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Change the standard pale-amber door handle illumination to another color of your choosing.
Time:
About 1 hour per door (includes removal, applying some anti rattle felt, install, cleaning surfaces and reinstall)
Hardware Used:
LED strip (required) - I used a roll which you can cut into individual segments
Solder-less clamp for LED (recommended, unless you love extra soldering)
Thin anti squeak/rattle adhesive tape (optional, and since you're taking the door paneling off anyway.)
Solder and iron (required)
Heat shrink tube (optional)
Electrical tape (optional)
Wire strippers (required)
Molding/trim removal tool (recommended)
Interior panel trim clips (optional, in case one or more are broken or damaged)
Precondition:
Make sure the car is off, key is out, etc
Disconnect battery for complete safety (optional)
Make sure all doors are unlocked and remain unlocked (do no close door after removing interior panel for that door)
Front door panel removal:
1. First start by lowering the window for the door you're going to work on and remove the two T27 trox bolts located immediately below the door armrest
2. Remove the door electrical access panel located near the door hinge using a plastic pry tool or your fingers, for the front doors only. The panel is intended to come off so you shouldn't have too much trouble with it. Start by applying some leverage at the corner of the access panel near the window switch. The back of the panel on the opposite end from where you're prying from has two plastic hinges which allow the panel to open about 25 degrees, at which point you'll need to remove the panel from the door molding. The plastic hinges are pretty durable but be careful if this is your first time removing this panel.
3. Start by partially removing part of the plastic molding which surrounds the upper portion of the door panel and extends up the metal frame of the door to surround the window area. This plastic molding partially overlaps with the door panel and it easier to just move it out of the way first, especially if this is your first time taking the door panel off. (Moving this plastic panel out of the way is not necessary but it helps)
The door is held on by 8 trim clips which have VERY strong hold when all are in place, but as soon as one pops out the rest give in easily; the best place to start and what seemed like the weakest point was at the top right corner (if you're looking at the paneling directly.) Use the plastic pry tool to create a small gap in the upper right corner and apply a little force, try to use your best judgement to see what you're pressing on with the pry tool and be careful that you're not on one of the clip mounting brackets as they can break or crack. With a little leverage the 1st clip might give, if it doesn't, try to use your fingers and apply a bit more force, gradually alternating the amount of pull pressure you're applying.
4. With the clips dis-attached be sure to brace the door panel against something or hold it with one hand so that it does not hang. At this point you will need to:
Disconnect two electrical components (one Purple and one Blue head and take note of which port you disconnected them from. They're color coded and size dependent so you can't really mess it up but still.)
Disconnect the door handle interior tension wire (take a second to examine this component
Pull down on the door pin mechanism to disconnect it from the door panel
For reference here is the electrical components which you'll need to disconnect:
Door handle mechanism:
The easier way to dis-attach the tension wire is to lightly pull on the wire to expose the metal underneath which it narrow enough to allow you remove it from the mounting bracket (this is by design.) At this point the door handle will have free play and you can pull up on the clip to free it from the door handle. The clip can be somewhat of a pain as it is a push-and-lock style clip, be careful to not damage the door handle (silver part) nor the clip attachment housing (white part at the end of the door handle.) When reinstalling just perform these steps in reverse.
5. Now that door panel is free from the door subframe, place it aside and check the subframe for any trim panel clips that might be left over and didn't make it out with the door panel; pop those clips out using a plastic pry tool.
Protip: try to cover the clip with your palm as best you can while you're prying so that when it gives it doesn't go flying.
Optional
6. With the door panel now removed we have the optional step of applying some automotive felt to address any squeaks. The decorative trim piece next to the door handle tends to squeak and it is pretty easy to address, especially if you already have the door off. The trim piece is held in place by 4 hex nuts attached to plastic heads for the front doors and 5 hex nuts (in the same configuration) for the rear doors.
Using one of the front doors for reference:
With the hex nuts removed the decorative trim is free the door panel, carefully pull it from the door panel and set it aside.
6a. Turn the door panel over clean the trim piece and trim insert area prior to applying the felt
6b. Reattach the trim peace, feel with one hand while tightening the hex bolts and make sure that each section is flush. (Note, since the 'bolts' are plastic on the trim piece the hex nut will not lock.)
7. Removing the OEM illumination mechanism without damaging it can be tricky due to the fragile nature of the prism which a single LED shines through.
