Updating my MS - Abstract Ocean upgraded led lighting kit

[RichardD]

I have a 2015 I am still hunting down the lights to swap out, according to abstract ocean there are 13 white and 4 red. I have found the red, that was easy. I have also changed the rear plate lights to LED. Here are some pictures to show the difference:

License plate, LED vs conventional:

Quite a difference for a 3 minute swap.

Here are the Red lights on the door:

A link to where I got this STORE - Lighting - Abstract Ocean

You can get it from Amazon as well, but I purchased quite a few things and they had a first time buyer 10% off.
Thanks for looking..

Richard

 

[ThisIsTrue]

Do you have a link for the replacement license plate lights? Are those Abstract Ocean too?

 

[RichardD]

Do you have a link for the replacement license plate lights? Are those Abstract Ocean too?

They are from Abstract Ocean too.. they were 21.99 for both lights, pictured is the new light and stock light for comparison. Great investment. I hung on to the originals just in case.

 

[pilotSteve]

I did the white LED updates from abstract Ocean and love them! About 2x brighter, well built and easy to install.

 

[RichardD]

I didnt have PUP so they say the wires are there, I just didnt feel comfortable with the rear door. I didnt find the two extra in the trunk, or the two under the front seats. I did buy the mounting brackets for them though. I am looking again at their instruction guide. i got really lucky as the hardest one is the glove box, and my glove box light was in a plastic insert that popped out making it alot easier.

So I have not replaced 6 of the 13... Working on it though.. Any tricks to pulling the wires down from the rear door? Do we know exactly what colors they are so I am not pulling the wrong ones?

The wires under the front seat, where exactly are they?

 

[markcm]

I just added rear doors, trunk and under seats last weekend. Here are a few tips:

1. Rear doors - cut the hole, and shine a flashlight in the door. Look for two wires together taped to another harness. I just pulled them really hard and the tape released.

2. Underseat - again look for a 2 wire loom looped back and tied to a main harness loom. Should be too hard to find.

3. Rear - on my car, the right side was easy to find, it was just sitting there. On the left, it was taped to the harness that was attached to the charging part (the group with the orange protector).

 

[RichardD]

I just added rear doors, trunk and under seats last weekend. Here are a few tips:

1. Rear doors - cut the hole, and shine a flashlight in the door. Look for two wires together taped to another harness. I just pulled them really hard and the tape released.

2. Underseat - again look for a 2 wire loom looped back and tied to a main harness loom. Should be too hard to find.

3. Rear - on my car, the right side was easy to find, it was just sitting there. On the left, it was taped to the harness that was attached to the charging part (the group with the orange protector).

Thanks @markcm I appreciate the tips, will try tonight. Do you happen to know the color of the wires you pulled down from the door. I am guessing its the only two I can see from the cut out.

 

[pete8314]

Just a couple of things to add - the LED Licence Plate lights are good for the Model S's that originally came with incandescent bulbs - something around VIN 90000 and earlier. Later models came with non-user replaceable LED lamp modules.

For the non-PUP wire-hunting, there's a lot more discussion on this thread....there always seems to be a little variance, I guess depending who's on the production line at the time and where they decide to tape them up, but they are there...

 

[markcm]

Sorry I don't.

One other tip I just remembered, the splurger thing didn't work for most lights on my car. It's actually worse then just using a screw driver with some electrical tape on the end. I ended up slipping with the splurgier and putting a light scratch on the trunk hatch.

Thanks @markcm I appreciate the tips, will try tonight. Do you happen to know the color of the wires you pulled down from the door. I am guessing its the only two I can see from the cut out.

 

[pete8314]

Sorry I don't.

One other tip I just remembered, the splurger thing didn't work for most lights on my car. It's actually worse then just using a screw driver with some electrical tape on the end. I ended up slipping with the splurgier and putting a light scratch on the trunk hatch.

It's a 'spudger', although I might like your name better There's a very definite technique when using the spudger. You really need to dig it into the end of the bulb with the small slot/recess, and don't be shy, otherwise it'll slip out. The thing it won't do, by design, is break the bulb, but because of that it's not as tough as a screwdriver. On earlier S's (my first was a 2013) the spudger did a good job on all the bulbs. On more recent S's, the fit has become a lot tighter, and what was the easiest bulb (in the hatch) is now one of the toughest, although that is easy to pop out with a screwdriver, with a bit of tape on the trim behind to protect against any scratches.

 

[RichardD]

Still stuck on the under seat light upgrade. Any ideas exactly where to look? There are quite a few wires under the seat, where is it feeding from the floor, front of the seat?

I did the rear door, ended up pulling the bottom part of the door off to get my hand up there and free the wire.

