Added Ambient Lighting to my XLT.

[DoubleDee]

I was bummed that my XLT did not have ambient. I must have been reading about a Lariat, and convinced myself I was getting it too. I always thought it was dumb, but my wife's Atlas has it, and I really kind of like it. After reading up on others lighting projects, I came up with what I thought was both easy, cheap, and within my personal capabilities.

I bought the items below. I ran the center cord back and double sided taped the end under the dash below the plug area to shine down on the center console area in front of the shifter etc. The other two I ran up under the dash to either side of the console and adhered up and under to shine down on the footwells. Hid all the wires, and that's that. Works perfectly. I chose to stay with the blue so it blends with the light color on the knobs etc. They turn off with the car as well.

I'm an idiot. If I can do it, so can you.

Amazon.com: Fidioto USB A Male to 2 Female USB Splitter, USB Y Splitter Support Charging and Data Transfer for Printer/USB Keyboard/Flash Drive/Playstation/Laptop/LED Etc : Electronics

Amazon.com: Frienda 4 Pieces Mini USB LED Light, RGB Car LED Interior Lighting DC 5V Smart USB LED Atmosphere Light, Laptop Keyboard Light Home Office Decoration Night Lamp, Adjustable Brightness, 8 Colors : Electronics

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[Your_Cousin_Vinny]

Very nice! thanks for sharing the products you used. I definitely wouldn't have known about something like those. Seems like a very diy-friendly solution. Looks great!

 

[carny2411]

I was bummed that my XLT did not have ambient. I must have been reading about a Lariat, and convinced myself I was getting it too. I always thought it was dumb, but my wife's Atlas has it, and I really kind of like it. After reading up on others lighting projects, I came up with what I thought was both easy, cheap, and within my personal capabilities.

I bought the items below. I ran the center cord back and double sided taped the end under the dash below the plug area to shine down on the center console area in front of the shifter etc. The other two I ran up under the dash to either side of the console and adhered up and under to shine down on the footwells. Hid all the wires, and that's that. Works perfectly. I chose to stay with the blue so it blends with the light color on the knobs etc. They turn off with the car as well.

I'm an idiot. If I can do it, so can you.

Amazon.com: Fidioto USB A Male to 2 Female USB Splitter, USB Y Splitter Support Charging and Data Transfer for Printer/USB Keyboard/Flash Drive/Playstation/Laptop/LED Etc : Electronics

Amazon.com: Frienda 4 Pieces Mini USB LED Light, RGB Car LED Interior Lighting DC 5V Smart USB LED Atmosphere Light, Laptop Keyboard Light Home Office Decoration Night Lamp, Adjustable Brightness, 8 Colors : Electronics

Do they eventually turn off when the truck is turned off?

 

[SlowTime2011]

Great idea, looks like a simple solution.

 

[Redline]

I can't believe those little USB lights shine so bright. I'm not one for DIY lightning, but I could probably handle that.

 

[Biagio]

I was bummed that my XLT did not have ambient. I must have been reading about a Lariat, and convinced myself I was getting it too. I always thought it was dumb, but my wife's Atlas has it, and I really kind of like it. After reading up on others lighting projects, I came up with what I thought was both easy, cheap, and within my personal capabilities.

I bought the items below. I ran the center cord back and double sided taped the end under the dash below the plug area to shine down on the center console area in front of the shifter etc. The other two I ran up under the dash to either side of the console and adhered up and under to shine down on the footwells. Hid all the wires, and that's that. Works perfectly. I chose to stay with the blue so it blends with the light color on the knobs etc. They turn off with the car as well.

I'm an idiot. If I can do it, so can you.

Amazon.com: Fidioto USB A Male to 2 Female USB Splitter, USB Y Splitter Support Charging and Data Transfer for Printer/USB Keyboard/Flash Drive/Playstation/Laptop/LED Etc : Electronics

Amazon.com: Frienda 4 Pieces Mini USB LED Light, RGB Car LED Interior Lighting DC 5V Smart USB LED Atmosphere Light, Laptop Keyboard Light Home Office Decoration Night Lamp, Adjustable Brightness, 8 Colors : Electronics

I was always thinking about doing this but somehow tying it into the interior lighting system so it functions only when you open and close the doors. Can't find any where what fuse is responsible for interior lighting?
Looks great though!

