kmaximus

Hi All, A while back I posted my ambient light install with the except for the cup holder area. http://www.f150forum.com/f38/my-ambi...-2-0-a-181841/ I've been trying to find a cheap alternative to the OEM Ring while still living in the LED spectrum but really couldn't find a inexpensive alternative that had that OEM look. That being said, I went ahead and purchased some EL-Wire string and in spite of the limitations I've been very pleased with the outcome. Sadly, with el-wire you can only have 1 color. The below pics are my rough mock up. At this point I basically have clear packing tape holding the el-wire to the chrome part of the cub holder. The el-wire string is a .9mm width which is actually too small. I'm going to bump it up to a 1.4mm which should fit in the channeled grove that's already molded into the chrome ring and plastic cup holder section. So far, I'm at 21 dollars for this install....... I purchased the EL-Wire from:http://www.thatscoolwire.com/store/i...SKU=WY-C14-12v I did purchase the 12v adapter as I plan to plug it into the center console plug as the rest of my lights. After I get the 1.4mm wire I'll post some "clean" pictures of that in the truck. Let me know what you guys think?

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kmaximus

A few shots of the ring installed, I couldn't wait to see what it looked like

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Toddman34

Looks great!

ABN Panzer

Looks great. Only issue (maybe things have gotten better since I played with ELwire in the past) is it tends to fade over time.

Its cheap enough to replace but sometimes a Pain in the rear

kmaximus

Thanks guys....

ABN Panzer, I've read the same thing and will be keeping an eye on it....I think this company rated the life span as 20,000 hours of continuous use, which of course it wouldn't be getting so it will be interesting to see how this lasts. Like you said, the good think is it's cheap to replace.....

I'm think for my final install, I'd like to put the wire in some clear tubing so if I must swap it out, I can just pull and re install into the tubing.....

per their website faq:

Topic: EL Wire Facts


Does El Wire Fade?
Under perfect conditions, the color of El Wire can last many many years, however, prolonged exposure to direct sunlight or UV light will cause the color to fade over time.

In outdoor use where the wire is exposed to direct sunlight, you can expect the wire to hold its true color for 1 to 2 years from the date of purchase, depending on which color you buy. Red, Yellow, Power Green, Purple, and Pink will fade faster than the other colors under these conditions.

You can expect 2 to 3 years of true color from your wire when exposed to average sunlight indoors.

506Murphy

Looks great! I've been thinking of ways to do this in my truck ever since my wife got a 2013 Explorer Limited with it. Just a small mod but such a cool effect! I would love to be able to change colors like the factory ones do. Thanks for the info.

kmaximus

Thanks, I was playing around with a Dodge Cup Holder I grabbed off of ebay that looked like the dimensions were going to match up, but they didn't. My plan was to shave off junk that didn't fit and mold it. 1/2 inch longer and it would have worked out great...I was gonna change out the green led's that came with that setup with some RGB's but on well......Maybe someone smarter than I can figure out something

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Smays

So to turn it on, you must plug it in?

kmaximus

Currently, I have it just plugged into a 12v socket until the other size comes in. Then I will hard wire it to the other lighting so it all comes on at the same time. the final el wire the inverter will be power via USB as the other lighting module uses micro USB plugs for easy connections.

frosty19

Really interested in doing this on my FX4. Have you got the 1.4mm wire in yet? Just wondering how it fits?
How are you going to run the wires to direct wire it?
Can you just cut this stuff to length?