Illuminated Sill Plates - Color change revisited
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Illuminated Sill Plates - Color change revisited
The original thread on how to do this is here. That was written based on the conversion of my set to purple for my SRT6.
This new write up is on changing the illuminated sill plate color also, but to green for MAYAman. Some new and good things to note before I proceed.
1. When I ordered the 1inch wide EL tape from www.beingseen.com the person taking my order recognized the length and the connections I asked for and said "Is this a Crossfire conversion kit?" I was stunned! I said 'yes' and he promptly filled my order.
2. When I received the order (late by no fault of the shipper) I was pleasantly suprised to find that the connections on the end were MUCH better than the first set I was shipped and didn't require me to cut the plastic to make room for the connections.
3. I received the sill plates from Wyckoff Chrysler, Inc. for $357.63 shipped. The sill plates were slightly different in that there was hot glue securing the wire connections through the plastic. This took a bit of work to remove, but it came out and didn't damage the aluminum outer plate or the pastic housing.
And before i go any further...
NOTE: Crossfires don't come from the factory with Illuminated Sill Plates. These are an accessory available normally through your Chrysler dealer for a cost of around $350. I obtained my original set through a user on this board who decided not to install theirs. I obtained the set for this project from Wyckoff Chrysler, Inc.
The original plates come as a light blue color when lit. (Think of the old Indiglo watches.)
From www.beingseen.com I ordered 5 feet of 1" EL tape and asked for Green. Green is not a color they have in just the EL tape so, as with my previous purple, they had white EL tape and a green film to put over it. This will work for a variety of colors or even alternating letter/word colors, etc. As stated above after telling beingseen that I would be cutting the 5 feet of EL tape in half and shorten each piece slightly, they asked if I was ordering a "Crossfire Conversion Kit" and I said yes.
In this "Kit", they put on the connections, include two inverters and leave the tape in a single piece. I would suggest you ask them to send you one inverter as the second one is only good for experimentation or (if you can add the connections) using the leftover tape for something else.
As you can see from the pictures, both "kits" arrived in good shape.
The general steps to the tutorial haven't really changed much.
1. Carefully pry up one corner (nearest the outside edge) and then gradually slice away at the adhesive strip holding the aluminum along the long edge.
2. Slice both short edges most of the way toward the "back" edge near the middle of the plate.
3. You may have to push the hot glue through the hole in order to pry the aluminum plate up on that side.
4. Tilting the plate off of the 'front' edge (long edge at bottom of text) use a longer knife (steak or pearing knife or a longer pocket knife) to slice away at the adhesive strip along the 'back' edge (long edge at the top of the text).
5. Once the plate is clear of the plastic sill base, clip the wires about 1/2" from the original EL tape.
6. Carefully and SLOWLY pry away the original EL tape from the two clear adhesive strips. The strips should remain on the clear lenses on the aluminum plate. If some of the clear adhesive comes up and stretches, slow down and afterward, trim off the stretched section as it will ball up.
7. Cut the new EL tape the exact same length as the original EL tape.
8. Cut the colored film the same width as the lit part of the original EL tape (about 7/8 of an inch). This should be wide enough to cover half of the clear adhesive strips when centered along the two strips. Depending upon the length of colored film you are supplied, you may have to cover the area in sections. Just make sure to cover the clear lenses completely. I don't know if it would make a difference but I didn't want to see white light bleeding out of the letters.
9. Place the new EL tape in the same position as the original. This should have the wires and connections right at the factory hole through the plastic.
10. Thread the new wires through the hole and re-assemble the aluminum plate/lens/EL Tape assembly to the plastic base. Once everything is lined up, press the assembly and base together firmly along both long edges until it's completely flat with the base.
11. Repeat for the second sill.
12. Cut the new wires about 3 inches from their connectors.
13. Strip a 1/4 inch from the ends and then strip 1/4 inch from the ends of one of the factory connector wires you cut off the original EL tape.
14. Twist the wires together and wrap with electrical tape or heat shrink tubnig. (I soldered mine for better conduction and reliablity.)
15. Repeat steps 12 through 14 for the second sill plate.
16. Cut off the Yellow factory inverter 1/4 inch from it's factory connector.
17. With the new inverter, connect the wires from the factory harness as follows. Red (from factory harness) to Red (from new inverter). Brown (from factory harness) to Black (from new inverter). Two Blacks (from factory harness) to Two Whites (from new inverter). The last connection is for AC current, so it doesn't matter which black goes to which white.
