An Overview on How to install Neon & LED Interior car lights.
So you've got your LED or Neon interior car lights, but
you're now a bit confused as to where all the car interior neon
lights and wires go?" Well fear not, we'll show all the "in's &
out's" of this type of installation and the easiest way of doing
it. It's a good idea to disconnect the battery before
installing any car light accessories. You can do this by
disconnecting the negative battery cable and placing it to one
side of the battery where it won't touch any part of the
vehicles body. It's also wise to have your vehicles service
manual handy for information about the specifics of the
electrical system on your vehicle. For interior car lights,
the best places to mount the LED or neon tubes are under the
dash on both sides just above where your feet go, but high
enough so as not to kick the tubes or damage them. There are
also many other places you can fit them and their location is
only limited by your imagination. To operate the lights
manually, your going to need a switch located near you, so
you'll need to buy a simple "2way toggle" switch (or use the
switch that may have came with your neon/led tube kit) from your
nearest custom car accessories store. This switch will be
inserted into (in-line with) the main power wire that supplies
the kit with 12Volt power. Choose if you want your interior
car lights to turn on automatically when the headlights are
turned on, or if you want to control the lights separately with
a "toggle" switch. If you want the neon or LED tubes
to light up automatically when the headlights are turned on,
then you will need to find a wire under the dash near the
steering column. This wire you are looking for is normally Red
or Yellow, and it's supplying the "headlight control switch"
with 12V power - you're going to have to "tap" into this wire to
light-up your neon lights when the headlights are turned on.
If you want to be able to control the interior car lights
separately from the headlights, (best option) then there's two
ways you can do this... 1) The power wire can be connected
directly to the Positive side of the car battery, or... 2)
It can be connected to any 12V power wire from under the
dashboard.
If you choose to tap into a power wire from behind the dash
to power your interior car lights you'll also need to buy a
"Circuit Tester" from your nearest custom car accessory
store - they only cost about $10 dollars. To use this tester is
simple, it looks like a pen with an earth wire hanging out the
top of it and a clamp attached to the end of the wire, and it
has a globe inside the middle of the pen, or on its end, which
lights up when you have found power somewhere. To complete
the interior car lighting circuit - you'll now just need to
attach the earth wire coming out from the from your led or neon
tubes to the chassis of the vehicle. You can do this in the same
way as described above for the earth wire on the tester -
anywhere where there is bare steel under the dash is always a
good earth connection for your interior car lights, even if you
find a screw under the dash that is screwed into bare steel and
it is holding another wire in place as an earth, you can use
this too as an earth location. The control panel earth wire will
need to be securely screwed to the chassis of the vehicle or to
any "Earth wire" to complete the power circuit. After your
"power" & "earth" connections are complete, your car interior
neon lights should now work. If they appear dull and not
real bright, then be sure to check that you have made GOOD earth
and POWER connections. That's it, you're all done - now all you
have to do is put any plastic panels back into place that you
may have removed, pack your tools up, and then head off to show
your friends what a great look you've just created on your car -
Enjoy! Please see our "More-In-depth" and step-by-step
picture illustrated instructions on How to install LED or Neon interior car
lights onto your vehicle.