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Model 3 DIY Light kits: Review and installation tips, with pics

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So many mods so little time…I have a shiny box of auto present handles and soft close latches that has been staring at me for weeks. It’s saying “oh come on you know you want to dismantle all 4 doors in the dead of winter!” and I’m like yeah I do! 🤣🤣 and then I’ll film it for my channel like I’m Steven Spielberg. Then I hate myself in editing because I’m shivering throughout the entire install so I have to do a voice over on the whole thing.

Gluttons for punishment we are!!! At least our cars look 🔥
lol....yes sirrrrrrrrr
 
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Oooooh, self present & soft close door handles. Look forward to seeing your video on that one!

No, I’ll never buy/install one of those, but still enjoy seeing it in action on someone else’s vehicle…
The new gen soft close are now plug and play, it’s just a matter of replacing the OEM latch with the suction one. I was at tesla yesterday picking up my car (lower control arm repair)and I love the auto open and close door on the X.

BTW Satonic cannot create a white face plate for the touch screen control panel on the ambient lighting kit. At least not one unit for little old me 😫 Thinking maybe I can wrap it pearl white. Not sure. or I go gen 2 console route. So many 1st world problems
 
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After reading this entire thread in one sitting, I'm surprised that no one made mention of using a laser wire instead of these much thicker wires that, when installing on the underside of the larger air vent, it can be difficult to mount it nice and straight.

What I ended up using is a laser wire. It's probably about 10 times thinner than the kits mentioned in this thread, and because the source of the light is a laser, the light emitted along the wire is uniform and next level cool looking. It almost has a sparkling effect because the light is so pure.

Because of the thinness, the laser wire is incredibly easy to install. I installed mine on the lower "toothed" vent, right in the recess above the white/wood trim. It's nearly invisible during the day because of how thin it is. And because of thinness, you can slot it right between the tiny gap that's between the white/wood trim and the dark grey trim piece that's on both ends of the dashboard (see pic 2 on OP's post #9 in the below link). That tight gap makes for a super tight wire running across the dash so you never have to worry about it sagging or warping.

The post below outlines what that OP did with his install. He's whom I purchased the laser light from. I'm not sure if he's still active on this forum, but he was selling them for a time. I think I paid around USD $110 from him.

Here is the post: Upgraded Interior lighting M3... Thoughts?

Whereas he tapped off of the driver's door map pocket light (which older Model 3's had but newer ones don't), which required removing the door panel, I instead tapped into a connector behind the left side footwell on the driver's side. You'll have to remove that plastic kick panel to access all the wiring behind there. If you go to page 2 and post #33, you can see my installation pics. This area even has a little white plastic "holder" for the laser.

Best of all, with installing it the way I did it by tapping into the connector (I believe it's VC_LEFT), I am able to turn on/off the laser light from the "Ambient Lights" button on the center screen. Tapping the "Ambient Lights" button will turn on/off all the lights....footwell, door map pockets, AND the laser wire. Personally, having this type of control over that light really makes it look like it was OEM, versus having to plug things into the 12V cigarette lighter outlet.

--Cintoman
 
After reading this entire thread in one sitting, I'm surprised that no one made mention of using a laser wire instead of these much thicker wires that, when installing on the underside of the larger air vent, it can be difficult to mount it nice and straight.

What I ended up using is a laser wire. It's probably about 10 times thinner than the kits mentioned in this thread, and because the source of the light is a laser, the light emitted along the wire is uniform and next level cool looking. It almost has a sparkling effect because the light is so pure.

Because of the thinness, the laser wire is incredibly easy to install. I installed mine on the lower "toothed" vent, right in the recess above the white/wood trim. It's nearly invisible during the day because of how thin it is. And because of thinness, you can slot it right between the tiny gap that's between the white/wood trim and the dark grey trim piece that's on both ends of the dashboard (see pic 2 on OP's post #9 in the below link). That tight gap makes for a super tight wire running across the dash so you never have to worry about it sagging or warping.

The post below outlines what that OP did with his install. He's whom I purchased the laser light from. I'm not sure if he's still active on this forum, but he was selling them for a time. I think I paid around USD $110 from him.

