oceandreams89

Hi everyone. I'm a new member of the forum, just having bought a 2008 GT a few months ago.

When I was looking around for a car, one item my wife and daughter and I liked was an ambient lighting package that some cars had. The car I bought has everything but.....

I know there is a Ford kit to install this feature into the car for around $225.00 or so, but I would like the system to work as it would from the factory, with the trim ring lights in the cup holders, and not just an led lighting up the cup holders. I also want to be able to turn it off, and not have it constantly on if the headlights are on....so I'm not interested in the aftermarket light bar options.

Has anyone installed this Ford factory kit, and if so, how simple is it to do, and does it function like it would from a factory installed option? Also, if I elected to replace the center console with the trim ring lighted cup holder, how much of a job is it to change out the console, and wire, or is there a harness pre-wired under there already? (again - it's a 2008 GT)

Thanks guys. I know these forums are a great resource, and I'm looking forward to learning as much as I can from you all as time progresses.

Thanks again!
Todd

BigDinTexas

I personally don't know of a factory kit that will provide this, but I do know you can get the MyColor option added after the fact, but you must have the wiring already in the dash... It will be behind the blanks to the left of the 12v outlet above the radio.

However, this will only get you color changing of the dash lights and extra info and 2 more gauges on the cluster.

If you know of a factory kit, could you post up a link as I might be interested in it myself.

Don

oceandreams89

I have the Mycolor lighting of the dash gauges, it's menu selectable through the buttons above the radio that control the message center. I can change the instruments through a bunch of different colors. I'd like to extend that to floor lighting, cupholder etc as it is in the Ambient lighting option.

I did see a Ford factory kit, but it does not have the lighted rings in the cup holder. Instead, it has an added led light which floords the cupholder interior with light. The factory ambient lighting kit has the cup holders lit in decorative clear trim rings inside the cup holders that also hold the LED lights. I'm sure anything is possible if you throw enough funding at it.... but I'm not sure how much funding that would be, and how difficult it is to do. I want it to look and work like the factory ambient lighting package.

Thanks to anyone who has done this, and knows what I need to do.....

Todd

ironh19

ambient lighting., I did that in every car I owned.. except the mustang, because its not rice.

aaquib1992

Thanks for the unneeded opinion bro.


Anyway OP; I wanted to mimick the mycolor interior too (to an extent) and I wanted the footwell lighting first and foremost. I went with these from amazon and used another members tutorial, found here to make it work.

Overall I was happy with what I got, and at night it is a very deep blue that I keep it at and thus got some blue LED dome lights (superbrightleds.com) to match the theme. Usable light goes down a little, but I didn't really mind. If you want I could post some pics of the interior after the install, but the tutorial by 07blackgt has some pics that show it off really well, just his are set at red.

For a quick list I think you need those wire splicers, a few solderless terminals, some electrical tape, the kit, and about 2 hours to open up the car and get to the ground and hide the wires once done. Pretty easy stuff.

Young_Gun

I do ambient in all my cars! Haven't gotten around to doing it with this one (2nd Mustang), but I just splice the harness into the hard wire for my head unit

oceandreams89

I've seen the aftermarket lighting kits, but want 100% Ford factory appearance and function. I want to be able to change the colors and most importantly, turn them off, so they dont have to be on, like they would if they were wired to the headlight or interior light circuit.

I'm sure there is a ton of Ford OEM interior parts I would need to modify the interior, and I'm sure someone here has spent the time and money to do this all as if it were the factory installed option.

I had several Mustangs as rental cars a few years back, and they had the ambient lighting option, which I thought was interesting, but also nice to turn off if it got distracting. I'm doing it mostly for my little kids who I think would get a kick out of it.... besides, it's one more button to push, and as a pilot....I like pushing buttons...

Todd

oceandreams89

I did a little investigating a little while ago, and I have found by removing the center console, that there are 2 wireing plugs that are open under the console, one under the upper right side of the passenger footwell, and one under the upper middle of the drivers side footwell.

Since my car is equipped with the "My Color" dash lighting option, I wonder if it is pre-wired for the ambient lighting option....

Here are some pictures:

Center console open plugs:

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Drivers Footwell:

[IMG][/IMG]

Passenger Footwell:

[IMG][/IMG]

Any thoughts, or experience? I hope this just got a lot quicker and easier...

Thanks guys,
Todd

aaquib1992

Yes I do believe most later model mustangs are ambient lighting harness equipped, with the harnesses in the dash and console. However I think you would need to track down the buttons for the dashboard on/off/toggle button as well.

I guess it's woth mentioning that the kit I linked to has a separate remote (just in case you missed it) if you want to dim/turn off the lights since they automatically come on when you turn your headlights on. But since you are going for the factory equipment, I would say shop around maybe ebay? Not too sure on where to find the console lights since I also have rarely seen them in the for sale section of this site.

oceandreams89

Well, I ordered a ton of parts online last night from Silverstatefordparts.com The guy I dealt with there, John, was more helpful than I ever could imagine.

The parts total came up to $553.00 with shipping, which makes me believe that I'm a little more than nuts to do this to make my kids smile.... but WTF right? I'd rather spend more on original factory parts, and make the car the way it would be from the factory. I guess we will see how it goes. I'm hoping it all plugs in, and it will be good to go.