Hey all. This is a quick and easy guide to fit a set of cold cathode interior neons to your roof so when the doors open and close they turn on and off, respectively. They also have a switch so that you can turn them off all together or have them on the way described above. The best way to do it is to get yourself a set off ebay, if you havent got them all ready.
What you need to do first is set your interior light to the open doors-lights on setting, and then disconnect your battery. Next, prise the interior light out of the roof. Then cut the cables. (but make sure you check out which is + and which is - first! and maybe write it down so that you dont forget) If you get cold cathode tubes, the yellow wire is + and the black wire is - (nice and simple!). Make sure the switch which came with the neons is off (0) and then connect the yellow (+) and black (-) wires to the original + and - citroen wires respectively. HERE COME A VERY IMPORTANT BIT! Make sure there is sufficient tape around the wires so the + and - dont touch. Do this before reconnecting the battery otherwise if they touch, youll blow your neons, a fuse and god knows what else! Next, reconnect your battery and then flick the switch which came with the cathode tubes to the on position (1) and voila!
Because you set the interior lights to the open doors-lights on setting, this allows the neons to come on when the doors are on aswell.
The next thing i did was just tidy up all the wires.
Flick the switch back to off, and then pull the neon tube wires (white ones) out of the transformer box (small black one which came with the tubes). I poked a small hole into the roof to feed the wires from the neon tubes, through the holes and to the transformer box to get rid of the wiring. This is a little fiddly and you may require the use of long reach pliers. Reconnect the neons to the transformer box and then put the box into the roof below the ariel, and put the original interior light back in, with the wire ends taped up. The old interior light wont work unless you splice it back into the wiring circuit but i couldnt be bothered to be honest, and in my opinion it wont look as good.
If you pop down to your local B&Q, they sell small U shapes made of copper that hold pipes onto walls, which have 2screw holes either side, in the plumbing section. Take a neon with you so you can get the right size. I used these to hold the neons onto the roof carpet. (Tip: These look really great if you spray them and the screw heads black, especially if youve sprayed your A-pillars black!)
This technique can also be applied to boot neons, which also look really cool. Ill post some pics up soon to show u the finished result. When i rewire some neons up in my next car, ill get some pics and post them up too, so that you can understand what i did a bit easier.
Any questions, PM me, and good luck!
What you need to do first is set your interior light to the open doors-lights on setting, and then disconnect your battery. Next, prise the interior light out of the roof. Then cut the cables. (but make sure you check out which is + and which is - first! and maybe write it down so that you dont forget) If you get cold cathode tubes, the yellow wire is + and the black wire is - (nice and simple!). Make sure the switch which came with the neons is off (0) and then connect the yellow (+) and black (-) wires to the original + and - citroen wires respectively. HERE COME A VERY IMPORTANT BIT! Make sure there is sufficient tape around the wires so the + and - dont touch. Do this before reconnecting the battery otherwise if they touch, youll blow your neons, a fuse and god knows what else! Next, reconnect your battery and then flick the switch which came with the cathode tubes to the on position (1) and voila!
Because you set the interior lights to the open doors-lights on setting, this allows the neons to come on when the doors are on aswell.
The next thing i did was just tidy up all the wires.
Flick the switch back to off, and then pull the neon tube wires (white ones) out of the transformer box (small black one which came with the tubes). I poked a small hole into the roof to feed the wires from the neon tubes, through the holes and to the transformer box to get rid of the wiring. This is a little fiddly and you may require the use of long reach pliers. Reconnect the neons to the transformer box and then put the box into the roof below the ariel, and put the original interior light back in, with the wire ends taped up. The old interior light wont work unless you splice it back into the wiring circuit but i couldnt be bothered to be honest, and in my opinion it wont look as good.
If you pop down to your local B&Q, they sell small U shapes made of copper that hold pipes onto walls, which have 2screw holes either side, in the plumbing section. Take a neon with you so you can get the right size. I used these to hold the neons onto the roof carpet. (Tip: These look really great if you spray them and the screw heads black, especially if youve sprayed your A-pillars black!)
This technique can also be applied to boot neons, which also look really cool. Ill post some pics up soon to show u the finished result. When i rewire some neons up in my next car, ill get some pics and post them up too, so that you can understand what i did a bit easier.
Any questions, PM me, and good luck!
as I tried it before, and you have three wires or sumin into the interior light, constant live, then live with the door switch in and negative. So this would mean they would only come on with the doors opening and you wouldnt be able to turn them on when the doors are shut right?
