack LED's that have nuts on the backside, so they did not require any glue. If you get very subtle dim LED's, you don't really need to dim them.

 

[Tahoewhat]

If you have the Bose system with the subwoofer under the console, you can wire the positive for the LED's to the pink wire in the harness directly under the cupholders. Just buy one of those crimp splice pieces. I just found a screw attached to metal near the same place (console mount) to ground them. They don't dim, but only turn on when the subwoofer does (key turned, doors unlocked, etc). I bought radio shack LED's that have nuts on the backside, so they did not require any glue. If you get very subtle dim LED's, you don't really need to dim them.

yeah i have bose. Appreciate the info.. I'll have to check them out..

 

[highrollin113]

i like this idea i think i am gong to give it a try and coming off the amp was what i wa thinking glad to see i can

 

[MikeTheApeman]

Sorry for bringing up old thread, but it is a DIY one, so this may help..

but did you ever get some pics of your install and what are you guys that did this wiring the lights to so they can dim. Im thinking of doing this subtle look and just curious what you wired them to. I know 12v, but what? Like the cig lighter? Or if you have a pic also of where you wired them.

thanks

No, I didn't, and to be perfectly honest I totally forgot. (The g/f's mom passed right around when I posted that, so haven't been on in a while.) I'll make a note to get pics of where I tapped and install pics at lunch, will try to get lit up pics tonight or tomorrow after dark.

I know that I did NOT tap the pink wire as everyone else is saying. I want to say I tapped a light blue wire...the rub here is that it only read at 5v with the multimeter. This adds to the subtle effect, since the LED's are 12v, and I'm not powering them 100%.

 

[Tahoewhat]

No, I didn't, and to be perfectly honest I totally forgot. (The g/f's mom passed right around when I posted that, so haven't been on in a while.) I'll make a note to get pics of where I tapped and install pics at lunch, will try to get lit up pics tonight or tomorrow after dark.

I know that I did NOT tap the pink wire as everyone else is saying. I want to say I tapped a light blue wire...the rub here is that it only read at 5v with the multimeter. This adds to the subtle effect, since the LED's are 12v, and I'm not powering them 100%.

Cool, thanks man. Whenever you get the chance. Id like to know what you plugged into. I would like the subtle look also, not really full brightness. Just a sort of glow per say..

 

[Redhoe01]

I want to do this mod but elec stuff scares me. If anyone has the time, please post a pic of the 12V dash wires I can access to do this. I dont have bose stereo so I dont have the center console sub to access. Can I use the tape deck wires that is in the center console?

 

[MikeTheApeman]

Okay, here's a couple of pics I took yesterday showing where I hooked up. It's the royal blue wire, second slot from the corner, right between baby blue and orange. I ran a lead with a quick-connect and wired the LED's into that, this way if I need to take the cubby out there's no problem. Originally, I grounded to the 12v outlet...yeah, not so good. Power from amp harness + ground from 12v outlet = blowing fuse every other day. Moved the ground to under the cupholders, also with a quick connect just in case, no problems since.

As noted earlier, my LED's are 3mm, so they are smaller. I also tapped into a line that appeared to only carry 5V, so they don't get lit as bright. I scuffed the entire outside with a nail file to diffuse the light a little more, also need to pop them back out and paint the tips better, as the lights shine right into the eyes of a passenger in the back seat. (I tried to hit them with a sharpie while installed...yeah, not so much.) I didn't check what drill bit I used, but I know it was perfect for 3mm LED's, nice and tight, no glue needed. Overall, just a simple glow to let you know something's in there, kinda like opera lighting.

 

[ScottL4619]

Interesting, you guys are lighting up the cubbies. I just did my actually cupholders. Are the cubbies hard to remove? I would like to add a couple to both cubbies if it's easy.

 

[MikeTheApeman]

The Cubbies come out in one piece, just have to pry a little bit harder because it's got those spring clip retainers holding it in place. Then the 12v outlets have plugs to remove.

Way I saw it, the cup holders have light from the windows...cubbies get darker faster. Not to say I won't go back and do the cupholders too, since I got about 100 LED's leftover here, but the cubbies were the 1st one I wanted to tackle. Now that I have power and ground leads run, I can add the cupholders easier anyway.