I know there have been sufficient posts on this topic already, but I haven't posted any pics of anything in a loooooong time and was feeling the itch, and I thought I would share my experiences with the install.

Please Excuse my spelling errors as SL doesn’t have a post spell checker

So about a year ago, I got 4 pre-wired superflux 4-chip LED's from Oznium.com. I bought em, no sponsorship, not trying to plug em, but I will say that they shipped really fast, and all 5 led's worked along with a few 5mm LED's I got at the same time (I wanted to add a LED to the rear cup holder in both the RS1.0 and the RS3.0 - I dunno why scion took the time to put them in the front 2 cup holders and not the rear, but I digress...). About a week or so ago, I got sick of looking at this pack of LED's and decided to finally pull the dash and try to install. I installed the rear cup holder led's the day I recd the shipment way back when...

When reading other posts on here, there wasn’t a lot of good info on how to install these, everyone just kinda did it their own way, as did I. Sorry I wasn’t thinking about writing up a DIY when I did the install, hence no DIY install Pics <-- kicking myself in the bean bags now for you...

So below is a pic of the pre-wired superflux 4-chip LED, and below that a comparison of the superflux 4-chip LED vs. a standard 5mm super bright LED. I chose the superflux 4-led’s led’s for the vents, because I didn't know if a 5mm was going to be bright enough and I didn't want to try to line the vents with silver tape.

SuperFlux 4-chip LED


SuperFlux 4-Chvs. vs. 5mm LED


So I began by testing all 4 Led’s with a 9v battery (I was in my living room). They all worked properly as expected but I did notice that they were VERY bright even in my living room with the lights on, and I could tell that there would be hot spots because they would be so close to the top of the vents, and wouldn't have enough room for the beam to spread out, so I took some 800grit and basically just scuffed the tops of all 4 led's until they looked like frosted glass. This took all of 15 min because I wanted to try to make them all as even as possible and consistent.

I wanted to splice these into my under dash illumination, so that I could toggle between Cup holder, under dash/AC Vents, or both at once. Next I added about 24'' of wire lead to each of the 4 LED's. They come with about 6-8 inches of wire and that wasn't going to be enough for my needs.

Once all wires were added and connectors crimped, I pulled the dash out. I started by removing the front speaker grills, and the A pillars. Next I pulled the stereo surround and disconnected the 3 harnesses behind there. Next I pulled the spedo surround, and disconnected the spedo. Then I began removing all the screws that held the dash in. I would recommend using a magnet tip screwdriver to help get the ones under the speaker grills, or if you are like me, stick a refrigerator magnet to the middle of your screwdriver and viola - instant magnet tip! Once all the hold down screws were out, I pulled the square cover in the passenger side dash cubby area, and removed the 12mm bolt that secures the dash/airbag stuff ad the dash was ready to come out. I got one side up, and disconnected the air vents from the dash itself, then did the same on the other side.

With all 4 vents exposed, I got some 3m heavy 2 sided tape, and Taped the Led's as low as possible inside the vents (vents leading to the AC/ Fan, not the Vent Covers which are attached to the dash / stereo surround) with the led’s pointing up. Again, I had to really make sure that the led's were down as low as possible inside the vents because I didn't want to be able to see the top of the led bulbs from driver or passenger riding positions, just a nice fiery glow. Once positioned where I wanted them and loosely secured with tape and routed the wires back out the front of the vents.



I got my trusty 9v battery, and tested each led from the driver seat and passenger seat to see if I liked the look - if there were bright spots, if I could see the bulb etc... After a few rounds of repositioning, I was finally satisfied with the positions, and I then mashed the led's and tape into the vents to secure them. If you have ever used this 3m heavy duty tape you know what I mean, that stuff is like epoxy once it sets. I ran the heater for a few min while I had a cigarette, then pressed them in again for good measure.

Now I began routing all my wires to the under dash area, and connecting each lead to the power / ground wires going to my under dash illumination, making sure to disconnect the battery first. I don’t like to get shocked...
Once all the routing and splicing was done, I started putting the dash/pillars, etc all back together. The way that I routed the wires out of the front of the vents, the wires were well hidden by the vent covers when I put everything back together, but I made sure to pull the wires slightly to take up any slack that might be visible if anyone looked into the vents.

