Developing a glove box LED light kit - now for sale!

[Daox]

I have mentioned this in a couple of threads, but several people have commented that they would like a glove box light in their Mirage. Well, Mitsubishi didn't feel that it was necessary and thus did not add one to the car. But, that doesn't mean we can't come up with something quick and easy ourselves to make one, right? Well, that is what I intend to do, and will detail in this thread. So, lets hop to it!

First off, we need some power for a light. Mitsubishi kindly provided nice 5V power straight to the glove box via the USB cable from the radio. This is a great source of power since you don't have to splice any wires, or anything, just plug your light into the USB cable and bingo bango you got powah! Now, you may be thinking to yourself "that is a pretty fantastic idea Daox, but what about if I want to actually USE my USB cable?" Well, I have that figured out too. Introducing a brilliant device called a Y-cable. It has a single male plug, but two female plugs. Notice, one has a red ring around it? That one is just for power where the other one can handle power and data. Our light just needs power, so we will be using that one. You can use the other one for music, charging your cell phone, or whatever you kids do with USB outlets these days.





Now that we have power, we need... a light! (you can applaud anytime). I did a bunch of searching online and found these little LED USB lights. They're inexpensive and actually put off a good amount of nice white light. They're super simple, just plug them in and if the USB outlet has power, they turn on.





With these two pieces, you pretty much have a glove box light. You can plug it in, and anytime the car is on, it will turn on. You can even jam the USB connector with the light in it between the dash and some metal piece under the dash to stick the light out of the way and get a nice picture like the one shown below. I adjusted the image so it more closely looks like what you'll actually see.





However, the light will be on the entire time your car is keyed on, or in accessory mode. I have a feeling that light will seep out of the glove box while driving at night. I'm not a big fan of this, so I plan to add a switch to the system. This switch will keep the light off until the glove box has fully opened, then it will turn on. I have the switch, I just don't have the mounting provisions made up quite yet.

[strawboss]

I have some reed switches laying around that should work, I'll get the cable now to install in the springtime.

[Daox]

Very cool. I'd like to see how you implement your reed switch. I love seeing people doing their own mods (especially ones that I can copy ). We get some creative juices flowing and make the designs better with more cooperation.

For those who aren't interested in a DIY solution, once I get it all ironed out I will very likely be offering a glove box light kit. It will be 100% plug and play and should be install-able in under a minute.

[MetroMPG]

Nice mod!

And Doug Demuro didn't even think to complain about the lack of glovebox lighting in his "Mirage is the worst car" review!

[Daox]

Last night I was able to finish up this mod! My 3d printer has had a broken wire since before Christmas, and I finally got it fixed. So, I was able to print out the necessary brackets for the switch and the light end.


The first necessary piece is the light end clip. This allows you to clip the female USB end with the LED light in it to the upper lip of the glove box.





This is actually showing the clip upside down, but gives a good view of how it fits and works.





Here we have it right side up.





The next step was designing the bracket for the switch. This was a bit more tricky, but I was able to make a nice and simple clip together design that sandwiches the switch, and then that all clips on to the side of the glove box.





This is an earlier version. The switch was too far forward. But, it gives you an idea of how it fits. I didn't get a picture of the newest version on the side of the glove box (with it out of the car).





Now, for wiring in the switch. I need to find a little better way of doing this so soldering is unnecessary, but it still worked out pretty good.





Here is the finished product all soldered and taped up ready for install into the car.





And here we have the installed product in the car. I did this right before leaving for work, so these aren't the best pictures. However, everything fit up very nice. The position of the switch seems to be just right.





So, I will give this a try for a while and see if there are any hiccups with it. I already adjusted the design on the light end clip to be slightly tighter. Its pretty good as is, but a little more will keep it in place just a little better, and still not be a pain to install.

[MetroMPG]

Mercury switch!

I had a 1964 Pontiac, and there was a mercury switch + light on the underside of the trunk lid.

[Eggman]

Toxic controlled substances won't be necessary. Use a magnetic reed switch instead. Just be sure to place the reed switch on the stationary location and the magnet on the moving assembly and the wiring will never fail and the switch won't wear out.

[strawboss]

Toxic controlled substances won't be necessary. Use a magnetic reed switch instead. Just be sure to place the reed switch on the stationary location and the magnet on the moving assembly and the wiring will never fail and the switch won't wear out.

That's my plan, they are such good devices for applications like this.

[strawboss]

So, I will give this a try for a while and see if there are any hiccups with it. I already adjusted the design on the light end clip to be slightly tighter. Its pretty good as is, but a little more will keep it in place just a little better, and still not be a pain to install.

I just got my first printer when rebuilding my Tacoma. They are fantastic for making custom brake line and fuel line clips!

[Daox]

I've been messing around with this a bit. Unfortunately, its been so blasted cold I haven't done a ton. But, I am pretty sure I'll be making some changes. It does work good as is, however it can be better. Eggman made a great point about putting components on fixed parts vs moving parts. I would like to do this as it'll increase the life and reliability of the product. So, watch for the redesign.