Here is the post: Upgraded Interior lighting M3... Thoughts?

Whereas he tapped off of the driver's door map pocket light (which older Model 3's had but newer ones don't), which required removing the door panel, I instead tapped into a connector behind the left side footwell on the driver's side. You'll have to remove that plastic kick panel to access all the wiring behind there. If you go to page 2 and post #33, you can see my installation pics. This area even has a little white plastic "holder" for the laser.

Best of all, with installing it the way I did it by tapping into the connector (I believe it's VC_LEFT), I am able to turn on/off the laser light from the "Ambient Lights" button on the center screen. Tapping the "Ambient Lights" button will turn on/off all the lights....footwell, door map pockets, AND the laser wire. Personally, having this type of control over that light really makes it look like it was OEM, versus having to plug things into the 12V cigarette lighter outlet.

-- Cintoman

Thanks for posting that laser light/wire option. Looks fantastic and the end result is definitely a cleaner, more polished look than what you typically get with all the inexpensive kits out there. I had actually considered that laser wire option/kit sold by the OP in the linked thread. However, at the time, I was looking for a solution that did not require completely removing the interior door panel/trim, or cutting/tapping into one of the existing ambient light wires. Was also not completely comfortable buying a product/kit from some random person on the internet who pieced together a few things in his garage... not that there is anything wrong with that, since this is how some great ideas/products get started.

I still like the simplicity of just plugging something into the cigarette plug for power. So, for now, I’ll probably just stick with my current solution. However, I may look into replacing my existing dash board light strip (purchased from AliExpress) with the above mentioned laser wire. I wonder if it is possible to modify the ends of the laser wire so they will fit into the housing of my current light emitter. If so, will that still produce a bright, uniform light pattern across the entire length of the laser wire?….
 
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Since my ambient lighting is deactivated, I decided to add my own.

Total Cost:

Parts Used: $40.96

Amazon
-Universal Motorcycle Truck Car Cigarette Lighter Power Plug Cable Adapter Male Lighter with Switch Button Built-in 12V-24V 5A (10FT/3 Meters with Indicator Light) $7.99

Abstract Ocean
-Ultra-Bright LED Lights - Model 3 - Blue (Single - not for footwell) x 2 $19.98
-Extension cables ('pig tails') - set of two $12.99

Soldering Gun, Solder, Electrical Tape.

IMG_1064.jpeg
IMG_1063.jpeg
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Does anyone know where to get a replacement for the Nestour LED foot well lights?

My mom threw one out accidentally, so the passenger seat foot well is missing. Nestor won’t respond to emails and the kit on Amazon changed, so they are physically wired instead of using a connector.
 

I didn't realize until after I purchased the Model 3 RWD that the footwell lights were deactivated. I like your solution and love the blue lights. Are there instructions on how to do this modification?
 
hey mate i’m trying to wire in lights myself and when i wire the lights to the pocket lights they work, but only when the car is in park? as soon as i put it in drive they turn off, any ideas what i could have done wrong

Have you tried turning on “Ambient Lights” in your Lights menu? See screen shot attached below.
Perhaps enabling this will keep the pocket lights (and your aftermarket lights) ON, while the vehicle is in Drive?…

IMG_7205.jpeg
 
Yes i have and they still turn off, do the lights dim when you put it in drive, if so maybe the voltage is reduced thus making it not have enough power to turn the aftermarket lights on , but other users have done the same thing and it works for them ..
 
Yes, my pocket lights dim when I put my vehicle into Drive. Sounds like your particular aftermarket light kit cannot handle the slight voltage drop when this happens. For others who have tapped into the pocket light wiring for power (and do not experience any problems), perhaps their kits do not consume as much power/wattage as your kit. So, this may explain why some have reported not having problems with their kits?…

For your situation, perhaps it is better to tap into the footwell light wire, instead of the pocket light.
 