18. Cover joints with Electrical tape or shrink wrap. (Again, I soldered my connections.)
19. Test.
20. Ship to MAYAman... or install if it's yours.
Cheers!
This new write up is on changing the illuminated sill plate color also, but to green for MAYAman. Some new and good things to note before I proceed.
1. When I ordered the 1inch wide EL tape from www.beingseen.com the person taking my order recognized the length and the connections I asked for and said "Is this a Crossfire conversion kit?" I was stunned! I said 'yes' and he promptly filled my order.
2. When I received the order (late by no fault of the shipper) I was pleasantly suprised to find that the connections on the end were MUCH better than the first set I was shipped and didn't require me to cut the plastic to make room for the connections.
3. I received the sill plates from Wyckoff Chrysler, Inc. for $357.63 shipped. The sill plates were slightly different in that there was hot glue securing the wire connections through the plastic. This took a bit of work to remove, but it came out and didn't damage the aluminum outer plate or the pastic housing.
And before i go any further...
NOTE: Crossfires don't come from the factory with Illuminated Sill Plates. These are an accessory available normally through your Chrysler dealer for a cost of around $350. I obtained my original set through a user on this board who decided not to install theirs. I obtained the set for this project from Wyckoff Chrysler, Inc.
The original plates come as a light blue color when lit. (Think of the old Indiglo watches.)
From www.beingseen.com I ordered 5 feet of 1" EL tape and asked for Green. Green is not a color they have in just the EL tape so, as with my previous purple, they had white EL tape and a green film to put over it. This will work for a variety of colors or even alternating letter/word colors, etc. As stated above after telling beingseen that I would be cutting the 5 feet of EL tape in half and shorten each piece slightly, they asked if I was ordering a "Crossfire Conversion Kit" and I said yes.
In this "Kit", they put on the connections, include two inverters and leave the tape in a single piece. I would suggest you ask them to send you one inverter as the second one is only good for experimentation or (if you can add the connections) using the leftover tape for something else.
As you can see from the pictures, both "kits" arrived in good shape.
The general steps to the tutorial haven't really changed much.
1. Carefully pry up one corner (nearest the outside edge) and then gradually slice away at the adhesive strip holding the aluminum along the long edge.
2. Slice both short edges most of the way toward the "back" edge near the middle of the plate.
3. You may have to push the hot glue through the hole in order to pry the aluminum plate up on that side.
4. Tilting the plate off of the 'front' edge (long edge at bottom of text) use a longer knife (steak or pearing knife or a longer pocket knife) to slice away at the adhesive strip along the 'back' edge (long edge at the top of the text).
5. Once the plate is clear of the plastic sill base, clip the wires about 1/2" from the original EL tape.
6. Carefully and SLOWLY pry away the original EL tape from the two clear adhesive strips. The strips should remain on the clear lenses on the aluminum plate. If some of the clear adhesive comes up and stretches, slow down and afterward, trim off the stretched section as it will ball up.
7. Cut the new EL tape the exact same length as the original EL tape.
8. Cut the colored film the same width as the lit part of the original EL tape (about 7/8 of an inch). This should be wide enough to cover half of the clear adhesive strips when centered along the two strips. Depending upon the length of colored film you are supplied, you may have to cover the area in sections. Just make sure to cover the clear lenses completely. I don't know if it would make a difference but I didn't want to see white light bleeding out of the letters.
9. Place the new EL tape in the same position as the original. This should have the wires and connections right at the factory hole through the plastic.
10. Thread the new wires through the hole and re-assemble the aluminum plate/lens/EL Tape assembly to the plastic base. Once everything is lined up, press the assembly and base together firmly along both long edges until it's completely flat with the base.
11. Repeat for the second sill.
12. Cut the new wires about 3 inches from their connectors.
13. Strip a 1/4 inch from the ends and then strip 1/4 inch from the ends of one of the factory connector wires you cut off the original EL tape.
14. Twist the wires together and wrap with electrical tape or heat shrink tubnig. (I soldered mine for better conduction and reliablity.)
