How to: LED license plate light swap

[Black Magic]

Thought I'd start a new thread for this in case someone searches for it...

What you'll need:
- philips screw driver
- white LED strip (I got mine from here: http://www.lck-led.com/p97/NEW-12%22...4408f94cc3a0da)
- soap and water
- hot glue gun
- male disconnects
- 10-15 minutes

License plate LED lights

1) Remove the two screws for each license plate light and unplug the harness






2) Take the plastic cover off and remove the rubber surrounding it. Clean the clear plastic in soapy water.








3) Cut your LED strips to the correct size (should be same length as the plastic cover). Test the strips to figure out the positive and negative terminals.






4) Another option (instead of using LED strips is to simply replace the halogen bulb with an LED one. Since LED's are directional unlike halogen bulbs, I decided to use strips instead.




5) Connect male disconnects to the LED strips and plug them into the stock harness.






6) Re-attach the rubber to the plastic cover. I used a hot glue gun to keep the LED strips attached to the clear plastic. Finally, screw your new license plate lights back into your trunk lid.








7) All done!





in case you're wondering, its an Acural EL trunk lid on a Civic.

[pyropunker25]

great!

[Black Magic]

thanks. can a mod please move this to the "how-to" section. I'd appreciate it.

[4bangincivic]

dasa bright!

[yeevaj]

excellent job bro...

[knightxrider1]

very nice work. as usual

[X-aCuTiOnA]

i dont know bout you, but i rather cops not have BETTER ability to read my plates. but that just me. good write up tho

[Black Magic]

Originally Posted by X-aCuTiOnA

i dont know bout you, but i rather cops not have BETTER ability to read my plates. but that just me. good write up tho

Owned, lol. I knew someone was gonna say that too. I just did this because I had a white LED strip laying around.

But around here, you can actually get a ticket if your license plate is hard to read or isn't visible.

[Carfanatic]

Nice!!!

You know you got the same bulbs with leds inside right? Much more easy

[rey rey]

Good job man!

[Kensai]

What is it with you and wires...

Nice writeup!

[Black Magic]

Originally Posted by Carfanatic

Nice!!!

You know you got the same bulbs with leds inside right? Much more easy

Yeah, you're right. And they work fine. I didn't use them because LED's are directional... meaning they will project the light in only one direction. With those LED bulbs that you're referring to, the projected light usually ends up appearing as a oval or circle. I'll try to find a pic. Using a strip allows for a wider projection since there are multiple LED's in a line. Plus, I just had this strip lying around and I wasn't using it.

Originally Posted by Kensai

What is it with you and wires...

Nice writeup!

[jdmem205]

Great job bro

[civicSIcoupe]

good job! i might have to do this myself, looks good

[tbaybucs]

i am a new civic owner so here are a few things i have done to help my car out
1- led tag light off ebay for like 3 bux they fit in the old bulb connector
2- my catalytic converter was bad so i bought a "racing one " lol off ebay for 26 bux
3- had a damaged fender couldnt believe how cheap a new fender was
4-had alarm system installed 199. installed
5-mounted my amp under the rear deck between speakers to keep truck clean
6-trunk floor panel was bad so i replaced it with diamond plate

not much but im just learning..