The OEM LED is housed within a clip style structure with the prism mounted on top and making physical contact with the LED. You will need to remove the LED housing and prism as a single unit; the prism is pushed in place by 4 small clips, 2 are leading up to the door handle illumination slit and the other 2 are build into the slit. To remove the unit, pull VERY gently on the first 2 clips leading up to the illumination slit just enough to free them from the plastic then use your fingers or a small pry tool to gently push up from the door handle side of the illumination slit on either corner to free the prism from the remaining 2 clips. With the prism and LED housing now free, you will need to open the housing and pull the LED circuit out. The housing has 4 tabs on either corner, if you push the frame outwards it will clear the tabs and allow you to open the housing.
(Note, there is a very good chance you will break the prism, its very fragile and just in case you want the part number for this item its is: A2048250001 for the right doors and A2048250101 for the left)
If removed successfully the prism and LED housing unit will look like this (note, the LED and electrical has already been removed in this photo)
8. Next you will need to use a soldering iron to remove the OEM LED and expose the wiring which we will use for our new LED strip
(Take note of the positive and negative leads, for reference the Gray wire with Blue stripe is the positive wire)
Here is what you'll end up with once the OEM LED is removed and wire is slightly cut to split the + and - which we will need to strip to expose more of the wire for soldering
9. Prep your LED strip and cut to correct size:
10. Strip the + and - leads for the solderless clamp for attachment
11. Insert the cut LED strip into the solderless clamp, taking note of the + and - terminal on the clamp and the LED strip itself.
12. Solder the + and - leads of the solderless clamp to the corresponding + and - wires which originally connected to the OEM LED from Step8 above. Position accordingly, test the layout prior to taping the new LED strip down.
Protip: Cut the heat shrink tubing to size and slide it onto one of the end of the wires, coil/braid the wires together, solder evenly on all sides then using a heat gun shrink the tubing to size and over the soldered area. (You can also apply electrical tape where needed)
13. Use felt tape to keep the LED strip and wires in place.
14. Clean the door surface and reinstall. Be sure to properly reconnect the door handle, electrical components and door lock pin (all covered above.)
15. The rear doors follow almost exactly the same removal process and the exact same wiring process. The major difference with the rear doors is the door lock pin which uses a directional insert pin style clip with a pinch-and-lock base. To remove the door lock pin you will need to pinch to large clips on either end of the door pin mechanism within the door and pull down. (Note the door pin ring can also slide up and out of the door panel if you need to experiment with how to re-install that part.)
16. Repeat Steps 6 - 14 for the remaining doors.
17. Once all the LEDs have been replaced and doors reinstalled, turn on the car and lights, test all door functionality and insure that LEDs are properly illuminating
Quick update, regarding removing the door paneling; my two front doors were missing a plastic rivet which will need to be removed before attempting to separate the door panel from the subframe.
Rivet part number: 000-991-79-40
Location, item #8 below:
Closer look:
To access this rivet you will need to partially pop-off the upper door/window frame molding #2 (in the diagram above.) Lower the window first and then using a plastic pry tool to push the panel off, it simply clips into the metal subframe and can take a little pit of pushing force to disconnect it. Once the lower portion of the molding is free you can access the rivet #8, you will need to use some needle nose pliers to pull the center locking pin out (partially exposed in the photo above) of the rivet which is locking it in place, once the center pin is out you can use a pry tool to remove the riven from the door frame.
To reinstall the rivet simply follow the removal steps in reverse, insert the rivet without the locking pin into the door frame through the door panel, securing the two sections together, once the rivet clicks into place insert the center locking pin into the riven and you're done.
That was a very well documented and detailed explanation.
Whether I ever do this or not, I appreciate the time and effort you took to create such a well written DIY.
I have bookmarked this for any time I need to remove my door panel.
If I had a red interior, I would follow your lead.
Great work. Have you ever looked at the light that omits from the rear view mirror onto the shifter console? A while ago I was searching around for a way to change it and it seemed very difficult. IIRC, you had to separate the mirror in half and change out the bulb. That small plastic lens does not come off.
Great work. Have you ever looked at the light that omits from the rear view mirror onto the shifter console? A while ago I was searching around for a way to change it and it seemed very difficult. IIRC, you had to separate the mirror in half and change out the bulb. That small plastic lens does not come off.
Hmm, I've never looked at how to get to those bulbs (I think you're referring to the 'map' lights which are in the rear view mirror housing, correct?) Going off of memory but the rear view mirror didn't look very easy to disassemble by looking at the side and bottom of the enclosure ... unless there is a way to open it from the top of the mirror housing?