15. Repeat steps 12 through 14 for the second sill plate.
16. Cut off the Yellow factory inverter 1/4 inch from it's factory connector.
17. With the new inverter, connect the wires from the factory harness as follows. Red (from factory harness) to Red (from new inverter). Brown (from factory harness) to Black (from new inverter). Two Blacks (from factory harness) to Two Whites (from new inverter). The last connection is for AC current, so it doesn't matter which black goes to which white.
18. Cover joints with Electrical tape or shrink wrap. (Again, I soldered my connections.)
19. Test.
20. Ship to MAYAman... or install if it's yours.
Cheers!
Last edited by MMZ_TimeLord; 03-29-2008 at 11:10 PM.
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Re: Illuminated Sill Plates - Color change revisited
InfernoRedXfire,
You are quite welcome. I bet that red is going to look mean... make sure you get some pictures with a tripod when you are done so we can see them at night without a flash. I've found that's the only real way to take them without the shaky camera look. Tripod + camera on timer mode (10 second count down on mine).
Cheers!
You are quite welcome. I bet that red is going to look mean... make sure you get some pictures with a tripod when you are done so we can see them at night without a flash. I've found that's the only real way to take them without the shaky camera look. Tripod + camera on timer mode (10 second count down on mine).
Cheers!
Re: Illuminated Sill Plates - Color change revisited
Hello,
I have been working with TimeLord to refine the assembly and size of the pieces in this kit.
Would anyone be interested in a group buy price for these.
I would need a total of 20 kits ordered to set a pretty good price with all the parts and assembly work that is needed.
Color would not matter, but making the inverters one at a time is a lot of work.
if interested please send me a private message and I will come up with a cost and post it in the appropriate section of the forums.
thanks
Ed
I have been working with TimeLord to refine the assembly and size of the pieces in this kit.
Would anyone be interested in a group buy price for these.
I would need a total of 20 kits ordered to set a pretty good price with all the parts and assembly work that is needed.
Color would not matter, but making the inverters one at a time is a lot of work.
if interested please send me a private message and I will come up with a cost and post it in the appropriate section of the forums.
thanks
Ed
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Re: Illuminated Sill Plates - Color change revisited
Hi All!
I've already got the illuminated sills in my car (thanks PO!) but I'm going to go ahead and try changing the color to white. The only thing I haven't seen in detail yet is where the little yellow box for the original blue colored sills would have been installed if a dealership had put this in according to the original specs.
I just wanted to see if anyone knew before I go tearing the whole area behind my seats up looking to replace that one small piece.
Thanks!
I've already got the illuminated sills in my car (thanks PO!) but I'm going to go ahead and try changing the color to white. The only thing I haven't seen in detail yet is where the little yellow box for the original blue colored sills would have been installed if a dealership had put this in according to the original specs.
I just wanted to see if anyone knew before I go tearing the whole area behind my seats up looking to replace that one small piece.
Thanks!
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Re: Illuminated Sill Plates - Color change revisited
Originally Posted by James1549
Excuse my ignorance and without searching endess threads, what color is the OEM dealer installed sills? And can I assume you are giving instructions to change the color to your liking?
Thanks, James
Thanks, James
The original color is indigo blue (like a watch). The instructions he came up with are for changing the color to anything you want it to be.
Re: Illuminated Sill Plates - Color change revisited
Hello,
Just wanted to update everyone here on the forum that these illuminated door sill kits are still available.
The kits are available in any of 8 colors with 2 inverter options, all connections will be made in advance:
Single Inverter kit - meaning that both door sills will light when you open either door - $103.62
Double Inverter kit - meaning that there would one inverter detailed to each door sill and only that door sill light would come on when the door is opened - $114.41
both kit prices include ground shipping (3-6 days)
If there is any interest in a group buy, I can ship them together and save further on shipping and discount the price further per kit.
if interested please send me a private message and I will respond promptly. This will be the only statement of kit details and pricing so that no one thinks I am spamming the forum.
thanks to Timelord for working with me to set up this kit as needed.
Ed
Being Seen Tech
Just wanted to update everyone here on the forum that these illuminated door sill kits are still available.
