This video provides a step-by-step guide on how to install LED interior lighting in your car or truck for less than $10. It covers adding dome lights, map lights, vanity lights, door lights, and other interior lighting options. The process includes installing LED strip lights in the bed of your truck or under the hood for less than $30. The video also shows how to wire the white LED strip lights.
Adding additional lighting to your car with aftermarket lights can increase safety, enhance truck functionality, and create a unique style. There are various ways to install these lights, and the first step is to decide where you want lights to be placed. The step-by-step LED installation process ensures that upgrading your vehicle’s interior with LED lights is a smooth and precise venture.
To install the bulb, slide the pry tool under the lens cap and remove the lens gently to avoid breaking the lens. The video also includes an Installation Guide that outlines everything you need to know, including the best offers on Amazon and how to install the lights.
To install the bulb, clean the surface well before applying adhesives and sticking the LED. Enhance the strength by placing another layer of the adhesive on the surface. Use the pry tool to gently remove the lens cap, use needle-nose pliers to remove the bulb, and install the new LED bulb.
📹 Watch This BEFORE Choosing LED AMBIENT INTERIOR Lighting Mod for your Car or Truck
Want Interior LEDs for your truck I install some affordable or ‘Cheap’ easy to install ambient LED lighting in my GMC Sierra AT4.
Are car interior LEDs worth it?
Interior car LED lights are safer than incandescent and halogen bulbs due to their electronic circuit components, diodes that glow as they rectify AC current into DC current. LEDs produce less heat, reducing fire risk and breaking less frequently. The safety of LEDs depends on their usage. Dispersed LEDs around the floor or on seats below the driver’s sight line can make the interior safer by making it easier to see things. Bright strip lights affixed to seats, windows, or roofs can be distracting and reflect off the windshield, making it harder to see outside.
Can you replace interior car lights with LED?
The process of upgrading interior automobile lighting to LED is relatively straightforward, as any area with incandescent bulbs in the vehicle can be converted to LED.
How much does it cost to get ambient lighting installed in a car?
Ambient lighting, an integrated lighting system within a vehicle’s interior, can evoke emotions, match feelings, and adapt to the environment. The average cost of ambient lighting installation varies depending on labor, quantity, and location. Professional custom ambient auto lighting installation in CT can cost around $1000 to $10, 000. By choosing the right colors, intensity, and customization options, a personalized and immersive lighting experience can be created, reducing stress, enhancing mood, and elevating the driving experience.
How much does labor cost to install can lights?
Electrical work projects often require professional labor, with electricians costing between $85 and $105 per hour. Installing recessed lights in an existing home takes about 2. 5 hours per fixture, and the total cost includes labor and materials. The installation time varies based on the complexity of the installation. Bulb types and trim types are used for recessed lighting, with each having a specific use and price point. Trim covers the gap between the housing and the ceiling hole, providing a clean look.
How much does it cost to install interior lights?
The mean expenditure for the installation of a new light fixture is $585, with the cost varying contingent on the number of lights and the type of light. The licensed general contractor Architexture Home Center, Inc. underscores the fact that light fixtures serve a purpose that extends beyond mere illumination.
Can you add lights to the inside of your car?
The installation of custom interior car lights represents a popular method for personalizing a vehicle’s interior. Such modifications allow the owner to alter the vehicle’s color and ambiance, with options ranging from cool blue lights to multi-color effects. The result is a unique and stylish appearance.
Where do you mount lights on a truck?
LED light bars are essential for truck enthusiasts to enhance their vehicle’s aesthetic appeal and night-time performance. The best locations for mounting LED light bars include front bumpers, grille mounts, roof mounts, rear bumpers, lower windshields, and A-pillar mounting brackets. Front bumpers offer direct, forward illumination, enhancing road visibility with minimal modifications required. They can accommodate a wide range of light bars, from compact single row 10-20 inch lights to smaller cube or round lights.
Grille mount light bar brackets provide a clean, integrated appearance, shielding the light from debris and impacts while keeping it discreet. Although custom brackets may be required, the result is a light bar that seamlessly blends with your truck’s design, providing ample illumination without drawing undue attention.
Is it safe to install ambient lighting in car?
The use of ambient lighting in a vehicle can enhance the interior environment, which may improve driver safety and alertness. However, excessive light can also cause distractions or glare, which may have adverse effects on driver performance.
How much does it cost to install ambient lighting in a car?
The cost of ambient lighting installation varies based on labor, quantity, and location. Starting at $1000, it can go up to $10, 000. The installation duration varies based on complexity and customization options. We aim to complete the project efficiently without compromising quality. During consultation, we provide an estimated timeframe based on your unique project. You can choose colors and effects for your vehicle’s ambient lighting.
