[The Gonz]

OK, folks, the effervescent @Dazzler will remember telling me how he thought I was afraid to modify Firty while she was still within the warranty period, and indeed was slow to do so even afterwards. Well, time has changed my perspective and, while I have kept all mods completely reversible, here's a tally to date:

1. OEM body kit including front, side and rear skirts
2. GPS mounted as a permanent fixture in the top dash pocket
3. Reversing camera incorporated into rear view mirror
4. Front facing dash camera mounted high discretely between mirror and windscreen
5. 3A USB power socket cut into panel between cigarette lighters
6. Qi wireless charging pad built into bottom of tray under cigarette lighters
7. Bluetooth audio receiver fitted to socket in armrest compartment
8. Front incandescent turn indicator globes replaced with combination DRL / turn LED modules
9. OEM blinker relay replaced with adjustable electronic LED-compatible relay
10. OBD module and good choice of tablet / phone app for system monitoring

Purchased but yet to be done:
11. Cover steering wheel silver trim panel with metallic themed vinyl wrap
12. Add LED strips to undersides to illuminate when doors opened
13. Peltier module for solid state cup holder cooling (cool device <pun?> but not sure I'll ever use it, given the current and ventilation demand)

Thar ya goo!

[tw2005]

Is there a catalog we can order from with images?

No. 2,4 and 8.

For dessert  No. 9 please

And a video of the DRLs going to blinker for supper.

 

[mickd]

What !!,
What happened to the  Red Fake Brembo caliper covers ??   

[Doggie 1]

 

[tw2005]

What !!,
What happened to the  Red Fake Brembo caliper covers ??   

I reckon they melted

[Dazzler]

What !!,
What happened to the  Red Fake Brembo caliper covers ??   

@The Gonz see.. I rest my case.. 

[The Gonz]

  The Brembos are sitting on a shelf in the shed - if all they do is degrade heat dissipation and thereby bring on early brake fade, I'm not interested.

FOR SALE: Genuine red plastic Brembo brake caliper covers.

[AlanHo]

You could now add to that impressive list :-
  A go-faster stripe along the bonnet and roof.
  A crystal rosary dangling from the rear view mirror
  Blue lights illuminating the underside of the car
  A nodding dog toy on the rear parcel shelf
  A banner across the top of the screen with both your names

The list is endless.

[The Gonz]

Oh, and I forgot to include the window tinting!

[mickd]

The Brembos are sitting on a shelf in the shed - if all they do is degrade heat dissipation and thereby bring on early brake fade, I'm not interested.

FOR SALE: Genuine red plastic Brembo brake caliper covers.

[The Gonz]

Is there a catalog we can order from with images?

No. 2,4 and 8.

For dessert  No. 9 please

And a video of the DRLs going to blinker for supper.

 

I've got 2, 4 and 8's images scattered across either this forum or the FB page but here's 9: 3-Pin Electronic LED Adjustable Flasher Relay for Car Turn Signal Light Blinker 6913281753906 | eBay

[tw2005]

Is there a catalog we can order from with images?

No. 2,4 and 8.

For dessert  No. 9 please

And a video of the DRLs going to blinker for supper.

 

I've got 2, 4 and 8's images scattered across either this forum or the FB page but here's 9: 3-Pin Electronic LED Adjustable Flasher Relay for Car Turn Signal Light Blinker 6913281753906 | eBay

Amazing, and with warranty. 

[The Gonz]

So, .... 

I have four self adhesive clear silicone 30cm LED strips to illuminate the underside of the doors for entry and egress in the dark. I guess it'll be my implementation of puddle lights. As weatherproof as these things are, road grime and high speed solid matter is liable to sand blast it into a bad idea if simply stuck to the undersides of my side skirts.
FD old hands, what do you think of fitting them to the under sides of the doors themselves? Do you think they will fit without scraping the sills? This would also bring any wiring neatly into the car's interior.
Any alternative ideas?
Waterproof LED Car Motor Vehicle Flexible Waterproof Strip Light Soft Strip_L EB | eBay

[tw2005]

 portable and tranferrable between vehicles



Handsfree



Both are waterproof 

Budget expenditure may be an issue.

Are these wet puddles or dry puddles? Just asking because someone recently quoted me that on an offroad driving course we may have dry  puddles . 

How would you run the cabling for these?

[The Gonz]

They'd patch into the loom coming into the door, discretely under the bottom lip of the door trim, then use battery feed and door switch as the circuit.

[tw2005]

They'd patch into the loom coming into the door, discretely under the bottom lip of the door trim, then use battery feed and door switch as the circuit.

So it's going to illuminate on door opening?

