Courtesy Lights

[racephotoman]

Should I just hook up courtesy lights up to the "radio memory" wire, and/or is the grey courtesy wire always hot?

Any place (vendor) offering actual courtesy lights?

Thanks!

Walter

[Avalanche325]

Radio memory is alway hot. You would have to put a switch in. The grey comes from the headlight switch.
For incandescent lights, you can get them from Summit or a Mustang parts supplier. There are some nicer LED ones for boats.

[Jeff Kleiner]

You can use the headlight switch to control courtesy lights however be aware that it switches ground rather than feed. Rotate the knob counterclockwise you'll feel a detent--- that is courtesy light "on". Supply battery voltage to the courtesy lights (radio memory is what I use) then run the ground wire back to this terminal:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj43/jkleiner/Untitled-3.jpg

When the knob is turned to the detent it will provide ground completing the circuit!

NOTE:
The headlight switch has to be grounded. There is a tab on the metal switch frame (opposite the side visible in the photo above) that will accept a female spade connector. To assure that the switch is well grounded run a wire from this tab to the chassis.

Cheers,
Jeff

[mr-pantera]

I am curious about vendors for courtesy lights also.

Jeff

[PaulW]

I am curious about vendors for courtesy lights also.

Jeff

I found some perfect lights here.

http://www.pilotlights.net/node/34

They are LED, waterproof and best of all under$13 each. They do have all sorts of lights there for the aircraft industry.

[Jeff Kleiner]

While building my Mk3 I picked up these 12 volt DC LED puck lights intended for kitchen undercabinet lighting at Lowes, or Home Depot. Each one houses 8 or so LEDs. One puck is installed in a dashboard brace over each footbox plus another in the trunk:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj43/jkleiner/100_1069.jpg

When I built the Mk4 I used these inexpensive generic license plate lamps from Pep Boys, Autozone or one of the other discount auto parts stores:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj43/jkleiner/100_2097.jpg

In both cars I wired them so that they are controlled by the courtesy light function on the headlight switch as I described in the post above.

Jeff

[edwardb]

I am curious about vendors for courtesy lights also. Jeff

I found a good selection at West Marine. I'm using some nice LED fixtures from there.

[acth4347]

I keep coming back to 1st Marine Parts Courtesy Lights (https://www.1stmarineparts.com/store/search?search_term=courtesy+light). Great prices too. Bill

[edwardb]

I keep coming back to 1st Marine Parts Courtesy Lights (https://www.1stmarineparts.com/store/search?search_term=courtesy+light). Great prices too. Bill

I have the 1st Marine MINI LED COURTESY LIGHTS in the footwells and trunk of my Mk3. They work OK, but could better be described as mood lighting. They put a nice glow on everything, and when it's pitch dark, are helpful. But a little less light than I was hoping for. These are the ones I got from West Marine for my Mk4. A little more money, but some real light.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=950146&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&storeNum=50523&subdeptNum=50573&classNum=50578#.UPg5ySd318E

[Lynnhowlyn]

I keep coming back to 1st Marine Parts Courtesy Lights (https://www.1stmarineparts.com/store/search?search_term=courtesy+light). Great prices too. Bill

x2 on the LED lights from 1st Marine Parts.

They look really good installed ... almost like OEM.

14501

1st Marine actually has two different lights that look very, very similar - one with a "frosted" shield over the bulb, and the other without. The frosted shield unit looks much better IMHO.

Picture is "borrowed" from an FFCars post and I can't remember the source or I'd give proper credit. (Sorry )

Lynn

[edwardb]

x2 on the LED lights from 1st Marine Parts.

They look really good installed ... almost like OEM.

14501

1st Marine actually has two different lights that look very, very similar - one with a "frosted" shield over the bulb, and the other without. The frosted shield unit looks much better IMHO.

Picture is "borrowed" from an FFCars post and I can't remember the source or I'd give proper credit. (Sorry )

Lynn

Small world. That's my Mk3. See my post #9.