I took this idea from my '06 GTI. In the VW, there are 2 bright red LEDs in the dome light that are aimed towards the gear shift. They create a magical glow that does not impair your vision of the road, but allows you to see that area. They are wired to the parking lights/gauges.

Here are a couple of pics (no flash was used).

 

Thats kinda cool.

 

I saw that on a chrysler town and country and thought it was the coolest thing ever. I've been meaning to do that to my truck.

 

hmmm interesting mod...

 

I'm sure a soft, candle like glow might also be good for other uses of the truck as well...

 

hahahah, that'll set the mood nicely

 

just as long as there's no 70's music playin.....lol

 

SWEET!! you should do a write up on it. I wanna do that.

 

the Lexus IS250 I was driving had them also, but in blue LED

 

Now just make me a drink and I'll be putty in your hands.

 

bom chicka bow wow....

 

I've got a few pics, still need to take one of the finished product today. Total cost should be < $10. I did this to go along with the blue leds I ordered for the dash lights. Unfortunately, they sent me red instead of blue. So, now I'll have to wait a little longer.

For comparison, here is the GTI interior. You can kinda see the red glow on the gear shift.

 

My 08 Chevy HHR has a blue/whitish LED that is mounted on the roofline, and it has a beam of light that shines onto the center area very similar to that...its cool, cuz at first I was like"where is that coming from?" then I put my hand in the beam and followed it up and said probably what everyone says"well thats cool" but I never thought about doing it to the yota!

 

That looks really cool man. I always wanted to do that in my subaru, copying the GTi, but never got around to it. Cant wait to see more pics and a write up.

 

Same here.

 

Skills needed:
Minor mechanical ability.
Fair amount electrical ability, including soldering.

Parts needed:
1 276-080 LED Holder (2 pack) $1.49

2 High Brightness Red LEDs (superbrightleds.com: RL5-R5015) (0.24 ea.)
470 ohm 1/2W resistor (5 pack)
hookup wire

I don't know the exact specs of the LEDs that I used. The LED specifications should be as follows:

Forward Voltage: 2.5V
Forward Current: 20mA

The LED listed above should work fine.

Here is the schematic for this circuit:

+ ----|>|----|>|---/\/\/---- -

LEDs have a polarity, and must be connected properly in order for them to light up. The long end of an LED is the positive lead, and the short lead is the negative. In the diagram above, the long lead of the first diode is connected to 12V, and the short lead is connected to the long lead of the second LED. The opposite side of the resistor is connected to ground.

It is best to put these components together, so that you know how it works before mounting it. You can then mark which side of the circuit is positive, and which is negative. Since I used a single color of wire, I ended up tying a single knot in on the positive wire.

I also have a lighter plug with bare wires on the other side. I hooked this up to the circuit in order to test the operation, as well as to check the angles of the LEDs in the truck without having to wire everything first.

Pop the dome light housing off of the mirror. Remove the 4 screws, the connector for the dome light and remove the mirror assembly from the truck. Paint the LED holders black, including the inside. This will eliminate side reflections of the LED which may make some distracting light edges at the source.

Drill holes for the LED holders in the housing. You want the holes close to the center, as putting them too close to the mirror will cause the light to reflect, and putting them too far back will interfere with the switches. In order to have the light shine towards the gear shift, the housings need to be mounted at an angle. Hopefully the pictures will help to determine how they are mounted. You can test the lighting occasionally for the proper angles.

Install the LEDs in the housings, making sure that a long lead on one LED is pointing to the short LED on the other LED. Bend the inside leads toward each other, and solder the leads together. If neccessary, solder a small piece of wire between the two leads. Solder the resistor to the unused short lead. Then solder a wire to the opposite side of the resitor (negative side), and one to the last unused LED lead (positive lead that I tied a knot in). The picture below shows the circuit in place, with a little electrical tape to isolate the connections.



Drill a hole in the mirror bracket large enough for a single wire to go through. This will be the positive wire that will be run through the headliner.

The ground wire can be connected to the gray wire in the mirror bracket. You can either splice a new wire in, or solder it to the existing solder joint at the switch. Solder the other end of this wire to the negative side of the circuit.

You will need to fish a single wire up and through the headliner. The other end will connect behind the dimmer control in the dash. Remove the a-pillar molding, and peel back the headliner from the door jam just enough to fish the wire.



After the wire is through the headliner, thread it through the hole you drilled in the mirror bracket and remount the mirror in the truck, with the 4 screws.

Connect this wire to the positive side of the new circuit. Replace the dome light housing onto the mirror bracket.



The last step is to run the other end of the positive wire to the dimmer on the dash. Remove the lower dash panel, then remove the screws and separate the dash enough to disconnect the wiring harness from the dimmer. Splice the wire with the green wire on the harness. This connection turns on the LEDs when the parking lights are switched on.

Put the remaining parts back together and enjoy your new ambient lighting.

 

that's pretty slick man, I like it!

but what about us base-modle guys



that's an LED replacement bulb in there before you ask "how's that light so bright?"

 

Ya, I was thinking that there was probably a not so frilly version of the dome light out there. I didn't look too far into it, but you might be able to get away with mounting them in/under the mirror itself.

 

or maybe just swapping out for the stlye light housing you have?

just like everything else between SR5's, 4Runners, and so on, I bet it's interchangable

 

Hey super, that tint on your window is past the IS 1 line lol.

I take it the laws about tint are laid back in florida?