JDM Side Markers Lights for all 10th Civics

[MuffinMcFluffin]

Meh, that's too bad for me I guess.

I'm going to take a second pass at the LED strip side-markers and see how they fare, but I fear I'm not going to know how to do the wiring for them.

Sponsored

 

[procivic]

Meh, that's too bad for me I guess.

I'm going to take a second pass at the LED strip side-markers and see how they fare, but I fear I'm not going to know how to do the wiring for them.

The install guide we provide makes the wiring part fairly easy. You don't have to guess.

 

[MuffinMcFluffin]

The install guide we provide makes the wiring part fairly easy. You don't have to guess.

Okay, but my confusion stems from two things:

1) I've never done a quick splice, and there is no such thing called YouTube University on YouTube to search it up. I bet I can look up other places, but the first two I looked up might not be specific to what I'm trying to do and didn't exactly have a significantly favorable like count. Basically, I don't want to mess up.

2) I don't know how to remove the plastic piece that holds in the bulb on the car, plus I'm hoping if anything goes wrong that I can just place them right back in if need be.

Would you guys happen to make a video on this showing the wires in the car? That's the only way I'll feel safe and comfortable doing it on my own.

Thanks.

 

[procivic]

YouTube University basically is just a way of saying "do a YouTube search". Here's a funny parody video though making fun of the notion of an actual YouTube University:



I was able to find a pretty good video of how to use a Quick Splice. The ones that come with these side markers are very similar to these ones:

 

[MGZ]

@MuffinMcFluffin I'm gonna open mine back up tonight, one of the markers is running a bit dimmer than the other. Think the connection might've gotten loose with rain/shitty roads. I'll try to include some pictures or short videos while I'm at it, if that helps.

 

[MuffinMcFluffin]

Thank you both so much!

@MuffinMcFluffin I'm gonna open mine back up tonight, one of the markers is running a bit dimmer than the other. Think the connection might've gotten loose with rain/shitty roads. I'll try to include some pictures or short videos while I'm at it, if that helps.

Perfect. This is much appreciated.

Where do you live in the Bay Area, by the way? Might just be easier for me to drive over to you as to not eff it up.

 

[MGZ]

Haha well, I'm no pro - this was the first kind of install I've done like this and I had a lot of the same questions/concerns as you. Not totally sure how I feel about doing this for someone else's car lol
It's really not too bad once you open it up though, it's just kind of a tight space to work. I'll take some photos later today, and if you're really having a hard time maybe we can figure something out.

 

[MuffinMcFluffin]

Haha well, I'm no pro - this was the first kind of install I've done like this and I had a lot of the same questions/concerns as you. Not totally sure how I feel about doing this for someone else's car lol
It's really not too bad once you open it up though, it's just kind of a tight space to work. I'll take some photos later today, and if you're really having a hard time maybe we can figure something out.

These just came in the mail so I may try doing this tomorrow myself, just maybe...

I'm only curious though, because the area is so short to work with since the cables don't come out much... how do you detach the wires from the bulb plastic housing? I don't want to rip them out if they're not supposed to, and I don't want to cut them if I fail in doing what I'm supposed to do only to not be able to reattach it later.

And how do you know which one is the red wire? I only did it in the dark last time, but I seem to remember that the wires weren't exactly colored red and black. Maybe they were though.

Any of those photos you are considering taking would be great, video even better! Thanks a bunch.

 

[MGZ]

I didn't forget! Work's been a bit crazy this week. Hoping to get some time this weekend to post a little write up.

 

[procivic]

These just came in the mail so I may try doing this tomorrow myself, just maybe...

I'm only curious though, because the area is so short to work with since the cables don't come out much... how do you detach the wires from the bulb plastic housing? I don't want to rip them out if they're not supposed to, and I don't want to cut them if I fail in doing what I'm supposed to do only to not be able to reattach it later.

And how do you know which one is the red wire? I only did it in the dark last time, but I seem to remember that the wires weren't exactly colored red and black. Maybe they were though.

Any of those photos you are considering taking would be great, video even better! Thanks a bunch.