If I was to approach this I'd probably buy the cheapest used/broken matching mirror on ebay or off of the forums where a C that is being parted off (no more than 30$) and experiment with opening it up. It would probably save you some headache of potentially damaging or breaking your own and having to buy one anyway.
apparently these handle illuminators already existed?
Hmm, some kinda of kit from MB, too bad they don't list the part number ... I don't think I've ever come across it while searching but I'll try giving a call to one of the dealerships and see if they know anything about it.
W213 E63S Wagon, W204 C63 P30(RIP), WK1 Grand Cherokee SRT8(RIP)
I changed out the door handle LEDs, ash tray LED and mirror lighting LED years ago.....all of mine are now 5000k white
you already had the OEM LED assemble removed and soldering iron in hand, why did you not desolder the OEM LED, desolder an LED from your strip, solder single strip LED in place of OEM LED and reinstall using the factory optic??? it is far easier and retains OEM aesthetics..... i applaud your efforts and know from experience that it a detailed job, but if you just swap the actual LED for a color you want it only takes about 15min per door
...as for the rear view mirror it is the same process---swap OEM LED for a color that you want on the circuit board. It WILL take longer than 15min as the mirror removal and disassembly are pretty tedious but even then its only about a 45min job.
....advice for in the future----looking at the solder where you applied to the wiring i am willing to bet you didnt tin the wire but tried to get the solder to stick. Small small small drop of solder on the tip of the iron, apply tip to bare wire so it contacts the drop, then touch wire(NOT TIP) with your solder and the wire will pull the new solder in...when you do this properly you will NOT have the gobs, points, uneven solder---it will be smooth, shiny and the same size of the wire you applied it to. When soldering to the pads go ahead and apply that small small bead of solder on the tip and hold it there for about 2sec then apply your solder to build a puddle...when you pull our solder away and remove the tip it should leave a smooth, shiny ball of solder on the pad.....then to attach the wire or new LED or whatever all you will need to do is touch the ball on the pad with the bead on the tip, it will immediately liquefy at which point you attach whatever it is you are adding to the pad.
I've played around with that idea, I might start going down that road but as jptaylor mentioned, it would probably take a while. I've pulled out one of the lights from the vent wheel just to see what it looks like but I haven't tried to dismantle it yet (it looks to have a pretty specialized enclosure which works to bother focus the light and also lock the entire mechanism into place. The door panel buttons such as the door unlock/lock, seat memory buttons and automatic window control cluster might have the LEDs encased in the enclosure, which *might* be plastic welded so opening them could be problematic.
2012 C63;1971 280SE 3.5(Sold);2023 EQS 450 SUV 4 Matic (Wife's)
Originally Posted by LoFox
Quick update, regarding removing the door paneling; my two front doors were missing a plastic rivet which will need to be removed before attempting to separate the door panel from the subframe.
Rivet part number: 000-991-79-40
Location, item #8 below:
Closer look:
To access this rivet you will need to partially pop-off the upper door/window frame molding #2 (in the diagram above.) Lower the window first and then using a plastic pry tool to push the panel off, it simply clips into the metal subframe and can take a little pit of pushing force to disconnect it. Once the lower portion of the molding is free you can access the rivet #8, you will need to use some needle nose pliers to pull the center locking pin out (partially exposed in the photo above) of the rivet which is locking it in place, once the center pin is out you can use a pry tool to remove the riven from the door frame.
To reinstall the rivet simply follow the removal steps in reverse, insert the rivet without the locking pin into the door frame through the door panel, securing the two sections together, once the rivet clicks into place insert the center locking pin into the riven and you're done.
The reason those rivets were missing from your door panels is that they tend to break when you pry them out, ever if you pull the center lock out. Most people just don't bother replacing them. Mine were missing as well, as the dealer had the panels off for some reason, before I bought the car and didn't bother to replace them.
W213 E63S Wagon, W204 C63 P30(RIP), WK1 Grand Cherokee SRT8(RIP)
Originally Posted by Mort
The reason those rivets were missing from your door panels is that they tend to break when you pry them out, ever if you pull the center lock out. Most people just don't bother replacing them. Mine were missing as well, as the dealer had the panels off for some reason, before I bought the car and didn't bother to replace them.
....yup
Even in some of the original MB service PDFs it stated that you were to BREAK THEM, THEN REPLACE WITH NEW....however, if you study them a little and take your time(10sec) you can reuse again and again...I've had my panels off at least a dozen times, same original plastic rivets in place today
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How To: Interior door handle illumination
