So I've been thinking about installing LED's underneath the door handle and wiring them so they activate once you unlock the doors and deactivate once you lock the doors for a while now. I finally got around to doing it today and took some pics so you guys could see, incase you want to do it yourself. This isnt the hardest mod to do, but it takes some grinding and drilling to accomplish.

1st: Open your door (everything is the same on both sides) and on the inside of the door sill you'll see a black plastic plug, pictured here:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/DSC02700.jpg

Remove this, it just kind of pops out. Inside you'll see a bolt with a Torx head.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/DSC02701.jpg

If you're like me and don't have any Torx bits an allen wrench will work just fine. (4 mm i believe) Unscrew this bolt, it wont come completely out, it is held in by a retainer that prevents it from coming out or falling down after loosening it. Just make sure you loosen it thoroughly. Then go to the outside of the door and pull the lock mechanism out. It's kind of tough to do but i figured out a trick, use your key.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/DSC02703.jpg

Insert your key into the lock and turn towards the back of the car, then pull the lock machanism straight out. (towards you) It might take a little umph to get it out, but it should just pull straight out. Once you get it out it will look like this:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/DSC02705.jpg

Bring the lock mechanism inside (or where ever you are gonna be grinding and drilling) and remove the lock cover.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/DSC02731.jpg

Pry off from the wider side of the lock, you just have to lift it up past the two small tabs.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/DSC02733.jpg

Once you've got the cover off, it will look like this:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/DSC02735.jpg

Now you are going to want to grind the lower right hand corner (for the passenger side lock) or the lower left hand corner (for the driver side lock) to allow for the LED to fit inside the housing.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/cutout.jpg
(This is the passenger side lock)
I used a dremel with a grinding bit to cut off the corner of the lock. Then you'll want to drill a hole in the lock cover. The size of the hole depends on what type of LED you use. I used a white Superflux 4 chip LED from Oznium.com. They sell the pre-wired and ready to hook up to any 12-volt system. GET THEM HERE (http://www.oznium.com/prewired-superflux)

This is what they look like:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/DSC02730.jpg

The black plastic case Oznium puts the superflux's in is to big to fit in the lock housing. You will have to carefully cut the black case away and cut down the LED backing to make it thin enough to fit. It should look like this when done: (pic is a little blurry, but you get the idea)

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/DSC02738.jpg

Then you will have to drill a hole in the lock housing on the side that faces towards the ground when its on the car. Try to get the hole as close to the corner of the housing as possible, while still leaving enough room for the LED to fit. Once you drill the hole you can glue in the LED, i used normal super glue.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/DSC02718.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/DSC02717.jpg

The glue is just means for holding the LED in place while you snap the lock back into the housing. If you've cut everything right, it should all fit snuggly together.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/DSC02720.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/DSC02721.jpg

Once you've got both sides together, its just a matter of reinstalling the locks in the doors and wiring them to the dome light control. When reinstalling the locks, make sure the shaft fits back into the hole correctly. It looks like a little plue (+) sign. You'll have to remove the door panels to run the wires properly (through the door gromet and behind the glove box)

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/DSC02739.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/DSC02740.jpg

Now the domelight control is on the driver side underneath the dash. It's behind the little pop off panel. The domelights are ground triggered so you need to connect the ground wire for the LED's to the ground wire for the dome's. Connect the positive (+) side of the LED's to the tab that the red wire is connected to in the picture. This tab is the 12 volt constant for the LED's. The blue wire shown is the ground wire you will need to splice into and connect the grounds for the LED's to.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/domecontrol.jpg
*pic stolen from CXT

This will make the LED's fade in and out just as the domelights do when you lock, unlock or open the doors. Here's a quick 30 sec. demo video, not the highest quality plus it was dark outside, but you kind of get an idea.

VIDEO (http://s29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/?action=view&current=MOV02741.flv)

MORE PICS ON PAGE 2!!

NICE! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

Very interesting.

Thats pretty creative, good job!

Cool. that's something new.

Nice job...very creative

Nice How To

Sweet!!! The video is too dark, but I get the idea. :D

next time when u want to get pics to not blur, use the flower on teh camera when u take close up pictures.

thats what that little flower is for!! you learn something new everyday!

"Macro" Allows it to focus for closeups.

Cool idea.. but I have to say I have never once opened my tC door with a key :P

you dont have to open it with a key, it works with keyless entry

Should add to tech!

very cool idea.

ehhh.. ideas been out there but i can say the first on record and to post.

didn't i tell you those oznium prewired superfluxes would do nicely?

sweeet.. :clap:

they did very nicely, had to do a little mod'ing to them, but nothing too crazy!

cool ...

Love the DIY man, very nice.

Very nice job. One of the coolest tech articles ive seen.

