Adding lighting effects is one of
the most popular modifications an owner can perform on their vehicle. This
modification shows how to add a lighting effect behind the grille.
8 other LED's and resistors of
the same colour (i bought the pre-wired Varad led's)
wire, automotive speaker wire
works fine
some split loom to dress up the
wires
cable ties
Solder
Step 1: Prepare the
Lights.
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First thing you need to do
is prepare your lights. take whatever housing is on your light bars away so
that you are left with just the wires and circuit board. Shave down the
heads of your LED's so they are flat, this will act as a diffuser and
provide a much brighter area and better coverage
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View of the bulb after its
shaved down.
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I also re-aimed the LED's
to the side to distribute the light.
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Now take your multimeter
and figure out which leads on the circuit board are the positive and
negative ones. Attach the corresponding leads of your Varad LED's to those
on both sides.
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You can seal the boards any
way you want, I used silicone sealant and electrical tape.
Step 2: Remove your
headlamps and bumper.
(only if you want to add a set of LEDs to the lower bumper)
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Removing
the Headlamps
The Combination headlamp is attached to the body by 3 bolts. Two of them are
on top of the headlights and one to the inner side of it.
Using a 10mm wrench/ratchet socket unscrew the bolts. You will need to
insert one hand behind the lamp and push towards you to dislodge it from the
body to give you more flexible room. There is a rectangular peg that aligns
it to the body and it really is tight.
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Removing the bumper
Unscrew the top and bottom plastic and metal screws on the bumper, including
the two on the very far left and right of the bumper (on the underside of
the vehicle near the ends of the bumper). If these screws are not remove,
good luck in yanking off the bumper. After removing the screws, now remove
the 10mm bolts. Then gently remove the bumper by yanking it forward to the
front of the vehicle. If the bumper don't come off easily, sway it side to
side to loosen up the bumper, then yank it with a bit of force. If it still
don't come off, make sure you have all the nuts and bolts taken off.
Step 3: Preparing the upper
grille.
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The set in the hood is
pretty straight forward, you remove the black support from behind the
plastic grille. Then drilled 2 holes evenly spaced in each end of the bar
and then attached the 4 Varads there, then cable tied the circuit board to
the outside of the support, facing inwards towards the radiator.
You may elect to use cable
ties instead of drilling, but they might shift over time.
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Run the wires up the inside
of the hood, down the support arm, and in through the hole in the firewall.
(See steps 4 below). Covered the wires (if you desire) with some black split
loom for cosmetics.
Note: You may elect to
drill a hole through the firewall, if so this
write up might help you.
Step 4: Getting through the
firewall.
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You may elect to drill a
hole through the firewall, if so this
write up might help you. It shows you numerous ways of getting through.
(
Step 5: Preparing the lower grille.
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Now for the more intensive
set, the lower grill. Just in front of the radiator fan is the best place to
mount them that I found, they will sit just under the lip of the bumper
molding.
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You can drill through the
welded joint of the strut to attach the bar and separate lights, like so.
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Once the lights are
mounted, You can use more cable ties to secure the led bars. Run the wire up
the inside of the cavity where your headlights and horn are, around the
battery and air intake, back to the hole in the firewall. Complete the
connection to whatever 12V source you plan on using. You can connected them
to the wire on the lower console that is in the center of the AC control
module. Installed the kill switch in the storage area under the stereo. Once
you have everything wired up, test them before you put everything back
together to make sure that all is well.
Final Views:
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1
2
3
4
Views of other grille lights:
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