bhavin85 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Hi Guys, I painted my door handles matt black this weekend as I was bored and didnt have much else to do! I did however notice today that I actually missed abit so im going to have to take them off again next weekend and spray the insides again! which will mean ill have atleast another 2 screws stuck down the bottom of my door Anyways now that they are matt black they are almost impossible to find in the dark...a lady friend couldnt figure out how to open the door (nothing to do with the fact that shes blonde ofcourse ) so that got me thinking about getting some LED's for the door handles...ive got another spare set sitting my garage which I dont mind drilling into but any suggestions on how to do it? or even if it has been done before? I was thinking id run them off the interior lights, which turn on when the door opens so when i unlock the car the LED's turn on! I know Huskey has done a few LED's mods so im gonna drop him a pm shortly but any advice would be appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 i think its one of his future plans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 did you laquer ontop of the matte black paint? never used matte finish beifre, but i have some spare handles that are waiting for me to do the same to them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 There is a guide on my350 somewhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun1982 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Sounds pretty cool that, im thinking like a xenon white at the top & bottom would look Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3FIDDYZ Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 did you laquer ontop of the matte black paint? never used matte finish beifre, but i have some spare handles that are waiting for me to do the same to them I think the clue is in the question rich Its not a laquer.. but you can get a matt clear coat. Not many places do it. Its worth doing if you do though... bhav, looking forward to seeing the results Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3FIDDYZ Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 BTW, they do sell a set of external LED's in halfords that are about 3 inchs long that will fit well in the handles. Best to wire them into the dome lights, so they come on with the lock. Think the wires to the domes are on the PAX side Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narcotix Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Sounds like a nice little mod ... Looking forward to seeing the finished results ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhavin85 Posted February 2, 2010 Author Share Posted February 2, 2010 I just foun the guide on MY350z http://my350z.com/forum/body-interior-e ... ndles.html Im thinking of doing it a slightly different way...and using SMD's instead of normal LED's ill do some research and have a crack this weekend! Ill take pics so anyone else can have a go once im done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3FIDDYZ Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 These were the ones that I was thinking about! http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165688 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roo Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Ive used the prism flexible strips before for similar lighting on exterior, they are not the brightest but it makes them suitable for subtle applications like this where you are not after in-your-face effect. Very hard wearing tho. Had some on car for 3 years and were still fine when i sold it. Alternativly you could just carry a big magnetic arrow for when transporting blonds.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 yep this is up at top of my to do list, untill i get the dome lights repaired though i cant get it done as that activates the LED's. I thought about SMD but didnt see the advantages as you'd get more light and a better spread from 3mm. depends on how you want to fit them i suppose. when i get the dome lights fixed i'll sort this, good luck with yours and... im not bitter for you getting there first a word of warning though. There is NO protection on the dome light circuit that you'll be tapping, running to the BCM. if you short it or overload it, it will bugger the BCM itself which is very costly i recommend changing your dome light bulbs to LED's to keep the current draw to a minimum on this circuit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarnie Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 yep this is up at top of my to do list, untill i get the dome lights repaired though i cant get it done as that activates the LED's. I thought about SMD but didnt see the advantages as you'd get more light and a better spread from 3mm. depends on how you want to fit them i suppose. when i get the dome lights fixed i'll sort this, good luck with yours and... im not bitter for you getting there first a word of warning though. There is NO protection on the dome light circuit that you'll be tapping, running to the BCM. if you short it or overload it, it will bugger the BCM itself which is very costly i recommend changing your dome light bulbs to LED's to keep the current draw to a minimum on this circuit Have you done the wing mirrors yet?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 yep this is up at top of my to do list, untill i get the dome lights repaired though i cant get it done as that activates the LED's. I thought about SMD but didnt see the advantages as you'd get more light and a better spread from 3mm. depends on how you want to fit them i suppose. when i get the dome lights fixed i'll sort this, good luck with yours and... im not bitter for you getting there first a word of warning though. There is NO protection on the dome light circuit that you'll be tapping, running to the BCM. if you short it or overload it, it will bugger the BCM itself which is very costly i recommend changing your dome light bulbs to LED's to keep the current draw to a minimum on this circuit Have you done the wing mirrors yet?? no i'm too busy doing everybody else's mods :P but... i have planned it all out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 a word of warning though. There is NO protection on the dome light circuit that you'll be tapping, running to the BCM. if you short it or overload it, it will bugger the BCM itself which is very costly i recommend changing your dome light bulbs to LED's to keep the current draw to a minimum on this circuit I echo this, make sure you get the polarity right and dont short it. It is a permenent live on one feed and selective earth on the other. Dont be fooled into thinking it is selective live. I beleive if you test it using LEDs you should be safe as they only work when in correct polarity, but dont quote me on that. My dome light went and took out the BCM, fortunately the warrenty took the hit, to the tune of £500+ for the BCM and £150 for the dome light Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 a word of warning though. There is NO protection on the dome light circuit that you'll be tapping, running to the BCM. if you short it or overload it, it will bugger the BCM itself which is very costly i recommend changing your dome light bulbs to LED's to keep the current draw to a minimum on this circuit I echo this, make sure you get the polarity right and dont short it. It is a permenent live on one feed and selective earth on the other. Dont be fooled into thinking it is selective live. I beleive if you test it using LEDs you should be safe as they only work when in correct polarity, but dont quote me on that. My dome light went and took out the BCM, fortunately the warrenty took the hit, to the tune of £500+ for the BCM and £150 for the dome light my warranty is also taking said hit personally i am going to wire it via a relay to run an entirely new circuit, that way i can play safe as theres a number of things that will run from it remember kids, always use protection Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhavin85 Posted February 3, 2010 Author Share Posted February 3, 2010 :o thats for the warning husky, I didnt realise it would be an issue...im not so sure I want to be a smart ass and try this now So let me get this right there is no fuse between the Dome right and the BCM? Surely I could just put an inline fuse between the Dome Light and the BCM that way, if it draws too much current (?) it would blow the fuse and not my BCM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.