Interior Lights

So I just got my first couple of pieces to change my interior color scheme to blue. I painted a few things awhile ago but now I got a blue shifter replacement and blue fog light control piece. They look really awesome at night when the lights are on behind them but they're kind of hard to read during the day.

Is there any way I can make the dash / shifter lights stay on all the time, and be controlled by the dimmer like they are at night? Maybe if I could make the light sensor on the outside think that it's dark out all of the time? Not sure how I would do that though.

So I just got my first couple of pieces to change my interior color scheme to blue. I painted a few things awhile ago but now I got a blue shifter replacement and blue fog light control piece. They look really awesome at night when the lights are on behind them but they're kind of hard to read during the day.

Is there any way I can make the dash / shifter lights stay on all the time, and be controlled by the dimmer like they are at night? Maybe if I could make the light sensor on the outside think that it's dark out all of the time? Not sure how I would do that though.

if you want your lights to come on and stay on all the time... just cover over the light sensor which if I recall correctly it's under the defogger vent on the dash. A piece of black electrical tape would do the trick. simpe, effective, cheap and reversible!

It'd be awesome if that's all I had to do. I'll pop off the defogger plate thing and take a look in there tomorrow. Hopefully it makes a difference with the legibility of those pieces.

I was trying to stay away from the black and red scheme because that's what everyone does! Now maybe I know why its so popular. The black and blue look good together but I guess they may not be contrasting enough for the little things like this.

One thing about covering the ALC sensor is your headlights will actualy be on. Not like the DRLs which run at a lower voltage so you might go through more headlights.

How did you change out the light colors, with a silicone gels or overlays ?
Or did you install LEDs ?

I've been meaning to replace some of the bulbs in my SE cluster with blu LEDs. I have my buttons and stuff blu but the Hvac and dash are the last of it, just time consuming.

Been meaning to also just swap out the factory bulbs w/LEDs in the door buttons but I need resistors soldered in first.. :uhoh: Just not enough hours in a day.

I got some overlays for christmas and put those on. What buttons do you have blue xero? I just have the HVAC and speedometer left to make blue. Is there another light somewhere I could change that I'm not thinking of?

I changed the window and lock button lights to blue.
Pulled the red/orange silicone boots off the bulbs and used some blue silicone gels cut down to cover the bulbs.

Plus my dome light(s) are blu LEDs and the lights under the dash that shine on the floor.

They sell dash overlays and Hvac, think they were here.
http://www.customautoaccents.com/

Also be carefull with your defrost vent, they break easliy!!

how did you change out the door lights and where did you get the colored gels and LED's? How difficult is it to install?


That's the site where I got the other overlays. I really want the dash replacement but its $120... I'll probably end up doing it anyways.

The door buttons arent to difficult to change.
See the "interior parts" in this section Appearance-Non-Performance (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=2014), I do have other pics of the buttons if they arent all in the interior parts thread.

I got the gels from the Zone for like $3.
Here is a pic of those.....
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c242/xeroinfinity/Gels.jpg

The LEDs also came from AZ, in sets, $15-20.
I cut a bad cd to fit into the dome light, drilled some holes for the LEDs, then I soldered a jumper wire to the main dome socket for the LEDs ... might have a pic or two of that also.

Basicly on the door buttons....
I removed the red gels on the bulbs(factory red), then I cut one of those blue gels in strips about 1/2" wide.
Then cut the ring in half , then placed it over the bulbs in the buttons.

I'll have to search my photodump for those other pics.
Thier site is realy slow and I have like a gazillion pics and folders. :D

Edit>.
Ok here is another pic I found of those buttons.
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c242/xeroinfinity/AUTOMOBILES/wndwlht1.jpg

Also I did use a very small dab of clear silicone to hold the gel half on top of the bulb, figured it wouldnt fall off that way.

And here is a pic of the lock button(from my GA GT=green)
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c242/xeroinfinity/AUTOMOBILES/lightemiter.jpg

same as the other bulbs, removed the red factory gels, then poped off the top white piece(green in that pic) and since I couldnt find any green gels(actualy couldnt find any at the time) I used a green sharpie and colored it 3-4times, drying between each time. They look awesome too ! :grinyes:

The light emitter on the right was a failed attempt to color them blue with some transperant blu film I had laying around. :rolleyes:

Good Luck

u can do wat i did with my gauges. . .


heres what it looks like during the day
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c83/Jmoney3318/100_1380.jpg

Daytime and on
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c83/Jmoney3318/HPIM0793-1.jpg


on at night...the pics arent so great but i think you get the idea
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c83/Jmoney3318/Image007-1.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c83/Jmoney3318/HPIM0791-1.jpg

So I just got my first couple of pieces to change my interior color scheme to blue. I painted a few things awhile ago but now I got a blue shifter replacement and blue fog light control piece. They look really awesome at night when the lights are on behind them but they're kind of hard to read during the day.

