ok... first off i want to start off by saying that i know few things about wiring LEDs... so with that out of the way the first little project i wanted to do to my Tc is wire blue LEDs into my main center air vent-easy. i read on here about 3 DIYs and i was confident that i could do everything right. i bought my car used with 12k miles on it and the guy before me wired blue LEDs into the cup holder which is controlled with a switch, i spliced my LEDs into the LEDs already in my cup holders so that they would all go on at the same time.i also used the top of my radio as a ground by taping the wires to it. long story short everything worked good an i was really proud of my self. i put all the cases back over the shifter and all that stuff and went to sleep, next morning, wake up and try it out again, but only one works... i take it apart and find out that the reason it was not working is because the ground was not sticking to the metal hard enough with the tape, so i decided to splice it into another grounded wire... in the process of sticking my hand through the small hole under the cigarette lighter something went wrong... i believe i must have unplugged or pulled out a wire because the power went out to my LEDs in my cup holder and the LEDs in my air vents... i found a wire with a plastic cap on it that is not plugged into anything and it is my guess that that has something to do with it... im really frustrated having this be my first mod to my car not working. anyone have any suggestions to what to do to fix this... it would be really appreciated

 

Sounds to me that you just accidentally pulled a wire loose or that you have blown a fuse. You need to find the source of your 12volt power and where it is coming from(where did you tap into for power or where did the original owner tap into) and then see if the fuse to that location is blown or not. You may have blown the fuse while trying to ground the LEDs if you didn't unplug your car battery. This is very common. You probably just touched the ground wire with your bare hand and caused a short which blew the fuse out which in turn powered those LEDs. Just check out your power source and then locate the fuse for that location. You most likely have blown the fuse. Pictures of your wiring setup would help me figure this out also considering im not sure which plastic cap your talking about. let me know. later

 

i checked all the fuses under my hood one by one and there all fine, is there any other fuses i need to check? and after looking at some pictures of what it should look like to wire LEDs into your cup holder, i realized that the guy before me did a very sloppy job and if i cant fix this soon I'm thinking about just re-doing them all togather

 

None of the fuses under your hood should be the ones. There are more fuses inside your car near your gas / break pedal. Look under there and you will se more fuses. Check all of those. You most likely have blown one of those fuses. If you see one that is broke, replace it with an extra that is located under the cap on the fuses under your hood. But look at those fuses inside. They are the correct ones you need to look at.

 

Your biggest mistake was taping the wires. A ring connector from walmart should be your next investment.

Crimp your wire into the open end and put a bolt through it.
As fo ryour current problem, would have to see some pics of things to help ya out.

 

yea, if you're using TAPE as a wire connector then you should put down whatever tools you might have and step away from your car! Especially taping it to your radio! Thats a real good way to screw things up! I wouldnt be surprised if you shorted out all your led's...

 

ok i found the box but does anyone know which fuse might be the one that went out based on what my LEDs would be hooked up to... if that makes sense

 

how do you know the led's are even hooked to a fuse?

 

lol. does you car still start?

just pull out the fuses, you will know which one is blown and they give you replacements..

 

the LEDs may not be hooked to the fuse but whatever the LEDs are spliced into for power, is what may have blown a fuse (ex. cig lighter)

 

ok so i feel like a total noob now casue i just relized that there was a fuse wired into the LEDs and i checked it an it was totally fried, so im going to get a new one an hopefully it will all work.... im excited! lol

 

make sure to use some scotch tape to hold your battery down...

 

duct tape ftw

 

i just added 2 more LEDs into my cup holder so i have a total of 4 and it looks real good

 

what a tough crowd!but hey, theyr right. any job doing is worth doing right. there is more than enuff info on this site to help. more than enuff peeps willing to help. when in doubt, ask b4 u do the job if unsure . we'll help

 

looks great!

 

i have several LEDs an with the success of the cupholders i would like to add more inside, do the air vents look good and are they easy to do?

 

the center airvents are easy because it all pulls out but the side ones can be tricky. Most people do them by going underneath where your fuses are and where the glovebox is. Thats the tricky way. With a little prying, the side airvents will come out. Just be careful.

 

with everything done right, do they come out looking good, is it a good look?

 

i put them in my xA but i broke the mounting for the pass side vent. ill have to fix it but this is a cool mod that not everybody has the patience to do right. take ur time. u can run these lights pretty much without a hassle since nobody can see them unless they look in ur vents.