Oops! looks like this was a better thread to put it in.

Thought I might share my system with you.



With hatch closed. Poor quality but in between subs is the capacitor / voltage readout / cap charging indicator.





Now with hatch open. Hard to tell but I built the box exactly as wide and deep as the cargo area can hold with the seats up. Impossible to remove the box through the hatch. Box is in fact sitting on the cargo floor. 22inch tall. 4.4 cubes @ 34hz port tunning frequency - upward firing. Amp is mounted between the box and seat 1k rms 2k peak. The kicker cvrs were defently a good investment in terms of SPL/Dollar. Hits hard enough to shake the rearview mirror out of position. I'm yet to invest in a db/spl meter but the Fit's small size / volume makes for some excellent internal db gains. Liftgate trim has been sound deadened to help minimize the vibrations I was getting. With some bass test tracks and frequency generators I was able to get my house to vibrate a bit. I can actually feel the bass in the walls / floor of my home with it playing in the garage. However, the low PTF allows for some acceptable SQ at low / mid levels (daily driving). This was my second build and I'm fairly pleased. My only concern is that due to the high mounting postition of the capacitor people in large SUvs and Pickups are able to see the LED voltage readout and blue charging indicator. One day some yuppie soccer mom will have the bomb squad called on me because she has no idea what she is looking at - time for limo tint. For security I took a few extra messures that should supprise anyone trying to steal it. They'll probably end up bashing my car up in frustration but at least they wont have my subs - not that they are exactly worth stealing IMO - they're just CVRs afterall - but crack money is hard to come by nowadays - or so I hear. Will not disclose b/c this is a public forum and it would render the 'security' pointless.

Unfortunately, I have certainly reached or possibly exceeded the power output capabilities of the stock alternator. I do not see it being feasible to upgrade until an aftermarket HO alternator AND some sort of ECU reprograming (way out of my league) that actually allows the fit to benefit from a HO alternator (the fit lowers the output of the alternator durring percieved lower power demand - i.e. idling - in order to reduce parasitic drag. However the computer is unaware that an amplifier is greedily sucking away power and needs that baby to put out all its got. I imagine this will inevitably lead to premature alternator failure.




























^view from the hood



^ door handle close ups


^ Rear footwell lighting.


^ lighting from cargo corner lights. taking those side cargo panels off was a PIA.


^ hard to tell but this is that storage cubby in the back.




10mm and 5mm chrome LED holders above cargo area and rear spotlight module.









^ oops left my jacket in there

















Just some more parts of my ongoing lighting project. Once again poor quality from the iPhone. All work is custom (obviously).


Exterior:

Blue puddle lights
Blue upper grille illumination
Orange lower grille illumination
Blue front underglow - as opposed to full underglow
Orange wheel well illumination x 4

Interior

Orange door cup holder / storage lights
Blue door handle illumination
Blue front footwell lights
3 Blue LED VIP style spot light unit mounted on B pillar facing roof. x2
3 Blue LED VIP style spot light unit mounted on curvature of roof right in front of child latch above cargo area.
Blue LED lights mounted into child latch cover facing down at subwoofers (tastefully mounted in chrome LED holders / shrouds - as are all other stand alone LED lights) x2
Blue LED lights mounted in corners of cargo area facing downward x2
Blue LED lights illuminating storage compartment in cargo area.
Orange LED center vent illumination.
Orange LED defroster vent illumination
Orange LED shifter illumination (3mm chrome mounts in plastic panel above cigarette lighter pointing at shifter)
Orange LED center cup holder illumination
Blue rear footwell illumination.
Blue dome light illumination. (I left map lights alone so I can have white light for practical needs on demand)
Blue LED Bass Knob mounted underneath cigarette lighter.

Wiring -

Switched Relay System.

I am running a relay to a LED toggle switch mounted into the apropriate place (same area as vsa switch and that whimpy honda illumination system)

When the toggle switch is off the relay is disengaged and my lights are powered through the dome light circuit. This means the lights remain legal and are only on when a door is open, after engine is turned off, or doors are unlocked by security system. Also, the lighting maintains the fade in / fade out effect.

When the toggle switch is on the relay is engaged and power is suplied directly from an added circuit in the fuse pannel. The lights remain on under all circumstances (except dead battery :/ although thanks to the lower power consumption of LED lights this takes ~4 hours on stock battery) until the relay is disengaged.

Okay, so I'm ready for the flames and cries of 'ricer' However, by obeying 3 simple rules I created for the project I hope some leniancy will be granted for me.