Where do you stick interior car lights?
This article provides a guide on installing LED lights in your car, truck, or SUV. The process involves determining the location of the lights, which can be under the dash, under the seats, or both. Kits typically come with all necessary components, but a fuse adaptor and some tools may be required. The kit includes lights, zip ties, Velcro, and a power box. The installation process is affordable, simple, and can be done with four lights depending on the vehicle’s size.
Is it illegal to have LED lights inside your car in California?
The text posits that, from a pragmatic perspective, it is advisable to deactivate the supplementary illumination within the vehicle while operating the vehicle.
📹 How to Install LED Bed Lights (Fun DIY Project)
Learn how to install LED strip lights in the bed of your truck or under the hood of your car for less than $30. I show you how to wire …
Hey @ChrisFix! I just want to say thanks SO MUCH for your articles! I’m an 18 year old girl who knows absolutely nothing about cars and I’ve always been too scared to buy one, but with your articles I just got an amazing deal on my first car and it’s in great shape! You also helped me prove my boyfriend wrong haha because I changed some brake pads, rotors, and did an oil change all by myself which was the coolest thing ever! So keep doing what you do because it’s helping millions!! 🙂
Thank you so much for installing the bed lights! I’ve enjoyed them for the last few months and they’ve been working flawlessly. None of the double sided tape has come off so to everyone doing this, follow Chris’ instructions and don’t skip the isopropyl alcohol!! Everyone that sees the lights is impressed at the clean install 👍🏻👍🏻
Just a small tip from an electrician. The next time you need to hook up a ground I would advise to crimp a large connector washer (eyelet perhaps in your country?) to the ground wire. I have a feeling that those threads nicked the copper enough for it to pop off from vibrations one day. Usually the ground is the most important as a good ground connection can also nake sure your fuse does blow when you need it to blow the most. Everything else was great!
little tip- you could find an unused fuse in the fusebox that gets power when the truck is off, then put an undervolt-protection circuit on it so it cuts out if the truck’s battery voltage gets too low. This is pretty common practice for things like dashcams 😛 only difficulty is getting it from internal to external, unless you have a free fuse in the enginebay fusebox.
This was a lot of fun and is a great project for you at home! Now you know how to install LED strip lights and a magnetic switch so they turn on automatically! Also be sure to check out The Straight Pipes car reviews!!! youtube.com/user/TheStraightPipes Here are all of the products used in a list so you can easily find them: LED Light Strip: amzn.to/2S1AgV6 Magnetic Switch: amzn.to/2U6lJtJ Push Button Switch: amzn.to/38I1Ux4 Fuse: amzn.to/3aW2Xev Very High Bonding Tape: amzn.to/2RB75cr Wire Connectors: amzn.to/2O8V5Nh Wire Protector: amzn.to/2uLFv32 Wire Crimper: amzn.to/36FMlEw Wire Stripper: amzn.to/37I0KkU Multimeter: amzn.to/36CsfuU Soldering Iron: amzn.to/38Uw1S5
Two notes: 1. I would strongly recommend testing before zip-tying everything and reassembling the tail light. (put fuse in, test, pull fuse out again, tidy up, put fuse back in, test again) 2. I would put the switches on the positive side, so that the LED tape goes straight to “ground” on the negative side. This way, if something shorts out along the way, it’s more likely the lights will be stuck off, rather than stuck on.
Chris, thank you so much for this! My 17 year old and I had a great time together installing these lights in my truck. We went with the water proof 5630 LED tape. I am not sure how long the 3M tape will last but have a backup plan if it fails over time. Keep the awesome articles coming, it’s great for my son who needs to learn how to service his car. Well done sir!!!
Hey @ChrisFix, no lie I truly want to thank you. It’s thanks to your articles I’m confident in being able to work on my own cars and I actually rely on your articles for ideas and suggestions for projects. I was going to school for IT, a field that while I do love it.. wasn’t exciting me as much as I thought it would, however when I started working on vehicles with your articles as a wonderful guide I realized what I wanted to do. I wanna thank you for everything you do and helping me realize what I want to do with my life 🙂
I know the articles old but I just did this install but instead wired the switch and button to the positive side it worked great went out there this morning and the magnetic switch was melted and looking through the reviews other people doing the same install had the same problem with the magnetic switch melting.
