I had to shorten this since I ran into the character limit so I removed the jargon in the beginning. All of the images are now done right. Sorry for the original post.
Unfortunately I don't have the 6MT any longer but have since moved to a 4 door. Please don't ask about the lights being for sale. I sold them with the car.

Parts List:

• JDM Clear Corners: Genuine JDM bump style for my ’07 coupe.
• LED Strips: http://www.environmentallights.com. I've used their lighting in my home for under cabinets, behind my TV and other various places. They have a self-adhesive backing (3M) and stick very well pending you stick it to an oil free surface. They are cuttable every 2 inches which makes for a perfect 6 inch fit for the white strip. White: Part # dlrf-foot this is the regular density (NON high brightness) led strip sold by the foot. You only need 1 foot total but I purchased extra. I found that its brightness was just enough. Amber: Part #amberrf-foot they only sell this color in regular density. Again, sold by the foot. Both are $13.90/ft at the highest.
• 22-26 Gauge Wire: I went to the local RS and they had some 24 gauge which worked out nicely. For this application there is no need to worry about the wire carrying a load. Go as small as you'd like.
• 18-22 Tap Splices: I don’t love these connectors but it’s the easiest way to make your connections short of soldering and using heat shrink tubing which I usually do. I found these at HD. They are typically red for the smaller gauge.
• RTV: I used the one by Permatex
• 30 Minute Epoxy: Any HD or Ace will carry this 2 part epoxy.

1. Take the clears apart - This was the most difficult out of the whole thing but with a little time and patience you can make out alright. In someone else's post I read that they used a Dremel to make a small hole the side and then pry it apart with a screwdriver. I chose to use a blade and 'cut' the seam where the back piece mounts to the actual lens. My cuts were slight but repeatedly deeper each time. If you try to get a small screwdriver in there too early you'll just bend the back piece. You need to keep working the blade in there to cut away the glued part in one section. Look for any place that might be the easiest. The 2nd light came apart a lot easier for me. Gently put a small screwdriver in the slot and start to pry. Go very easy as I was able to put a 1/4" crack in 1 of the lens by prying too quickly. I used to 2 screwdrivers and worked my way around. Eventually it will come off.

(As I write these steps I'm realizing you can make it ANY way you'd like. Use your imagination if you don't want to follow the way I did it.)
2. Prep and cut the notch - You'll need to make a small notch in the bulb shield for the white strip to bypass. After that clean the entire silver surface to be free from oil. I used Windex and just wipe gently. Cut the white strip (6 inch mark) and 45-degree the corners but don't cut the pads. Mount the white strip so it's INSIDE the edge. You don't want to interfere with the glue edge when putting it back on. The glue edge is not a perfect straight line so be cautious of this.


3. Amber LEDs - Clean the rest of the back piece where you will mount the amber leds. Cut the amber led's into (2) 2 inch sections. You'll have 6 leds as the 'blinker' portion of the light. I mounted the 2 strips on top of each other but below center so when the light was on the light would be coming from the center of the lens and not all out of the top.

4. Make Connections – For each light you’ll need 4 pieces of wire. 3 pieces can be 8 inches long and 1 piece will be 16 inches long. The long wire is for the positive part of the blinker. Drill 2 holes in the back piece for the wires to go through, run your wires through and make the connections. Be cautious of the stiffness of your wire. If you don’t prebend the wire you run the risk of the wire pulling up on the led strip and un-sticking it. I made sure there was no ‘load’ on the strip before soldering. Solder all wires and ensure the long wire is to the positive of the white (top) strip. You will also need 2 small jumpers for the amber leds. Plus to plus and minus to minus. Ensure that you MARK THE WIRES after exiting them out the back. Once you rtv the holes you may have a hard time figuring out which is which but don’t do this yet.


5. Test Test Test – Test to make sure the white leds and amber leds work BEFORE rtv-ing and gluing the lens.Anything with 12volts DC will work.

6. RTV and Epoxy – Before doing these next steps be sure everything is working properly and tested. Epoxy is going to hold 5 times better than their plastic welding. Run the wires along the back and rtv them so they stay flat. Put enough in each hole so you have a good seal. We don’t want water getting in there. Bend the wires so they exit where the bulb is mounted. There is enough room in the bumper for the wires here. Test fit the lens on the back piece. It should fit the same way it came off. For this next step I used 2 light-pressure clamps to hold the lens on. I mixed some 30 minute epoxy and spread that ALL around the seam. I let a little squirt out but don’t put too much. Remember, water tight. Clamp them and let dry for a few hours.

