This is a text and pictorial "How To" on making your own lighted fuse box cover; adding some more Bling to you lighted engine bay.
Here is a picture tease on what the end product can look like.
I will be creating this "How To" over a night or two.
So, you will see several posts before my work is complete.
STEP 1: THE CONCEPT!
1. Before you begin this project, be sure to plan out ahead of time how you want it to look; and how you want it to work!
As in, do I want a separate switch for the lights on the fuse box cover? Or, will I connect it into my complete engine bay lighting scheme for one. common control?
Think ahead! Will I have an ABS cover in the same are that will affect where I place wiring, switches, etc.
Will I use the ground location below, and slightly ahead of the fuse box bracket for all of my grounds?
(I did not do this ahead of time. But, it worked out that way in the end....leaving the vertical ground bolt just behind the fuse box uncluttered with wires.)
Do I have all the parts necessary at hand in order to plan how I will do this??
I ended up buying two different types of LEDs, before I was happy with the level of illumination.
Individual LEDs did not illuminate very well at all!
Will I place the translucent glass, Lexan, or other material above, or blow the fuse box top??
(I will address this with a few pictures of lighted boxes that others have done.)
I was lucky! The thickness of Lexan that I bought was of a thickness that although it did rest snugly on top of some of the black relays, I was able to still snap the cover shut without any major modifications.
But, I did have to use a flame and tweak the cover ring down a little to catch the tab on the bottom of the box.
2.YOUR OPTIONS:
Before I began this project I had found two other posters having tried this mod.
One was just a clear glass top; to merely look into the fuse box.
He actually made the opening to fit the glass accurately, so that the glass and plastic of the top were flush.
And the second was lighted, but used the same "glass on top" scheme, and had individual LEDs.
I am fairly certain that these posters thought that any thickness inside the box cover would impede closing the box.
Their solutions was to fabricate, or have fabricated a stainless steel plate, from angle cut pieces, welded, and polished to fit the outside edges of the fuse box cover.
Then, they could drill holes through the stainless rim, and glass, to fasten the glass to the fuse box top.
**So this is something than you want to consider and plan ahead for!
Once you have that extra fuse box cover in your hand, you can experiment with a piece of glass over the tallest modules, and see if you can close the cover.
Do not fret if the glass rest tightly on top of the modules. As this is merely adding pressure to keep them in place, and has done no harm in my case.
**I DID NOT LIKE THE LOOK OF AN EXTRA PIECE OF METAL ON TOP OF THE BOX!
I wanted a cleaner look! AND, SOMETHING THAT I COULD DO MYSELF, WITHOUT ADDING EXTRA $$ AND CUSTOM "OUTSIDE" SHOP WORK!
Depending on where you are in the engine bay, adding two layers on top of the fuse box also could cause problems hitting the hood or hood insulation.
(Example: I custom painted my hood insulation. And now, that stiff insulation comes down to touch the surface of my self-painted ABS cover; scratching the paint surface!)
LAST HINT! Every LX vehicle is different; size of fuse box; location; and wiring locations!
Do your homework, and plan you Fuse Box Mod accordingly!
Yours will undoubtedly be somewhat different than mine!
Here is a picture tease on what the end product can look like.
I will be creating this "How To" over a night or two.
So, you will see several posts before my work is complete.
STEP 1: THE CONCEPT!
1. Before you begin this project, be sure to plan out ahead of time how you want it to look; and how you want it to work!
As in, do I want a separate switch for the lights on the fuse box cover? Or, will I connect it into my complete engine bay lighting scheme for one. common control?
Think ahead! Will I have an ABS cover in the same are that will affect where I place wiring, switches, etc.
Will I use the ground location below, and slightly ahead of the fuse box bracket for all of my grounds?
(I did not do this ahead of time. But, it worked out that way in the end....leaving the vertical ground bolt just behind the fuse box uncluttered with wires.)
Do I have all the parts necessary at hand in order to plan how I will do this??
I ended up buying two different types of LEDs, before I was happy with the level of illumination.
Individual LEDs did not illuminate very well at all!
Will I place the translucent glass, Lexan, or other material above, or blow the fuse box top??
(I will address this with a few pictures of lighted boxes that others have done.)
I was lucky! The thickness of Lexan that I bought was of a thickness that although it did rest snugly on top of some of the black relays, I was able to still snap the cover shut without any major modifications.
But, I did have to use a flame and tweak the cover ring down a little to catch the tab on the bottom of the box.
2.YOUR OPTIONS:
Before I began this project I had found two other posters having tried this mod.
One was just a clear glass top; to merely look into the fuse box.
He actually made the opening to fit the glass accurately, so that the glass and plastic of the top were flush.
And the second was lighted, but used the same "glass on top" scheme, and had individual LEDs.
I am fairly certain that these posters thought that any thickness inside the box cover would impede closing the box.
Their solutions was to fabricate, or have fabricated a stainless steel plate, from angle cut pieces, welded, and polished to fit the outside edges of the fuse box cover.
Then, they could drill holes through the stainless rim, and glass, to fasten the glass to the fuse box top.
**So this is something than you want to consider and plan ahead for!
Once you have that extra fuse box cover in your hand, you can experiment with a piece of glass over the tallest modules, and see if you can close the cover.
Do not fret if the glass rest tightly on top of the modules. As this is merely adding pressure to keep them in place, and has done no harm in my case.
**I DID NOT LIKE THE LOOK OF AN EXTRA PIECE OF METAL ON TOP OF THE BOX!
I wanted a cleaner look! AND, SOMETHING THAT I COULD DO MYSELF, WITHOUT ADDING EXTRA $$ AND CUSTOM "OUTSIDE" SHOP WORK!
Depending on where you are in the engine bay, adding two layers on top of the fuse box also could cause problems hitting the hood or hood insulation.
(Example: I custom painted my hood insulation. And now, that stiff insulation comes down to touch the surface of my self-painted ABS cover; scratching the paint surface!)
LAST HINT! Every LX vehicle is different; size of fuse box; location; and wiring locations!
Do your homework, and plan you Fuse Box Mod accordingly!
Yours will undoubtedly be somewhat different than mine!