'71 Ghia - LED interior lighting results (pictures)

[Greg Rickard]

Below are two pictures showing the results of the LED interior lighting added to my '71 Ghia. The pictures were taken in a dark garage and not using a camera flash.

The driver’s side LED is located just behind the back edge of the dashboard bumper pad and about 4 inches to the right of the steering column; the passenger side LED is located similarly on the opposite side under the dash; the rear LED is located in the rear storage area on the recessed panel located under and behind the rear shelf. The LEDs are tied into the dome light circuit and turn on / off as either door opens / closes (see my earlier posting for wiring details --> http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic ... 3&t=134290 ). I used “warm white” LEDs to mimic the filament bulb lighting color cast by the instrument gauges and the dome light.

I used AM Series Miniature Light Accent modules from http://www.superbrightleds.com: one round module for each footwell, and one rectangular module for the rear storage area. Each module contains six LEDs, and the modules are tiny (the round one is the size of a quarter). There are many good LED vendors to chose from in addition to the vendor that I mentioned.

Cost of the project was $20: $15 for the three LEDs modules, about $5 for 18 gauge wiring and wire connectors. LEDs use very little power, produce very little heat, are very small in size, and can last up to 50,000 hours (compared to 2,000 to 10,000 hours for filament bulbs).

It really makes a huge difference especially if you drive your car at night.

Rear storage.JPG

Front footwells.JPG

[itawolf]

that looks good bro!!

Im gonna do the samething

thx for the link tooo

[helowrench]

very nice

[Paul Wright]

Looks good. Nice pics. Have you driven at night yet to see if they are too bright???

[Greg Rickard]

No, I have not driven it at night yet. However, the LED lights won't be a concern when the car is in motion, because they turn off when the doors are closed.

[Paul Wright]

True. I did mount some very faint LEDs in the footwell of my 89 MR2 SC that turned on with the headlights.
It turned out very well. I am going to do the same to the Ghia whenever its road worthy.

[Greg Rickard]

I'm so pleased with the Ghia results that I'm going to add LEDs to the footwells of my Lotus Exige, and tie them to the door switches too. It has one small light on the firewall (behind the seats) that emits a modest glow and does not provide any practical amount of light.