Thanks for the compliments guys!

night shots!!! make sure no blur please?

tripod!

I'm using my sisters little digital camera and it has a little video feature. It's not a digital camcorder or anything, if I can get my hands on one I will take video and post.

thats ALOT of work for two leds. Kudos tho!

It is A LOT of work, but personally, I think it looks sooo sick!

Ya I dont mind alot of work if the turn out is awsome.

yup... very very very very very very well done. :D

Ok, a little better video shot of the lights in action at your request. Still not the best quality though, im trying to get my hands on a digital video camera that has a light on it. Anyway, here it is:

VIDEO (http://s29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/?action=view&current=P1010283.flv)

This is one of the best DIY's ever... very classy look and not everyone has it! Good job!

NICE! I like this but doubt I'll do all that work for it. Do you have any pics of the light in the day time?

You can't see the light during the day, I'll try to take some stills of the light around dusk tonight

I've been planning on doing something like this with my box, but I was just going to have them on a separate switch. I was under the impression that they would turn on anytime u turned the dome light to the "On" setting (like when driving). I didn't want to worry about them being on outside if I turn on the dome light inside, so is that really going to happen? If it won't I'll definitely do it your way.

Nope, they only turn on after the doors have been unlocked or when the doors are open. They have their own seperate 12 volt constant so they do not come on if you turn the dome light on while driving down the street. And the same works if you have your domelights switched to "off", the lights will still work when you unlock the doors even if they dome's are switched to "off".

WTF? Our cars have KEYHOLES?!?!

:rofl:

VERY nice job, man. Even though it's not 100% origional, it's a very unique idea. Many kudos. :bow:

havent seen it on any other scion...

looks nice! keep up the good work.

New pics here, some night shots to give you an idea of how bright it is. (the videos dont do the lights justice!)

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/P1010311.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/P1010312.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/P1010313.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/P1010314.jpg
Sorry so blurry...
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/P1010291.jpg

Thats awesome dude! I might have to do that meself.

not bad

looks truely amazing, has always been one of my favorite features on the BMW - gonna definitely give this a try.

wow thats crazy bright haha

I really need to do this. It looks awesome! Good job!

im glad you guys like it! any questions just let me know...

amazing

Gonna tackle this mod hopefully this weekend, assuming LEDs get in on time. Thanks alot for the howto hollywood and happy bday :clap:

LOL my lil wiring guideline realy gets around. Good job man. :clap:

Yea, I didn't want to bother taking and uploading another pic! Haha! Thanks though, you're write up helped me figure out this mod!

since your in cali, would you like to install some for me?

BTW HAPPY BIRTHDAY

We might be able to make an agreement

Hey hollywood,

I was wondering if you could do me a favor and take a picture like CXT's but with your wiring in there... I'm having trouble visualizing how you're hooking it up. Be awesome if you could ;]

Thanks.

My wiring looks exactly the same, to the "t". What are you having trouble with?

Please keep us updated with any LED problems.....since i am wondering if we will have the same problem with the side mirror LED swap....For those not familiar, I believe the consensus was that due to constant shutting of the door the LED ends up dying....so i just was curious if anyone thinks that could be a possibility???
I'm in no way knocking this.....i actually love it and probably will attempt myself....i just wanted to throw that out there....just in case

The stock mirror turn signal lights are led's. Superflux's at that, or similar to superfluxs. As long as you solder them correctly and firmly they shouldn't have any problems.

The stock mirror turn signal lights are led's. Superflux's at that, or similar to superfluxs. As long as you solder them correctly and firmly they shouldn't have any problems.


or with this project glue securely

I read they are water proof but i just wanted to make sure that cutting the black housing didnt effect that??

BTW you did a great job with this!! :clap:

Thanks, you could even use silicone with it(instead of superglue) to ensure that its waterproof.

Sorry for all the questions and dont laugh at my lovely paint skills but anyway to put the led in that part of the handle to shine into the hand part??? Do you think there would be room there.....

Edited...maybe i should remember to post the pics LOL

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a324/Sciontc_05/handle.jpg

in the handle itself, maybe not. especially since it moves around alot right there. but on the inside of the door, maybe. right inside where the handle meets the body there.

if you were able to get a drill in there (you'll be drilling into the door skin, so you'll want to be very careful). you'll have to take out the lock mechanism AND the actual handle (it just pulls out once the lock is out) but once you get them both out you could probably install the light in the little "dish" part of the door right there.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/ixisilverstarixi/arrow.jpg

get the idea? im not sure if thats what you meant.

definitely what i was talking about.....sometime this weekend i may look into a variation of what you have done....thanks for the help

just make sure its clear of all the moving parts of the door handle, you dont want wires getting pinched. also run enough excess so that it wont interfere with the window moving up and down. the last thing you want is to roll down your window and have it yank the light out or tear the wires...

