18 replies to this topic

[Dexy]

Whilst kicking back in the rear of my mini admiring my newly covered door cards n dash (will put up some pick soon) i realised how much i hate that cheap light in the headliner and thought why not do something different. Sooo what do you lot think about having four of this

\/\/\/\/\/\/

in the rear storage bins and hidden under the dash pointg at the footwells? i will hopefully have them wired into my light switch and also an external switch cause i think they will use alot of power

JAi

[biggav]

i have something very similar in my car and i'm also fitting white ones in the engine bay and in the boot (on alarm switches so that the lights only come on when the boot of bonnet is opened.)

[rosewhite]

that'll look great, will they give you enough light?

if so, go for it!

[emmae]

OHHHH i liiike!!

[CooperTrooper]

there okayish but they seem a little max power stylee if you ask me...

[Matt]

hmm been considering something like this for mine for a while....

but wasnt sure of what lights to use..

you got a link for those??

they shouldnt use that much power.. they look like surface mounted leds.

Edited by Matt@A-Serious, 14 June 2007 - 12:13 PM.

[Dexy]

hmm been considering something like this for mine for a while....

but wasnt sure of what lights to use..

you got a link for those??

they shouldnt use that much power.. they look like surface mounted leds.

Yeah I found them on maplins website

Clicky!

It's supposed to be for PC and aslong as you can hold a soldering iron you can prob do both sides of front footwells with one strip

JAi

Edited by JAi, 14 June 2007 - 02:56 PM.

[jack_marshall]

Ive put my courtesy lights under the dash, theyre just 2 little lights, but light up the footwells when the doors or opened.

Also have a little switch to turn them on too.

No good for map reading on your knee though Im afraid.

[Dexy]

Ok people abit of progress, I have bought lights however decided to go for cold cathode tubes instead because there abit safer and also a hell of alot cheaper! £8.21 for two 30cm long blue light tubes delievered, anyone who is wondering i went on ebay and searched for 'PC neon lights' the reason is there alot cheaper but still run on 12v so fine for car as well, Im going to oxford this weekend but once i get back im not at college so will do them monday and show you lot what there like!

JAi

[ImagoX]

Ok people abit of progress, I have bought lights however decided to go for cold cathode tubes instead because there abit safer and also a hell of alot cheaper! £8.21 for two 30cm long blue light tubes delievered, anyone who is wondering i went on ebay and searched for 'PC neon lights' the reason is there alot cheaper but still run on 12v so fine for car as well, Im going to oxford this weekend but once i get back im not at college so will do them monday and show you lot what there like!

JAi

I have both LED strips and cathodes in my 2006 MINI cabrio and I love them. I'm planning on adding some additional light to my '92 as well (probably just white). I'm also going to add some orange lighting to my '92 in the dash well, similar in color to the new MINI's orange cabin lighting - I figured out how to "tint" orange LEDs (which are sort of unattractive yellowish orange) to match the new MINI's color.

A great place to get supplies (on the web) is Oznium.com - they have great installation forums and the site owner, Phil, stands behind his products 110%. Here are some photos of my cabin:







they really help in the boot at night - before this a single grocery bag would block 100% of the weak OEM white light:



I put LEDs in the doors, replacing the weak "courtesy lights" there:



I even went a little nuts and wrapped the blue color to the outside! This is 100% invisible until I decide to switch it on. The exterior is blue LED strips (on the underbody and in the supercharger scoop) and silicone-sealed cathodes (in the front grille):





It's not for everyone, but I think it's fun at the occasional car show or MINI gathering...

Edited by ImagoX, 12 July 2007 - 01:34 PM.

[Ethel]

It's not for everyone, but I think it's fun at the occasional car show or MINI gathering...
[/quote]

If you don't mind being ridiculed mercilessly!

Sorry Imago

Have to say they kick out an impressive amount of light and are 12v too.

[ImagoX]

If you don't mind being ridiculed mercilessly!

Sorry Imago

Have to say they kick out an impressive amount of light and are 12v too.

You know... every time I'm at a Mini/MINI show and I have the lights running, I'm swarmed by people, all wanting to know how I did what I did. I had a 60 year old woman with a BRG Cooper hire me to add green LEDs to her footwells and behind her seats - definitely not the kind of person that usually lights their car.

Sure, some people sniff and say that I've "ruined" the car, but you know what? I've heard plenty of people HERE say that the new MINI is an inferior car to the "true" Mini... I've heard new MINI people slam the classics as underpowered pieces of cheaply-made, rusty junk. I've seen people in the ICE forum convert the classic Minis with fiberglass subwoofer enclosures and padded leathertte door cards and racing seats, to the point that it makes my 2006 look more "classic" than their cars...

Everyone has an opinion, and lots of them don't agree with mine. I figure that when someone shells out some cash to help me pay my car payments, then I'll worry about whether they do or do not like a MOD I've installed.

[CharlieBrown]

Well im sorry I have to say...


That looks ace! (Oh my god what have I said! lol)

Looks really cool. Would like some pretty lights in my mini, when I get it working again

[Ethel]

Did you click the link ImageX?

[ImagoX]

Did you click the link ImageX?

Yeah - took me to a cathode page. Not sure of you mean "ridiculed" because the cathodes are so much cheaper than LED strips or because I dared light my car - I get a lot of that.

Just in general for anyone thinking about adding lighting to their cars: There are benefits and drawbacks to both systems:

Cathodes:

- Are fragile - basically a very slender glass tube in a plastic housing. Kick one and it tends to shatter in the plastic tube
- But give great light - the color is interesting and bright and it shines 360 degrees
- But require a transformer to operate. It's not large - about the side of a pack of gum, but you have to find a placed to hide it
- Plus are a bit inflexible - the white leads running form the tranny to the cathode sticks are of a set length and cannot generally be lengthened or shortened
- And cannot handle "dimming" cabin lighting - it will burn out the transformer
- But are cheap - I can get 2 12" cathode sticks and a transformer for about $7 (3.5 GBP).

LEDS:

- Are beefy - kick them and they are unfazed
- But are pricey - usually about 2X or 3X the price of cathodes
- But are flexible - they can be crammed and wrapped into tight spaces
- And are waterproof (assuming you get a set coated in silicone as opposed to the ribbon strip in the first post). Cathodes have to be manually sealed with silicone sealant, including the transformer, if they're installed anyplace that gets weather). LED strips can be run submerged in a bucket of water.
- And can handle dimming cabin lighting. Not an issue in the classic Mini but it definitely IS helpful in the new MINI.
- Last, they're directional, so you can aim them to create "spots" of light and other lighting effects based on what you're trying to accomplish.

Both LEDs and cathodes draw very little current - .7A for a cathode transformer (drives 2 cathode sticks per tranny) and a very small amount per LED or strip. Usually an entire RAFT of LEDs or several cathode transformers can be driven off the same fuse that once could only handle 1 or 2 incandescent white OEM lights, making wiring exceedingly simple. Both LEDs and cathodes are cool to the touch and pose minimal fire hazard, providing that they're wired properly (less than a hot white bulb).

Edited by ImagoX, 12 July 2007 - 03:08 PM.