door handle lights?????

[morbid_eclipse]

hey i was just searching the web when i found this site...and then found these..door handle led's or lights...has anyone heard of these or seen these on an actual car? if so what do you think about them?

http://www.sportcompactonly.com/product.aspx?p=2365&c=152&l=2

 

[napkinthief]

umm cool idea but not for 72$ plus shipping

id rather grab a 10 set of leds off ebay for like 12$
take off door handles drill 2 holes up high in them
wire the leds to the power locks if you use a remote to get in your car
install the leds in the holes and you just saved 60$

ps a microled is just a small led....sand your 3mm ones down and its micro

 

[ootalipseoo]

I bought some LED's from a online site for like 15 cents, added a resistor to them, then drilled out a hole and mounted them on my outside and inside door handles. then wired them to my alarm so when I disarm they kick on for like 30 seconds as a courtesy light, they look pretty good but I can get a good picture of them. heres the best pic I could find, I just used white LEDs, so it kinda looks like a reflection

 

[silvercoupe97]

Do I dare say the "R" word? Nah. It is a neat idea, but if you can't see your door handles it's probably too dark to park there, . Now a backlit keyhole is more of a better idea, well... a functional idea anyway.
I agree with napkinthief...do it yourself and save what you would have spent on that product.

Now ootalipseoo, that's a neat and functional idea!

 

[Stapl3]

I bought some LED's from a online site for like 15 cents, added a resistor to them, then drilled out a hole and mounted them on my outside and inside door handles. then wired them to my alarm so when I disarm they kick on for like 30 seconds as a courtesy light, they look pretty good but I can get a good picture of them. heres the best pic I could find, I just used white LEDs, so it kinda looks like a reflection

It makes your car look very very sweet.

 

[ootalipseoo]

my wheels are getting refinished in gunmetal, thats the only reason they arent on


but thanks

 

[morbid_eclipse]

ill have to try that...thanx for all your ideas guys...sounds like something i can do in my free time on the weekends...i need to buy some led's ...lots of ideas on where to put them and such....but the only place that i think has em around me is radio shack and their liek 2.50 each...yeah i know its a ripoff...i need to get some off of ebay...what kind of resistors did you guys use? and what wire do i tap into to make it a courtesy light? i like that idea. if i can do that...is there a way i can make a switch to where it either comes on as a courtesy light or just on all the time? or is that just stupid to leave them on all the time...well ya know..while im driving and such...

 

[Attack Eagle]

unless you have an alarm I wouldn't bother.

I'd jsut get a set of "12v" leds like the redline ones that come with the resistor built into the base... and then connect them to the courtesy light output on the alarm

 

[96gstdsm]

Ok well just as the title says, I am wondering if anyone has put an LED in the interior door handle area? Not trying to rice it out or make a color show in my interior, but makes it much easier to see the door handle (passenger), and a dim blue colored one I don't think would really rice out my interior. On any model eclipses(2g) do they have led inside the door panel buttons? Like the windows and locks etc?
Just looking for pictures or info on the best way to wire in a small led to look clean some how and not just be an exposed led in the door handle area. If tucked inside behind the actual door handle do you think the light would emit enough even light to look decent and light up the door handle enough to easily see it?
Thanks.

 

[cbassgsx]

my audi has this factory and they turn on with the parking lights. I love it very classy imo. as far as wiring you just put a resistor on it and thats it

 

[96gstdsm]

my audi has this factory and they turn on with the parking lights. I love it very classy imo. as far as wiring you just put a resistor on it and thats it

The wiring I am not so much worried about. Easy enough to figure out. I just am more interested in how the fitment/ concealment will be. I would like to know if there is enough light output for it to be worthwhile while still having them hidden from the eye.

 

[cbassgsx]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DEI-...008QQitemZ180141531186QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
This one is an 1/8" led super bright tiny hole can be flushed from behind easily with 1/8" drill bit. It looks huge but you just squash the case with pliars or whatever and its a mini led inside . They also make them in blue and any dei or viper dealer should have them.

 

[96gstdsm]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DEI-...008QQitemZ180141531186QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
This one is an 1/8" led super bright tiny hole can be flushed from behind easily with 1/8" drill bit. It looks huge but you just squash the case with pliars or whatever and its a mini led inside . They also make them in blue and any dei or viper dealer should have them.

