Henry: new lighting thoughts...

[EKam]

I wonder if it is possible to use the dome light wires to connect to 2 8" neon lights which are mounted on the C-pillars. So when I lock/unlock my alarm or the door is open, the two neons will light up like how they do it in a limo?

I am thinking that I can route the wire from the top of the car body down to the rear where the C-pillar is located. Is this possible?

Also, do the neons use any transformers? I need some input! :wink: Million THANKS!

[BLUEMEANIE]

My sister has something similar hooked up in her Camry wagon, real small white neons under the dash and under the back of the front seats wired to her dome light so when she opens her doors the foot wells light up. so yes its possible and yes there are ballasts or transformers or something to that extent... I will try to get her to post about the wiring asap. She also has a dimmer so they don't just shut off when you close the door, they kind of fade out slowly.

[Silver Streak]

Hmmm...that's sounds pretty interesting Dickson, I like that idea. I kinda want to light up footwell as well, I think I'll implement this next spring!

Which ones are the C-pillars? The middle ones right by the door right? That's pretty cool but you don't want them too exposed or else someone will break them!

As for the wiring, you can definitely take a SIGNAL from the dome light, but don't use it as a power source. That means, you have to use my favourite car part, a relay (just like your headlight harness). Essentially, you can hook up the power of the dimmer to the switch of the relay (86) to turn on your relay. In turn, you need a lead straight from the battery (with a cheapy fuse from Crap tire) put that into the relay (30), and then output that into the neons (87). Of course, you'll need to ground the relay as well (85).

The only thing that might be weird is after you close your doors, your interior lights will start to dimm. Two things here...when the lights dim, obviously there's a voltage decrease somewhere which affects the lights. Now if this power lead is used to switch the relay, your neons will switch right off once the voltage gets below a certain voltage, ie. 10 volts. The neons won't dim because the relay doesn't behave like that. I'm thinking that there's a capacitor right by the dome light...when the door is shut, no power goes to the light...but the cap powers the light and allows it to dim. I have no idea, just a guess. I'm just blabbing now. Anyway, the point is, if you want your neons to dim, you probably have to buy something else to make them dim, like what BlueMeanie said. If not, right when you close your door, the neons will shut off. I have no idea if it uses a transformer/ballast, probably does.

Oh, there's a red and white wire by the left foot well, behind that panel. Use your new multimeter and probe it with the red wire and ground the black wire. Open and close the door, see if the needle jumps back and forth. You should be able to use that wire if necessary...I think that's the door trigger one...essentially the same thing as the dome light.

let me know if you need more help...