I'm considering replacing all the cabin lights with amber lights to match the gauges and radio, I believe its amber.. Anyway, has anyone done this before? Should I use just regular bulbs or LEDs?? Any information would be greatly appreciated!

 

There is a thread on doing this with LEDs from about a year ago if oyu do a search you should be able to find it. I think was in Elec. Mods but it might be over in the Int. Ext. Section. I'm not blasting but the other thread already has TONs of info waiting for you that would answer many many questions and goes into a decent amount of detail.

 

Replace the footwell lamps (194 bulb) and the dome light (39mm festoon)
with the colors of your choice.
Choose a color that will complement you MINI and your taste.
http://www.autolumination.com/

 

Yeah, I did do a search, but I dont know.. I was reading that the LED's can flicker.. I dont want my lights to flicker (who does) But amber is the right color correct??

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...&highlight=LED

 

Ive redone all my interior lights with Neon Green!

 

Amen, little bro; that's where I'm going too!

 

It looks sweet once you get it all done

 

Do you happen to have any pics??

 

sure thing ill post them up tomorrow!

 

My mc is chili red, maybe I should go with red LEDs?? It would look like a photo lab heh. But I still think it would be cool to match all the other electronics with amber lights..

 

just change you other lights to Red!

 

A picture won't do you much good for this situation unless the photographer is setting a custom white balance and following a color managed workflow and you are using a calibrated monitor. The shades of reds and oranges and ambers that can happen in a digital photo will just not be something you can rely on.

I have a CR hardtop and have found that going red for the interior lights looks much better than orange or amber. I am still experimenting with different bulbs. Right now I'm using the stock bulbs with red slip on 'condom' things from Autozone for the dome and footwells. Looks OK and I can live with the look, but I can't leave well enough alone, so I ordered some LED strips from oznuim.com in red and white just to see what they look like.

There are some flicker issues under certain circumstances that I'm also working on. I really like the LED flexible strips. They are tough, reliable, easy to wire and mount.

I put some white ones in my boot for additional lighting and am really happy with them.

I'll post some (color corrected and color managed) pics of my footwell lights when I get them installed. I am attaching a pic of my boot lights.

YD

 

Wow, that looks really good! And in that picture are those the "condom" slips your using? And are your gauges red too??

 

On my calibrated monitor, the gauges and the reflections on the seats from the dome light look orangey to me. If they look red, this is what I'm talking about regarding in accurate colors on monitors.

This picture was optimized for the boot lighting. At the time, I didn't care what the cabin lights looked like in the picture. I just wanted the boot lighting to look as close to reality as possible.

My gauges are stock orange. The inside cabin colors are all red and black. The footwell and dome lights are stock clear bulbs with red slip on gel thingies from AZ. In reality, the look is red, although the pic looks orange on my monitor. Putting on the colored gel slip-ons is an easy, cheap way to start some experimenting. They work pretty well.

I guess I should add that the reason I'm so possessed about the colors is that I'm a wedding photographer and accurate color from my digital cameras and monitors and finished prints are my livelihood.

Playing with these cabin lights is such a fun diversion for me, because I get so much fuss about my car from potential brides and grooms, and when they open the door, I want them to see something unusual. Just like the rest of you guys do with your MINIs. That's why I just ordered some LEDs from oxnium for the footwells to see how they work. Always a changing work in progress. hehe

BTW, ImagoX got me pointed toward oxnium, so I have to keep thanking him.

YD

 

Where did you mount it? i liked Imagox's post about them but couldnt figure out where to mount them on my hardtop.

 

Under the package shelf there is a small fabric covered support beam that runs all the way across the shelf. I mounted the light strips on the front side of this beam with the LEDs pointing down. That way you don't see the lights unless you bend down and look up.

In retrospect, if I were to do this again, I would slant them slightly toward the rear seat so that when I opened the hatch and the package shelf was tilted up by the strings, then the LEDs would be pointing straight down to the middle of the boot area. Not much difference, but if you are doing it from scratch, may as well make it perfect.

I also solved the flickering LED problem when you turn the power off to the boot light, as in when you close the hatch and happen to have your running or headlights on.

This flickering only happens if you remove the stock boot bulb. If you don't want the stock boot bulb to burn, just remove the bulb and install a 1000 ohm resistor across the bulb contacts. This stops the LED flickering and does not get hot, not even warm under any circumstances.

Hope this helps

YD

 

so would leaving the stock bulb burning be a bad thing if it keeps if from flickering?

 

There is nothing wrong with leaving the stock bulb in place and burning. It was just ruining the visual effect for me.

Note: the easiest way to remove the stock light fixture is to remove the access panel below the light and push the light out from the inside with your hand.

YD

 

For the resistors, does it have to be 1000 Ohm??

 

I tried a 100 ohm resistor and it stopped the flickering but it got very warm. I then tried the 1000 ohm resistor and it also stopped the flickering and did not get warm at all, so I just quit and used the 1K. I don't know at what resistance the flickering would come back, but since the 1K did not get hot, I declaired success and quit.

YD

 

Alright, and I can find these at Ace hardware?

 

And is that 2 light strips your using?

 

Yes, two 9 inch light strips and no about ACE hardware. But Radio Shack or any electronic supply story should have them... Not electronics supply like Best Buy or Circuit City, but stores that sell geek stuff, like switches, capacitors, integrated circuits, etc.

I have a picture explanation over on the Interior mod forum. Much more info there.

YD