7. (Optional Step) Here is where the added security comes in if you want it. Obviously if someone wants your goodies they’re going to get it. I figured I would make it a bit more challenging than simply just coming along, pulling out the nice modded blinker and clipping the wires with scissors. After you remove the wheel and fender liner test fit the marker light. From the inside of the bumper mark the plastic where the metal clip is on the front and back of the light. This mark will be to show were the light is even with the inside bumper. I drilled a small hole on the top and top on each the front and back mounting to create a slot for a small nail. Once the light is snapped in I put the nail through each hole creating a ‘lock’ for the light that can only be removed if you remove the fender liner. Obviously if you pry REAL hard you’ll pull the light out and probably ruin the bumper but I’m trying to keep the yahoo hoodlums from just a grab and go.


8. Prep for Install – Once everything is dry you’re ready to go. Jack up the car and remove the wheel. Remove the front fender liner and keep track of all screws and push pins. Remove your old side marker light and pull the bulb out. You won’t need that incandescent any more.  Peel back the black plastic sheathing covering the 2 marker wires. Test the red wire. It will be your hot for the running light. We’ll need both of these wires in step 9.Locate the blinker light and the green-yellow wire. This is the color on the left side on my car. I can’t remember what the right side it. I checked the manual and on page LT-82 it shows that the wire is G/W which is green with a white stripe. It looks yellow to me. Testing it will ensure you’re hitting the correct wire.

9. Make all Connections – First RUN YOUR WIRES THROUGH THE BUMPER. There is no quick connect like the bulb so you must do this first. Make your 4 connections.

• Connect the amber-led positive (long wire) to the green-yellow blinker wire.
• Connect the white-led positive to the red (positive) side marker light. This is your constant on (running light.)
• Connect the white-led ground to the side marker ground (black wire.)
• Connect the amber-led ground to the white-led ground or the side marker ground. Turn your lights on and your white will light up. Your blinker will work independently from your running lights. Test all scenarios to be sure they’re working properly.

10. Before putting everything back I slathered all of the quick splices with rtv to prevent water from entering. Retape all black plastic sheaths that you cut and zip the long blinker wire somewhere around the OEM ballast. At this point if you did the security mod install your 2 nails (front and back) on each light. Good luck pulling this out by hand from the outside. Reinstall the fender liner and wheel and you’re done.

Here are a few more pics...




Comments are welcome. Thanx.

 

Nice DIY needs more videos though :P

 

looks great

 

Awesome write up. Very detailed, well composed, and good quality pics (wish all DIY's were like this). I didn't know you had a limit of 5 pics per post. Maybe you can split it up or have a mod stick an extra post for you so you can add more of them. I'd like some time to get around and experiment with my own clears and this will definitely help. One thing that I prefer is to have the insides completely clear instead of the brown led strip/backing. Do you think taping up the LED alone and spraying a light coat of primer will affect the continuity or longevity of the lights? That way from the outside it's clear lens with gray/silver on the inside.

 

one of the best DIY ever. OP, you can upload your pictures to tinypic.com and embed them in using [IMG][/IMG]

 

Thanx for the nice words and the tip on loading up the pics. I can't imagine that a light coat of primer would affect the strip for longevity. As long as the primer is not conductive it shouldn't matter getting it on the contact point. You can always try it on a 2 inch strip and test it. Let me know if you end up doing that.
Another word of note. I hit my 100000 character limit on this post as well which includes pictures. More condensing next time.

 

you can always split it into 2 post too. no biggie

 

What he said. Looks really nice! I think I just found my next rainy day project

 

Sticky! Well prepared, I was looking for something like this.

 

Does anyone know the proper method to getting this moved to the proper forum? My guess is that it's lost in this forum and would do better elsewhere. I have fixed the images but if there is something else missing please let me know. Thanks in advance.

 

^You could just PM one of the staff

 

I noticed you used no voltage regulation with this mod. They are rated at 12 volts. Are they still working?

 

They are still working because the regulation is built in. The LEDs would snap in a second if not regulated and connected to 12 volts. If you look on the strip you will notice a small black square. This is the SMT resistor built in from the manufacturer so all you have to do is hook up the strip to 12 volts.
Thanks for looking.

 

Thanks for the response. You are correct as far as current regulation goes but the resistors do not regulate voltage. Just trying to decide if it is worth remote mounting Sharp Pq12rd21 voltage regulators to keep just 12 volts to leds. I have been testing these strips for a week with constant 14.4 volts with no promlems. May just omit them seeing you have had good luck as is.

 

subbing this thread... curious to see the vids