power source

[robcarync]

yo guys whats up...as some of you may know, i have done the 'relocated lighter mod' made famous by, i think, l84thsky.

i got a cool little compartment where the ash tray used to be, and all rigged up with my iPod cradle and everything. only problem is that compartment is really dark at night and its hard to see and grab things in it without fumbling around.

so i will get to the point. i decided to do a super great pimp my ride project and i have a few blue LEDs (well actually one of those LED tubes with a few LEDs in it) and i was going to mount it on the front of the compartment so it can glow blue.

it looks pretty cool and is major balla status indeed, however, i have not hard wired it yet, as it came with a cigarette adapter, which is lame. im going to clip that off and wire to a power source. i was thinking the cig lighter power wire, problem being that it is a constant power source even when the car is off. so i was thinking just mount a switch in one of the blanks and i can flip it on and off whenever.

then i got to thinking...i only need it at night...so i want to wire it so the light only comes on when the head lights turn on. i could route the wire from the console all the way under the steering wheel to the actual switch, but that is out of the way...and i got to thinking...other than the headlights, lot of things light up in the center console when headlights are on (all the LEDs on switches, auto gear selector thingy, HVAC controls etc) so is it possible to wire it to one of the wires in the console area to make it turn on with the rest of the switch LEDs/headlights and stuff, and would that mean the dimmer would also dim the blue LEDs im putting in (not that i care, thatd be kinda cool)

so im assuming its possible...now im just wondering...any idea as to which wire to tap to (power wise...i can ground just about anywhere)

im about to check out mr. bentley in a while...but thought id ask here as i could probably get a definite answer...

[robcarync]

figured out those wiring diagrams...looks like the grey/red wire in the wiring harness is the one to go for!

[bmw318tiChic]

Seems like you figured it out, but a few years ago I installed a light-up shift knob (the numbers lit up) and wired it to somewhere in the center console.. I don't remember where exactly, but I could look it up if you need it..

[L84THSKY]

I mentioned the connector that hides under the arm rest before. Cali-Ti posted a sticky about it. Also, there is a power wire that comes through the dimmer switch of the interior lights. The wire is used by the radio head unit to dim the display. My Blaupunkt uses it. When I adjust the dimmer for my dashboard, my Blaupunkt display dims as well.

Originally Posted by robcarync

figured out those wiring diagrams...looks like the grey/red wire in the wiring harness is the one to go for!

[Calgary98TI]

Isn't the trim ring on the cigarette lighter illuminated and connected to the panel lights? Couldn't you just use that? At least my trim ring is illuminated.

[aceyx]

The lighter mod was originally a Ron Stygar thing. Search for his page and the illuminated shift knob, it'll give you the wire colors for everything.

[robcarync]

yep i got it working guys thanks a lot...i used the lighter illumination ring...because with the reloacted lighter mod, i used a different lighter that didnt have an illumination wire harness so it was just chilling there not plugged up.

i soldered some metal tips to the end of the wires on the light, plugged it into the wiring harness, and it works fine and dims with the rest of the interior lights...

so yeah thanks anyway guys...mr. bentley helped me out on this one.