Is there any way I can make the dash / shifter lights stay on all the time, and be controlled by the dimmer like they are at night? Maybe if I could make the light sensor on the outside think that it's dark out all of the time? Not sure how I would do that though.

Like others said the light is on the dash. It is a black little dome thing on the let side. But an even easier solution would be to just manually turn on your headlights.

Which ones are those Jmoney ??

You dont even see your numbers light up ....
I like the blu though.

Yeah syphon1337 I think the 99 isnt able to turn on the headlights during the day, just the DRLs. :rolleyes:

But I thought the dash did light up then too.... just turn up the dimmer maybe . Or is that what you were saying syphon ??

I cant remember how they go, my DRLs and ALC are disabled anyways I can turn them at will. :sly:

Jmoney I really like your gauges. Is that just a replacement face plate with blue needles and the stock red coming through? Where did you get the stuff you used?

I'm definitely going to do those lights xero, you talked me into it. I'm sure I'll have some questions when I actually go to do it though.

I'm gonna take some pictures of what it looks like now this weekend and maybe you guys will have some ideas on what I can do. I don't know if the white face would look good with my whole black/blue color scheme.

Thanks for the replies

Thats cool!
That interior thread explains how to remove and disassemble the buttons pretty well.

But if you need anything just ask!

I think I saw Jmoneys gauge thing somewhere, I think they do just set on top of the factory gauges. I'd rather it be all lit up blu or something, anything besides RED! :banghead:

:lol:

Jmoney I really like your gauges. Is that just a replacement face plate with blue needles and the stock red coming through? Where did you get the stuff you used?





Thanx, glad you like it. Yea that is a replacement white face plate, the needles are stock i just removed them and sanded down the orange part of them on the back and painted them white so the light reflects off of them. they are 4 leds around each needles connected to a dimmer switch i picked up from this website (let me find the link and ill post it). They came with white bulbs for the back but i messed up the 194 bulb socket holders on the back of the gauge itself but i just turn my interior lights all the way down anyway so no light shines through them on the back its just blue needles at night. doesnt bother me cuz i know where my speed limits are. im sure along the road ill get the faceplate that lights up blue im sure that will come out nic ein the cars theme i got going.

Ok I just decided I'm going to have to stick with white and blue for the gauges and HVAC and I think it'll still look good with the rest of the black/blue. I just ordered a speedo gauge and hvac (http://www.customautoaccents.com/products/9903grandamse.html) tonight.

The speedometer is white with a blue glow but the "warning light" surrounding area is going to be black. The hvac is white w/ a blue glow too. I hope this turns out ok! *crosses fingers*

Do you guys know how hard it is to get the needles back on there after its all done? The instructions they give say to look at where the needles are at idle and then put them back there when you're done. How do I put the speedometer needle back in at the right spot.

You should take a good pic of the guages with your car idling.
Then remove the cluster, take another good pic showing the needle possitions.

When you put them back on, do it with the cluster disconnected and match the needles to your pic.
Then when its hooked up make sure they all read the same at idle.

I know its tricky to pull them off, the face plate kit might come with a small "L" shaped tool to help pop them off.
Just dont get crazy with pulling or twisting them, that'll damage the guage . :eek:

Good Luck and Happy Holidays!

Ok I'll give that a shot once it gets here.

Do you think you could get me a little info on how you added lights to your dome light? I just put one of those blue sheaths over my light but it isn't real bright and would like it a little brighter.

I also just changed the door lock lights to blue too. I ended up doing the sharpie thing because the gel covers didn't look real solid in there without rigging it up with some tape or adhesive. We'll see how it looks tonight!

I just remembered when I put that gel cover on the dome light, the whole area started smoking once the bulb heated up. I don't know why it would do that. Any idea and is it safe to keep it there?

I'll dig up the pic for the dome light. I did remove this piece and drilled a hole in each of the two tabs the blubs connect to, soldered a short wire to them(figuring out which is + and -.
Then I cut a CD into a small piece that fit into the socket , drilled the aprropriate holes in the CD for the LEDS.

Yeah the door locks works with coloring the top white piece.
On the window buttons it is tricky to get the gel to set on top and around the edges, thats why I used clear silicone to hold them on(a little tape till they dried).

On the gels smokin, they'll do that a couple times, then it'll get hard and crunchy and wont smoke anymore. You can also put them gels on the bulbs in your mirror, clear lens's pop off.

Ok I found some pics of the dome.

The arrows indicate the retainer tabs that hold the dome to the headliner.
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c242/xeroinfinity/models%20two/Domeremov2.jpg

This one shows how the two rear lightswitches are connected to the main housing. As you can see a couple pieces broke.... (large pic 1024x768)
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c242/xeroinfinity/models%20two/Domedisman2.jpg
You'll notice the red circle thats the switch that changes the domelight from on-off-on w/door open.
You'll also see which is positive and negative.