Thats awesome

just make sure its clear of all the moving parts of the door handle, you dont want wires getting pinched. also run enough excess so that it wont interfere with the window moving up and down. the last thing you want is to roll down your window and have it yank the light out or tear the wires...

Excellent tip!!! :clap:

i have done something similar to this. i put 4 super white LED's in my mirror turn signals, they project form just under the mirror and out about 10 ft

BRILLIANT! (Guinness voice) lol.

it looks pretty good but im going to switch out the LED's for some 1 watt LED's maybe.....

these are pretty bright, but go as bright as youd like. you also have to make sure that it will fit. these superflux's were a perfect fit. not sure how big 1 watt's are...

looks good im going to do my handles all i need to figure out is how to get the whole door handle off any ideas? i forgot i have an 07 tc not sure if the year makes a difference. thanks

Look at the DIY, it walks you through removing the lock mechanism. Once you get that out you slide the handle towards the rear of the car then pull out on it like you're trying to open the door.

Look at the DIY, it walks you through removing the lock mechanism. Once you get that out you slide the handle towards the rear of the car then pull out on it like you're trying to open the door.

good work... looks sweet

Look at the DIY, it walks you through removing the lock mechanism. Once you get that out you slide the handle towards the rear of the car then pull out on it like you're trying to open the door.
thanks ill post up some pics when i get it done

i have done something similar to this. i put 4 super white LED's in my mirror turn signals, they project form just under the mirror and out about 10 ft

pics by any chance?

yea let me know what you come up with!

http://www.superiorautoshine.com/myphotos/led_on.jpg
http://www.superiorautoshine.com/myphotos/led_onn.jpg

Lookin good, maybe night shots?

i have done something similar to this. i put 4 super white LED's in my mirror turn signals, they project form just under the mirror and out about 10 ft

pics by any chance?

I can not take a good pic of it for crap...

http://scionsmoke.com/viewtopic.php?t=483

http://www.scionsmoke.com/images/Images/tc196gl9.jpg

good stuff

i wonder if everythigns still working fine. the black casing that covered it from oznium makes it waterproof, so taking that off makes is non-waterproof, and seeing how its on the handle, some water might be able to get up in there maybe?

Everything is still working 100%. I used some clear silicone to seal the edges around the light

nice and clean..

http://www.superiorautoshine.com/myphotos/led_on.jpg
http://www.superiorautoshine.com/myphotos/led_onn.jpg

that has got to be the dirtiest tC I have seen in a really long time!

hey can i ask something ? From my pic below, where should i connect the front footwells to make it on and fade off with the dome light? I know this has been posted before, but just couldnt find it. thanks

hey can i ask something ? From my pic below, where should i connect the front footwells to make it on and fade off with the dome light? I know this has been posted before, but just couldnt find it. thanks

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/1865/wires002om0.jpg

Check page 1. It shows you exactly where to hook up (-) and (+).

bravo brother, thats tight. I guess I didn't think that it would light up the whole ground that much... clean mod+original idea= genius

Check page 1. It shows you exactly where to hook up (-) and (+).

yah i did, just want to make sure. so bear with me

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/8817/domewireslt4.jpg

^^^ yes ???

(+) is right, but its tough to see the negative. Its the blue wire in the plug right above where you have the (-). If you're looking at that plug its the wire in the bottom left corner I believe, maybe one pin up from the corner, but its blue in color.

it has blue, green, red, orange, stripped black and white, yellow in that black cover. :question:

Splice into the blue wire in the bottom left corner of that plug for your (-)

is a fuse needed in case if i plan to have 5 cathodes, 2 front factory blue footwells and 14 5mm leds ? all will wire up with a switch and work just like the dome light. :)

You can put in a fuse if you'd like, I believe that the power is already fused, but I'm not 100%. if you look under the dash where you're hooking up the (+) and (-) you'll see another fuse panel behind where you're splicing wires into. But if you want to be safe and run a fuse, I don't see how it would hurt. You're going to run a switch on it? What for? If you hook it up this way, they'll turn on and off with the dome's.

I want to filp it on/off while it can still be like the couresy lights. I think thats cool ? :)

* si have a round rocker switch from Oz. The black wire goes to the blue, the middle red goes to the power source. What about the other red wire end goes to ?

sorry BIG noob here man

on the rocker switch you've got the black for (-) the middle red for power going to the switch and the other red should be power leaving the switch when the switch is in the "on" position.

bump :lalala:

awesome mod imma have the guy in my club who does my lighting stuff get on this asap =D

excellent write-up. awesome mod! i want to do this so bad but i dont think i have the guts to drill and grind down my door handles. maybe one day...