The kits are available in any of 8 colors with 2 inverter options, all connections will be made in advance:
Single Inverter kit - meaning that both door sills will light when you open either door - $103.62
Double Inverter kit - meaning that there would one inverter detailed to each door sill and only that door sill light would come on when the door is opened - $114.41
both kit prices include ground shipping (3-6 days)
If there is any interest in a group buy, I can ship them together and save further on shipping and discount the price further per kit.
if interested please send me a private message and I will respond promptly. This will be the only statement of kit details and pricing so that no one thinks I am spamming the forum.
thanks to Timelord for working with me to set up this kit as needed.
Ed
Being Seen Tech
Re: Illuminated Sill Plates - Color change revisited
Hello FP,
There is a link to the Tutorial by Timelord in the first post of this thread. The kit includes:
the inverter or inverters setup for 12V DC
1" strip of lighting connected and wired to be ready for install in your existing sill plate kit.
the sill plate is purchased as an add-on from Chrysler.
thanks
Ed
There is a link to the Tutorial by Timelord in the first post of this thread. The kit includes:
the inverter or inverters setup for 12V DC
1" strip of lighting connected and wired to be ready for install in your existing sill plate kit.
the sill plate is purchased as an add-on from Chrysler.
thanks
Ed
Re: Illuminated Sill Plates - Color change revisited
Hey Guys,
Going to try something when it all comes in and see if members can save some money on these sills. I just bought some illuminated sills for mine, but going to use my old ones for this experiment. Im going to dremmel out the letters of the old ones. The metal seems thin enough and then I found the Luminesent strips on the internet with the complete wiring for just 6.95 for a 5 ft strip! You can cut them down to fit the sill. So with shipping and all for 2 sets it was under 20 bucks! Just a little labor, and you can have a set for about that. I am going to take pics of everything I do and hopefuly (keep your fingers crossed for me) You can get a set made for yours, whatever color you want, (I think they have white, blue, green and red) for about 20 bucks! These sills really set off our crossfires, their just so overpriced! Oh, also Im going to have to figure out how to seal the holes for water. Maybe a thin piece of plastic siliconed behind it. Ill figure it out and let yall know! ;-)
Going to try something when it all comes in and see if members can save some money on these sills. I just bought some illuminated sills for mine, but going to use my old ones for this experiment. Im going to dremmel out the letters of the old ones. The metal seems thin enough and then I found the Luminesent strips on the internet with the complete wiring for just 6.95 for a 5 ft strip! You can cut them down to fit the sill. So with shipping and all for 2 sets it was under 20 bucks! Just a little labor, and you can have a set for about that. I am going to take pics of everything I do and hopefuly (keep your fingers crossed for me) You can get a set made for yours, whatever color you want, (I think they have white, blue, green and red) for about 20 bucks! These sills really set off our crossfires, their just so overpriced! Oh, also Im going to have to figure out how to seal the holes for water. Maybe a thin piece of plastic siliconed behind it. Ill figure it out and let yall know! ;-)
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Re: Illuminated Sill Plates - Color change revisited
Originally Posted by Electroluminescent
Hello FP,
There is a link to the Tutorial by Timelord in the first post of this thread. The kit includes:
the inverter or inverters setup for 12V DC
1" strip of lighting connected and wired to be ready for install in your existing sill plate kit.
the sill plate is purchased as an add-on from Chrysler.
thanks
Ed
There is a link to the Tutorial by Timelord in the first post of this thread. The kit includes:
the inverter or inverters setup for 12V DC
1" strip of lighting connected and wired to be ready for install in your existing sill plate kit.
the sill plate is purchased as an add-on from Chrysler.
thanks
Ed
Re: Illuminated Sill Plates - Color change revisited
Hello Ichon,
The material in your Crossfire is run by a high voltage low frequency inverter setup to match inexpensive electroluminescent material. The EL in you car is rated at about 500 to 1000 hours. The new material is setup for a higher frequency, causing it to be much brighter, the material we offer is rated at 6500-8000 hours, about six to eight times the lighting longevity.
The material found by MikeNewb is more of the same. We offer a much higher quality product that will last a very long time.
the cost for a total kit = $108.62 - shipped.
thanks
Ed
508 930 2277 cell just about anytime.
The material in your Crossfire is run by a high voltage low frequency inverter setup to match inexpensive electroluminescent material. The EL in you car is rated at about 500 to 1000 hours. The new material is setup for a higher frequency, causing it to be much brighter, the material we offer is rated at 6500-8000 hours, about six to eight times the lighting longevity.
