'95 LX interior light change-out

[dannyrinaldi78]

I have a '95 LX. Pretty basic set-up. I noticed there is no map light, only an interior dome light. If I bought the map light, could I install it in my car? Will I have to run wiring, or is the wiring already there from the factory?

[TomQuick]

I don't believe there is any wiring in place. I have seen some pics of custom installs done by other Accord owners. Ebay, or the junk yard seem to be good sources for map lights. Look at different cars, and pick one that you like, then grab as much of the wiring / bracketry as you can get. Carefully mark, and cut the headliner, then it's a matter of running wires (should be able to find all the connections you need at the dome light, so I'd run it from there) and piecing together some kind of bracket to hold it in place.

If you try it, take lots of pictures, and let us know how it works out. I'm very interested in installing one in my car as well, just haven't gotten around to actually deciding on which map light I want to use, and doing the work.

[htekken]

yes you can. i have done the 96-97 maplight mod to my 94. it can be a lot of work. have to remove the headliner carefully, cut hole in headliner, and extend maplight wires to the dome light. worth it in the end cuz the maplight is useful.

EDIT: my diy maplight result, this was right after i was done, so the dirt and template marks are no longer there.

[htekken]

i know this is a little old, but here are pics from my install

[TomQuick]

That looks nice. I need to get one of those for my car, and some of those super bright LED bulbs for it.

[htekken]

meh thought about gettin LED's for them too at one point, but i like the softness of the regular bulbs for maplights. i do have some led's for the door and dome light. and they are definitely brighter.

[TomQuick]

I know the LED's can be kind of harsh, but I think I'm going to give them a try anyway. Did you use any kind of bracketry to hold it in place, or is it just press fit in? If you did use a bracket, did it come with the light, or did you create your own?

[htekken]

Originally Posted by TomQuick

I know the LED's can be kind of harsh, but I think I'm going to give them a try anyway. Did you use any kind of bracketry to hold it in place, or is it just press fit in? If you did use a bracket, did it come with the light, or did you create your own?

it was all a package. behind the led board is 3m tape, which came with the package. so its just held in by tape.

the led's i have, shown in the pics prob wont fit in the maplights. its a very tight fit in the maplight housing for a bulb as it is. but you can try and give it a go

[TomQuick]

Duh, I wasn't terribly clear in my last post, I wasn't asking about bracketry for the LED bulbs, I was asking about bracketry to hold the map light in.

[htekken]

oh, gotcha. i used the same bracket that came with the maplight inside the 96-97.

[Russianred]

Hey, I know this is old.. But I just did this mod, and I am having trouble with the wiring. I wired it to the regular wires, and the map lights only work when they are pressed on and the doors are open when the door sensor is not pressed.

As soon as the doors are closed, the sensor is pressed, the dome light, courtesy lights, and map lights also turn off.

I'd like to make the map lights work independently from the door sensor and other lights, however when I tried to re-wire the map light to to one of the contacts on the dome light switch, I think I blew a fuse.

What is the correct way to wire these so that they work independently of what the dome light or courtesy lights are doing?

[Russianred]

I figured it out finally.. To make these map lights work independently, positive needs to go to positive, and map light ground must be grounded to the chassis of the car itself, not touching anywhere on the main dome light fixture. I used the left post where the nut screws on to hold dome light up.. Reason being is the left pole is not grounded to the switch unit like the right one is.