The Slowest Project: Part 2

I'm back with some good progress since the last article. I was stunned at how good these LEDs look. Have a look yourself...

They are definitely brighter than my floor LEDs and now that they're in there, I realize I've never seen anyone do this before. I'll tell you one thing; Lexi2 was turning heads! Every other person was looking as I was cruising down downtown Kissimmee.

I knew from the very beginning that subtleties is what was gonna set the car off. Now, these blue LEDs are probably the opposite of subtle (and make me worry if some rookie cop is gonna pull me over) but now that that's in there, notice how the license plate is lit in yellow. I know I'm totally biased but I've stared at that picture - not gonna lie. Anyway, the yellow IS subtle but adds a lot.

That button (red) looks cool but not very useful. Oh - that's my floor lights. They change colors and it just happened to be blue in this picture.

So yes, I successfully transferred my shitty battery-to-button fog light setup into a 7-button switchboard that actually runs off a cigarette lighter. It's perfect for things like this - especially in an LS400. TRUST me - these cars are super sensitive to any electrical changes. Having everything run off the cigarette lighter actually seemed to smooth out my super mild misfire and also helped with my new small problem.

That is now installed in my car but I haven't been able to install it exactly how I want yet. Expect to see that in the next article.

When I start the car now, the battery light comes on. It started doing this seemingly randomly. Actually, it started doing it on the road. Initially the car would start up like this but upon putting it in drive and driving for a couple minutes, the light would go away. When it lit up as I was driving, I realized it was getting worse so I started looking around.

I did notice that one of the electrical connectors to the alternator wasn't pushed in all the way. Seems like it may have wiggled out a little bit. I pushed it in and now the light usually goes off within 30 seconds or as soon as I drive. I'm still wondering what's causing that, though. I figure getting power from the cigarette lighter is better so I did that as well.

These will be in the front for more visibility or messing with people... I MEAN being safer.

Moving on, I'm adding two small yellow/orange lights to the front that I can flash and I will still have a couple terminals left. I greatly recommend the switchbox. It's no good if your accessory needs more than - I believe - 3 amps. And yes, that's per button. But it handles everything I have fine. LEDs use less than 1 amp anyway unless it's a huge array.

Interior
Besides all of this, I am thinking of re-doing my seats. I've said this before and I'll say it again. Seat covers really suck.

The covers look nice but they don't want to stay... Adults will take it off getting out of the car. Kids? Forget it. 

I'm going to stop pretending the car is good and dandy and kind of work up from the bottom. I've been doing the opposite - working my way down from the top so I won't have a good base. I need to get rid of the seat covers.

I don't even care if it looks worse for now. The fact is, seat covers will come off every time your friend gets in your car. You have three people in the back? Oh it's going to be wrecked completely. And that is the definition of a cheap fix. I think seat covers are supposed to protect them - not refurbish your interior for free!

I'm going to leave the ones that simply lay on top and connect to the headrests. Those are actually very good. In the summer, they stop your butt from being burned when you sit down. And they cover the majority of the rips because they cover the problem areas. And they move around freely instead of slipping off of the edge.

Wiring
With the covers off, I can make sure I tuck all of the wires for the lights in the original way the car was built. It's the best way to do it. I'm going to have the 7 buttons to the left of me on the B pillar. This may seem strange but actually it lets you turn things on and off by touch with your left hand and is also positioned in the best spot I could think of when it comes to hiding the bundle of wires coming out of the thing while taking into account that I can't just put it anywhere because it has to be in that location the way I'm wiring everything. Holy run-on sentence. Anyway, finally the control unit for the floor lights will be hidden in the seat pocket. Right now, it is ziptied to the rear AC vents on the center console. No, it doesn't look good.

My biggest challenge will be hiding that bundle of wires coming out of the switchboard. Wish me luck.

By the way, I will be posting a tutorial on how to hide the numerous wires that come with installing strips of LEDs. It's simple; the guide will be short.

Please have patience. I've been doing this for two years and I haven't stopped. However, like I said, this is again one of those times where life is kicking me in the balls but nonetheless I will do my best to bring good content as fast as can be. Keep checking back every once in a while.

- Rokas K.