I got me grinding my door handles now but i got a question, i sent u a pm

how difficult is it to get the wire from the door to the car?


and where does it run

i just finished...looks sick...it was very hard for me....cuz i didnt have the right tools lol......will post up pics soon....i left my camera at work...and the camera on my phone sucks..




how difficult is it to get the wire from the door to the car?


and where does it run

Id say that was one the hardest things lol....thats my opinion though...

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1eXDhJ9ON4

Pics

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/Dam262a/doorhandles003.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/Dam262a/doorhandles002.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/Dam262a/doorhandles001.jpg

wow I am so stressed out. How the hell did you guys get everything to fit. I have been working for more than an hour and cannot get the LED and door lock to fit. I've been grinding away at both; I'm not even sure the led will still light up. I just might have to give up and search for a new plastic lock cover as there is already a hole in mine now :-(

what i notice is u just gotta cut a bunch off the metal part for it to fit nice in the plastic, it took me more then an hour...for 4 hours for one cuz i had the wrong bit for the dremel...but since i bought a better bit did it in like 30 mins...good stuff...so just dont give up and you'll get it for the little led you just have to take all of the clear stuff off...thats how i got mine to fit...just the led and the wires you should have to it fit then. took me a few days just to finish everything..so dont think its like a two hour project take some time on it

what i notice is u just gotta cut a bunch off the metal part for it to fit nice in the plastic, it took me more then an hour...for 4 hours for one cuz i had the wrong bit for the dremel...but since i bought a better bit did it in like 30 mins...good stuff...so just dont give up and you'll get it for the little led you just have to take all of the clear stuff off...thats how i got mine to fit...just the led and the wires you should have to it fit then. took me a few days just to finish everything..so dont think its like a two hour project take some time on it

lol wow well I'll think about trying again. The other thing I'm considering is just putting the LEDs in the sideview mirrors, that seems like it would be easier. Does anyone have a pic of this done? there were some pics posted on an earlier page of this thread but they're gone now...

id like to try this but i kno id mess somethin up...looks good

damn i went thru so many of those ____in superflux LEDs...i know i'm a newb at this for sure!! and now there's no more white ones =(!!! is there an easier way to take off the plastic covering??? when i try to take off the plastic the wire ends up coming off the LED which then i cant even fix it cuz its so close to the LED itself

hmm now I'm thinking I want to put one of these (the round one) under my side view mirror:

http://www.oznium.com/product_photos/large/1171.jpg


Doesnt any one have a pic of side mirror lights :pray:

here is mine....its a green led lol!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1eXDhJ9ON4
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/Dam262a/doorhandles001.jpg
and yea that will fit in the side mirrors...you can also use that superflux dome light to fit there if you want...

finally got the blue LEDs in!! looks pretty clean in my opinion =)

PICS PICS PICS!

this an amazing mod. DAM, how did you make it so your underbody liths come on when you unlock it. do they stay on and can you still control them otherwise?

....this is an awesome mod. i'd pay for this.

hmm...the underbody kit doesnt come on when i unlock it...just the superflux leds are pretty bright...

hmm...they must be super bright. at the end of the video when you point the camera down it looks like theyre on. and it doesnt seem like its coming from a single LED 2 and a half feet off the ground.

yea my under glow was on....but it didnt turn on from me unlocking the doors

oh....i was about to say that that little feature would be great. i'm sure you could do that with a relay or something. oh well, something to think about.

eh i wouldnt do it..ur lights that turn on when the doors are unlock or open dont stay on for very long..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v336/AzNpiMPrAcEr/P4070357.jpg

good stuff dude!!! looks great. I like the blue! Both of you're guys' looks sick. Green and blue!

Ok well I have officially decided there is know way im going to try to cram a superflux in the handle again. However I definatly think one of Ozniums 5mm leds would fit perfectly for me. i just dont know if it would be bright enough to be worth it... thoughts?

thanks hollywood! big thanks for the how-to post also...props for that man! and the green looks really unique btw! nicely done

Ok well I have officially decided there is know way im going to try to cram a superflux in the handle again. However I definatly think one of Ozniums 5mm leds would fit perfectly for me. i just dont know if it would be bright enough to be worth it... thoughts?

u can still use the 5mm LED...its pretty bright but its more of a concentrated beam where as the superflux has more of a wider beam...so the difference are the 5mm fits better but will project a circle on the ground where as the superflux is hard to fit but has more of a underglow look on the ground...both 5mm and superflux are bright nonetheless!!...hope that helps

Bump for info.

What info do you need?

For which wires to splice into for lights to turn on and off.

with the headlight switch??

I want to install LEDs in my foot wells. I want the LEDs to turn on when I open or unlock the car and turn off when I lock the car or close the door.

OP was showing which wires to tap into to get that affect. Tapping into the wires that control the dome lights.

yes. you can use the same connections.

wow those look really good