how too AMBIENT LIGHT AROUND THE GEAR GATOR

[tucpal]

This is a how to for the ambient LED light
that goes around the Gear Gator using the Factory LED.

first step........

Is to Remove the Stereo Surround trim
for removal follow this.

How-to remove the head unit



When you have the Trim off
the next Step is to Remove the Gear knob and Gator
pull back the Gator and you will see a Blue Clip.



Push the Black Plastic Clips together
and Pull the Blue Clip up to Remove the Gear Gator.



First way to try.....

If you are really in luck you may Already have the Connector
needed There already and it will be just Taped up on the Loom
look Down to your Right Hand Side and you will see this Connector
if you have the small Connector Pictured here
then you just need to Plug the LED Light in to that Connector.  



But if you do Not or it does not work
Then you need to add Power and Ground
from the Ambient Light Circuit for this to work
so this is the Factory Led Light.

LED INFO..........

There are Two Different Types see Picture below
they have Different Connectors one for the EPB
and the Bigger Connector for the car with Manuel Hand Brake.

Here is a list of the part numbers and also options.

For no 16
13318427 LAMP, ASSY., FRONT CONSOLE (EXCEPT CENTRE CONSOLE ARMREST)

For no 17
13306445 LAMP, ASSY., FRONT CONSOLE (FOR CENTRE CONSOLE ARMREST, POC DBU) (FOR MANUAL PARK BRAKE)
13318427 LAMP, ASSY., FRONT CONSOLE (FOR CENTRE CONSOLE ARMREST, POC DBU) (FOR MANUAL PARK BRAKE)
13306445 LAMP, ASSY., FRONT CONSOLE (FOR CENTRE CONSOLE ARMREST, POC DBU) (FOR ELECTRIC PARK BRAKE)



this was the spare LED light that i had with the EBP
from my old interior.  



this is were it sits and clips into the center console.



SECOND WAY.....

If you have not got the small loom
like the one in the above picture
that goes from the LED too the bigger connector
if you undo the Big Connector in the Picture above
and look at the Pins in the connector on the Side that Goes to the Dash
and see if it has two pins in this Position in the picture bellow  
The Black and White wire.



Do not Cut this Connector like the Above Picture This was a Scarp Connector

White is positive and black is ground
check that the pins are live and working
cut the little connector off the LED
and push the wires from the LED into the white and black pins
on the connector and turn the ignition on and headlight switch on
and see if the LED lights up if it does
then you just need to add two wires from the LED
to the black and white wires and splice them in.



................................................................

If The above Two Ways have worked you will now have the LED
working around the Gear Gator if not try the next option.

tapping in to headlight switch......

you can Tap into the Ambient light Circuit
and get Power from the Headlight Switch
but i have been told this does not work on the GTC.



Pull the Switch out by Hand.



Then undo the Connector from the Headlight Switch.



You will need some extra 5 amp wire too Splice the Two Wires
from the LED in the gear gator to the Headlight Connector
one wire goes to the Black wire at the TOP of the Connector (Ground position 6.)
and one Wire goes to the Yellow wire at the bottom of the Connector (Positive position 7).



Note....

(There are Two Yellow wires on this Connector
so you need to get the right one at the bottom)
if you push the wires into the connector at the front
to check the LED works it will not light up this is normal
and the LED will not work till the headlight switch
has been plugged back in and turned on.

After you have Spliced into the Headlight switch
run the wires to the Gear gator LED  
Remove the side Trim from the Center Console
and pull out the Storage Tray
and connect the (Positive to the Red wire on the LED)
and the (Ground to the white wire on the LED).
I have just Pushed the Wires in to show you it Works
you need to cut the small Connector off the LED and splice the wires Together.









RESULTS..........  

You now have the LED Working on the Ambient Light Circuit.

The LED will now Light up when you Open the Door and then Fade out
Then come back on when you Turn the Headlight Switch on
and go off when you Turn the Headlight Switch off
and come on again when you Open the Door and Fade out when the car is Locked.



Storage tray LED.......

You can also wire an SMD Inside of the Storage Tray from the Headlight Switch
i used a LED from the Door card lights as i had one lying around
The Inside of the Tray will Light up when the headlights are turned on
you just need to Remove the Trim Surround and take the Tray out
and make a small Hole for the SMD to Shine the Light through.















As with all electrical how to,s we except no responsibility for any issues
and are carried out at your own risk. if the how to is follow correctly you will have no issues.
 

[sheppy1]

Hey Mate! me again! Ha. I have a question regarding the first method of wiring the connector up as plugging directly into the look that's already there doesn't seem to work.

You say that you should add a connector for the black and the white and then cut the small connector off the led and join them up to the pins to get power...I'm a bit lost as to what I actually need to do there...can go reword it for me please? I have the larger connector for the manual model too.

Thanks

[tucpal]

just cut the connector off the LED
and take the power and ground from the headlight switch
as said in the how to

[Rusty2009]

Do have this connector in the Car?



I mean the small black one by Tucpal's hand.

[sheppy1]

Do have this connector in the Car?



I mean the small black one by Tucpal's hand.

