I purchased a LED underglo kit and decided to throw together a DIY since there isn’t one. This will be in two parts: 1) the installation of the LED rods, and 2) the electronics and custom switch install. Stay tuned for Part 2 (when it stops snowing!)
Part 1 – LED Install
Inventory:
- LED/Neon underglo kit (Eurolite Elite LED Under Car Kit [blue] used in this DIY)
- POWER drill (screw driver WILL NOT DO)
- 4x small bolts with nuts
- Car jack or (preferably) car lift
- Extra zip ties if needed
- Marker
- Your Hyundai Touch up paint
- Phillips screw driver
- 10mm socket wrench
- Measuring tape
- Black waterproof electrical tape
- Case of beer (preferably Rickards Red
)
NOTE: I am not responsible if you are retarded and screw up the body and/or wiring of your car. *DO AT YOUR OWN RISK*
Get out your under car kit and see what’s in the box. You should have 4 LED tubes, a bag of self-tapping screws, zip ties, LED tube clips (to hold the tubes– 2 per tube) and necessary wiring.
Figure out what rods go where. There are two short rods and two long ones. One of the short rods has only one wire coming out the end. This goes on the
FRONT of the car with the wire facing the
passenger side. Place the two long rods on either side of the car and the short rod with a wire on each end at the back. Note which connections are male and which are female to decide which way the rods go. Lay them around your car in their placement order.
:.: Side Tubes :.:
Start at the driver’s side, and decide where you want to put your LED tube. There is a ‘lip’ under the side of the car… you want to install the clips BEHIND this lip (towards the middle of the car) so your tubes don’t show unless you actually look UNDER the car.
Visible tubes = cheap install. You want it to look slick and pro, don’t you?
Once you have decided where you’re placing your LED tube, start drilling the LED rod clips into the car. Be sure to have the clips so the mouth of the clip is facing outwards and down, and not in towards the middle of the car and up. You will want to use a power drill, because it’s a real biotch to get those self tapping screws into the body of your car. Lots of upper body strength helps!
When you’re done screwing in the first clip, it should look like this:
Measure where you want to clip the LED tube with your measuring tape, measure that distance from your clip already installed, and screw the second clip in for the driver’s side tube. Once both are in, clip in the LED tube to make sure that the clips are the right distance apart and are centered between your wheels.
Repeat for the passenger’s side.
:.: Rear Tube :.:
Go to the rear of the car and install the clips just to the inside of the exhaust (towards the center of the car). It will be tricky because you don’t want any of the wires touching your exhaust or any pipes, so try and get the clips as high up as possible. Once that’s done, clip in the LED tube.
Don’t connect any wires or zip tie anything yet!!!
:.: Front Tube :.:
This is where it gets fun! You have to get creative here, because the stock front bumper makes it hard to 1) mount the tubes, and 2) make them invisible.
First of all, for some reason, the top of the LED tubes from Eurolite are covered in reflective silver. If we install the front tube with this silver top, you will see it if you look down at the front of your car. This just does not do! So grab your black electrical tape and tape over the silver top. It should look like this:
Next, place the front tube on the ground and center it. Mark where the two ends are with a marker on the bottom part of your bumper with washable ink. Now we take 2 of the small nuts and bolts and select the same-sized drill bit and drill two holes to match the holes of the LED clip into the bumper. The mouth of the clip should be facing down, towards the ground – same as your side clips. Be careful drilling, because the bumper is much softer than the underbody of your car.
When the two screws are in, slide the clip on the bolts, and screw the nuts in tightly to secure the clip. Your first clip should look like this:
Repeat for the second clip, making sure you measure the correct distance between the two clips. Once they are both installed, mount the LED tube with the wire coming out to the
passenger side .
Use your touch up paint to paint your screws the same color as your car. You don’t want silver/gold screws showing, even on the bottom of your bumper. Remember, half-assed looks bad. Keep it pro.
You’ll be happy to see that you cannot see the tube at all with the black tape covering the top, even if you look closely.
:.: Wiring :.:
Once all 4 tubes are installed and clipped in, you will need to connect all the tubes together. Unfortunately I don’t have any pics of this, but I’ll try and be as descriptive as possible. Any questions, PM me or post and I will try to answer.
Jack your car up on the passenger’s side behind the front wheel and take the wheel off. You will then need to remove all the screws for the plastic housing in the wheel well (the wheel arch lining).
(See
Resonator Box Removal DIY for pics on how to remove the lining:
http://www.newtiburon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11953 )
Feed the wire from the front LED tube up through the wheel well behind the lining. Then take the wire on the
passenger side tube, and feed it up through here as well. You will connect the two wires together within the wheel well if wire length allows. Be sure you have the correct male/female combination before you try and connect – you don’t want to bend any pins! If you don’t, flip the passenger side tube around to get the right combination. Once they are connected together, wrap the connection tightly with your waterproof electrical tape.
Zip tie the wires away from any moving parts. You don’t want the wires just lying on top of the wheel lining, so zip them nice and snug to the body of the car.
Put the lining and your wheel back on, and move to the rear of the car.
Now we’re going to attach the passenger side to the rear tube. You have to be very careful when wiring the rear tube because you don’t want the wires to be anywhere near your exhaust (cause it gets hot) or your wheels/suspension (cause of moving parts). Connect the two wires, and find your zip tie points to keep clear of exhaust and wheels/suspension. Once you have them high and out of the way, tape up the connection.
Repeat for the rear tube to the drivers side, keeping in mind to stay clear of exhaust/wheels/suspension.
Finally, the front wire of the drivers side will connect into your control module. This goes inside your car. Jack up the front drivers side wheel, and remove the wheel arch lining. You will feed the wire over the mud guard. You will notice a white plug next to the gills by your door. This is your way into the cabin of your car without breaching your firewall.
(See
Breaching FIREWALL/BULKHEAD for pics
http://www.newtiburon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24 )
You will hit a black wiring box, which you will need to drill a hole to get the wire into. Luckily, there is a big corner that has no wiring harnesses, so take your power drill and drill it out. BE CAREFUL not to drill through any of the electrical harnesses on this box!!!
(ignore the pink wire – we were wiring my amp at the same time…)
Run the wires under your carpet so they are not visible and don’t get tangled in your feet while you drive. Place the module where you like. Plug the 12V connector into your cigarette lighter and test your LEDs…
VOILA!
When it stops snowing I will do Part 2 – Custom LED Switch Install, so we can get rid of the ugly control module!
Good luck!
-Gamz
Linear Mode
