07 X2 LED Install

[wakeX2wake]

this will be my comprehensive thread for my LED install... been at this for the better part of a month (off and on)... while my photography skills may be lacking my vision for this project has not... to date i've got through 3 phases of 5 on my project overall...

the first phase was to put 2 8mm LEDs above the cupholders and 2 4 LED Pods under the dash... the 8mm LEDs and the 4 LED Pods were ordered from www.plasmaLED.com... they were great and got shipments out quickly and while there wasn't a number to call their e-mail system was quick answering any questions...

All the power wires i ran using thermostat wire available at any home improvements store... i used red butt connectors to wire everything in... no problems as of yet w/ the life of the electrical connection...

the two LED Pods under the dash i mounted to the dash braces but will soon be moved to the outer walls facing inward to give a better glow effect instead of a shining (sorry the picture i'll post later do it NO justice)

the two 8mm LEDs (2 over each cupholder) are mounted w/ gorilla glue (the only thing i could find to adhere well enough to the fiberglass... hot glue DID NOT work as it would release when temps went up under the black cover as the boat was sitting in the driveway) and small squares of velcro... i glued the velcro to the LED and the other to the fiberglass so that the direction of the light is fully adjustable... ie you can keep the LED from spotlighting on an exact spot...

sorry no pics of phase 1... camera was borrowed by sister who took it w/ her when she returned to college

phase 2 was installing new interior "courtesy" lights... had to drill for this one... wasn't happy at all about it... but now that it's done it looks great and gives the desired effect... i replaced the factory courtesy w/ a M-400 unit from abyss lighting (also great to work with you)... installed pic below... again THE DRILLING WAS NOT FUN... used a hole saw bit in reverse which was tricky b/c there was nothing for the auger bit to "bite" into... i almost cried over it... but it's in now...

[wakeX2wake]

the next step was to replace all the speaker grilles w/ "lit up" speaker grilles... thanks MYMC for the hook up on the grilles and after some careful modification to the grilles i added six 8mm LEDs to each speaker grille... drilled the hole through the speaker housing and... voila... after connecting a bunch of freaking wires and running power to each speaker locale... here's the photographic journey through lighting the grilles

[wakeX2wake]

continued.............


this is before i got the JL AUDIO plate installed in the grille... just lazyness

[wakeX2wake]

shots of the grilles in and lit...

closeup

port side bow

[wakeX2wake]

more...........
starboard bow

starboard bow w/ flash on

port side main area

[wakeX2wake]

and this is the boat through phases 1, 2, & 3... honestly pictures do no justice... at least my pictures don't... figuring out camera and all that fun stuff... it's a Sony DSC-H3
from the stern

from the bow

[coz]

saweeeeet!

[kgrove]

I'm interested in this... not in a "pimp my ride' kind of way, but more a "where the f- is my wallet" or a "tired of stubbing my toe on the anchor sitting on the floor in the dark" or a "that's not my drink, that's my buddy's spit cup" kind of way.

Is there a simple to acquire and install LED out there to replace the stock convenience lights with something that gives off more lumens?

[wakeX2wake]

not in a "pimp my ride' kind of way, but more a "where the f- is my wallet" or a "tired of stubbing my toe on the anchor sitting on the floor in the dark" or a "that's not my drink, that's my buddy's spit cup" kind of way.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA i know exactly what you're saying there

Is there a simple to acquire and install LED out there to replace the stock convenience lights with something that gives off more lumens?

abysslighting.com... there is a similar unit to what i installed available in white... the M-500... not bad just the drilling sucked... they really light the interior of the boat up... the blue isn't too bad for bugs but MAN... the white ones bring them in

[kgrove]

What made the drilling so bad?

[wakeX2wake]

using a hole saw bit in reverse w/ nothing to guide you... the bit wanted to jump each time you made contact w/ the fiberglass b/c there was already a big hole there where the other courtesy light was so there was nothing for the auger or "guide" bit to hold to to keep the bit perfectly straight

[JohnE]

using a hole saw bit in reverse w/ nothing to guide you... the bit wanted to jump each time you made contact w/ the fiberglass b/c there was already a big hole there where the other courtesy light was so there was nothing for the auger or "guide" bit to hold to to keep the bit perfectly straight

Depending on how much larger the new hole would be, I'd have done one of 2 things:

1. If the new hole was large enough to allow for a screw head inside the diameter of the new hole, you can screw a strip of plywood behind the old hole for the pilot bit to bite into.

2. If the new hole was just slightly larger, you could make a template (cut the hole in a scrap of smooth plywood) for the hole saw to run in and clamp/ tape/ hold it in place.

[wakeX2wake]

yup totally free handed it w/ the hole saw bit... tried to put a piece of deck board behind the hole by the glass was too thick for the auger bit to reach...

[JohnE]

yup totally free handed it w/ the hole saw bit... tried to put a piece of deck board behind the hole by the glass was too thick for the auger bit to reach...

You're either braver, better, smarter, or dumber than me, 'cause there's no way I would have freehanded it!

Nice job on the install. I'll be doing something like that on my 214 this winter. I hadn't really thought it out completely, but I'm going to take a real close look at your pic's now. Thanks for the thread.

[JohnE]

the two 8mm LEDs (2 over each cupholder) are mounted w/ gorilla glue (the only thing i could find to adhere well enough to the fiberglass...]

How about some of that 3M double faced tape that #1 talks about?