If you are looking for a quick and easy way to customize the look of your car, installing LED lights might be just what you’re looking for.
It is a relatively easy task that will only take a few hours at most. Installing these lights will give your car an awesome custom glow that will turn heads on the road!
We’ll show you how to install led lights in car exterior with step-by-step instructions, so there’s no guesswork involved. Read on if this sounds like something you want to do!
Summary: Installing LED lights on your car’s exterior can not only enhance its aesthetics but also improve visibility during nighttime driving. The process involves selecting the appropriate LED lights, preparing your vehicle, and wiring the lights correctly. Begin by choosing suitable LED lights, such as headlights, tail lights, or underbody lights, that are compatible with your car’s make and model. Ensure you have the necessary tools and equipment, including a wiring kit, zip ties, a drill, a soldering iron, and heat shrink tubing.
To start the installation, disconnect your car’s battery to prevent any electrical accidents. Determine the location of your desired LED lights and securely mount them using brackets or adhesive, as per the manufacturer’s instructions. Route the wiring from the lights to your vehicle’s electrical system, ensuring you follow the color-coded wiring diagram provided. Connect the wires using a soldering iron and heat shrink tubing for a secure and long-lasting connection.
Finally, reconnect the battery, test the LED lights to ensure proper functionality, and secure any loose wiring using zip ties. Your car’s exterior is now adorned with LED lights, providing improved visibility and style.
Required Tools:
1. Led lights
2. Philips Head Screwdriver
3. Wire cutters/strippers
4. Double-sided tape
5. Soldering iron or solder
6. Drill with drill bits of various sizes
7. Zip Ties
Instructions: How to Install Led Lights in Car Exterior
Step 1: Gather All Materials and Tools Needed
Gather all your tools and materials needed for installation. Prepare your car by removing the body panels you will be working on before beginning this project.
It would be best if you made sure to remove any exhaust system or sound-reducing materials like insulation so that you can follow instructions with ease.
Working with these lights can become very dangerous if misused, so make sure you are familiar with any safety precautions.
Step 2: Prepare the Led Light for Installation
Pre-test your LED light to make sure it is functioning correctly and does not have any issues. Once you know, they work, prepare them for installation with the plastic clips that came with the lights.
Clip them in a place where you would want them to be installed by pressing on the attachment firmly, so it stays in place.
Make sure to place the lights out of any heat sources or direct sunlight since this will cause them to burn out faster. You can buy LED lights in all colors and shapes, so choose something that best suits your taste!
Step 3: Identify Your Car’s Wiring System
Using the wiring diagram available for your car, identify the positive and negative wires you will need to run power from the battery directly to the lights.
Darker colors usually represent the negative wires, while lighter colors usually indicate positive electricity. Use this information, so you are not confused when running your wiring later on and make a mistake!
Step 4: Prepare Wires for Installation
Once you have identified which wires are positive and negative, prepare them for installation. Use a wire stripper to remove some of the insulation on each wire and expose the bare metal underneath.
Make sure that you keep these wires separate from one another since they will be used to connect your LED lights. Make sure to put on the gloves provided by the LED light manufacturer!
If you are not familiar with this type of work, ask for some help from someone familiar so that they can explain how to install these lights to you.
Step 5: Solder Wires and Run Them Through Body Panels
After preparing your wires, solder them together so you have one long wire that can be run through your car’s body panels.
Make sure to test this new wire out to make sure it is working correctly before proceeding! The next thing to do is use double-sided tape to hold down these wires outside of any expansion cracks or openings in a panel.
You want to keep them held in place, so you know where to run them once the panels have been replaced.
Step 6: Drill Holes in Your Car for Installation
Drill a hole through your car where you would want to place the LED light. Make sure that you are drilling this directly onto the car’s metal since some cars have plastic in these areas.
Use a drill bit that is slightly larger than the size of your led lights, so they fit snugly without moving around when you do this.
You can use a smaller drill bit if you want the lights to have more room to move around, but be careful not to accidentally drill too big of a hole and allow water or moisture into your car!
Step 7: Run Your Wires through the Drilled Holes
Once you have drilled holes for where you would like your LED lights to be installed, run your wires through these holes.
