Writeup with pictures for the LED Cupholder Mod

I just did a search for the lighted cupholder mod on this forum and while theres a couple pictures, there was no writeup on here. Here is my writeup I just copied from TN. Hope this helps some of you guys who were unsure of yourselves, its a very easy mod, super cheap, and it works with the stock dimmer circuit. Good luck!

Here it is:


Alright, so I just completed a 4 dollar modification to light up the cup holders. I took a few minutes and wrote it out, I know its been done before, but I don't see it stickied in the DIY's. Hopefully this can help others out, not looking to discredit those who first came up with this mod though. I've been wanting to do this for awhile, since there is absolutely no lighting around the center console. I hate trying to find the cupholders at night. I only did two for the time being, because the local Radio Shack only had two of the LED's I needed. The LED's I used are cheap, pre-wired for 12V application, and are not overpowering like some versions of this modification I've seen. I didn't want them so be so bright that it gets annoying. These LED's are nearly perfect for the job and they match the interior lighting fairly well. They are built with a washer and nut on the backside to attach through a drilled hole. Heres the writeup:


Parts needed:

(2) 12V Orange LED's from Radio Shack
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062570

Some spare wire. You will only need about 20 inches. I used 18 guage since it was easy to come by at my work.

4 crimp splices (although any sort of splice could be used) Be sure to choose the right size to match your wire guage.

4 pieces of heat shrink (to cover and insulate the splices)

Tools Needed:

A drill and drill index

Crimping tool

Wire strippers

A heat gun, OR a lighter will do for heat shrink

Wire cutters (Dykes)
​

How to install:

The center cupholders are very easily popped out. I just gripped it with my fingers and it popped right out. Now take your cupholders (clean them if you had to, I certainly did!) to your workbench and drill two holes in the aft side. I put mine just outward of the ridges for the center divider. By doing this, you assure the light is indirect, and not distracting your driving. Be sure to choose your drill bit size carefully, start with one thats surely smaller than the LEDs. I say this because I don't remember what size I used. I think it was 5/32 though.

Next up, insert your LED's through the holes you drilled. Pretty simple.

WHEN CRIMPING YOUR SPLICES, BE SURE NOT TO FORGET TO PUT YOUR HEAT SHRINK ON THE WIRES BEFORE YOU CRIMP

Now splice the two red leads (one from each LED) together with your lead wire that you bought for this mod. You will need about a foot of lead wire, there might be extra when you're done, but you can always cut to fit.

Next, do the same splicing for your two black leads. Now you should essentially have only two wires coming from your LED's. You have sucessfully wired them in parallel.

Okay, so here comes the fun part. You may be hesitant to start pulling apart your center console, but believe me, it was REALLY easy. Unscrew your shift knob and set it aside. Your shift console is elevated from the rest of the console. You can remove it by pushing back from the front, this will free the front tabs and you can lift it up. The dust cover will probably come with it.

You'll see the rest of the beast underneath now. You can remove the lighted cover (where your P N D 3 2 1 is) by lifting each of the 4 tabs on its side. It will expose the little light that helps you see the letters. This is what we will tap our power for the LEDs from.

Take that little orange light bulb out by twisting it 90 degrees clockwise. This allows you a little room to work with the wires. Pick a spot along that wire and dyke it, making sure you leave yourself room to work and splice into it.

Heres where the tricky part is. You will need your multimeter. Strip the wires you just cut to expose the conductor. You're going to test to see which side is ground and which side is 12V. Make sure your exposed wires are not touching each other, or any metal objects. Now turn your ignition on. Using the VDC setting on your meter, test each wire going to a ground point. Find the 12V side and mark it with a sharpie marker. Turn your key off.

Now, get the rest of your splices, and splice the 12V lead, one wire from the light bulb (either one), and your RED wire from your LEDs all together. The RED WIRE MUST GO TO 12V or the LED's will not work.

Do the same with the rest of the wires, splicing the black wire from the LED's in with the other two wires from the light bulb.

Be sure to tuck your wires away from any of the shift linkages, I tucked them away under the cupholder itself. Turn your key back on and test them out. If all went well you should see them light up!

Assuming everything went well... reassemble everything you took apart in reverse order, it should be very easy to do.

Sit back, find your favorite bottle of water, put it in the cupholders and smile. You just created a bit of luxury that Toyota never cared to give us!

 

Can you just copy and post it here??? My PC crashes when I open TN...

THX

 

There ya go, was easier than I thought! haha I hosted the pics off site so it was a simple quick copy and paste

 

thx alot!! Yea.....you can copy a whole webpage and paste it if u want...LOL

 

Good job on this btw, i would have used this way on mine but i decided to put it on a switch instead.

 

I like this idea but I have a manual tranny. Anyone done any led's with the manual transmission and different cup holders?

 

You can use any (switched) source of power for these lights... just find one and go. They're 12V ready. If you want them on the dimmer though, you'll probably have to tap into the Climate Controls connector. I can look that up. Give me a few.

Alright, I can't get the schematic for the climate controls, however the radio has a dimmer line into it, it depends on your system though, it varies if you have a JBL or not. Consult the tech manuals located in this forum.

 

Thanks for checking into it. I will look into it further when I get a chance. It sure would be nice to be able to see the cup holders at night!

 

Anyone done this with a Gen 1?

 

Good idea. works good. i have it wired to my tail lights but i also added a switch to the circuit so i could turn it off if i want.

 

If you want to tap into the climate controls, you can use the green and green with white stripe wires (green is the power). These work off the dimmer switch. This is what we're using for the "plug n play" illuminated 4WD selector that you can buy on ebay and just install (linked below).

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=336457

 

Ok, i have a 3w on/off switch... would that work for this or no?

 

Which wire is it that is the 12v and which is the ground? I don't have a meter to read these wires so could you possible be able to tell me?

 

I cant see any pictures, where are they???

 

Sorry folks, links to photos died, Don't know if I have them anymore. I will look.

 

Sorry, I did not see the request till today.

 

I appreciate the help, but if you didn't do my mod, please dont post your pics in this thread, it will only confuse those who are building my version. Please remove if you don't mind.

 

I love this mod and I already bought my Amber LED's from Radio Shack. Found some 18 gauge wire from Home Depot as well. Still need to find the splices and heat shrink pieces. Which method is going to be easier for someone who really doesn't have much experience with stuff like this? I like the original idea about getting power from the P R N D 2 1 light, but then I thought about putting it on a switch and getting power from the climate control area. Which would be easier to do? On a switch allows me to turn it off. I guess I'm torn on what makes more sense.

Also...is the aft side of the cup holders the best place to put these lights? Can you still take out the cup holders to clean them if you install the lights.

If anyone has any insight on my question, that would be great.

thanks!

 

I only put them in my front cupholders, and those have never really come out since the install. If you put long enough wire, you could pop them out with some quick disconnects, but I wouldn't be washing them or anything with those lights, they're not waterproof.

As for placement, I believe aft side is the best because you will not see the direct light, i.e. distracting. Its nothing more than accent lighting.

As for getting power from climate control area, it would make no difference, that circuit is also on the dimmer switch. Only thing is theres a multitude of wires there to figure out which is which. The drive indicator lights are simple.

Don't worry, even without the pictures, I believe my writeup should be 'idiot' proof, no pun intended if you come back here with questions

 

I went with Oznium Blue 5 volt and resistors to match my instrument panel.