LED lights
 

I have a 2003 honda accord and 2 LED blue light strips that i have put under my steering wheel and dash board of the passenger side, but theyre connected to a piece that fits into the cigarette lighter inside the car and there are wires all over the place. i have heard that some Accords come with a LED outlet under the dashboard standard with the frame, how can i tell if i have that? there seems to be all sorts of stuff under there. and if not, what can i do to get rid of these wires all over my car?

getting rid of visible wiring is easy. installing LED strips is also easy. it just requires some simple wiring tools, zip ties and split loom, and patience.

first thing to do is determine how you want to control the lights. do you want them switched automatically with parking lights or manually controlled or auto with manual override off? decide that first, that determines how we wire them.

wire management is fairly easy once you've done it for a while. it almost always requires removal of panels. wires can be put in split loom (the corrugated black plastic tubing that protects all of the factory wiring) and then zip tied to factory wires at connection points. i use black split loom and a selection of 6" and 9" zip ties. 1/4" split loom is probably sufficient for LED wiring. Parts Express is where I get most of my split loom (i buy in 50-100ft increments).

you can get power from wherever, typically an ignition controlled source so they can't be on when the car is off. you can tap into the cigarette lighter socket wiring behind the console, then put an inline fuse sized per the LED strip recommendations. you can also use a fuse tap and come off the fuse box.

a switch can be located in some factory blank switch panels, or anywhere else you'd like based on how often you need to access it and if you want it visible.

i prefer soldered connections. i solder then heat shrink. if you can't do that, and don't want to learn, then invest in a nice crimper/stripper and go that route.

i dont want to wire them to my headlights or parking lights because then they will always be on when i have my headlights on, and in VA i can get pulled over for that pretty easially. i want to be able to manually control when they turn on and off.

you said something about wiring it behind the cigarette lighter, is there a way to wire it behind that and have an on/off switch plugged into the lighter?

i recommend a switch regardless of where you get power. locate the switch anywhere you want, you may have blank switch panels on the far left under the air vent. if so, a black rocker switch will work great - you'll just need to make the hole for it. otherwise, a chrome toggle switch is easier due to smaller hole and footprint.

you simply wire the switch in-line with the power feed from the cigarette lighter.

i can draw you a diagram tomorrow night.

that would be great!! yes i like what youre talking about, it sounds like the best way to do it- where can i buy the switch from? and how does the wiring work?
thanks so much!!!

lol. sorry for the delay. been a crazy week, i do a lot of projects in my spare time (electrical and not). i'll put you on the top of the list.

you can tap into the cigarette lighter socket wiring behind the console, then put an inline fuse sized per the LED strip recommendations.






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i have the same idea...
 

I am doing the same thing as OP and im going to use the power thats going to the cigarette lighter to connect to my toggle switch. my question is, which wire is the power thats going in the back of the lighter??? ive noticed theres two blue mini lights connected to the cigarette lighter so would i be able to use those for the power?