DIY - Adding ambient light(s) to 2023 Maverick XL/XLT for <$10

[EveryDayNick]

Finally got around to installing the foot well lighting! This time I decided to use 2.2k ohm resistors to dim it down a bit more. I wouldn't go higher than that. If you want brighter, go for the 1k ohm. I would stay in the 1-2.5k range. Keep in mind these dim with the gauges.


Placed the driver's side in the same spot as factory.

Placed the passenger side on the fan housing for a bit more of a centered placement compared to the factory spot which is off to the left.

Final results:

(Using night mode, a bit more realistic of what it looks like in person)

On a side note, if someone that has a lariat could take a picture of the light in the door handles that would be great.

I'd also like to add the Corsair illuminated cup holders, so that might be the spring project.

Hey OP - Could I trouble you to drawn up a quick Diagram on how you wired the LED & Resistor? Also, did you tap into the "power" wire in different areas for each LED or is this sharing the same source as the 'center' unit?

Definitely need this 'mod,' and going to order parts and while im really savvy with wiring up/soldering I can visualize the resistor(s) so a diagram to visualize would help!

EDIT - Have a link to the 2.2K Ohm resistors you used? Kinda thinking I might add two more in the cabin below the Front seats for the Rear Passengers?

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[E30andrew]

This looks fantastic OP, thanks for the write up. Will be doing the console ambient light for sure.

 

[Shakesbear]

yeah that is simple but you loose your usb port. You can't plug anything else into it.

That's what this is for

 

[blackb13]

Hey OP - Could I trouble you to drawn up a quick Diagram on how you wired the LED & Resistor? Also, did you tap into the "power" wire in different areas for each LED or is this sharing the same source as the 'center' unit?

Definitely need this 'mod,' and going to order parts and while im really savvy with wiring up/soldering I can visualize the resistor(s) so a diagram to visualize would help!

EDIT - Have a link to the 2.2K Ohm resistors you used? Kinda thinking I might add two more in the cabin below the Front seats for the Rear Passengers?

For the lights in the foot well, I soldered each resistor closer to the LED, for the one in the center console, I placed it closer to where I tapped into the power source, although it really doesn't matter where you put it. They are all run in parallel using the same "feed" located at the back of the USB as noted in the original post.

Unless you want to buy a pack of various resistors, I would just stick with the 1k ohm ones. You can double them up to 2k if it's too bright. You can search microcenter/Amazon for them. I posted a link in the original post for some you could use.

Hope that helps!

 

[EveryDayNick]

For the lights in the foot well, I soldered each resistor closer to the LED, for the one in the center console, I placed it closer to where I tapped into the power source, although it really doesn't matter where you put it. They are all run in parallel using the same "feed" located at the back of the USB as noted in the original post.

Unless you want to buy a pack of various resistors, I would just stick with the 1k ohm ones. You can double them up to 2k if it's too bright. You can search microcenter/Amazon for them. I posted a link in the original post for some you could use.

Hope that helps!

It does. Thanks! Only thing I’m struggling with is visualizing how/where to place the resistor. Goes from the LED + side between the LED and its power source?

 

[blackb13]

It does. Thanks! Only thing I’m struggling with is visualizing how/where to place the resistor. Goes from the LED + side between the LED and its power source?

Exactly. It goes inline with the 12v + source. Pretty much anywhere in between the source to the LED will work.

 

[E30andrew]

I found a nice diagram of where the clips are, but am unsure of how to get this trim piece out. Do you just pull it out? Do you need to interact with the clips? or just pull on them with some force? I poked around a little bit but was hard to get an angle to pull it out. It feels like it wants to go down, but I dont want to break anything with force.

 

[blackb13]

I found a nice diagram of where the clips are, but am unsure of how to get this trim piece out. Do you just pull it out? Do you need to interact with the clips? or just pull on them with some force? I poked around a little bit but was hard to get an angle to pull it out. It feels like it wants to go down, but I dont want to break anything with force.

Where did you get the diagram from? That's really nice!

