| |
BACK TO DIY 2000 TECH SUMMARY

Introduction:
This is an autotoys.com installation. One of several
hundred by the staff of autotoys.com
This article is a sample of knowledge gained by working on real
cars for over 25 years.
Online for over 17+ years, when you buy a product from us,
we give you real support when you need it.
Instant access to answers through our customer forums. With thousands
of customers, avoid delays, errors and miscalculations in your
installation.. buy from autotoys.com - your outlet for car audio,
car alarms and auto accessories.
Products:
If you have an interest in any of the products
in this article, everything featured (electrical tape, connectors,
radio, alarm, wire ties, rca cables, diodes, screws --- everything is available 'now' (FOR SALE!) through our storefront).
Remember, there may be many manufacturers out there who sell similar
products as the ones featured in our articles, but if you want
a problem-free smooth professional install, your only guarantee is to buy the same parts we use (see our storefront).
Any slight difference in any of the parts and your install is
ruined (plus you won't have access to our post sale support or
forums). Especially important for alarm, radio and OEM changer
products.
Sales People (be careful!):
Everyday, we get dozens of requests through
our chat & ticket support system, request for forum passwords,
questions on installation problems or questions. We can only focus on questions from our customers. The questions are simple..
the answers are simple - but these people, because they did not
buy from AUTOTOYS.COM cannot get an answer. Dont make a mistake
by buying through auctions, fly by night operations or new pop
up websites who are just a voice over the phone (a sales person)
with absolutely NO EXPERIENCE.
No experience installing in cars, no experience what-so-ever!
They barely know the products they sell! Don't make that mistake!
Make sure your purchase is from autotoys.com. These articles are
proof we know what we are doing and that we WORK IN CARS! We work on the newest cars with
the newest products.
SIDE
MARKER LIGHTS INSTALL GUIDE
Another AUTOTOYS.COM
exclusive step by step DIY installation guide.
Side
marker blinker lights. They add a little bit of european style
to your car, plus it adds a small degree of safety when driving.
These side blinker lights are there for a reason and come mounted
on many european cars. If a car is next to you in lane, when you
change lanes, it is difficult for them to see your intentions.
With side marker blinker lights installed, there is a clear indication
of what you want to do, you want to change lanes and they can
see you.
Inexpensive:
We sell these kits for under $20.00 a pair including yellow amber
bulbs, made by RACTIVE. Its easy to install, but
requires a little bit of mechnical knowledge and some courage.
We have heard quotes from $30.00 to as much as $100.00 to install
a pair of these side marker lights. Well show you step by
step how to do it, this is a easy weekend project. Although this
installation was done on a Accord Coupe, it can apply to ANY vehicle.
Shortcuts:
Well show you a few shortcuts and a few tips.
Some of them is going to save you a lot of time, other
tips are going to help you and prevent you from denting or scratching
your car by accident (but if you do scratch or dent your car,
its your fault, so be careful!)
Tools:
We are going to show you a tool AUTOTOYS.COM installers have been
using since we have been installing. It is a simple mechanical
tool and can be bought from Radio Shack. There is automatic versions
available which is available from tool manufacturers like Bosch
which we do have, but well keep it simple. Why and how do
we use this tool? Well, this tool has always been in our toolbox
because we used it to cut small holes in metal for speaker openings,
enlarge door cavities to mount doorlock actuators, things like
that. Your local performance shop may not know about it because
they really never had a need for it.
Copyright:
Remember, we write these articles to help you. They take a lot
of time to research, photograph and document. Its free.
Each
one of our articles online is written and photographed in detail.
Maybe, just maybe if you see how easy it is, you may buy the products
from us because we gave you a template on installation.
You
can give out or post our TECH SECTION link directly, you can give
your friends the link, post it on your favorite car talk forum,
but we ask you not to open this page in ANY FRAMES or WINDOWS
on YOUR SITE, do not copy our images, to other retailers
that sell the same or similar products - do not refer YOUR
CUSTOMERS (if you sell the same products) to our site (you
support your customers, well support ours...do the work
if you can), we highly discourage it and we can get quite
grouchy about these situations.
***
Since we wrote this article back in 2001, we had every single
retailer and website copy our pictures and even our wording. If
you see something like what is pictured here on ANOTHER RETAILER'S
SITE (even down to copying the tools we used), you KNOW AUTOTOYS.COM
WROTE IT ORIGINALLY!
They didnt write it because they have no idea how to install or
help you with your purchase!
Buy from people who can, AUTOTOYS.COM!!
|
|
Get
yourself a piece of cardboard... We ship thousands of packages,
cardboard was all around us! Use a small piece, or trim one
to this size.
Get
a marker and a sharp razor blade. |
|
|
Lay
your light on top of the cardboard, GO AROUND IT with the
marker
Then
CUT A HOLE about 1/4 of a inch INSIDE of the border you
just drew. DO NOT CUT ON THE LINE, cut 1/4 inch INSIDE the
line. |
|
|
Pop
a light into the cardboard for a test fit. It works! This
is it! PERFECT
Simple
right?
When
autotoys.com shows you how.... |
|
|
Here,
take a closer look. |
|
|
Ok,
here it is from the back. Exactly how you need to cut it. |
|
|
Mask
up the area around where you want to work. Use good masking
tape.
TIP!
We lined up our masking tape with the lines of this accord.
You dont want your light to be off angle right? Take
your time.
Take
a look at how we lined it up |
|
|
Remember,
that template we made earlier?
Well,
use it and draw a circle. |
|
|
You
will need a sharp drill bit.
