Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Aesthetics HOW-TO: Install LED's in Door Handles. *PICS*

HOW TO: Install LED���?�s in Door Handles

Car Model Used: 1996 Tour LX
Tools Needed:

• 4 5mm LEDs (your choice of color)
• 4 Resistors (560 ohm, 1/4w)
• 18-20g wire (+ and -)
• Soldering Iron and Solder
• Heat shrink Tubing or Electrical Tape
• Silicon or Similar Product (Optional)
• Star Screwdriver
• Utility Knife
• Wire-strippers / Cutters
• Dremel Drill with cutting wheel (or something to cut plastic with)
• Heat Source (blow dryer / heat gun) (Optional)
• Digital Volt Meter (Optional)

Estimated Time: 20-45 minutes per door
Estimated Cost: $10.00

Introduction
This mod isn���?�t that difficult, but it does take some time to get the first one done and the others follow quite fast. When I first did this, I had a hell of a time trying to remove the door panels, and that delayed me quite a lot. I will include instructions, and pictures for everyone to make it easier.

Preparation
In order to prepare with the installation, you are going to want to purchase or acquire the items you need. I would recommend getting a tube of silicon, as it can be used for many applications, and is useful in this installation.

Step 1: Preparing the LED���?�s
Prepare your work area, and heat up your soldering iron. You are going to want to get your LEDs (Picture), resistors (Picture), and colored wire (Picture) ready. Strip away about �?¼â�?� off of each end of the wires using a utility knife, or wire strippers. (Picture)The first thing you should do is determine which post on the LED is the positive one (Picture). The positive post is the one that is slightly longer. Start by soldering the red wire to one end of the resistor. Then, solder the other end of the resistor to the longer positive post of the LED, and the negative wire to the negative post (shorter one) of the LED (Picture). Cover the connections with heat shrink tubing or electrical tape (Picture). Repeat this process with the other 3 LEDâ�?��?�s (Picture).

Step 2: Removing the Door Panels
It���?�s a good idea to do this one door at a time, and keep track of which screws come out of which hole. There are a total of 10 (I think) screws to be removed in order to remove the door panel. The location of these screws is as follows.

• Along the outside of the door panel there are 2 by the latch (Picture), 2 underneath (Picture), and 1 near the hinge (Picture).
• Inside the door handle, remove the round plastic cover, and remove the screw behind (Picture).
• By the rear view mirror, remove the small round cover, and the screw behind it (Picture). Remove the triangle plastic piece as well.
• There is a screw near the storage compartment on the door (Picture).
• There are 2 screws in the door bar. You need to remove the plastic cover with a kitchen knife or similar to get at them (Picture). After that, pull the entire bar out.

Now that we have all of the screws out, we need to remove the door lock and window panel off of the door. To do this, you need to gently pry the panel back, keeping in mind that it needs to clear the door handle, and there is a small clipping piece that holds it together by the window buttons. After you pull this panel out, disconnect the wire clusters for the power locks and windows (Picture). Now, we need to remove the actual panel. To do this, simply pull back near the bottom, and gently push up (some force may be required) to clear the weather stripping be the window. And voila, you should see some dusty black foam, and your speaker (Picture).

Step 3: Removing the Handle Housing
This is where it might get a little confusing for some people. What we need to do first, is remove 2 more screws from the door handle housing which are easy to find if you look behind the handle. Pull our the housing slightly, and pull out the wires attached to the top of the housing (which is the green bulb) (Picture). Next, you are going to want to peel back that foam covering the door. To do so, simple take your utility knife, and cut the sticky adhesive along the top, so you have some access to the area (Picture).
Leave the foam for now, as we are going to modify the door handle housing to fit the new LEDs. To do so, take your Dremel Drill (Picture) (or whatever you plan to use to cut the plastic), and cut away the housing to the green light that you removed. As shown in the next picture, it doesn���?�t need to be a very neat job. (Picture). Next, switch to a 5mm drill bit, and drill a hole in the middle of the clear plastic insert (the one underneath the housing we just sawed off). Leave that for now, and move on to the next step.

Step 4: Installing the LED
First of all, I am sorry about the lack of pictures from this section. I will describe it the best I can. We are going to connect the LED up. I find it always a good idea to test the LEDs before you install them on a 12v source, as it is very frustrating to have to rip everything apart (especially after you soldered it in). After you know your LEDs and resistors work, you are going to take the green bulb attached to the wires and snip the bulb off (as close to the bulb as you can). Using the volt meter, turn your headlights on, and test to see which wire is positive and negative (it should be obvious by light and dark colors). Take the positive end of the LED lead, and solder it to the positive wire where the green bulb used to be attached. Do the same for the negative lead. Turn your lights on again, and test to see that the bulb lights up. (Don���?�t forget to put the heat shrink on the wires BEFORE you solder them).
Next, insert the LED into the 5mm hole that you drilled in the clear plastic in step 3. Use your silicon and goop it around the LED and hold, ensuring a snug fit. You can lace electric tape over the silicon so it doesn���?�t get all over the place when you put the housing back. Next, put the door handle housing back in the slot, and screw the 2 screws back in. Using a heat gun, or blow dryer, heat up the black adhesive on the foam, and re-stick it to the door panel. Replace the door siding using the steps from step 2 (reversed). Don���?�t forget to reconnect and clips or wires from the power windows and locks. Test it out, and your done! Repeat for the other three doors, and you have a killer mod, that adds som character to your car.

Here are some pictures (sorry for bad night shots) of the finished product.
(Picture)
(Picture)

I hope this HOW-TO helps! Let me know how your installation turns out, and post some pictures. Cheers! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. I know that this works on Post 97���?�s, but the casing is a little bit different. Same general steps, I believe.

phlop

this is a very good How-To, i'll be sure to use this when i get my LED's...

Thank you very much! I am writing HOW-TO's for all the mods I have done to my car... I hope to get more online soon.

Cool! Now do all of the un/lock and window switches with LED's... It's a very nice touch...

phlop, you are the freakin man!! I should be doin mine this weekend, except mine will be in the switches and what not instead.

Phlop: props on the great and detailed how-to!

HOWEVER I believe that some of the efforts here were excessive. I got the following guide-thru from Llane (Auitour) who been specializing on them LEDs install for ages:

"Just remove the plastic gaurd, this will give room to get to the base of the switch, then push it out of the door handle piece, and press release lever, and then pop new switch on."

I do not understand why u gotta remove the door panels. Moreover, in your own pic u show that the door handle guard could be successfully removed with the door panel on.

Looks nice. You should post it in the suggestion box and have it become a sticky.

Who do I talk to about submitting my HOW-TO's to become stiky on the howto pages? I am writing a ton of them right now, trying to be informative and detailed. I want everyone to have access to these how-tos for longer... support the modding community.