Originally Posted by Jason B

Those OEM parts to do that would end up costing thousands.

Originally Posted by mbmoding

On my 2010 S550, it supposed to have 3 colors but really only 2 noticeable difference. I checked what lights up the plastic bars and there are 2 tiny leds, one is blue and the other is kind of amber. It's one color or the other or mixed. I didn't really like the color so I added my own leds and now my new colors are red, blue, and purple. The colors are much cleaner and brighter than stock. The comand operates and dims the new lights. I have also added a module to further the color options and use. I can do any color choices and have it also do patterns and go with the music if wanted. The big thing is now I can choose a much better color option. In fact the choices are far better than the new S class with limited color range.

Originally Posted by ClasseMiaMadra

Fairly new member, just saw the thread in the update report. Most impressive. More importantly for me though, most encouraging. Got a new to me (my wife actually) 2012 S550 4M. Love polar ambient option but the rear passenger side only lights up the other colors. Was going to be one of those "oh well..." issues but seems to be easy enough to address. Since you are familiar, and provided you (or anyone else) are inclined to answer, I would be most appreciative of input on how to crack open the door panel and what / how to replace so I can get the polar working on this door again.

Great many thanks. And a truly awesome mod.

Originally Posted by mbmoding

On the doors the factory uses one set of leds or led depending on the year towards the front of the car at the end of the wood panel. On the dash part if I remember correctly there is 3 of them. If your car does only one color and you only want one color of your choice, you could simply attach the power for the led to the power wire of the factory led on each door. What I did since I have a 3 color option I used RGB led strips. As easy as it may sound, there is a lot of trimming to do where the clear part where the factory led emits through sits on. It's the black part that holds the clear strip. The RGB strip does not curve the way you want to where the radio is and you need to cut the strip and attach wires to make that bend to make the connection. On some of the areas of the bend, I only cut two of the contacts and bend the strip and the gap areas I added solder to fit in between the gaps. Kinda hard to picture until you actually do the job. Because the led strip light is so strong, I had to diffuse the light so I added a strip of white vinyl and it did the job. I had taken some pics but they are not detailed for explanation as I did not expect to do it again or expected anyone to do this themselves because it's very tedious. I was planning to make kits for these cars so what I did was pretty much a prototype but when and if the time comes, I would have a much better and easier way for the do it yourselfer install it themself. Removing the door panels is easy as well as the dash wood trim. Literally the wood dash I can remove in less than one minute, there is only 3 screws and 3 panels to pop off. If you can accomplish all that and know how to trim parts with a dremel, then you are ready for the next task. The trick is on the power connection of the ambient lighting, it uses one common and two positive. Common RGB strips use one positive and 3 negatives. This is where you have to build a circuit. You can choose 2 out of the three you want to use for the 221 models that have 3 color choices and mix the two color choices for neutral so I choosed red for solar, blue for polar, and the neutral comes out a nice violet color. Now I went the extra mile and added a controler that is operated through wifi and can use RF controller as well so I got all three colors and now the color is infinite plus I have it move to the beat of the music. I didn't know what to expect when I got done but when I finished the task, the colors are just amazing. In fact more amazing than the new 2015 S because you have the green light. On the new S, you don't have green to mix, plus you don't have it flash to the music. Not for driving use of course, it's very distracting. For show, it's awesome! I am currently seeking smaller 0404 RGB chips and trying to get someone to manufacture them for me as this will give a more solid look without having to difuse the light from looking spotty. If you plan to do the RGB setup, you don't need to use the factory led wires. If you plan to do both operation of the comand for three colors and do the RGB through controller, you need to build a circuit to isolate the RGB controller to do the rest of the colors. I am working on another project which I will post soon that many would be interested in as well.

Originally Posted by Amdnyc01

I know this is an old thread and I am new here. This is actually my first post/reply. I am looking to add the Led strips to my 07 S550. It has 1 color led with 2 wires (red and black). Could I just attach 1 color led strips directly on the existing wiring? Will the existing power supply for one led handle the new led strips? Would I need resistors? I really don't want to cause a short circuit and mess up the electronics. Is it as simple as unplugging the wire going into the existing 1 led, and connect it to the new led strips with multiple bulbs?

Also, removing the wood trim on the dash seem pretty straingt forward, but how about the door? Does the interior of the door need to be removed in order to remove the wood trim? Do you or anyone here have a write up on the door wood trim removal? I really wished you had the time to do an entire write up of your work. But ofcourse you must be busy. If I actually follow thru and get this done, I will do a step by step write up of the entire process. So any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Originally Posted by Jason B

Would be cool if there was a ready made kit avail to do this that was already done, cut, measured, etc. This isn't an easy job.

Originally Posted by Amdnyc01

That's exactly what I'm trying to do. Once I complete mine, I will make kits for those who are interested. Or I will provide links, measurements and step by step video instructions. I am not trying to make any money from anyone here. I just want to share my experiences with you all. I just wished someone would have answered my questions on the above post regarding the power supply. I totally understand this won't be an easy job, but I would like to give it a shot. I'm sure with all of your help, I can get it done.

Originally Posted by Jason B

See post # 25. I think all info is in this thread on how he did it?

Originally Posted by mbmoding

Sorry everyone who has been trying to message me about this installation. I haven't found the time to get online to check anything regarding to my forum messages. It's just me, I work long hours and I do a lot of custom led work so it has been keeping me away from the online society. Well I finally broke way to see if anyone was able to step in and help out. I am going to be redoing my light strips as there is a newer product I have been wanting to try. There will be no hot spots and have a much even glow so they are non directional. However for your basic RGB lighting, you only need to buy a 5 meter strip and an RGB controller. Now those who have a 2010 and up model with the command with 3 settings, I posted the diagram on how to make it yourself. Unfortunately I don't have the spare time to build boards or make kits but if you got the time, you can do it yourself if you're comfortable doing so. You would want to make quick disconnects on each door panel and at the end of each of the woodgrain dash panel. I wouldn't recommend to use the power of the wires that power the factory leds as the power consumption that is controlled by the computer can be damaged. This is why I made the circuit to power the strips. I used power transistors, basically a solid state relay in theory. I doubt you will find anyone making a true universal kit as all lengths have to be specifically cut to size and to make such kits for only certain specific model cars isn't feasable or profitable. Future and even future on, it isn't going to happen. I've done my homework on a lot of products I wanted to make. Unfortunately, I do most all inhouse. This is where I make my living. If it's easy, anyone can do it. I like doing jobs that take quite the task to complete. Sometimes you need tools and machine which costs thousands of dollars to create and that's where my creativity adds more to than what product anyone can simply buy online. I like sharing my creativity when I can but the past year or so I've been heavily busy on many custom jobs. Heck I don't even have the time to do stuff on my vehicles.

Originally Posted by Jason B

I hear ya man. Sounds like you have a good niche market you are catering too. That's my business as well. I'm sure some wouldn't mind shipping their car to you, or flying you out to do a local install