 

[RichardD]

I found them!!!! They were really tucked... The connector was not visible at all, and the zip tie was preventing me from getting my hands around where the wire was running.. I found it easier to find it on the passenger seat, and then moved over to the driver once i figured out what I was looking for, every where else they have been held with tape, these were zip tied at the very end.

Hope this helps the next person and I will endeavor to get a picture..

Thanks and safe driving from Texas..

 

[huzz1970]

There are two locations- some cars have the extra lighting wires in the pocket under the front seats below the carpet flap. Others (mine) have the wires and plug taped to parts of the wire loom under the seat bottom. Take a flashlight, move the seat to full up (watch the headrest position), move the set forward. Put the flashlight on the carpet at the right side of the seat bottom pointing to the front, and you will find the plug and yellow-blue wires. You can cut the tape or just gently pull the plug wire (not the plug) and it will slide in the tape loop. Put the light bracket on the rod, pull the wire through the opening, plug into the light, and snap into the bracket,

 

[Acho]

Where I can get brackets for under the seat

 

[Nosken]

Where I can get brackets for under the seat

STORE - Lighting - Abstract Ocean

 

[Akikiki]

You guys need to take a look at my thread on more uses for Abstract Ocean's LED lights. These look really good installed here.
New use in the trunk for Abstract Ocean’s bright LED trunk/puddle lights

 

[huzz1970]

Here is the play-by-play: First, remove the light from the door. Use a spudger or a spatula with some tape on the end to prevent scratching. Then take a Dremel tool with a cutting disk, and carefully cut off the clear plastic ears. Try not to cut into the black LED housing. It will resemble the picture-

Then separate the two pieces:

Then, mark the center of the lens to help align the hole cutter that was supplied with the light units- a 23mm hole saw with pilot bit. Using a drill press and a soft support (I used a sanding disk crepe rubber cleaner), position the lens as shown below. I have the bit slightly off-center so you can see the target location.

Next, SLOWLY drill into the lens. It is a bit fragile, so be patient. Progress gently, stop every 15-20 seconds to let the bit cool, and clean out the plastic shards.

The above image is about 30% finished.

Almost done....

Now, the lens is very fragile, so carefully clean up the edges with an Xacto knife. You need to trim the ears on the reverse side to clear the nut on the light unit (sorry, i forgot to take a picture but you can see the 4 shadows in the picture above), Again, work carefully until the clear plastic is removed enough to clear the backing nut. The whole process takes about 10 minutes. The finished unit is shown below. I added a plug per Akikiki's post information. You will have to open the center part of the mounting hole to clear the lamp body. Use a Dremel tool with a sanding drum- takes about a minute to open up the hole- just enough to clear the nut on the housing. Plug into the socket from the door, and press into place.

 

[Nosken]

Here is the play-by-play: First, remove the light from the door. Use a spudger or a spatula with some tape on the end to prevent scratching. Then take a Dremel tool with a cutting disk, and carefully cut off the clear plastic ears. Try not to cut into the black LED housing. It will resemble the picture- View attachment 225291
Then separate the two pieces: View attachment 225292
Then, mark the center of the lens to help align the hole cutter that was supplied with the light units- a 23mm hole saw with pilot bit. Using a drill press and a soft support (I used a sanding disk crepe rubber cleaner), position the lens as shown below. I have the bit slightly off-center so you can see the target location.View attachment 225293
Next, SLOWLY drill into the lens. It is a bit fragile, so be patient. Progress gently, stop every 15-20 seconds to let the bit cool, and clean out the plastic shards. View attachment 225294
The above image is about 30% finished. View attachment 225295
Almost done.... View attachment 225296
Now, the lens is very fragile, so carefully clean up the edges with an Xacto knife. You need to trim the ears on the reverse side to clear the nut on the light unit (sorry, i forgot to take a picture but you can see the 4 shadows in the picture above), Again, work carefully until the clear plastic is removed enough to clear the backing nut. The whole process takes about 10 minutes. The finished unit is shown below. I added a plug per Akikiki's post information. You will have to open the center part of the mounting hole to clear the lamp body. Use a Dremel tool with a sanding drum- takes about a minute to open up the hole- just enough to clear the nut on the housing. Plug into the socket from the door, and press into place. View attachment 225297

Do you have a link for the actual light?

 

[pete8314]

I've seen a few of the projection lights, some seemed decent quality, others were not. If there's a preferred brand, I could easily turn this into a product if there's sufficient interest?

 

[huzz1970]

There are several places to buy overseas. I cannot find my original link, but here is one...
Pair Logo LED Auto Door Welcome Projector Ghost Shadow Laser Light For Tesla Red | eBay