The $12 Two LED Panel Dome Light Mod

The question of wire nuts came up. Not a bad idea as such.

I got the small light kit for the install today and upon joining the three wires, I used a small piece of shrink tube about 3/8" long in lieu of the wire nut for joining the wires into one connection. Works like a lucky charm.

I will say this; the wire is tiny...as stated in the OP's original post. I used the 24 GA stripper slot and found that instead of trying to strip the full length (~3/4" or a little less...no wire nut used) in one shot, strip about 1/16" - 1/8" at a time. The wire is really delicate when pulling the wire stripper away from the wire.

US $0.02

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The Chinese sure do like to save on copper don’t they. Good advice, were I to do it again today I would have went ahead and soldered the wires and heat shrink over that, though if you twisted good with tight heat shrink that could hold up too. How do you like the two panel dome lighting setup? Every time I get in the truck and those LEDs come on I think what a great mod for only $12!

 

One of my favorite upgrades. The OEM lights were not good for anything except to make me want to spit. I like this. I did the map lights also.

 

Good to know you did the map lights too, not a bad deal to upgrade map lights and a 2 panel dome light for $12. I would have done the same had I not already installed the Fyre Fly LEDs in the map lights and the lighting is adequate there. As it is I’m keeping the two remaining LED panels as spares.

 

Subd' for later!
Thanks!

 

do you have any photos of how this fit into the maps?

 

I do not, although I am an over-achiever with photos, mainly on boat rebuilds. However the cover(s) pop off easily. The OEM bulbs are set deep into the map light mold socket so I used a small strip of painter's tape, doubled up with sticky side in, and wrapped that around the small and recessed bulb(s). Then used a needle nose plier tool to pinch the tape and pull the bulb out. It is a simple socket installation, the new LED bulb the same...a simple socket installation. Easy peasy.

The maps and the dome make the cab look like a different compartment with the new LEDs.

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I did the install today for both the maps and the dome light. Here is my photo dump from the install. It was somewhat of a B**ch to get the LED panels into the maps. You can see I didn't even use the 3M tape and almost contemplated removing it to get it to fit. I had to engage the plastic tab of the cover before inserting the LED panel to get it to sit properly.If I did it again, I would have removed the connectors and shortened the wires from the maps to give it more room to fit. The smallest hole on my wire strippers was the correct size. This is a great $12 mod! Thanks.

 

Awesome job and write-up with pics Sam! A little work but what excellent lighting from here on out, for only $12 bucks my favorite upgrade.