The pics below were all taken at night from the back seat with the dome light off. Pics 1 and 3 were taken using "high" flash, and 2 was done using "low" flash. My camera doesn't go wide enough to get all 4 vents in 1 clear shot. I tried a few using no flash, but they came out too dark and all you could make out were orange fireballs, but you can see even with high flash, how bright they are. At night, they look amazing; the pics really don’t do them much justice. Sorry that they are a little blurry, I don’t have a tripod, and I just burned one up before I went out to take the pics, but all in all, you get the idea... and yes, I know I need to clean the inside of my car, I haven't had it washed in like 3 weeks... Yikes!






All in all I am very happy with the way they came out. There is no glare on the windshield at night, and they light up the dash and cockpit just enough in dark conditions for my taste. The Led's are the same color as my Scion illumination, so all matches nice and looks good.

If anyone has questions, or anything please let me know, I am happy to assist however I can

 

that looks really nice! Good job, i love the color scheme.

 

thanks!

Man does my interior look PHILTHY!!!!!
I got to do something about that this weekend!

 

Very nice!

 

That looks great, good job. Nice to see clean installs for this type of thing. Around my area it seems like people just plug big tubes into there 12V and lay the tube across the passenger seat! Good job though!

 

Looks good to me!

 

The work must retain a factory look, and appear as though no work has been done.

 

That looks awesome. Well done.

 

yea that is an awesome job dude. Umm question. What kind of paint did u use to paint ur interior orange?

 

I used "Hot Lava" (color # is 4r8 automotive paint and catylized clear coat. Matches the outside exactly. No Duplicolor for me...

Most any paint shop will put automotive paint in an aerosol can for you if you ask, or you can order on-line. The same prep work / curing times apply to spray gun / aerosol can spray jobs.

 

thanks! I want to put that color in my 3.0 rs i love the green and orange mix

 

i have an envy green as well, and when they are parked next to each other it looks awesome!!!
makes me want skittles!

I used this site to get the paint, and can vouch for their color match if you give them the paint #. I believe that they have envy green listed on their site under 2006 / Scion / xb if not, let me know and i'll get you the paint # to give them, or any other paint shop.

http://www.expresspaint.com/

 

dude i am so jealous I want the 1.0 RS so bad too but uh i would prolly want the Hot Lava number (big TMNT fan of Michelangelo). And I was wondering if you think an air brush might just work too? idk really how to approach HOW to paint this. And how to disassemble my dash and stuff I have been looking around on DYI but I cant find anything....and yea did I mention I was jealous? lol

 

hot lava paint # is 4r8

its really easy to paint with an aerosol can, once you disassemble everything, and clean everything..
you could airbrush too, but you would have to get the paint from a paint shop, and thin it yourself. i like automotive paint in an aerosol can for small jobs, just prime, prime, paint, paint, paint, paint, clear, clear, clear, clear, clear, clear... let cure a couple days and re-install.
all the trim peices come out really easy besides the ones on the steering wheel. you have to remove the airbag assembly, and tape over the airbag to paint the 2 silver trims on the sides.. they "will" come out, but you have to melt them back in - easier to remove the air bag, and tape over it..
i'll PM you my method.
once you pull the door pannels off, the window button trims pop right up and out, switched pop out the back from underneath. For the dash console, pull the 3 hvac ***** off and remove 2 screws behind. then pull out console from the bottom up, and unplug 3 harnesses behind. its that easy.

 

Box_Boy - PM Sent

 

that looks pretty damn awesome

 

Funny, we just did this mod last week in the XA with bright orange.

 

Where is the closest, most convenient place to get power for these lights so they go with the light switch on the steering column?

Did you put down in the vents for the wires to come out of?

 

we put deep inside the vents with wires coming out a hole in the tube then sealed with shoe goo but ran wires to a seperate switch since it's illegal to run that kinda interior lighting while driving here in Florida.

 

i wired up to the illumination switch that i already had for the under dash / under seat lights, so i can cut them off if i want, or select only the seat lighting, cup holders, or cup holders and vents. you can tap the "dimmer" power so that the dash dimmer can be in use, but i prefer to have a seperate switch for more controll.