A couple of things worth mentioning, learnt when rewiring my boat: 1. The primary choice of fuse does not depend on the load you intend to connect. The wire is chosen to be able to support the intended load and connection distance, then the fuse is chosen to have an equal or lower current capacity as the wire. If the fuse is rated higher than the cable, a short is likely to end in a fire. 2. The wire needs to be multistrand as you have used, never use solid core wire eg intended for a house, vibration will break it. 3. When the solder connection is shown in the cideo, a difference between the LED tail and the wire for the run to the battery on the right is visible: left = silver (presoldered), the right shows bare copper. Presoldered is chosen by the led manufacturer because it does not corrode. I have not yet found a “waterproof” connection which remains just that in boats and cars.
You make the best articles! This is perfect for my son loading his 4wheeler after mudding. He usually rides until dark. So this will be a great project for us. Thanks. Not only do you help folks do things themselves. But also projects that parents and children or spouses can do together. And feel great about what they have accomplished! Keep up the awesome vids brother!👍😁
Hey Chris, I just wanted to share a couple of suggestions which may help you for future. I have been doing electrical wiring in vehicles for 30 years so plenty of experience. I’ve also fixed a lot of other peoples problematic wiring issues. You do a pretty good job, however a couple of important things caught my eye. Using marine wire, which is tinned from factory would help with any corrosion issues. Secondly the ground wire at the back wrapped around a bolt without even using a connector made me cringe. If you are going to go through the trouble of running a wire from the battery, run power & ground, that way you are making a good solid connection at the same location, and you are creating a loop between the battery and the device. A bad ground will cause lots of problems down the road. Marine grade epoxy heat shrink connectors will save you the step of using the dielectric grease. One more suggestion is to run the wire from the battery back towards the cab, then across the firewall and down. I’m certain your articles will help a lot of folks. You might want to look into Power Probe’s soldering guns and torches. They will make your life so much easier.
Would really appreciate a hardwiring tutorial from the legend himself, there aren’t much in depth articles that explain this topic well on the internet and it can be a game changer since installation for electric mods on vehicles are very expensive I wanted to install an ambient lighting kit on my car which cost me 60 bucks but the installation in my local shop is 1000 bucks
Hey ChrisFix, you could’ve installed RGB LED light strips instead of normal white light strips if you want more colours or a rainbow. Great article, your “how to change every single oil ” was informative and useful and i proved to my friends that ‘lifetime oil’ is not really ‘lifelong’ especially with the rear differential fluid.
Well, to be frank – you don’t have to run a cable all the way fron of the car to the back of the car. Did similiar lighting job for my old VW Passat couple of weeks ago. Wiring logic was quite simple – switching signal i stole from dome light allready rear of the car, ran it to relay and relay switched power from 12v socket line to LED strips. Both rear 12v sockets are fused by factory and interior dome light is fused and switched via trunk lock. Quite foolproof tbh. And yeah, here in Europe we rarely see F150 – we have those quirky german and french cars and there is never space left for extra wires. Or, if there is, then it is covered with all kind of brittle plastics.
Couple of pointers for you I would have used water proof heat shrink connectors and the one yellow 10ga connector you crimped the casing was cut and had some bare openings .. that ground was classic I’ve never seen someone put wire Thur a bolt and a rusty bolt at that . Then you didn’t even remove paint for optimal connection…you also should have left the 5 amp fuse because now you have doubled the operating load . Those leds would melt before that fuse blew
Hey @Chrisfix thanks so much for your articles I’ve been able to work on my old SUV and my new truck I got now if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t know how to fix mine and my families vehicles they don’t take their cars and trucks to a mechanics to get them fixed they go buy the parts and I just get my tools and fix it for them and I’ve never been more proud of myself for what I’ve learned from you keep up the great work man
Awesome articles Chris, & love how you do them w/ “standard” tools that most ppl have. A tip for you when soldering 20:00 can dip the ends of the wires into some flux, to help take the solder & will help those who don’t solder very often. Otherwise, great job on this project👍🏻 Thought was executed really well, & looks great💪🏼 Cheers✌🏼
Hey! I did it! I installed my own LED’s in the back of my ute. I followed your advice and instructions and managed to get it done for about $80. The toughest part for me was running the conduit and wire under the body of the vehicle. That was a challenge but I got there in the end. A little bit nerving when I had to drill the hole for the button switch but it worked out fine in the end. Thanks for all your tips and advice. It really did help to make it a good secure fitment. Much appreciated!