Start at the clip/corner nearest to the USB and using moderate pressure, press down (towards the shifter/cubby) to create a small opening that will allow you to either insert a pry tool or use your fingers and then allow you to pull it straight out (like shown in the diagram).

 

[E30andrew]

Where did you get the diagram from? That's really nice!

Start at the clip/corner nearest to the USB and using moderate pressure, press down (towards the shifter/cubby) to create a small opening that will allow you to either insert a pry tool or use your fingers and then allow you to pull it straight out (like shown in the diagram).

Sweet, thanks for the info on that - I will give it a try tomorrow and see how it goes. I have the LED all wired up with resistor and heatshrunk, just need to get inside this lid.

The diagram is from the 2022 Maverick service manual. Its ~13,500 pages and has a ton of great info. I think someone either posted it on this forum or the maybe the subreddit; I'll DM you a link for it.

 

[cj99x]

Sweet, thanks for the info on that - I will give it a try tomorrow and see how it goes. I have the LED all wired up with resistor and heatshrunk, just need to get inside this lid.

The diagram is from the 2022 Maverick service manual. Its ~13,500 pages and has a ton of great info. I think someone either posted it on this forum or the maybe the subreddit; I'll DM you a link for it.

Can you DM me the link for the manual?

 

[TN_Oldman]

Thank you for the guide, I used your idea and wire tap locations to add accent lighting today. I did a few things a little different.

To achieve the blue tint I used translucent Duck Brand tape over my led lights. I removed the diffuser before I applied the tape. I put 5 in total, cubby area and all 4 foot wells. I tried to take night pictures to share but the camera lightens it. The lights are not as bright as these images make them appear.

 

[TN_Oldman]

Part 2, night images. The foot wells are just barely lit. These images make it look brighter. I used 2 1K resistors on foot wells and 1 1K on cubby area.

 

[jcgaskil]

thanks for putting in the work! also glad to see the parts at microcenter, gotta love being a short drive away from them

how's the footwell lighting going? i'm about to do all of it at once while the console's popped open. any advice whether to run the led diode and strips in series vs parallel? this'll be my first go at doing anything electrical ever in my life

I see you are using an adafruit led backlight module. Are you seeing any overheating with this light using 12V input? These modules are typically 3.3V used for LED screens and in testing a few notice they get warm at the leads. I assume the 1kOhm resister is adequate to compensate so they remain cool?

 

[CaptKirk]

I see you are using an adafruit led backlight module. Are you seeing any overheating with this light using 12V input? These modules are typically 3.3V used for LED screens and in testing a few notice they get warm at the leads. I assume the 1kOhm resister is adequate to compensate so they remain cool?

Want the math? The fomula used is Ohms Law V=IR solved for R it is V/I=R. Modern Leds (white and blue mostly) typically need 3v. The input voltage is 12v so the resistor needs to drop 12-3 = 9 thus V=9. LEDs typically need around 10ma (up to 20ma) to light up brightly so I = .01A thus the formula is 9/.01 = R so R = 900 ohms (in a perfect world). Now we typically cant get resistor at the "perfect" value so we need to round up or down to a common resistor value and in this case I would round up to 1000 ohms or 1K as was stated. That means if we solve for I where V/R = I and plug in 9/1000 = .009 so we are actually running the LED at 9ma instead of the ideal 10ma which is insignificant as far as LED operation goes.

Does that help??

So to answer your question- NO the Ada Fruit backlight module will not be getting hot as far as I can calculate- it is right in the sweet spot for LED operation.

 

[pantera156]

Thank you for looking into this. So those part numbers you listed are for the Lariat trim? Also, would I just splice into the 12V wires like you posted earlier and will that light adjust brightness/turn off and on as I make the changes in the settings for all the ambient lights?

Also, my current console plate has the LED cutout visible. Does that just punch out or does the 2022 console plate actually have that area clean cut already with the hole for the LED?

My 2024 Lariat didn't come with that light either. I'm going to solve it with these LEDs.

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