MX-3.com

O.K.
I noticed that in alot of newer cars these days there is a timer delay on the interior light once you get in or it turns on when you unlock the door(via keyless entry)
I have just installed underbody neons and also added some new neons to the interior of the car(incl. led shift knob)..
My plan is to hook up a timer which turns all these lights on when I unlock my car, or when my door opens..
Has anyone done this.. I figure it will need to wired into my existing alarm system(which also unlocks my doors). Personally I think that this will look awesome.. Let me know whether you guys have done it or seen it done before.

great idea man , havent seen it done before, that would be really hot to see (especially if you had it hooked up so when u hit the unlock button it flashed twice with the beep(if u have that))...if you get it all hooked up let me know how u did it cuz i would def like to do that if i get neon...

I havent done it , but one easy way to do it would be to wire it with a capicitor supplying power to a relay, that way once the cap runs out the relay will deactivate disconnecting power from the lights. also when you deactivate the alarm it should power up the CAP enough to keep the relay active and supply power to turn the lights on.

The rest is pritty simple to figure out.

This is BASICALY how the newer cars do it.

what you would need to do is install the timer on your car for your interior lights. Then you will run a relay that will turn them on with the interior lights. Then you'll want a switch that will turn them on at will. This will require a line spliced into the power, then to the switch. If you need anymore info, feel free to email me.

Visual XTC
Sounds like you are thinking alomg the exact same lines as me..
That is how I envisaged doing it..
The hard part will be finding how to engage the interior light when the car is Locked/unlocked with the remote..
You sound as if you have done this before.. Did you buy this timer or make it yourself?
This is going to be my little project over xmas!
I will let you all know how it goes!
I was thinking about 10seconds is long enough..
And yes there will need to be another swith that can be operate from inside the car.. Same as how you can turn on your interior light at will..
Any more info would definately help!

Capacitor!

what my Idea was too easy? you want to do it the hard way?

theres a guy that has this done on his dodge neon close to me... When he unlocks/locks his car his lights flash twice with his alarm, if door is open the lights are on, and if his alarm goes off the lights will flash repeatedly with his alarm...

I have Two Purple Neon Lights under the dash in my pickup and i have those neons hooked up to my parkin lights soo when i hit my alarm they flash twice like the headlights do ... and turn on when my lgihts are on ... easiest way to do that i think

i like the idea of the capacitor...

i dont think a cap will hold that much juice...maybe 2 seconds

I dont know if this will help you out, but on my 92 mx3 there is a little light above the key that goes on when the door is opened and stays on for a 30 seconds or so. Maybe you could wire it up to that?

Originally posted by MX-3.com:
When the door opens the interior lights turn on, when the door closes the lights stay on for 5 seconds then fade to black......

that's called theatre lighting to some. you can find a how-to here http://satxpoc.gq.nu/Theater.htm

Pipes, It sounds as if you already have an alarm system installed on your car. What make and model? A lot of alarm systems have an option of 'dome light security' which will leave the interior light on for a specified ammount of time after the alarm is activated, or the last door is shut. (this allows the light to stay on to give you time to get things in order to start the car, or a little more safety for your walk to your front door) If you call the customer service of whatever alarm you currently have, they should let you know if they have this option. If not, I believe there are add-ons that can be used. If you do NOT currently have an alarm, make sure the one you buy has this feature.

What you will do then, is like I said. Run a wire from the power to a relay then from there to the lights. Then splice the wire from the dome light security to the relay so it will open when the dome light comes on. Then if you want to be able to turn the light on at will, you will splice the power wire before the relay, then hook that to a switch. Then you will wire the switch to a splice after the relay bypassing it when the switch is on. This setup should contain a fuse between the power and the switch splice to prevent catastrophic problems should you get a surge.

BTW: my name is spelled with a 'Z' not an 'S'