1. ALWAYS hide the light source. A shroud or mount must ALWAYS be used when installing ANY light source to the vehicle that would otherwise be visible from ANY likely viewing positions.
2. CHECK YOUR COLOR WHEEL. The next biggest ricer mistake with lighting is to use colors that dont even compliment each other. If you look at a color wheel you will see that Orange and Blue work well together.



USE IT!

3. Always have an accent color. All blue doesn't look too great. All red doesn't either. So choose a primary color and at least one accent color. The accent color is just that so dont over do it.



Thanks


tl;dr (too long didn't read) -
vtec, it just kicked in, yo.

 

wow fool you have a bunch of leds set up, i have 5 led bars under each seat and feet in the front and back and the last one in the trunk next to the sub, it looks amazing, they are a lot brighter than urs just bec i just focused on footing lights, but ya the lights look crazy, i wish i had the time to wire up all those in my fit

 

how'd you run the wires from the a/c vents?

interesting setup though *thumbs up for doing something most wont do*

 

Believe it or not the AC 'ducts' are just cheap plastic/foam tubes. I just pulled out the radio and vents and then tapped a small hole in the top of the duct. i used some sealant on the small hole and also glued the LEDs to the top of the duct where the LEDs themseleves are not visible from the outside.

 

Oh i see i see hmm i think i have some ideas as to what can do to my car now

+rep

 

Very nice job! I am starting a small project soon and this thread is a good inspiration, Thanks +rep

 

To tell you the truth my car looks nothing like this anymore. The only external lighting I have are white LED spotlights under the car. And the sound system is smaller, sealed, and more powerful. Also I ditched the cap. I think this was the result of going nuts buying lights from oznium.com Regardless I still have some pride in those lights, it was alot of fun setting up. I was esspecially pleased with my door handle lights. I still have those.

 

i know the original post was over a year ago, but it's definitely nice to see that people can still put lights in their car and not be idiots. i just bought my fit last weekend, but this is something i'm looking forward to do, albeit not to this extent. all i want is some small accent lighting by the feet and that's it. maybe in the trunk space too.

thanks for the original post though, gives me something to think about before i go and pull the trigger.

 

Does a capacitor do much? My set up is small and only one 12" sub but when driving my headlights dim and so does all my dash lighting constantly. I fear it's the alternator going I would love to replace it but I have no knowledge of where to get a bigger one or what I would need. Would a capacitor stop the light dimming?

 

I've heard the question asked many times before, 'Do I really need a capacitor?' Before answering that question I ask, 'Do you have a high powered system?' 'Does it require sudden power bursts?' 'Is your amplifier being robbed of power?' If the answers to my questions are yes, make every effort to connect a capacitor to your car audio system.
A capacitor is a bit similar to your car battery; it stores electrical energy. But unlike a battery it doesn't produce its own power, it simply stores it. A car audio capacitor will help you get the most from your amplifier. It will store power for release on demand, delivering it to your amplifier just when it's needed.
Your car amplifier requires a lot of power to play loud music, especially when there's lots of heavy bass. Without a capacitor your amplifier will be robbed of power by parts like your lights, engine, and air conditioner.
So what happens when your car audio amplifier doesn't receive enough power?
A common occurrence is dimming lights. In such a situation the light will follow the beat of the music. The light will dim each time a heavy bass note sounds. If you were to turn off the lights, your car stereo system would suddenly sound louder and the music would be cleaner.
Your amplifier is simply trying to use more energy than the electrical system can supply. If a capacitor had been present there would have been enough energy to power your amp. That electrical energy would have already been stored.
When you want to reduce headlight dimming, improve bass response, and increase the power of your amp, a stiffening capacitor is a must. Equipped with capacitor and an adequate power supply, your system will get every bit of current it needs. Voltage drops will be a thing of the past.
With so many brands available online, it's easy to find a capacitor that meets your needs. You can choose from popular brands like Phoenix-Digital, Blitz-Audio, Kole-Audio, Pyramid, SoundStorm, Lanzar, Power-Acoustik, Pyle, Legacy, Nitro-BMW, SPL, and Volfenhag. No longer will your car amplifier be hungry for power.

Googled ^

 

alittle too much led for my taste but, the car show judges are going to love em.

 

Excellent work!!
its like a time machine
reminds me the "back to the future" days

 

I will start looking into one. I dont feel like my system is high powered but I have the dimming lights and slow windows I hope the capicitor stops these problems or ill just have to replace the alternator.

 

That's a lot of lights!!!