F150LEDs ambient lighting and cupholder ring review
07-21-2018, 06:49 PM
#1
F150LEDs ambient lighting and cupholder ring review
Looking to add some atmosphere to my 2017 XLT interior, I purchased the ambient lighting kit and cupholder/shifter ring kit from F150LEDs. I had some issues with the ambient kit that I sorted out. Check this link for details: https://www.f150forum.com/f83/f150le...0/#post5846098
Overall, I like the ambient kit aesthetically. I finally got it set up to light the footwells front and rear the way I wanted. The negatives, however, are many. Firstly, the kit is assembled poorly. Crimp splices and crimp terminal lug for ground. The led strips are pressed into connectors that make terrible contact. Merely touching the strip can cause connection problems which will turn the strip off or change the color by affecting one of the RGB led lines. The led strip has no protective RTV coating. Bare chips. Secondly, the adhesive on the back of the strip doesn't adhere to anything. I used included zip ties to secure the led strips. It seems they know their adhesive sucks so they give you zip ties. In any case, after much worrying, I got it set up. The other problem is the remote needs line of sight to the sensor to turn it on and change colors. The installed puts the sensor in the passenger footwell by the fuse panel. I have to reach into the footwell and point the remote directly at it to turn it on. The good news is once you have it set the way you want it, it will turn on with the vehicle.
Now to the cupholder/shifter ring kit. This kit has the same poor construction with crimps and bad connections. I had to redo one of the led strip solder splice because it was intermittent. The principle of the install was simple enough and you could piggy back the add-a-fuse on the back of the one for the ambient kit. It works, but makes for a messy daisy chain. There were two glaring problems that made my pull this kit right out. Firstly, the relay box or driver or whatever it is that runs the led strip makes a loud buzzing sound. So loud I can hear it through the console if I has the music off. Secondly, the led strips do not provide consistent lighting around the ring bezel. You're supposed to stuff the led strip under the chrome bezel. What I mean is, there is barely a ledge for the strip to rest. What happens is the strip hangs off the ledge under the bezel and thus the light in those areas is weaker than the areas where the strip lays on the ledge. I dicked with it for a good hour before giving up. You'd have to glue the strip perfectly to get it to sit in a matter that provided even lighting throughout the bezel. Not wanting to do that, I just took the damn thing out. Maybe I'm picky, but I want the lighting to look factory. I don't want uneven lighting poking through. I don't understand the positive reviews. Maybe it's just me? Maybe they delete the bad reviews?
I dropped $130 to get the ambient kit and the bezel kit together. I'm keeping the ambient kit in and returning the bezel kit. I hope they take it back. Overall, I was unimpressed. I hope the ambient kit lasts. Only time will tell.
P.S. I'll take pics tonight when it gets dark.
Overall, I like the ambient kit aesthetically. I finally got it set up to light the footwells front and rear the way I wanted. The negatives, however, are many. Firstly, the kit is assembled poorly. Crimp splices and crimp terminal lug for ground. The led strips are pressed into connectors that make terrible contact. Merely touching the strip can cause connection problems which will turn the strip off or change the color by affecting one of the RGB led lines. The led strip has no protective RTV coating. Bare chips. Secondly, the adhesive on the back of the strip doesn't adhere to anything. I used included zip ties to secure the led strips. It seems they know their adhesive sucks so they give you zip ties. In any case, after much worrying, I got it set up. The other problem is the remote needs line of sight to the sensor to turn it on and change colors. The installed puts the sensor in the passenger footwell by the fuse panel. I have to reach into the footwell and point the remote directly at it to turn it on. The good news is once you have it set the way you want it, it will turn on with the vehicle.
Now to the cupholder/shifter ring kit. This kit has the same poor construction with crimps and bad connections. I had to redo one of the led strip solder splice because it was intermittent. The principle of the install was simple enough and you could piggy back the add-a-fuse on the back of the one for the ambient kit. It works, but makes for a messy daisy chain. There were two glaring problems that made my pull this kit right out. Firstly, the relay box or driver or whatever it is that runs the led strip makes a loud buzzing sound. So loud I can hear it through the console if I has the music off. Secondly, the led strips do not provide consistent lighting around the ring bezel. You're supposed to stuff the led strip under the chrome bezel. What I mean is, there is barely a ledge for the strip to rest. What happens is the strip hangs off the ledge under the bezel and thus the light in those areas is weaker than the areas where the strip lays on the ledge. I dicked with it for a good hour before giving up. You'd have to glue the strip perfectly to get it to sit in a matter that provided even lighting throughout the bezel. Not wanting to do that, I just took the damn thing out. Maybe I'm picky, but I want the lighting to look factory. I don't want uneven lighting poking through. I don't understand the positive reviews. Maybe it's just me? Maybe they delete the bad reviews?
I dropped $130 to get the ambient kit and the bezel kit together. I'm keeping the ambient kit in and returning the bezel kit. I hope they take it back. Overall, I was unimpressed. I hope the ambient kit lasts. Only time will tell.
P.S. I'll take pics tonight when it gets dark.
Last edited by Neckbone; 07-21-2018 at 06:53 PM.
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FlyerA320 (07-21-2018)
07-23-2018, 03:51 PM
#3
you could have probably sourced your own parts and done it for much, much cheaper since you did not use the cup holder part, and probably even if you did. for example they want $60 for a bed light led kit on their site and i built my own for $20 or less.