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Stealth Side Marker/Turn Signal DIY

24K views 17 replies 12 participants last post by  insanityhomeless 
#1 ·
INTRODUCTION:
I have always liked the look of side marker lights/turn signal lights lite up on a car at night but did not care much for the look of the Amber lenses on the side of my Black Si during the day so I set out on a mission to figure out a compromise. The result is my “Stealth” Side Marker/Turn Signal light and the following is a DIY on installing them in a 2007 Civic Si Sedan. All other civics should be the same or very similar though.

DISCLAMER:
You and you alone are responsible four your actions, not me, not 8th Gen Civic or anyone else got it! So if you screw your car up don’t come crying to me because I will just laugh at you until you cry and then probably keep laughing and if I get it on camera it WILL end up on you tube!

DECISIONS:
First you must decide weather you want both the Side Marker and Turn Signal Light functions or just one of the them. I will provide the instructions for installing the combo as well as some guidance on installing just one. Also if you are planning on installing LED front turn signal bulbs this is the best time to do so as you can order them from the same place as the bulbs required for this project and you will be cutting into the same wires in the same place as you would when installing the load resister for the front turn signals.

PARTS:
LED: Part Number: CR7090AMB 2 required. $7.95 ea, total: $20.90 after shipping. Super Bright LEDs - Component LEDs
Diode: PN: 276-1103. 1Ah@50V. 4 required. 2 pack $0.99 ea @ radio shack total $2.15 after tax
Resister: PN: 271-1104 33ohm $0.99 @ Radio Shack for a pack of 5, 4 req. total $1.07 after tax
Resister: PN: 271-1117 680ohm $0.99 @ Radio Shack for a pack of 5, 2 req. total $1.07 after tax
Wire. I used about 7’ of 18 gauge speaker wire
Solder.
Heat shrink tubing.
Epoxy or gorilla glue.
Silicone sealant, I used Blue RTV.
Masking Tape.
Duct Tape.

TOOLS:
Multi-Meter, Soldering Iron, 7mm Drill Bit and Power Drill, Wire Cutters, Wire Stripers, Utility Knife #2 Philips Screwdriver and a Jack (I used the one from my trunk). A “Helping Hands” tool to hold wires in place while soldering is also a big help but not required, same with a Dremel Tool.

TIME:
About three to four hours depending on how fast you work.

ASSEMBLY: (Making the wiring harness)



This is the wiring diagram you must follow to make the wiring harness. If you want just Turn Signals than eliminate every thing in the red box, for Side Marker Lights you must also change the resister (Red arrow) to one of about 700 Ohms and than hook your only positive lead to the corresponding positive lead on your car.

Step 1: Decide where you are going to put the LED bulb and measure along the side of the car to the back of your headlights and add about 6” to that measurement than cut four pieces of wire (two positive and two negative leads) to that length plus two more positive leads about 1’ in length.

Step 2: Cut about 1’ off of one end of the positive leads on your long wires and set them aside.

Step 3: Solder 1 33ohm resister to the remaining positive lead.

Step 4: Slide a piece of heat shrink tubing past the resister than solder 2 Diodes to the resister so that the silver bands face the resister. It is very important that both Diodes be oriented properly otherwise electricity will flow the wrong way and could screw up your turn signal or cause your car to explode thus starting world war 3




Step 5: Solder a 680ohm Resister to one of the Diodes. Note: This is for the side marker light function and will eventually be attached to the parking lamp power wire on your car. This resister is required because the parking lamp and turn signal on your car both operate on 12 volts and only achieve different intensities through the use of two different filaments with in the same bulb.

Step 6: Solder a 1’ section of wire to the 680ohm Resister and another 1’ section of wire to the other Diode, cover everything in heat shrink tubing and mark the loose end of each wire so you know which one is which. Note it is best to slide each piece of heat shrink tubing as far as you can past the Diodes, shrink them, than slide first piece of heat shrink tubing you slid down the wire back in step 4 back over the resister and slightly over the first two pieces of heat shrink tubing creating an over lap and shrink it.

Step 7: Take the other end of the wire and solder it to the tabs on the LED’s base being very careful not to create a short between the tabs and the aluminum heat sink/base of the LED. You can check this with your Multi-Meter when done. Also ensure you do not get the polarity reversed otherwise the LED will not illuminate, there is a +/- next to the solder tabs to help prevent this and be sure to work quickly as the heat from the soldering iron can damage the LED. I also covered the positive terminal after soldering with a small piece of electrical tape to prevent it from grounding out on the body panel once installed.



