nias9527

I just bought 10 LED strips (20cm) and have no idea how to install them by myself.. people tell me that if I don't do it right I will burn the car eventually
so I am asking anyone knows how to wire it right??

Carlow202

LED strips for what? O_O

nias9527

interior for under seats AND
outside under the car (connect to dome light)

I don't want to burn my car so I want to ask before I start hahaha

JasonHu

You're going to do WHAT to your Mercedes?

nias9527

make it beautiful

milan187

more like rice it out, LOL

I would not do anything like that to your Benz, it will look cheap. Having said that LED strips are usually safe.

Domm

To each their own.

I have no idea how you would install them under the seats or outside your car. Upload some pics when you figure it out

mfkl2

sounds like an asian thing to do...i fought the temptation just because i see too many hondas that do it...and IMO...unless Im setting up a show car, I wouldnt put unnecessary lights on or in the car.
ive seen WAY too many originally nice cars go to waste just for the sake of "beauty".
although you may like the way you set ur car up, others might (and probably will) look at your car and think to themselves or say to their friends " wtf is that?!"...i do it often
.so when it comes to cars...i live by KISS.
Keep It Simple Stupid.

kHuNkHuNa

i don't care what anyone thinks but heres a pic of mine i wanted to use white, but i had blue laying around and didn't bother ordering more ahha,

and i ran the wire from the rear dome light, so when u unlock it it lights up the car interior and when the doors open, also it has that fade away effect (same as rear light)
ran the wires threw the headliner and alone the trim and to the bottom, and then around the seats and used 3m double sided tape to stick them under the seats

2012c350

I, Like others don't like the look. But don't let that stop you. Many people here do things to their mb that I find ridiculous (lowering it to the point that it rubs, etc...) But to each their own. Others mod their car to their tastes, so do what works for you.

nias9527

thanks for you guys opinion!!
In my opinion, I think installing some LED will be alright
just not too much/too bright because the lights will make eyes uncomfortable.


kHuNkHuNa:
I see you have LED strips under rear seats..
where do you run the wire from?? the fuse box??
because I am new to this so I dont know anything....
can you kind of explain what you did so I can do my best to learn from you
its looks cool!!!

fredkrhye

LED strips need very little amperage to operate and they generate very little heat. Check your wiring diagram and find a power source.

nias9527

You mean I don't need to worry about it???
so LED is not going to destroy our car's circuits??

kHuNkHuNa

i honestly didn't think much of it, i took apart the rear dome light, and wrapped a wire around one end of the bulb (positive) and another wire on the other end (negative) and the led's lit up, i can take more pictures showing how i ran my, pm me your email so i can send them straight off the iPhone instead of going through photo bucket, unless other people need them as well

05 MB Komp

What an incredibly racist thing to post. I have them in my car and I am not Asian. You are making a pretty broad assumption.

To the OP-
You can run them right off the read dome light with no problems. LEDs do not draw a lot of power.

clkwork

1. Open package
2. Discard LED strips in trash
3. Post photos


OK, I know they aren't everyone's thing but some people like that stuff, so here's what you need to do for real. You'll have power going to your dome light, you can probably tap that safely but honestly I don't think its a good idea because some dome lights have a dimming feature and depending on your LED strips they might not be dimable. What I would do is to tap the auxiliary 12V from the lighter/accessory plug and install a second switch as so:

(center prong of socket)-(switch)-<=(branch to each led strip)

Each strip can be grounded wherever, just tie them all to 12v from the switch and you're good (as long as they are 12v input - verify this on the package!)

Everything should be fused so there's really no worry about burning your car down. They don't draw much current and they won't get hot. You can install a second inline fuse (auto shops sell these) if you are concerned.

If you go nuts with the LEDs and cold cathodes what you need to do is to run a second fused line from the battery to your switch.

Please reconsider the lights though. Think of the kittens.





edit: please don't just "wrap the wire" around stuff like others have said. Do it properly. Cut/solder/heat shrink connections or at lease use a freakin' crimp. You drive a Mercedes-Benz. Jesus.

caligreenzzz

tell me about, the mods dont seem to really care much about racist things being said on this forum...

Sportstick

I read the original comment as referring to Asian cars and their typical design cues. If it was meant as an insult to a person, it was not clear, but is unwelcome here. The mechanism exists to report a post, and no one, including you, chose to do so for the alleged ethnic slur. If future inappropriate comments are made by that poster, they will be addressed more formally. No other racist comments have been brought to our attention recently anywhere in the 204 forums.