Chris fix you are the best thing I’ve ever known and I am an eight-year-old kid and I have a 1987 Ford Mercury colony park station wagon and you’ve made your Vlog skills best and make me know how to fix my car because you’ve extraordinarily taught me this stuff and it’s just made my heart puffer explode of happiness you are the best YouTube or I’ve ever known on this earth and you’ve been teaching me so much things I am Anna I am subscribed And I hit the notification bell and I just love you with all my heart all my hearts been loving you since I first met you on YouTube I hope I get my solenoid fixed can you do a article on how to fix a solenoid that breaks just try to break it and just do a article because I was so annoyed that I’ve already ordered and I have it at my house I don’t know how to put it back in there so if you can you could put it in there so by
Hey chrisfix, Since im an electronics engineer, i have some suggestions. 1. if the magnet fails and you are Parked, your battery will be dead within a few hours, this is especialy bad if you are for example parked at an airport. I think a good solution would be to either wire it ti the ignition or use a timer relay, that will shut it of lets say 15 minutes after the ignition has been turned off. Another idea would be to wire it to the unlocking mechanism, so the led’s will only go on, if your car is unlocked (i think this would be the best way) 2. Tell your community to wait like maybe a minute after cleaning the surface with the alcohol, beacause if you directly apply any kind of glue (for example the stick tape) the alcohol will actually dissolve the glue in it, so it will maybe stick for a week until it falls of. 3. if you wanna properly solder 2 wires together, do it the following way: 1.) strip both wires to about 10mm 2.) twist both wires, so they are as compact as possible 3.) pretin both wires (just enough that you can see them turn silver) 4.) DONT FORGET TO ADD TE HEATSHRINKS (trust me, i had to solder an entire BUS together. After i soldered 125, YES 125 wires to one another i realised i forgot the heatshrinks) 5.) attach the wires to the “helping arms” and put the stripped and pretinned wires SIDE BY SIDE (so they touch each other) 6.) heat both wires and use some more solder to get a strong connection 7.) put the heatshrink over the solder joint and heat it with the heatgun or a lighter.
Great work with great results… one point to mention for you or for the viewers, at 14:30 I guess it is better to use circuit fuse tap adapter and connect it to the fuse box inside the vehicle comportment instead of the direct battery connection. Trucks and SUV add extra space as “Spare” for any add up accessories.
@chrisfix! Hey Chris!, i am a fan of your articles i have a segestion for this install. Since the Led strip has a white backing they make led strips that are black with diferent color lighting to meet your application. I did a similar install like this before i saw this article and i used RGBW led strips so i can change the colors because i have a custom setup. My headlights also can be changed by color if you wanted as well as my underglow. i think the black strips would look so much better for the application
This is terrible advice, and some of it could even be dangerous. 1. You now have maybe close to a foot of that LED strip hidden behind the taillight, doing absolutely nothing. Why the hell didn’t you start at that end and just cut the excess off? These are wired as 3SxP (parallel strings of 3 diodes + a resistor), so you can cut it every 3 diodes. It’s in the description, and there should even be cutting marks right there on the strip. 2. No parts store will ever label the terminals of a switch (or a relay) like this. The standard labels are: GND – ground PWR – power C – common (either that or PWR will be the “input” of the switch) NO (Normally Open) – disconnected when released NC (Normally Closed) – connected when released (both in relation to the common terminal) LIGHT+ and LIGHT- (or something similar) – power to the backlight 3. You choices for power and ground terminals are about as bad as they can be. Taking power from the battery is a good way to drain it quickly if the light stays on for some reason (e.g. because the magnet falls off the tailgate) – 60 W is a lot, even for a large battery. Accessories like this are usually powered through a relay controlled by something that’s always off when the vehicle is turned off (e.g. the power to the audio system). Sometimes there’s even an unused slot (with the power connected but no fuse and no load) in the fuse box that can be used for this purpose. An added benefit is that this brings them under the control of the relief relay, which is a relay that disconnects all non-critical loads (like the audio system or the headlights) while cranking the engine so that the starter can get as much power as possible.
Hi @ChriFix!! I want to thank you to all the article you posted. It’s very educational. If you have a chance please can you help on installation for the hood LED strips. The instuction says tap it on ACC fuse or DRL but we can’t locate it. Even if I check in the forum, no one have the answer for Lexus NX 350 or fuse having 12v doesn’t indicate
Hey @ChrisFix, awesome article! There is one small thing to note about the magnetic switch you have linked in the description – there is a possibility of that switch failing early in its life due to the continuous current draw through it. If the average current draw of the powered LED strip is 5A @ 12V, the continuous power will be 60W (5A * 12V = 60W). The wire included with that switch is 22AWG, which is definitely fine to handle that ( 6.5A, 300V rated). However, the magnetics inside the switch may not be rated to handle that much current for extended periods of time. With that being said, because you’ve added the second kill switch, and because people probably won’t keep these lights on for long stretches, this is probably not a issue to be worried about. Just wanted to throw in some thoughts!