Shown
here is our cobalt drill bit and a UNIBIT (can be purchased
from any home store, we buy them from snap-on trucks) --
but this bit is optional, it is not REQUIRED but makes things
easier. |
|
|
Here
is the secret weapon, from our tool box. Its a sheet metal
nibbler. It will allow you to finish this job quickly, safely
and neatly! You can buy this part at any Radio shack, its
very inexpensive and it can be used later for other things.
It cuts plastic, metal, whatever... |
|
|
Drill
the hole. |
|
|
Insert
unibit, ENLARGE the hole so you can insert the nibbler.
This is entirely optional, you can always use a larger drill
bit to accomplish the same thing.
Be
careful in this step. Take a look. |
|
|
We
started to go LEFT with our nibbler, see how neat it is!! |
|
|
More
left. |
|
|
Going
down, like your mother said, stay within the lines!! |
|
|
NEAT
RIGHT?
And
it only took like 5-10 minutes to get all this removed!!!
VERY FAST! |
|
|
This
is where we drilled, this tool gives us so much control we
went under and around where we drilled, shown here. |
|
|
Test
fit. Nibble out the areas where you need extra space, but
NOT TOO MUCH!!!! |
|
|
TIP:
We had some extra touch up paint from Honda around. Our fit
was nice and tight. We touched up the area where we nibbled
out, the exposed metal.
We
put a LOT of touch up paint all around the perimeter of
the exposed metal, BEFORE IT DRIED, we placed the light
in. The paint while it was drying HELPED keep the light
in place (slightly!) and helps prevents rusting also! |
|
|
We
used a clear flat smoke version.
We
carry 4 versions in our BULB department (CLICK ON SHOP NOW)
We
carry flat smoke, flat clear, raised smoke and raised clear.
Some
people like the clear look, some people like it flat, some
people like it raised, whatever you like, we have it! Shown
here is the flat smoke version. |
|
|
Another
shot. Perfectly lined up and it looks GREAT!!!! |
|
|
CLOSEUP!!
YOU
CAN DO IT TOO! |
|
|
AUTOTOYS.COM
sells these side blinkers for under $20.00 a pair. For $20.00
a pair, we also give you the yellow amber bulbs too, so it
is READY TO BLINK. However, we wanted some style, so we replaced
the amber bulbs it comes with and put in some hiperwhite Polarg
M4 194/168 bulbs. Youll see the end result!
See
our BULB department if you want these same bulbs or other
ones in different colors. I guess green and red will look
nice, but only at shows or at the track. |
|
|
Lets
wire them. Turn your wheel to the left. Remove the 2 clips. |
|
|
Shown
here is a panel popper tool. Its for sale in our TOOLS department,
it fits perfectly under the plugs and removes them without
breaking them. You can also use this tool to tuck wires, pull
panels off doors, etc, great for the toolbox and always in
stock at AUTOTOYS.COM. |
|
|
The
bulb comes with 2 male spade connectors. |
|
|
You
will need 2 FEMALE spade connectors to get it connected. We
also recommend like 10 feet of speaker wire.
BOTH
the FEMALE SPADE CONNECTORS and the SPEAKER wire is AVAILABLE
in our TOOLS DEPARTMENT and is VERY CHEAP! Why run to the
store, buy it all at once, everything you will need. |
|
|
Picture
of the M4 bulb and the wires inserted. Almost done! |
|
|
Get
the wires halway across, replace the plugs. |
|
|
This
shows you how to connect and run the wires. |
|
|
This
is where you connect the wires in this car |
|
|
Shown
here is the connection with 2 red t-taps and 2 male spades
(available in our tools department under connectors). Replace
bulb to factory housing, replace plugs. YOU ARE DONE! |
|
|
IT
WORKS!
LOOKS
GREAT with the HIPERWHITE bulb installed.
Safety!
Style! |
WHY WASTE TIME!
DO IT RIGHT!
GET THE SIDE MARKERS IN OUR BULB DEPARTMENT!
See our BULB department here
autotoys.com for post
sale support)
SHOP NOW
LEGAL
& TERMS OF USE
© 2011 Images, Layout - AUTOTOYS.COM,
All text and information contained in our tech articles is the Intellectual
Property of AUTOTOYS.COM. Reproduction
in any form is strictly prohibited.
Use of published information for any commercial value is prohibited.
Information is provided AS-IS for private use
- use at your own risk. We do not suggest this information
to be accurate. Do not use it as a reference or guide.This information
may be completely inaccurate, so use your own discretion and see a professional
installer if you need help.
SUPPORT
IMPORTANT?
Information
and photos in this article is not public submitted material, it is knowledge
gained by real world experience. Make sure your next purchase is from
AUTOTOYS.COM. A company founded by Real installers! (not sales
people)
Missing
Photos and information.
Questions on this install? Make sure your purchase is from autotoys.com, see our storefront. A few words on what you see in this article.
This is a guide, use the information at your own risk.
Missing photos: Some steps may
have been intentionally left out. These missing photos and steps will
be available to our customers only. This article may also contain crucial
and very important updated information which is available to our customers
only. If you are a customer of ours and this article applies to you, post
a message in the forums here,
we will walk and help you through your entire installation! If you are
NOT a customer of ours, click on the SHOP now button and do it right the first time. Forum access is not a requirement
for filling orders, we reserve the right to grant, deny or remove access
without notice or explanation.
Forum access is
granted to customers with qualifying orders only (make sure all of your
gear, not just your accessories is from autotoys.com)
m
|
 |
 |