[The Gonz]

Yes, Sir. The effect is to have the area below the door sill illuminate whenever the dome light goes on with door opening. Daytime illumination, while unnecessary, will go unnoticed.

[tw2005]

Yes, Sir. The effect is to have the area below the door sill illuminate whenever the dome light goes on with door opening. Daytime illumination, while unnecessary, will go unnoticed.

Won't that mean that after you've stood in the puddle you'll get to see it? What if it was fed into the interior lights or even the BCM then on remote unlock these would illuminate?

Another thought is if these will be with door open, is there enough clearance under the door itself internally and have them there.

Will it be all doors / sills?

[The Gonz]

Yes, all four doors but now you have me thinking. I have a few of those time delay relays, one of which can indeed tap the door unlock pulse and illuminate under the doors. That would indeed be more useful (thank you for the prompting).

For exterior lighting that will withstand road exposure better (I think) I would source these instead of the strip lights, and use them as area spotlights.
Protected by some simple plastic panelling just in from my side skirts, mounted on angle brackets and pointing back towards the rear wheels, one either side would be plenty:

White 12V 10W Eagle Eye LED Daytime Running DRL Backup Light Car Auto Lamp Hot | eBay

Thoughts?

[tw2005]

Yes, all four doors but now you have me thinking. I have a few of those time delay relays, one of which can indeed tap the door unlock pulse and illuminate under the doors. That would indeed be more useful (thank you for the prompting).

For exterior lighting that will withstand road exposure better (I think) I would source these instead of the strip lights, and use them as area spotlights.
Protected by some simple plastic panelling just in from my side skirts, mounted on angle brackets and pointing back towards the rear wheels, one either side would be plenty:

White 12V 10W Eagle Eye LED Daytime Running DRL Backup Light Car Auto Lamp Hot | eBay

Thoughts?

9W = 0.75A each , I guess you'd only need 1 or 2 per location, just wondering how the current will add up to.

[The Gonz]

1.5A switched through a time delay relay and fed from a battery line? No drama.

[tw2005]

1.5A switched through a time delay relay and fed from a battery line? No drama.

As always, imagery will be appreciated of the finished project. What if they were connected to the doof doof to strobe

This is the test pattern for it.

Doof Doof Untz Untz - S3RL - YouTube

[The Gonz]

 

Pass 

[The Gonz]

So, ... 

If I'm going to tap into the signal that unlocks the doors and flashes the indicators, I'm going to have to study the appropriate schematic. Without one, the best I can identify is whatever line goes high or low to unlock a door, which TBH is all that's necessary.

However, just to be able to choose an optimal tap location and save some time and effort doing continuity checks to identify loom pins, is there a schematic that might help?

[tw2005]

So, ... 

If I'm going to tap into the signal that unlocks the doors and flashes the indicators, I'm going to have to study the appropriate schematic. Without one, the best I can identify is whatever line goes high or low to unlock a door, which TBH is all that's necessary.

However, just to be able to choose an optimal tap location and save some time and effort doing continuity checks to identify loom pins, is there a schematic that might help?

Not this old chestnut .. again.  There's something wonderful about staying stock.

That's a fair bit of work to dig up depending on where you want to attack but the room lamp, BCM  grounds pin 2 of the room lamp connector to illuminate, pin 1 is hot, pin 3 is permanent gnd which when the lamp switch is set to on gnds the cct , door position will be when bcm has control so effectively a low.

unlikely tonight as I'm heading out

[The Gonz]

Never mind, mate. I just checked with the remote and was reminded the dome light comes on and stays on. That's where I'll be tapping. I'll probably still use a relay if it looks like I might be loading the BCM.

[The Gonz]

Oh well, nice pair of LEDs I got in the post


but now I go to look underneath the car to find some way to run the cable from inside and I'm stumped. Not the success I was anticipating.

[tw2005]

Oh well, nice pair of LEDs I got in the post


but now I go to look underneath the car to find some way to run the cable from inside and I'm stumped. Not the success I was anticipating.

One of the drawbacks of self certification, who signed off on the drawings?

How / where were those things going to be mounted? I'm thinking of those rubber plugs under along the sill, but  I can't think of an exit point. Maybe when I had the wreck stripped out it would have been an opportunity to learn something.

A Borescope may help  explore the void and I guess drilling holes under the sill covers is extreme and risky introducing corrosion points.

Exit points maybe at the firewall then route cabling back , not sure how you'd fix it and maybe flexible conduit  for protection.

No idea really 

Seems like a lot of effort

[Dazzler]

@The Gonz

I assume you have done a generic google search for ideas?

[The Gonz]

I didn't bother Googling. I was thinking the same as Gerard, going through the firewall and conduit back down, but also, like Gerard, that it was a lot of work.