Hey Chris! I’ve been checking out your articles for years and finally have made the time for this project… Can you let me know the purpose of the push button switch for this? In my mind I should be able to bypass the push button switch and go with the magnet or bypass the magnet and use the regular switch. Thanks for your input!
To connect the positive(red) wire coming from the battery to the red wire on the led light end I would have used spade (quick disconnect) connectors to connect those 2 wires to each other instead of soldering them together so that you would not have to cut the wires in the event that you had to make any repairs you could for example easily replace the led light strip and all you would have to do is disconnect the old 1 and connect the new 1.
Hey don’t know if you’ll see this but I need help! Did everything exactly the way you did minus the magnetic switch. Just want to press the button to turn on and off. Can figure out the wiring tho. The instructions for the push button I purchased is telling me to connect the “-” from the battery to the black wires for the lights and the button. Problem is there is no “-” wire from the battery. Any info would be very helpful
Need some help, led strip lights are ON, but dim, all connections are good, ground is good, not sure how else to trouble shoot this, any thoughts? Spoke to an electrician, he said I needed to install a relay between the battery and lights, not to do a direct connection from battery to lights, does any know how to install the relay and where?
Hey @chrisfix this article helped me A lot with understanding the wiring factor of installing lights on a truck but could you make a article of wiring rock lights. Because this have multiple different wires for each light and it confuses me. Thanks again for this article though I’ve always loved your website when I wanted to learn about cars and trucks.
Hello @ChrisFix! I understand this is an old article so you may not even read this comment, but Thank you so so much for making this article, it’s a perfect tutorial for what I’m trying to achieve!(At least I HOPE!) I have a ramp van and wanting to put lights on the ramp so that when it opens the lights automatically come on and turn off when the ramp goes back up. I will be referring to your article throughout the install process, so wish me luck! I got led lights that change color, so hopefully that doesn’t cause a problem…Any advice or tips you have for me are WELCOME!!!
Now, I’ve heard that the car battery can cause the lights to burn out unless you use some type of regulator of current, I’ve just bought govee interior lights, the 4 light with cigarette lighter kit thing? It’s a cool kit. I just don’t like the cigarette lighter connector. I wanna do this mod to run it to my battery, but I’m not entirely sure if it’ll work. I wanna do this correctly so I’d appreciate any help. So, I’m looking at the cigarette lighter connector, it runs to a little remote that you use to control the lights which directly go from one wire to two, and those two run to two more lights, one for each. My issue is, I don’t know what would be the negative to connect to my ground and positive for my battery
Hey @Chrisfix, I’ve been following your website and projects for years, I’ve always been impressed by your willingness to demonstrate how to do things correctly and not take short cuts. Until this one. As always I was impressed in your methods and how you demonstrate the different way to do thing, crimp w/heat shrink, solder, you did miss in this case heat shrink with solder inside it already. However I was disappointed in the way you grounded the switch in this project. The ground is the point of failure with this project. It should have been tied into a ground point with a proper ring terminal similar to the way it was connected to the battery. the way you connected the ground will corrode or break in short order. apart from that good work, and I look forward to future project.
so in my dads truck their was a light that wasn’t working and we bought a new lightbulb and set it, and when we tried turning it on it wouldn’t so we switch the old bulb to the other side and tried making sure it wasnt the bulb but when when put it wouldn’t turn on so we put the new one in on both sides and now both don’t want to turn on and we are wondering why
I used pretty much the same method, including near-identical LED strip and magnetic switch, to add a light in my wardrobe that turns on when the door is opened. There are ready-made versions, but they’re quite short and cost 3x as much. Like $40 dollars for a 50cm long light. I made mine for $16 total that was a full metre long.
I did this mod on my 2020 Toyota Tundra and this article was a good tool to help me along the way. My magnetic proximity switch works the same way (shuts everything off) but the push button is always depressed in the on position for lights on and clicking it off shuts the lights off (seemed kinda reversed the way you did it). I also passed the LEDs through a relay with the switches controlling it. My switches kill the power from the battery and not after the lights to the ground but both ways work I suppose.
I’ve never heard a step bit called a Christmas tree bit and I don’t know that I’d ask a store employee where their Christmas tree bit are or they might look at you funny. I appreciate the article. I never would have thought to buy a magnetic on/off switch but I’ll definitely be using one to light up my car so thanks for the idea!