The LED with wires attached.



This is what you should have, sort of. X2

INSTALLATION:

Step 1: Jack up the front of the car.



Step 2: Using your utility knife carefully remove all the plastic fasteners holding the wheel well liner in place and pull the back of it down out of the way or if you prefer remove it all together.



Step 3: Check behind the area where you intend to mount the LED to ensure there is room for the heat sink and that you will not hit any thing with the drill bit when you make the hole.

Step 4: When satisfied with the spot you have chosen cover it with masking tape and take some measurements from at least two fixed points on the car that are identical on the opposite side of the car such as window edges and body panel/door joints. These measurements are to help you put the LED’s in exactly the same spot on both sides so do not use body kit parts such as side skirts as these may not be even. Remember once you have drilled the hole there is no going back so measure twice, grab your wife, husband, girl friend, boy friend, neighbor, dog, cat or who ever and ask them to take a look at it and when the committee is satisfied that every thing is even proceed to the next step.


Step 5: You guessed it! Grab your drill and 7MM bit, say a little prayer to God, Ali, Buda, Ronald McDonald or whoever and drill the hole! I actually used a ¼” bit first than enlarged the hole a little bit at a time with my Dremel Tool until the LED fit in snugly.

Step 6: Glue the LED in place behind the panel so that the metal ring around the base of the LED is flush with the out side surface of the car and cover the back of the LED with Duct Tape. This will keep moisture from getting to the back LED and causing corrosion. Note: If you plan on using JB Weld don't, it is slightly conductive could cause a short across the contacts on the LED.

Step 7: While holding the back of the LED to keep it in place use your finger tip to work Silicone sealant into the seam around the front of the LED. This will keep moisture from getting into the seam and causing corrosion. When done remove the masking tape.

Step 8: Route the wires to the back of your head light and secure them to the inside of the panel with duct tape.

Step 9: Remove the retaining screw that holds the front bumper cover in place and pull the edge of the cover out word releasing it from the car. This will give you much easier access to the back of the headlight and the vehicle wiring harness.


Step 10: Unplug the vehicle’s wiring harness from the back of the turn signal and remove several inches of the plastic wire wrap. You will notice that there are three wires going to the plug, they are ground, parking lamp power and turn signal power. I made a note of what colors were what but I lost it, not that it would have done any one but me any good any way. It seams as though Honda decided to use completely different color wires for 92% of the wiring in my car from every other Civic on the road! Using your Multi-Meter determine what wires are for what and than please let the rest of know!

Step 11: Following the labels you put on the loose ends of your new harness in ASSEMBLY STEP 6 solder the wires to the corresponding wires on the vehicle’s harness and wrap everything up in electrical tape or heat shrink tubing or what ever you like. Note: this is the time to install the load resister if you plan on upgrading your turn signal bulbs to LED’s. One wire from the load resister connects to the ground wire and the other to the turn signal power simulating the load of a incandescent bulb so your turn signals don’t flash like they are on crack!



Step 12: Ops. check time! Turn on your parking lights and you should get a half power glow from the LED and the normal dim glow from the parking lamp, now turn on your turn signal and both lights should alternate between dim and bright. Next turn off your parking lights and confirm that both bulbs are now blinking on and off at normal Turn Signal intensity. If things do not work as planed go back and check every thing and if you still can’t figure it out PM me and I will try to help you figure it out.

Step 13: Make sure you did not leave any tools or FOD (garbage) behind the wheel well and that every thing is secure than close it up, lower the car and repeat on the other side if you haven’t already.

Step 14: Enjoy!

Step 15: Let me know how it goes!

Here is a picture of the side marker light!



Here is a picture of the Turn Signal in action!

 
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#6 ·
Sorry it has taken so long to respond, been busy moving to Illinois. Any way here are a few pictures of my car after the lights where installed. They seem to show up better on cammra than in person and on a lighter colored they would be far less noticable than on my black Si.
 
#15 ·
Sorry to take so long to respond to every one. The good ol USAF has been keeping me pretty busy these days. Any way below you will see what looks like a weird pic of my car dolly, actually is is a close up of the side of my car with the side marker/turn signal being the silver/white dot in the middle (On the reflection of the top of tire) The LED is about 5mm in diameter or a little over half the diameter of a #2 pencil. To answer the question of does it alternate? Yes it runs at about half intensity for the running light function and full intensity when the turn signal bulb is on. Hope that answers every ones questions and again sorry for the delay.


Question for Bigjake: Have you tried it yet? I hope so! it's really cool to see at night!
 
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