I wanted to add some extra lighting to illuminate the ground when the doors are opened. This is an easy, inexpensive mod that just about anyone can do.
I used a clear straw hat 5mm led mounted flush with the bottom of the door panel. The straw hat leds have a wider dispersion pattern giving more evenly diffused lighting. The led wires connect to the door's courtesy light so no new wiring needs to be ran through the door.
Difficulty
Beginner
Approximate time to complete: 6-8 hours depending on experience
Tools Needed
Philips screw driver
Small flat blade
Wire strippers
Snips
Soldering iron
Heat gun
Drill and drill bits
Vise
File or sandpaper
Parts Used
5mm straw hat leds with proper resistors
Resistors
4 feet red of 18-22g wire
4 feet black of 18-22g wire
Shrink tubing 1/8", 3/16", and 1/4"
Deans connector
Led Preparation
Start off by prepping the leds. Use 6" of 18-22g wire and solder it to the leds leads. The side of the led with flat spot is the negative side and wires to the green/striped wire door switched negative. The the other side of the led wires to the white/blue 12v wire at the courtesy light. Since leds will not work with 12v, a resistor will need to added on the positive side otherwise the magic smoke will be released.
Find something to hold the led so it can be soldered. I used a vise. Since leds have thin leads that easily break do not wrap the wire around its leads. Just add a bit of solder to led leads and the wire first, then join them with the soldering iron.
Next solder in the resistor. They are very fragile and break very easily. Solder them inline with the wire, do not solder them onto the led lead.
Cover the led leads and resistor with shrink tubing. Then add two more pieces of shrink tube and solder on the faux Deans connector. Use the same method as soldering the led. The Deans connector allows the led to unplug easily.
Take another 6" of wire and solder to the other half of the deans connector(make sure to match led polarity). Cover with shrink tubing. When done it should look like this:
Test it to make sure it works.
Now that the leds are prepped and working, the door panels can be removed
Door Panel Removal
Removing The Front Passenger Panel----Drivers door is similar
1)Use small flat screwdriver and pop out the clip in the upper front corner.
2)Use a small flat screwdriver and pop up the screw cover in lower rear of panel and remove the philips screw.
3)Use a small flat screwdriver to remove screw cover from armrest pull and remove philips screw.
4)Use a small flat screwdriver and pop up the screw cover behind the pull handle and remove philips screw.
Slide handle forward to front of car to release the hooks and pull towards yourself. Remove door lock switch wire connector(A) and unclip rod(B). Remove door panel screw(C)
After all fasteners are removed, remove panel by pulling with your hands starting at the front and rear bottom of the panel.
After the clips are released, push upward from the rear to unhook the top of the panel.
Unclip the window switch and courtesy light connectors
Removing the rear panels. This is similar to the front front but easier.
Remove the interior handle as instructed for the front except there is not a door lock switch to disconnect
Remove the screw behind the interior handle
Remove armrest pull handle screw cover and screw
Pull the panel from bottom to release the clips, then push upward from the rear to remove the panel.
Disconnect power window switch and courtesy light connectors.
Led Installation
Wiring the led to the car is easy, just wire it to the backside of courtesy light. Remove the 2 screws holding the light to the panel.
Plug the courtesy light back in and observe which wire goes where. The green/striped wire is the door switched negative and the white/blue is 12v. The negative side has a diode but in case short term memory loss, mark the back of the light with a sharpie.
Solder the led wires to the appropriate +/- location and reinstall light into door panel.
Mark the center at the bottom of the door panel where led will mount. On the fronts I aligned the led with pocket screw. On the rears. I centered the leds between the door panel clips. Drill a pilot hole using a 3/32" drill bit first, then drill a 5/32"hole. This hole is slightly too small so it needs to opened up slightly for the led to fit. Push the led into the hole from the backside. It should fit tight if the hole was opened up properly(if it is loose, it can be glued in with CA glue).
The straw hat leds are shorter than standard leds so it will not protrude from or sit flush with the panel. The lip around the led will need to sanded off in order to sit out far enough from the panel. I used my belt sander since it was handy but a file, sandpaper, or even concrete can work.
Afterward the lip is removed, push the led into the hole until protrudes slightly from the panel. If the vinyl did not cut properly with the drill bit, a razor blade can be used to trim the vinyl around the led.
This what it should look like when done.
Plug the Deans connector together and test. If all is good, secure the wires, reinstall door panel and move onto the other doors.