Garry1104

You don't really need a LED strip for the front. You could have just swap out the original underside bulb with a bright white/blue LED bulb and get similar effect. At least that's what I did with my car.

pmjiv78

I put them in my 2011 as well. I've had lights under the dash and seats in my previous vehicle and loved the look. I ran them off a switch that I put in place of the ash tray. I used the DIY on this forum for how to install a subwoofer and how to install the lighted door sills to come up with a plan. I ran a power line off the battery so that I could set up for a future sub in the trunk. I used the metal backing plate in the kickwell of the passenger seat to install a fuse/distribution block for the power and one for the ground. I also put in an additional small fuse block for accessories in the center console storage area. You dont have to go to that extreme. Tying into one of the dome lights or the 12V lighters will work just as well. LEDs dont take much power and shouldnt affect any of the power. Worst case is you may blow a fuse and have to replace it.

nias9527

how do you access to the 12V lighters power source... do you have to take stuff apart??
I am afraid I might break something because I think the parts are very fragile
by the way, how to you hide the cable that is coming from your LED strips

Cosworth2000

I like, I like

pmjiv78

You can access the 12V source in either the ash tray area or the glove box. The easier of the two would be the ash tray. To get to the Ash Tray use the first 5 steps from this DIY from albertb:
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...e-removal.html
After that, you need to remove the trim piece from around the climate control area. Then remove the two screws that attach the ash tray to the center console. The are located on either side of the console closest to the shifter. The piece will now be loose, but in order for it to slide out, you have to move the shifter into drive. Do this by 1) engage parking braking, 2) locate the yellow colored lever/clip near the back of the shifter assembly, you need to push the top of it toward the shifter to release the shifter so you can move it into drive (its an manual override so the shifter can me moved into a different gear without the car being turned on), 3) slide the ash tray assembly toward the shifter, up and out. You'll now be able to see the 12v clip attached to it.

Here's a DIY from 356SC for how to remove the glove:
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...glove-box.html
Once you've removed the screws, the glove box drops down and you'll see the plug in connector to the 12V source.

Another easier option, if your car has it, would be to wrap wire around the fuse in the fuse block area located on the driver's side (LHD) side upper dash. I do not have this on my 2011, but I know some do. You could also try and find the fuse area in the truck of the car and run the wire off of one of those. If you're not going to run an inline switch, make sure you determine which fuse is connected to a 12V source that is activated by the auxillary power (when opening the door, trunk, etc without the ignition turned on). If not you'll have the LEDs on constantly!

As for hiding wires, this comes down to where you want to put the LEDs. For under the dash, I attached them directly to the plastic covers on the underside of the dash and ran the wires behind the center of the dash an up into the center console (This is after doing the center console removal). You could run them along the side of center console and up where the plastic meets the carpet. This all comes down to where you plan to get your power source from and if you are running a switch. As for the seats, you can easily attach the LEDs to a metal bar under the seat that is part of the seat itself. If you attach to the seat, make sure wherever you run your wires, that they wont get spliced or crimped by the seat assembly when someone gets in to adjust the seat back or forth.

Steps: 1) pick your power source, 2) decide if you are using a switch or the aux power of the car (switch could allow you to turn them on with the car off), 3) pick where you want to place the LEDs, 4) pick where you want to run the wires from the power source to each LED, 5) run the wires first from each LED to your power or switch, 6) install quick disconnects for each LED close to where the LED will be installed (this will allow you to disconnect them and remove them without having to cut a wire), 7) Install LEDs, 8) connect wire from LEDs to wire to power/ground/switch, 9) connect ground, 10) connect power.

The most important step of all......check to make sure the LEDs work BEFORE installing them!! haha

nias9527

Thank you for you great advice!!!
I will try to see which one is easier for me to do.
After this, I am thinking installing puddle lights under the car that only turn on when the door open.
Now I think I might have a trouble to get the wire into the car from outside... do I need to drill the chassis ?

pmjiv78

You shouldnt need to. I've never done that mod myself. You'd have to figure out where you want to install the lights first and then look to see if there is already a place to run the wire into the car. The only one I know of is behind the battery and into the kickwell (as shown on this sub DIY from lewylou78:
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...r-install.html
I'm sure there must be others, but I'm not sure where. You may be able to find a place to hide them near where the door hinges are and that could get you into the cabin. Just make sure you look at where you plan to run wires for that so they are in a place least likely to be cut if you happen to drive over something, or that they are far enough away from any major heat sources.