Yes, my pocket lights dim when I put my vehicle into Drive. Sounds like your particular aftermarket light kit cannot handle the slight voltage drop when this happens. For others who have tapped into the pocket light wiring for power (and do not experience any problems), perhaps their kits do not consume as much power/wattage as your kit. So, this may explain why some have reported not having problems with their kits?…

For your situation, perhaps it is better to tap into the footwell light wire, instead of the pocket light.
yes this maybe the situation but i haven’t had any issues with any other car with this kit, the footwells wouldn’t work as i need something on the doors to tap into, if i try to go with the puddle lights i get a warning on the dash with something about manual latch release is activated so that isn’t a good place either
 
Hello :)
New 2023 M3 RWD MIC owner here.

I bought a kit off Amazon that comes with multiple sub-controller that are linked wireless to the main controller.

I've been doing a bit of research, and I'm most likely going to wire this using the blue wire for 12v and a SSR relay using the brown wire. I'm quite familiar with electronics and wiring, so it shouldn't be an issue wiring it up.

My question however is, is there a source of +12V in the doors? That way, using the sub-controllers, I could avoid having to run switched 12v to the doors, and the install should be much faster. Given the sub-controllers are mimicking the main controller, it could be a constant 12V.

I've tried searching the forums but I couldn't find any information..
 
Hello :)
New 2023 M3 RWD MIC owner here.

I bought a kit off Amazon that comes with multiple sub-controller that are linked wireless to the main controller.

I've been doing a bit of research, and I'm most likely going to wire this using the blue wire for 12v and a SSR relay using the brown wire. I'm quite familiar with electronics and wiring, so it shouldn't be an issue wiring it up.

My question however is, is there a source of +12V in the doors? That way, using the sub-controllers, I could avoid having to run switched 12v to the doors, and the install should be much faster. Given the sub-controllers are mimicking the main controller, it could be a constant 12V.

I've tried searching the forums but I couldn't find any information..
hey mate i went through this issue myself and here’s what i have found out, i’ve tried this on 2 my23 tesla model ys and the same thing has occurred. There is a 12v in the doors and it comes from the factory ambient lighting wires, the issue i ran into is when i got to the driver door and tapped into the ambient lighting + and - the light wouldn’t work and both the driver door and the rear driver side door wouldn’t haven’t any ambient lighting after this, not sure what there is to do now beside route a power wire through the door harness but the rear doors have a pinned harness so it seems like a headache , teslas are a nightmare
 
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I finally caved a few weeks ago and got the full install ambient lighting system with the touch panel on the center console.

I still haven’t finished my installation I’m about 70% done, and I can tell you out of all the mods I’ve done (there are MANY lol) this install is by far the most time consuming install and difficult of any mod I’ve done. It does require some “hard” modifications, meaning cutting into your cupholder and replacing the metal/chrome edge of your dash trim with a laser cut lighted trim piece (that was fun 🤪). I did have to make some customizations to my kit to accommodate other mods I have (tray table seat backs in particular).

I have the 4 doors and seatbacks left to finish. You will literally have to dismantle the entire front of the cabin to route the wires, control panel and extensions.

I would say this install takes around 10-12 hours total, maybe more if you’re unfamiliar with removing trim panels, there are NO instructions with the kit, so I had to wing it. The kit is modular, so you add/remove any lighting components from the kit, which is nice and allows you to do the install in stages.

NB: I have a 2019 m3 but replaced the center console previously to the Gen 2 which allowed me to install this kit, I do not have the updated door card panels so i could not use the included trim lights.

I’m filming the install as I go and will make a full “installation” video (should title it “watch me go mad”) on my channel for anyone who is interested and wants to see what’s needed.

Here’s a pic of what’s done so - this kit does blow away any of the other kits I’ve tried in the past, the touch screen control looks awesome imo. You do lose a little bit of the console sliding draw (similar to that of a floating USB hub) but I don’t mind it.

If anyone has any questions I’m happy to answer them!

Cheers lighting crew 🤘🏼🍻
 

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Progress baby…progress! lol just the door streamers left (was going to do them with the tweeters but they have to be wired back to the hub and not the branches on the kit 🤬

The tweeters are 4D, they rotate out on power up and retract when the car shuts down. This is a separate kit from the ambient lighting kit (those tweeter lights are just shells) but they have the capability to tie into the ambient lighting kit and sync up which is awesome!

Almost there!!!! 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫
 

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