I use bit of sound deadening to hold the wires down.
End Result
I used a clear straw hat 5mm led mounted flush with the bottom of the door panel. The straw hat leds have a wider dispersion pattern giving more evenly diffused lighting. The led wires connect to the door's courtesy light so no new wiring needs to be ran through the door.
Difficulty
Beginner
Approximate time to complete: 6-8 hours depending on experience
Tools Needed
Philips screw driver
Small flat blade
Wire strippers
Snips
Soldering iron
Heat gun
Drill and drill bits
Vise
File or sandpaper
Parts Used
5mm straw hat leds with proper resistors
Resistors
4 feet red of 18-22g wire
4 feet black of 18-22g wire
Shrink tubing 1/8", 3/16", and 1/4"
Deans connector
Led Preparation
Start off by prepping the leds. Use 6" of 18-22g wire and solder it to the leds leads. The side of the led with flat spot is the negative side and wires to the green/striped wire door switched negative. The the other side of the led wires to the white/blue 12v wire at the courtesy light. Since leds will not work with 12v, a resistor will need to added on the positive side otherwise the magic smoke will be released.
Find something to hold the led so it can be soldered. I used a vise. Since leds have thin leads that easily break do not wrap the wire around its leads. Just add a bit of solder to led leads and the wire first, then join them with the soldering iron.
Next solder in the resistor. They are very fragile and break very easily. Solder them inline with the wire, do not solder them onto the led lead.
Cover the led leads and resistor with shrink tubing. Then add two more pieces of shrink tube and solder on the faux Deans connector. Use the same method as soldering the led. The Deans connector allows the led to unplug easily.
Take another 6" of wire and solder to the other half of the deans connector(make sure to match led polarity). Cover with shrink tubing. When done it should look like this:
Test it to make sure it works.
Now that the leds are prepped and working, the door panels can be removed
Door Panel Removal
Removing The Front Passenger Panel----Drivers door is similar
1)Use small flat screwdriver and pop out the clip in the upper front corner.
2)Use a small flat screwdriver and pop up the screw cover in lower rear of panel and remove the philips screw.
3)Use a small flat screwdriver to remove screw cover from armrest pull and remove philips screw.
4)Use a small flat screwdriver and pop up the screw cover behind the pull handle and remove philips screw.
Slide handle forward to front of car to release the hooks and pull towards yourself. Remove door lock switch wire connector(A) and unclip rod(B). Remove door panel screw(C)
After all fasteners are removed, remove panel by pulling with your hands starting at the front and rear bottom of the panel.
After the clips are released, push upward from the rear to unhook the top of the panel.
Unclip the window switch and courtesy light connectors
Removing the rear panels. This is similar to the front front but easier.
Remove the interior handle as instructed for the front except there is not a door lock switch to disconnect
Remove the screw behind the interior handle
Remove armrest pull handle screw cover and screw
Pull the panel from bottom to release the clips, then push upward from the rear to remove the panel.
Disconnect power window switch and courtesy light connectors.
Led Installation
Wiring the led to the car is easy, just wire it to the backside of courtesy light. Remove the 2 screws holding the light to the panel.
Plug the courtesy light back in and observe which wire goes where. The green/striped wire is the door switched negative and the white/blue is 12v. The negative side has a diode but in case short term memory loss, mark the back of the light with a sharpie.
Solder the led wires to the appropriate +/- location and reinstall light into door panel.
Mark the center at the bottom of the door panel where led will mount. On the fronts I aligned the led with pocket screw. On the rears. I centered the leds between the door panel clips. Drill a pilot hole using a 3/32" drill bit first, then drill a 5/32"hole. This hole is slightly too small so it needs to opened up slightly for the led to fit. Push the led into the hole from the backside. It should fit tight if the hole was opened up properly(if it is loose, it can be glued in with CA glue).
The straw hat leds are shorter than standard leds so it will not protrude from or sit flush with the panel. The lip around the led will need to sanded off in order to sit out far enough from the panel. I used my belt sander since it was handy but a file, sandpaper, or even concrete can work.
Afterward the lip is removed, push the led into the hole until protrudes slightly from the panel. If the vinyl did not cut properly with the drill bit, a razor blade can be used to trim the vinyl around the led.
This what it should look like when done.
Plug the Deans connector together and test. If all is good, secure the wires, reinstall door panel and move onto the other doors.
I use bit of sound deadening to hold the wires down.
End Result
**Don't b scared be prepared for the worst**
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