Keep in mind you don't actually remove any wires from the factory plug. You simply splice in the loose red wire from the LED sidemarker into the positive red wire going to the plug. The wire splice (included) will dig into each wire and electrically connect the two.

 

[MuffinMcFluffin]

Keep in mind you don't actually remove any wires from the factory plug. You simply splice in the loose red wire from the LED sidemarker into the positive red wire going to the plug. The wire splice (included) will dig into each wire and electrically connect the two.

Hmph, I'm really stupid with this stuff and need a photo with the car. Won't be able to check it out for still another few hours, but I'm really tempted to try do to this myself still.

Based on the video you provided, it suggests that the car's wire is supposed to go through the quick-splice tool. How would that be possible to do if you don't disconnect the wire from something first?

EDIT: Nevermind, it appears she doesn't feed it through but rather opens up the clamp somehow. I'm going to have to see the tool again when I get home, because it may be easier than I'm making it. I'm just kind of afraid that messing it up will damage the OEM wire since it's actually being, well, spliced.

 

[MuffinMcFluffin]

@procivic @MGZ

Okay, so now that I was able to go home and inspect it myself, I now see what you mean about the object having a red wire of its own. Because hoo-wee, the two wires coming from the car are not only not red (one is black and one is gray, so then I assume it's for the gray one but then the instructions are faulty), there is no possible way to fit that splicer in that area with that little wire and that close to the other one.

So I tried everything with the instructions and combined with the video. Problem is I cannot get amber.

Take a look at my pictures and I will be happy to hear where I stupidly messed up:

I can't go too long like this seeing that it's illegal (sorry, I don't want to keep unscrewing and taking out the tabs and such... I want to keep these on but I also want it to work!

I feel like if I do this splice thing too many times I am going to cut the wire, and I don't want to have to pay for an exchange because the instructions don't account for mishaps by lack of... well... instruction. Just please don't tell me it needs to connect to the part beyond these wires, because it is too small and it is not red like stated.

Now what I haven't tried yet is splicing just at the very very tip of the loose wire, but I figure since the original red wire is coated and is meant to be spliced through (and since the videos I've seen did it this way without problem) that that's not the issue, but if it is then I'll try and adjust that as soon as possible.

Also, just another random question... am I supposed to somehow find a way to be able to twist the sidemarker in the way that the OEM ones latch onto the original plastic housing? Because with all of the wires plus the splicer, I don't see that as being possible. Should I just stuff all the wires into the engine area, connect the sidemarker to the car and call it a day?

 

[MGZ]

@MuffinMcFluffin This is the approach that I tried originally, only to realize that yes – the plug with the connector needs to be stuffed back into the marker. This means that the splice cannot be connect to the red wire as shown, since there's no way to reattach the housing to the marker and still have the wire running. This does mean you'll need to fit the splice inside where the body panel is, and yeess it's a tight squeeze. Or I've been doing it wrong and someone should correct me.
I ended up cutting the little wings off the quicksplice (the extended, rounder portions) so that it would be about .5 inch in length and I was able to get it to fit.

I think one guy removed the top plate from the engine bay so he had more room to work. It's better if you approach from the top down, but it's a lot more effort. I actually ran into an issue where one of the plugs is a bit loose in the housing and is causing one of the markers to be dim. Still troubleshooting the issue to see if it's a set up error or if it's an issue with the marker. Seems like you've gotten most of the way there, not so bad right?

I'll still try to update the thread when i get a chance this weekend.

 

[MuffinMcFluffin]

Okay, but then that doesn't make sense. The other wire is gray, not red. Do I do it with that one?

I just don't know how I'm going to be able to accomplish that. It's not as easy as it is being instructed by the guys who made that PDF.

 

[MGZ]

Maybe @procivic can chime in, but that's the way that I got everything back in there neatly. As for the wires, yes, the gray wire is positive in this case. You should be able to tap the wire, bundle the rest of it up and keep it pretty neat in there. Almost always, the black wire signifies negative, and in a set of two, the other should always be the positive line. But again, I'm not particularly qualified to dole out advice so I'm happy to have others chime in here.

Sponsored