The material found by MikeNewb is more of the same. We offer a much higher quality product that will last a very long time.
the cost for a total kit = $108.62 - shipped.
thanks
Ed
508 930 2277 cell just about anytime.
Re: Illuminated Sill Plates - Color change revisited
Good point Ed! Didn't think about how long these strips I ordered would last! I emailed the company that makes them and this what he emailed me back,
Dear Mike:
Thank you for your inquiry! Our EL wire has a rated average life of 5500hrs of luminescence.
If you have any further questions, please contact us.
Sincerely,
Christopher Ninclaus
Technical Support Team
StarTech.com
So I guess 6.95 a strip for that long that pretty good deal! 5500 hours of my doors open will take a while..;-) Mikenewb
Dear Mike:
Thank you for your inquiry! Our EL wire has a rated average life of 5500hrs of luminescence.
If you have any further questions, please contact us.
Sincerely,
Christopher Ninclaus
Technical Support Team
StarTech.com
So I guess 6.95 a strip for that long that pretty good deal! 5500 hours of my doors open will take a while..;-) Mikenewb
Re: Illuminated Sill Plates - Color change revisited
Hello Mike,
Now I know what material you are talking about.
EL Cable or EL Wire has been on the market since about 1997, comes in about 8 colors.
The material now sells for about $1.25 - $1.50 per foot.
Here is the main difference:
EL Wire has 0.92 square inches of Electroluminescent lighting per foot and the general purpose wire is 2.2 - 2.6 mm in diameter, or 3/32 of an inch.
The Crossfire Conversion Kits has 5 feet of 1" wide material. The Flat EL in the kit has 12 square inches of electroluminescent per foot, if you do the math then one foot of 1" wide flat EL should cost 13 times more or about $16.00 per foot. The price of 1" wide Flat EL is less than $13.00 even for just one foot and all of the light shows upward towards the logo.
We offer the EL wire, the same as Star Tech, but he offers the Chinese EL cable, we offer the original Israeli EL cable, huge difference. I have the Chinese EL cable - it last no where near 5500 hours, more like about 1500-2000. We set up a test sample and it died inside of 4 months, constantly lit. I just replaced an application from Trump Casino that lasted over 23,000 hours.
Just my two cents...
thanks for listening.
Ed
Now I know what material you are talking about.
EL Cable or EL Wire has been on the market since about 1997, comes in about 8 colors.
The material now sells for about $1.25 - $1.50 per foot.
Here is the main difference:
EL Wire has 0.92 square inches of Electroluminescent lighting per foot and the general purpose wire is 2.2 - 2.6 mm in diameter, or 3/32 of an inch.
The Crossfire Conversion Kits has 5 feet of 1" wide material. The Flat EL in the kit has 12 square inches of electroluminescent per foot, if you do the math then one foot of 1" wide flat EL should cost 13 times more or about $16.00 per foot. The price of 1" wide Flat EL is less than $13.00 even for just one foot and all of the light shows upward towards the logo.
We offer the EL wire, the same as Star Tech, but he offers the Chinese EL cable, we offer the original Israeli EL cable, huge difference. I have the Chinese EL cable - it last no where near 5500 hours, more like about 1500-2000. We set up a test sample and it died inside of 4 months, constantly lit. I just replaced an application from Trump Casino that lasted over 23,000 hours.
Just my two cents...
thanks for listening.
Ed
Re: Illuminated Sill Plates - Color change revisited
No, actually the 6.95 is for 5 FT. It is narrower than yours, but the connection on it can handle 2 strips, so I went ahead and ordered another set. So it will wind up costing me 40 bucks. I was thinking maybe trying to put 2 different color strips in there, one on top of the letters and another on bottom for kind of a blended 2 color look! Dunno, Like I said, this is all and experiment. :-) And like I said, I would think 5500 hours is plenty for door jams! Even half that, you would probably never see them burn out! Im just trying this to try and save some money for me and my fellow crossfire members. God knows everything on this car is expensive! Nice to save a little now and then!. Besides, think it will be fun trying it. Who knows, if this is not that big of a hassle and turns out great, I might go in business converting peoples door sills for half price for people that dont want to mess with it! :-)