 

[svllcn]

This looks great thanks for sharing. Can you post a picture of how you taped the wires to get to both footwells? The usb splitter you linked seems too short to do the job so I’m curious to see the tape job.

 

[DoubleDee]

This looks great thanks for sharing. Can you post a picture of how you taped the wires to get to both footwells? The usb splitter you linked seems too short to do the job so I’m curious to see the tape job.

I am not near the truck currently, but the splitter I bought you can select the length. I went with 4’. So each cord coming out of the split is 4’. I used 3m double sided foam tape and stuck one right under the center dash shining down on the middle console. The other two I stuck on a hard surface on the center console side of each footwell. All the extra cord I just jammed into any gap or void I could find. Really smooth.

 

[Montana]

Noice.

Dimmable?

Also, it's hilarious how they have to market a USB extension cable.... "Playstation" being a keyword. Oh, china... you are hilarious.

 

[DoubleDee]

I feel like remember them being dimmable but I was happy with the brightness as is. The pic is way brighter than it is in reality.

 

[svllcn]

I am not near the truck currently, but the splitter I bought you can select the length. I went with 4’. So each cord coming out of the split is 4’. I used 3m double sided foam tape and stuck one right under the center dash shining down on the middle console. The other two I stuck on a hard surface on the center console side of each footwell. All the extra cord I just jammed into any gap or void I could find. Really smooth.

I bought the cord you linked and selected 4ft. However the 4ft comes before the split. So the split cords are only about 6 inches long. Can you confirm you posted the correct link above? Thank you.

 

[DoubleDee]

I bought the cord you linked and selected 4ft. However the 4ft comes before the split. So the split cords are only about 6 inches long. Can you confirm you posted the correct link above? Thank you.

Boy oh boy I’m awful sorry, I must have screwed something up. This is the correct one…
RIIEYOCA USB Splitter Y Cable,3 in 1 USB 2.0 A Male to 3 USB Female Jack Data Sync Charging Cable,Multi USB Ports Power Extension Cable Cord for PC/Car/Laptop/U Disk,1M https://a.co/d/4mv1M16

 

[svllcn]

Boy oh boy I’m awful sorry, I must have screwed something up. This is the correct one…
RIIEYOCA USB Splitter Y Cable,3 in 1 USB 2.0 A Male to 3 USB Female Jack Data Sync Charging Cable,Multi USB Ports Power Extension Cable Cord for PC/Car/Laptop/U Disk,1M https://a.co/d/4mv1M16

Apology accepted, and not a problem. Thanks for the prompt reply and for the correct link!

 

[Maarijk]

I was bummed that my XLT did not have ambient. I must have been reading about a Lariat, and convinced myself I was getting it too. I always thought it was dumb, but my wife's Atlas has it, and I really kind of like it. After reading up on others lighting projects, I came up with what I thought was both easy, cheap, and within my personal capabilities.

I bought the items below. I ran the center cord back and double sided taped the end under the dash below the plug area to shine down on the center console area in front of the shifter etc. The other two I ran up under the dash to either side of the console and adhered up and under to shine down on the footwells. Hid all the wires, and that's that. Works perfectly. I chose to stay with the blue so it blends with the light color on the knobs etc. They turn off with the car as well.

I'm an idiot. If I can do it, so can you.

Amazon.com: Fidioto USB A Male to 2 Female USB Splitter, USB Y Splitter Support Charging and Data Transfer for Printer/USB Keyboard/Flash Drive/Playstation/Laptop/LED Etc : Electronics

Amazon.com: Frienda 4 Pieces Mini USB LED Light, RGB Car LED Interior Lighting DC 5V Smart USB LED Atmosphere Light, Laptop Keyboard Light Home Office Decoration Night Lamp, Adjustable Brightness, 8 Colors : Electronics

so will the lights stay on always during the day? cause I only want the lights to be on during night. Or would i just have to unplug it every time. If I want to do different colors would i have to press each light individually or are they synced?

 

[DoubleDee]

so will the lights stay on always during the day? cause I only want the lights to be on during night. Or would i just have to unplug it every time. If I want to do different colors would i have to press each light individually or are they synced?

They are very much separate so set them individually. And yes, they stay on in the day too, but you can’t see them unless it’s dark lol

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