Frankman

I installed the Customdynamics DRL light tubes today (part TF21WS). These are the same LED tubes that Smangerer installed, but in white instead of amber color. The 5.1 inch smoke colored tubes fit perfectly in the lower left and right black fascia as shown in the photos. I tapped into the hot wire that Brother Mike noted in his earlier post in this thread. I think it is the interior LED dome light circuit because the lights stay on 30 seconds after the last door is shut after turning off the car.

They are not bright enough to overpower the headlights if thats what your asking. I couldn't say if they are too bright for oncoming or rear view traffic but no complaints yet and having seen some truck lightbar mods, Im on the low end of the offensive scale in comparison.

 

I leave mine on all the time unless Im parked with accessory mode on for radio or watching netflix or when taking it in for service. The FOB module has a button dedicated to 6 brightness settings but I leave mine on high. 

Yeah, that is what I was asking.  In the photo you posted the headlights are off.  I ordered the white 6500K type am thinking they will appear brighter than the amber color.

one thing I noticed when I tested these strips is that they have a slight throw up or down depending on how you hold them and they are identical. The reason I mention it is that you will instinctively want to mount them with the wires coming out of the strip to the center for minimal wire exposure. But if you do that, one side will be casting up and the other down. I have both of my strips mounted with the wires going to the right. The one on the right of the car I had to tuck the wires in between the grill and body and back toward the center to the gap. 

 

I doubt that anyone would notice if I had just mounted them but Im a lighting professional and it would have bugged me. Test your lights first and rotate them up and down to get a feel for where the beam is cast strongest. 

Thanks for the tip.  I assumed that the light would fire straight forward.  The way that you mounted them (wires to right), is the light projected slightly upward or downward?  I am thinking that slightly upward would be better because the light bar is mounted very low on the vehicle.

I used the adhesive backing on the strips to mount them and I pulled the wire up with a coat hanger. Its hard to describe and I doubt I could get a picture but I tied a loop on the end of the wire and pushed it though a gap on either side behind the outer most grill opening. Now standing with hood open looking down, If you hold your head and a flashlight at an incredibly specific angle you can see the wire loop and with careful movements (think operation) I got it pulled up. Im sure I could have taken the car apart but screw that. I then zip tied the wires along framing over to the fuse side. I used an existing bolt on the frame with extra thread for ground and I tapped the rear wiper fuse for power. It may appear a bit loose in spots but I wanted to be able to pull it all out with ease If I desired.

Great, that helps a lot Smangerer. I read that the LED strips have 36 inches of 26 gauge wire attached which is thin enough to fish through small spaces as you did. Do you turn on the LED strips when driving at night with the headlights on or are they too bright to do that?

Hi below are some close-up shots I took with my iPhone.  Hopefully this will aid you in doing this yourself.  I'm not sure what wire I tapped into but  looking in the fusebox standing from the left front fender I took a spaded lug and jammed it into the fourth wire from the bottom left corner.  It appears to be a light gray wire with a light blue stripe.  I tried many different wires before finding this one which turns on the ribbon DLR's as well as my Hella 8 LED lights when the doors open.  They stay on approximately 5 or 6 seconds then go out.  Once I'm in the car and push the start button they all come on and stay on until the ignition is turned off.  They also stay on when it gets dark enough to illuminate the factory headlights.  I'm quite happy with this setup.  I wish you good luck in your project, let me know how it all ends up?  I'd be interested.  Certainly ask me any other questions you might have?

Thanks for posting the info and photos of the wire in the fusebox that you connected the DRLs to. I have an Energi and will take a look to see if my car has the same colored wire that you used. I wonder what the function is for that wire? Because your DRLs behave the same as the amber front parking lights maybe that is what the grey/blue striped wire is for?

I apologize but I left out one site, radiantz.com.

 

Headlight strips are the "Roachez" from Radiantz.

 

Lower grill is the denser "True Flex" on the costomdynamics site [/size]or "[/size]Z-Flex" on the radiantz site. I got the first but they appear to very similar in design and price. These have the LEDS packed in there for maximum punch.[/size]

 

The switch is [/size]http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/installation-supplies/universal-remote-control-with-key-fobs-rgb/1533/3560/ [/size]

 

It took me hours to initially find all these sites and products so enjoy![/size]

 

(PS. I realize the last two links are to the roachez link. It wont let me add new links for the diffrent products. It is the correct website however.)[/size]

 

CustomDynamics.com[/size]

Radiantz.com[/size]

SuperBrightleds.com[/size]

Thanks for the information Smangerer. I just ordered the True Flex 5.1 inch led light bars from Custom Dynamics. I like the location that you placed the led bar. Did you drill a hole in the lower plastic grill to pass the wires through? I am trying to figure out how to get the wires from the lower grill to the fuse block in the engine compartment. Any tips would be appreciated.

Can the C-Max Hybrid manual be downloaded from Ford or another website?

Are the navigation maps stored on a memory card somewhere in the vehicle?

On the last page of the PDF M-Max brochure I downloaded from the Ford website it says that one of the features is a "Perimeter Alarm". This is listed in the Exterior Features in the brochure. Does anyone know what this means? I have been trying to locate an online C-Max manual to try to figure out what it means but I can'l locate a C-Max manual on the Ford website.