Modifications on a Budget: Then there was light

One improvement to the car that can add some visual flair, especially at night, is putting in new lights. This is something very simple and relatively cheap. The newest technology in lighting is LEDs, as they are brighter and last longer than conventional bulbs. The same is true with interior lighting for your vehicle. You can get some LED interior lights for you vehicle for about $12 on Amazon or Ebay. One thing to make sure is that the LED set up comes with universal adapters. Most of the interior lights set up in cars are the same, but then again I have only installed this set up on 2 cars and both of them Japanese makes.

I bought my particular set up from Amazon. I have purchased ones from Ebay, Ebay seemed a little cheaper but I trust Amazon more. It was about $13 with shipping from Amazon for 1 LED, while the one I bought from Ebay a year ago was $18 with shipping and had 2 LEDs. The only problem with the product from Amazon was that it said it contained 3 universal adaptors, it had two, and it was supposed to be blue, it is white. In this picture you can see the two universal adapters. Usually the springy one is used for the major light for the car, and the other is used for map lights.

First step is to just remove the plastic covering of the light and remove the light bulb, but even before that make sure the light is switched to off. Be careful, the bulb might be hot if it has been on a while. Use a cloth or some material to remove if hot. Once removed, see what universal adaptor is needed. Insert the adapter, click in the LED, I am not sure if the colors need to match but I do just in case. You may need to work with it a little bit to make sure the contacts reach the wires. I had to push in the contacts in the light assembly to make them touch. Some LEDs have a sticky side you can use to make it stick to the ceiling or part of the light assembly. Make sure to test the light and make sure it works. If having problems, you need to make sure the exposed wires on the adapter are making contact with the contacts in the light assembly. Once it works, put the plastic cover on and you are done. Congratulations. It is a cheap and easy modification, about $15 and takes about 5 minutes. I had blue in my first car, it looked great at night with my brown interior. Warning, blue looks great but it is hard to read anything under that blue light. There are other colors, give your car that personal flair and unique look at night with a cool color.  

Before: without flash.                                                                                      After: without flash