Use the wire strippers again to strip off extra insulation from the cables and leave them bare so that they can easily pass through these holes.
Pass them through one at a time and push down on each wire to ensure it is not caught anywhere along this route!
Step 8: Connect Your Wires to the Led Light
With your wires and lights ready, you can now combine them together. Ensure that all the wiring for each light is connected before you move on to the next step so that no loose strands are hanging around.
Use some electrical tape or hot glue to seal up any gaps where these wires meet with one another.
Connect the positive and negative cables to their appropriate wires on your led lights and make sure that they snap onto the place firmly.
Step 9: Run Power from Your Car Battery Directly to the Lights
Run a wire directly from your car battery or any part of it closest to where you want to install your LED lights.
Make sure you connect the positive and negative wires to their correct places, so they work with no issues. This wire should be thick enough to have a lot of power running through it at one time!
Finally, you can run additional wires from your led lights to wherever else that needs some lighting or any other part of your car where you would want more of these lights.
Step 10: Test Your New LED Lights and Enjoy!
With your new led lights in place, you can easily plug them directly into your car battery to test how they work.
Brighten up all the dark areas of your car that need some lighting by turning everything else off and using only this source for power.
These lights are incredibly bright, so make sure you can handle the brightness without any problems before attempting to use them in your car. Once you have confirmed that everything is safe, now you can enjoy your new LED lights!
Some Precautions and Warnings
1. Make sure that the lights you are using have an adequate current rating. Excessive current can cause damage to your car’s electrical system.
The LED strip circuit boards need to be connected with a thin wire, not a thick wire. It is best if you use a proper traceable 4D thermal melting solder.
2. Do not use copper wires or aluminium wires to connect the LED circuit boards. They will cause too much current to flow into your LEDs and damage them.
3. Make sure you know how to use electrical devices before you know how to install led lights in car exterior.
The temperatures of the strips may reach up to 70°C, which is under normal operating conditions. If you have children, make sure they do not get into the car with led strips on.
4. To avoid causing damage to your vehicle, make sure that you understand how to install led lights in the car exterior before starting this project yourself.
You will need special tools for installing led lights in the car exterior and electrical experience if something goes wrong with the project.
5. Always keep the physical condition and appearance of your car in mind. Even if you are a keen driver, accidents can happen, so it is important that other drivers can see you properly.
6. Make sure you turn off the car’s engine when installing led lights in the car exterior.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Put Led Lights on the Outside of Your Car?
Led lights are a great way to add some extra flair to your car, and they’re not too expensive to buy. However, there are a few things to keep in mind before you buy them. First, make sure that the led lights you choose are weatherproof. If they get wet, they will likely stop working. Second, ensure that the led lights fit well onto your car. Some brands have specific mounts that you need to buy in addition to the lights themselves. Finally, be sure to turn off the led lights when you’re not using them so that they don’t drain your battery.
Where Do You Wire Led Lights in a Car?
The most common way to wire lights in a car is using an electrical connector, which is a small, compact device that plugs into the cigarette lighter or power outlet in a car and allows you to connect wires to the lights. Connectors come in different shapes and sizes, so it is important to find one that will fit the wires you are using and the outlet in your car.
Once you have your connector, it is easy to connect the wires to the lights. Simply insert the wire into the connector and tighten the screw on the side of the connector. Then, twist the wire around until it is secure, and plug the connector into the outlet in your car. Finally, connect the other end of the wire to the light you want to install, and tighten the screw on the light. You’re all done!
What Happens if You Wire a Led Light Backwards?
If you wire a light backwards, the current will flow through the light instead of being directed away from it. This can cause damage to the light and the wiring, and may even result in a fire. It is important to always follow the correct wiring procedures when installing lights and other electrical appliances, in order to prevent dangerous situations like this one.
Conclusion
When it comes to installing LED lights in your car exterior, you may be wondering what the best type of light is. Many different types can suit any need depending on where and how they’re installed.
For example, if you want brighter nighttime visibility, a strip design might work better than individual LEDs or spots.
This blog post has highlighted some popular options and provides tips for ensuring installation goes as smoothly as possible.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this blog post on how to install led lights in car exterior and found it helpful. If you have questions or want to suggest a topic for future blogs, please comment below.