No don't have that, only the big connecter. Know what I'm doing now anyway will cut the big connector off the led, attach the speaker wire to those two exposed wires, run them round the back and splice them onto the headlight connector with splice connectors...sound right?

[tucpal]

yes that's correct.

[sheppy1]

yes that's correct

Yeah I will do that thanks. And I definitely cut the two wires from the headlight plug don't I and stick that end into one side of the splice connector and then the two other cables (original cable and led cable) into the other side of the connector? Wanna double check all this before cutting! Ha

[Rusty2009]

Don't cut the orig wires on the headlight just remove the sheaving from them, also stagger the them.

[Rusty2009]

Like so.

[ATTACH]311[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]312[/ATTACH]


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[tucpal]

you dont cut the wires on the headlight you ether splice in to the wires
solder and shrink wrap them together
or use snap connectors like this.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-x-Blue-Self...3cdc9fa3df

the two wires from the LED go to the headlight switch
they then join the correct color wires
i have said in the how to.

[sheppy1]

you dont cut the wires on the headlight you ether splice in to the wires
solder and shrink wrap them together
or use snap connectors like this.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-x-Blue-Self...3cdc9fa3df

the two wires from the LED go to the headlight switch
they then join the correct color wires
i have said in the how to.

Yeah I have those connectors but I need to cut the wires from the headlight switch in order to feed them into that connector don't I

[sheppy1]

Like so.

[ATTACH]311[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]312[/ATTACH]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ahhh im with you now! Thanks for the picture so will that then slot into the splice connector then e.g. Does they just open up and then close down on the cable?

[Rusty2009]

No you do that if your soldering.

For a connector you don't remove the sheaving just put the wire from the switch in the fully open side and the wire your adding on in the end that is capped off then click the connector together.

[sheppy1]

No you do that if your soldering.

For a connector you don't remove the sheaving just put the wire from the switch in the fully open side and the wire your adding on in the end that is capped off then click the connector together.

I know what you mean now, was just having a hard time visualising it! Ha. Thanks for all your help!

[tucpal]

basic splicing but they still need solder to make a good bond
and the installation shrink wrap or electrical tape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jtvi7bGenC4

basic snap connectors scotch locks
but again tape them up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikZZBmvFEho

[sheppy1]

basic splicing but they still need solder to make a good bond
and the installation shrink wrap or electrical tape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jtvi7bGenC4

basic snap connectors scotch locks
but again tape them up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikZZBmvFEho

Thanks for the videos, they will come in use when I do other work. As I say I'm using splice connectors this time (ones posted above by rusty) so won't need to cut into those cables or even strip them will I

[sheppy1]

Hmmmm seems like somethings gone wrong :( I did everything in the tutorial, all worked and led lit up! So then I joined the black from the led to the black already in the headlight connector using the splicing connector and then decided to test again (with the yellow still connected through the front of the cable) and it doesn't work now! I removed the splicing connecter, tried feeding the wires into the connectors manually again and still nothing! Could I have blown a fuse?

[tucpal]

the headlight needs to be turned on for them to work
sometimes the Cambus has a bit of a freak out
just leave the car for 10 min they should come back on
this will reset the cambus

[sheppy1]

the headlight needs to be turned on for them to work
sometimes the Cambus has a bit of a freak out
just leave the car for 10 min they should come back on
this will reset the cambus

Ahhh maybe that's it then, can't think what else could be causing it not to work now..I have the same red and black stereo wire as you do and have the black wire going to the black in the headlight cable and the red going to the yellow, which colours are the red and black then supposed to go too in the led?

[tucpal]

it will be one way or the other on the led

[Rusty2009]

White is earth, could of ran the earth to the chassis.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sheppy1]

So I've spent 4 hours trying to do this; finally got it all wired up and plugged in and it doesn't work! :( think the splice connectors haven't cut into the cables properly

[Rusty2009]

Did you use some pillars on the metal part to get them down nice and tight?

I never have much joy with socthlocks, solder and heat shrink best way.

[sheppy1]

Did you use some pillars on the metal part to get them down nice and tight?

I never have much joy with socthlocks, solder and heat shrink best way.

Yeah I did...even stripped them back a bit first..I'll have to take another look tomorrow won't cause any issues (setting on fire) will it??

[tucpal]

not if they are insulated

[sheppy1]

not if they are insulated

Well they are clamped with the connectors..

[tucpal]

so you are saying they do not come on when you turn the headlight switch on
sounds like you have a bad connection
or you have used the wrong yellow wire
check again in the daylight

[sheppy1]

so you are saying they do not come on when you turn the headlight switch on
sounds like you have a bad connection
or you have used the wrong yellow wire
check again in the daylight

No they don't :( they are definitely connected to the correct wires, I made sure I wrote down the colours and which they should be connected too before I fastened then up with the splice connectors..only thing I can think is that they didn't cut into the wires properly or the ones on the headlight switch came loose when I was plugging that back in again.

