My Expedition Modifications and Write-Ups

[RockyF150]

That's kool. I'd like to do go to full LED's as well.

 

[bricekin]

That's kool. I'd like to do go to full LED's as well.

I should have looked at bulb orientation in the housings before I started ordering. Some of them won't fit the way I thought they would. I'll have pics up and links to the eBay pages once they get here and I get them in.


EDIT:
I started my bulb conversion last night but was too pissed to take pictures. I found the wrong way of removing the mirror cap on the driver side mirror... So I now need a new one of those

I also found out that the bulbs most of the replacement guides show for our puddle lamps are incorrect. They are not a 194 insert style bulb. They are approx 31mm festoons. I'll be ordering a set of those today because I'd like to finish this.

If anyone is interested, since I've decided to keep my A4, I've decided to do a FULL LED conversion, inside and out. I'll post a link to the new photobucket album when I get around to making one.

 

[bricekin]

Here ya go everyone! LED interior and license plate lights are done... waiting on the new puddle lamp bulbs to come in. The cargo area bulb is definitely a bit more blue (closer to 6000K) than the other bulbs are but its not that noticeable since the only place that bulb goes is in the rear. This is also the only bulb out of the batches that I ordered that stays dimly lit for a bit after the lights turn off... not a big deal and I might make a resistor pack to offset this.



\/ LINKS \/
10 Pack of 168/194s (front and rear map lights... Will also fit the license plate lights)

2 Pack of 168/194. (License plate lights... can also be used in main map lights) When I purchased them, they were 1.88. He updated the listing and made a typo on the price. Keep an eye on it.

4 pack of 42mm bulbs. (Cargo Area)

4 pack 31mm (puddle lamps) Hopefully they get here quick. I'm super anxious.

 

[bricekin]

I finally got the replacement parts in for my mirrors. The bulbs came in quick sometime last week and the new mirror cap and bulb housing came in yesterday. The puddle lamp bulb is not designed to be replaced. The clear cap is sealed to the housing. With some effort you can get them apart and the 31mm festoon bulbs will fit fine. I ended up not using the new bulb housing and am keeping in case I need it for some reason. I wanted to be able to get the housings apart again later if I needed to so I used black hot melt glue.



I got tired of looking out the window and seeing the amber lenses on my mirrors. I had a can of VHT Nite Shades lens tint spray left over from another project and decided to spray those suckers down. I think it looks a million times better now.

 

[GAINMOB]

looks good

 

[bricekin]

Since I ordered an overload of red 194 bulbs for my A4, I decided to tackle the third brake.

Removal is pretty basic... pull the two screws and yank. To do this swap, you'll have to pull the washer line off the housing and disconnect the light harness.

These are the bulbs I used


You'll have to drill the holes for the bulbs in the housing in order to fit the base of the new bulbs. I believe it was 3/8 but I'm not sure... I just grabbed a bit and went to town.

 

[bricekin]

Welp... progress is now stagnant thanks to the warmer weather allowing me to have fun with my A4. The LED conversion with that car was a trip to say the least.

 

[kjbtsi6686]

I love the look of the dash, my wife hates her wood in our 2010. What exactly is the stuff you used and where can I get it?

 

[bricekin]

I love the look of the dash, my wife hates her wood in our 2010. What exactly is the stuff you used and where can I get it?

Thanks. The process is called hydrographics. You can do it yourself if you want to take the time to learn the process and source all the materials. I was originally going to go this route but was quoted in parts and labor at a shop just a little bit more than it was going to cost me to do it myself and I have a finish warranty.

The process is making a lot of headway in areas around the country. My suggestion for finding someone that can perform the work is to call custom paint shops that are well respected in the area. The pricing might not be cheap but the machines that they use to do it are very costly.

You can view a large selection of different patterns here - TWN Transfer Printing

 

[bricekin]

My motorcycle is sold and I paid my A4 off this morning.

That means that I now have a few extra dollars to play with. I called up the guys at The Retrofit Source this morning and have a full Morimoto Mini 6000K kit on its way to me. As per the usual posting, I'll have pictures of the modification up this weekend/early next week.