Hey thanks. So the led inside the case is much smaller than the case itself? It can just be crushed or filed down to whatever size I want?

 

[cbassgsx]

its a plastic case around an led thats 1/8" i diameter x like 3/16" long. so if you drill an 1/8' hole and stick it in from the back it is pretty flush with the front on most all plastic panels i've drilled them into. for removing the case you squeeze the case and it pops out.

 

[RedTurboEclipse]

Just do something like how those flushed alarm leds are. They just drill a hole and drop it in looks flushed.

 

[96gstdsm]

Just do something like how those flushed alarm leds are. They just drill a hole and drop it in looks flushed.

So the LED itself is colored correct? Its not the casing that is right? So removing it from the case won't make the color change? Also do they get too hot when not in the case?

 

[Smitherines]

So the LED itself is colored correct? Its not the casing that is right? So removing it from the case won't make the color change? Also do they get too hot when not in the case?

LEDs do not get hot, they do get warm, and thats during prolonged use, the there different types of LEDS, some have colored lenses, and others have clear lenses but the output color is for example blue.

John

 

[96gstdsm]

ok so I found these, should they be good? Does the connection right after the led itself need to be straight or can that be bent? Should these be a good bright one? Would one of these at night give off enough light to fully light the interior door handle? Let me know what you think.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/30PCS-12V-Wire-3mm-8Kmcd-Blue-LED-for-Car-Bike-RC-PC_W0QQitemZ320137809185QQihZ011QQcategoryZ33713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[95CarbonEclipse]

LED's in general are bright at hell. I'm pretty confident that they'll emit enough light to get the job done. You can go down to your local Radio Shack and choose from a wide variety of LED's w/o paying crazy shipping rates of off ebay. I'm guessing you'll only need 2, unless you have some other project in mind that requires LED's.

 

[azdave]

Here is how I did it.

I added a LED hidden in each door panel that lights up the switches and door handles any time the car is running. That way you can see the door handle at night even when the headlights are off. Once the headlights are on, the LEDs dim up and down along with the dash light brightness control.

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Here is the tiny hole where the light shines out. No one knows it's there and it really has a nice OEM look at night. In the photo the LED appears to be pointed at the camera but it is really a wide angle LED pointing down at the switches.

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[96gstdsm]

Hey do you have any pics of it at night? How does the light look at night? Does it appear like the whole area is evenly illuminated or does it look like there is a little light just pointing at the switches and door handle etc?

Ok I'm tired that one pic is of it at night right? Does it light up the whole door panel pretty much or more just the switches?

What are good specs to look for in an led? Is 3mm a good size? What viewing angle is recommended? What luminous intensity level? Also in all the pictures I see of the led's, there are two straight wires coming out of them. Can these be bent, or do they need to be kept straight? Are the little LED clips a good idea? What does everyone wire them into? Just any power source? I know you need a resistor and all, just wondering if it matters what power source you wire it into.

 

[95CarbonEclipse]

LED's are pretty much all the same (for the most part). They've all got the 2 wires coming out of them (one positive, one negative). All you really have to do is simply wire them up to whatever you want them to turn on with. If you want them to only come on when your parking lights are on, I'd recommend wiring them up to the wire behind your fog light switch. There's a wire behind there that only see's power when your parking light are on and it's super easy to get to.

 

[Defiant]

The trick way to wire it up would to have it come on for ten minutes when you shut the engine off, and fade out over time.
A couple on the bottoms of the doors for puddle lights would be cool, too.

 

[Deadmoans]

FRICKIN GREAT!!!!! I've complained about this in so many cars, the window and lock controls don't light up so you can quickly locate them - but the cig light does. If you wire it into the cig light then you should be able to dim it with the speedo and dash lights.

 

[96gstdsm]

The trick way to wire it up would to have it come on for ten minutes when you shut the engine off, and fade out over time.
A couple on the bottoms of the doors for puddle lights would be cool, too.

Thanks great idea on the puddle lights. Would have saved me numerous times.

Has anyone wired the led's into the fog lights? Since I don't have my fogs anymore, could you just wire them into there and then with a flick of a switch have them on? I have to agree having them fade out would be awesome, but maybe more work then needed. Also not much point having them only turn on when the main cabin lights come on.