Also I wired up the light switch part properly first and then stuck the wires into the led plug and all worked. So then I fed the wire under the dash, snipped the plug off the end of the led and used the splice connectors to connect the wire from the switch to the led wires...and that's when it stopped working...wondering if I could have dislodged something when I was plugging the light switch plug back in under the right hand glove compartment thing

[tucpal]

most likely a bad connection
as they did work when you first plugged the wires into the connector
take the scotch locks back off
and check they have not cut the wires half
i dont use them personally
then try them again in the front of the connector
and check that it works
if so try and splice then together this time

[tucpal]

You have turned the ignition on when testing the Led ?

[sheppy1]

most likely a bad connection
as they did work when you first plugged the wires into the connector
take the scotch locks back off
and check they have not cut the wires half
i dont use them personally
then try them again in the front of the connector
and check that it works
if so try and splice then together this time

Okay I'll do that then when I get chance after work during the week, if I still have problems come Saturday then I'll ask the garage to look at it who are doing my heated lumbar seats. Appreciate all your help and can see why you don't use those connecters! They take up far too much space! I had a hard time connecting the lights connecter back into it's socket because they were taking up loads of space and I think I could have knocked one of the splices loose when doing this.

And yeah I have turned the ignition on when testing them..really annoyed me that I spent so long doing it today and it still doesn't work :(

[sheppy1]

Last question I promise! Ha. Is there an easy way to get that headlight switch compartment out like in the tutorial? I've been doing it via the little glove compartment thing below it but I just have to guess where the cable is so it makes it very hard

[Rusty2009]

Put your hand behind the dash and push it out but that can be awkward.

or pull the rubber of the door slightly where the airbag control in pop that off then pull the switch housing off then push the switch out.

[sheppy1]

Put your hand behind the dash and push it out but that can be awkward.

or pull the rubber of the door slightly where the airbag control in pop that off then pull the switch housing off then push the switch out.

That would just be to get the switch buttons out wouldn't it though? In the tutorial the whole compartment that houses the buttons has been pulled off but I tried that and it seems pretty stuck on there

[Rusty2009]

Method 1 is just for the switch, method 2 is the switch and housing.

If you look carefully at this pic you can see it interlinks with the airbag side trim.



If a part has never been removed before it will be stiff.

[sheppy1]

Hi guys! I got the light working!!! Ha. Turns out it was the splice connectors that weren't cutting into the cables properly! As soon as I took those off and spliced the cables together by hand, it all started to work!

Now my question is that was splicing them together by hand (twisted them and folded them down flat against the plastic casing of the wire itself) and then wrapping each splice in electrical tape, a safe way of doing it? I know soldering would ensure they definitely don't come loose but is the way I've done it going to be safe enough?

[tucpal]

Well glad you got it all working and don't forget to add a picture lol as long as they are well connected and taped with electrical tape you will be ok but as said a bit of solder will make it better

[sheppy1]

Well glad you got it all working and don't forget to add a picture lol as long as they are well connected and taped with electrical tape you will be ok but as said a bit of solder will make it better

That's a relief then! Was worried that wasn't a safe way of doing it...I spliced them like so:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]316[/ATTACH]

And then wrapped the tape around them tightly and ensured no wires poked out. I'll ask the garage to stick a dab of solder on I think when they are doing my seats (if they turn up in time!)

Below are some quick photos after I did the lights while it was still light outside:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]317[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]318[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]319[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]320[/ATTACH]

[sheppy1]

And a couple more:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]321[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]322[/ATTACH]

I noticed that they come on when unlocking the car door (love this) and stay on after the car door is locked again...I stood and watched them for about a minute but they never went off...How long does it take for them to go off again?

[Rusty2009]

Looking good mate, do you know I've never paid attention to how long they stay on for after locking the car.

[tucpal]

are there still on now ??

[sheppy1]

@rusty Glad you like them! Thinking of doing the door lights next may do it at the same time as the door cards if i decide to keep the elite ones i've bought.
[MENTION=2]tucpal[/MENTION] I got bored of standing in the cold and came back in the house, when i next went down about half an hour later they weren't on...

[tucpal]

Ok that's fine but they should go off after a minute.

[sheppy1]

Ok that's fine but they should go off after a minute.

Hmmmm very odd then! I even unlocked the car again, turned the lights to off and then re-locked the car and stood there again and they still remained on...When i get chance this weekend I'll time how long they take to go off and report back

Thanks for all your help too guys!

[tucpal]

You did splice into the bottom yellow wire yes

[sheppy1]

You did splice into the bottom yellow wire yes

I did yeah, bottom (only one anyway) black and then the bottom yellow. Nothing happened when I connected to top yellow anyway, didn't even light up

[sotoskon]

Hi
I have this plug but with only black and white wires.Will the gear stick ambient light work if i take the light and connect its own plug in this plug...I mentioned that there is 12v in this pair of wires
[ATTACH=CONFIG]349[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]350[/ATTACH]

[Rusty2009]

It might work mate depends if the wires are in the plug (car side) I can't see why they wouldn't be.

I'll grab the pin out so you can check

[Rusty2009]

Check you have Pin 7 on the plug in the car mate

[sotoskon]

This is my plug (pin 10 and pin 9).
[ATTACH=CONFIG]353[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]354[/ATTACH]