Additional interior lights

[austria3]

Every time something (keys, sun glasses,…) dropped to the floor of my car at night I had to use my cell phone flash light to find it. So I came up with the idea of adding additional interior lights to my centre console.
This is what the finished project looks like




After a bit of research I bought two Hella type 2JA 002 931-031 lights, because they are switchable like the original dome lights, very cheap and easily available.
Because they are quite big, and space is limited it was a bit tricky to find the right place.




As you can see on the picture above my cover had some additional holes from one the pre owner’s phone or whatever. I filled these holes and the big one on top of the cover and painted the whole cover with a structure paint (plastic colour spray for automotive use) which came out pretty close to the original look.



I also had to cut into the inner structure of the console, this part is covered by the panel that holds the two buttons of the A/C.



The electrical part was a bit difficult as I wanted the lights to get on/off with the other interior lights (door contact switches) and I also wanted a light delay switch and it all should fit into the original wiring loom. This is what I came up with (electric diagram).

start by following the wire of the luggage compartment light to the region where the green arrow points, there you will find the cable connectors of the original interior lights and the the wire coming from the door contact switch.


I used the door switch to activate the standard 4 pin relay for automotive use and used a light delay switch ('inter light delay YF703')



And here I found some space for the relays, mounted to a half moon shaped piece of plastic, held in place by its one weight.

[shadowjack1]

Very neat. Thanks

[86 911 Targa]

Well done, and a great idea.

Here's another for those who have the 3.2 and earlier cars
equipped with the rear seat delete option.


^^^^^
Installed these LED strips & push button switches prior to
installing the Rear seat delete on our M/Y 86.


^^^^^
The power source wiring is routed from the rear fuse panel
through a 5A fuse, through the rear window defogger
wiring grommet located under the parcel shelf (Driver's side).


^^^^^
Button on/off switch location.

Best,

Gerry

[4flyboy]

Thanks Stefan,

Something that's been rolling around in my head forever.....neat job.

[86 911 Targa]

pm sent.

Requesting additional information.

Best,

Gerry

[austria3]

I updated and translated the electric diagram in my post above...

[austria3]

A quick update on this project of mine. Over the past years I had to access the switches on the center console a few times (CR AC change over form push button to pull switch) or had to remove (temporary) the center console entirely (pedal cluster overhaul) and found my solution to cut holes for the additional light into the inner housing of the console not very helpful as I always had to disconnect and remove the whole light assembly. At first I didn’t want to but there is no other way round - I had to shorten the inner housing too.


Then I printed a new back wall and had to shorten the holder of the switches accordingly. The ipod still works as my MP3 storage.

Everything back together:


One other thing that puzzled me was the lack of cover for the lights on the backside of the light housing. I got more light inside the center console housing than on the outside because of this. So once again I set my 3d-printer up to work, covered the inside of the cover with a piece of a first-aid planked to protect it from the extreme heat of the light.



the rear cover of the center console now can be lifted off without having to remove the lights:

[PeteKz]

Re the center console housing lights: That was the hard way to do it. There are drop-in LED "bulbs" that only emit light from one side. Just rotate the light so that it emits in the outward direction. I did that with the overhead courtesy lights too. Much better light than the original incandescent bulbs.

[Qtrfoil]

Austria3, fantastic work! How did you fill the holes? My '87 was originally purchased in Beverly Hills, presumably by a movie guy, and also has holes suggesting a car phone of the day. I keep thinking about filling the holes, though I also think about finding a period phone. Just curious.

[austria3]

Originally Posted by PeteKz

drop-in LED "bulbs"

Back at the time I made this modification I couldn't find lights in "warm white". Seams to be easier nowadays. Will give them a try. Curious how long the lights will stay on after the doors are closed.

Originally Posted by Qtrfoil

How did you fill the holes?

To fill the holes and paint the whole plastic cover I used products designed for these kind of repairs (smart repair). You may find a company locally who does this kind of repairs.

[PeteKz]

"Back at the time I made this modification I couldn't find lights in "warm white". Seams to be easier nowadays. Will give them a try. Curious how long the lights will stay on after the doors are closed."

In my 1973, it's a simple on off switch. If you have a car with a light time delay, I have no idea.

[austria3]

Somehow all the pictures I linked to my post disappeared. Because I can not edit my original post I have to quote myself

Originally Posted by austria3

Every time something (keys, sun glasses,…) dropped to the floor of my car at night I had to use my cell phone flash light to find it. So I came up with the idea of adding additional interior lights to my centre console.
This is what the finished project looks like




After a bit of research I bought two Hella type 2JA 002 931-031 lights, because they are switchable like the original dome lights, very cheap and easily available.
Because they are quite big, and space is limited it was a bit tricky to find the right place.




As you can see on the picture above my cover had some additional holes from one the pre owner’s phone or whatever. I filled these holes and the big one on top of the cover and painted the whole cover with a structure paint (plastic colour spray for automotive use) which came out pretty close to the original look.



I also had to cut into the inner structure of the console, this part is covered by the panel that holds the two buttons of the A/C.



The electrical part was a bit difficult as I wanted the lights to get on/off with the other interior lights (door contact switches) and I also wanted a light delay switch and it all should fit into the original wiring loom. This is what I came up with (electric diagram).

start by following the wire of the luggage compartment light to the region where the green arrow points, there you will find the cable connectors of the original interior lights and the the wire coming from the door contact switch.


I used the door switch to activate the standard 4 pin relay for automotive use and used a light delay switch ('inter light delay YF703')



And here I found some space for the relays, mounted to a half moon shaped piece of plastic, held in place by its one weight.

[austria3]

and the second part

Originally Posted by austria3

A quick update on this project of mine. Over the past years I had to access the switches on the center console a few times (CR AC change over form push button to pull switch) or had to remove (temporary) the center console entirely (pedal cluster overhaul) and found my solution to cut holes for the additional light into the inner housing of the console not very helpful as I always had to disconnect and remove the whole light assembly. At first I didn’t want to but there is no other way round - I had to shorten the inner housing too.


Then I printed a new back wall and had to shorten the holder of the switches accordingly. The ipod still works as my MP3 storage.

Everything back together:


One other thing that puzzled me was the lack of cover for the lights on the backside of the light housing. I got more light inside the center console housing than on the outside because of this. So once again I set my 3d-printer up to work, covered the inside of the cover with a piece of a first-aid planked to protect it from the extreme heat of the light.



the rear cover of the center console now can be lifted off without having to remove the lights:

[austria3]

Originally Posted by PeteKz

In my 1973, it's a simple on off switch. If you have a car with a light time delay, I have no idea.

Mine didn't come that way. I did add a interior light delay kit to the circus - see my diagramm above. I even sent 86 911 Targa one of these kits because he couldn't find one locally.