This doesnt show much... but the two parts that held the factory bulb in, I just used a dremil tool and put a hole in each side(just one tab) then lightly solderd a short wire to connect the LEDS.(which came in a set a 5LEDs but some resistors got broke during installation and I used what was left in the set).
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c242/xeroinfinity/models%20two/DOMEdiag.jpg

This shows how I made the CD piece fit and marked holes for LEDs.
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c242/xeroinfinity/models%20two/domeoops.jpg

This ones a trial fit.... without LEDs
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c242/xeroinfinity/models%20two/together1.jpg

I'll get some pics of it done in the car, it's cold as hell and almost a blizzard here right now. :grinyes:
I've gots some work to do, but I'll post the other pics tonight when I can.


edit>>

Ok I remember now, I could not fit that cd piece in there with all the LEds hooked up.
I cut a rectangle piece 1/2" x 2.5-3" and fit it into the factory bulb holder by prying it apart then squeazing it to hold the unit in place with the Leds, as seen below.(also see that the led holder cracked in the middle :rolleyes:)

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c242/xeroinfinity/models%20two/Dome_done.jpg

My idea was to only use one resistor on the Positive side, then just solder each LED to the next, then ground the last one.
The resistor side of the LEDS has a tendancy to break while craming them into the dome light, just thought you should know that try and carefully fold them. :thumbsup:

Wow my dome looks completely different. This is what mine looks like.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii305/Theessence13/Dome_Straight.jpg

Do you know what kind of bulb that is? It isn't the 212 festoon ones like most of the other ones I've seen. Here's another angle. You can kind of see the bulbs have wires coming out of them that hook around 2 metal brackets in my dome.
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii305/Theessence13/Dome_Back.jpg

Edit:
Just did a little research and the ones I have are 561's instead of 212's like you have. I was looking at LED's from http://www.superbrightleds.com/ but they don't have the 561's. Anyone know of another reputable place for LED's that might have them? I found http://autolumination.com/festoon.htm but I've never heard of them before.

On the lock light situation, the lights aren't bright at all with the sharpie over that white piece. Is there anything else I can do to allow more light through? I scraped off the word "lock" on one of my buttons just to see what would happen. A tiny bit of light comes through if its pitch black outside but otherwise you can barely see that it's lit.

That is different, you have the 2door coupe ??

My LEDs were just a set of 5-6 that I picked up at the Zone (http://www.autozone.com/N,100520/shopping/accessoriesResults.htm), around $15. They are all wired together.
I know I have seen people with a bulb that was an LED but I'm not sure where they got them, and like you said thier not very bright.

You could put way more LEDs in your dome.
Just need some plastic(old cd or cd case) cut it to fit into the dome light housing. Drill the holes for the LEDs, then wire them up. You just need to find the positive and neg. sides in your domelight.

Something I just thought of looking at your gels, they are not even transparent....
Some guys at my shop said that over the summer Advace and Autozone both had those and they are crap!

The ones I have #LT802B are transparent and much brighter!!
Were the one's you picked up the same part # ??

I got a pic of my SE's buttons at night, hard to get a good pic. My window buttons are kinda worn. :)

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c242/xeroinfinity/models%20two/SE_drvr_butt.jpg

My GT is white cause I'm doing green but havnt had time to find something that would work and look good. :banghead:

Wow your lock lights are WAY brighter than mine. Are you sure you didn't do anything other than take off the old orange sleeve and then sharpie over the white piece? I think what I'm going to end up doing is puting a blue LED in there. I did some searching and found a couple of tutorials out there. One at grandamgt.com.

I also just ordered an LED festoon bulb to put in the dome light. The gel sleeve I had was part #LT802B from Autozone which is the same as the one you have. Yours would also be brighter because we have different dome lights all together. I've only got the 1 bulb in there.

The LED's will all be here mid next week and I'll get some before/after pictures and post them :-)

That pic is with the orange gel pulled off and one of those blue gel pieces just stuck on top(like I explained before).

To use the LEDs you just find the grey wire, which is the dimmer power wire, at the button/switch you want to replace.
Cut the grey wire, solder in the proper resistor.
The LED will fit right into the factory bulb socket with a little trimming of the fat bottom edge of the LED.
Then make sure the LED wires are on the correct polarities in the socket.

I think the GAGT site is where I saw where someone had thiers with LEDs.

ps - those LT802B gels may be the same #'s but they are not the same.
The ones I have or more transperant. And my door(dome)light is realy the same, one long bulb , then two map lights for the rear which yours doesnt have.

Huh, that's weird that they'd be different. Maybe they changed the gels or something. Hopefully the LED's will turn out ok so I won't have to worry about it.

I read that you have to join 2 grey wires pre-resistor in order for it to work properly. Is that right? I don't remember exactly what it looked like but I'm not sure if there even were 2 grey ones.

I dont remember connecting any two grey wires.
Thier is 1 grey that goes to each button, thats the dimmer wire. Here is a wire diagram that might help.

http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/vehiclewiring/1/yeard/Pontiac.html