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2015 Prius Blue ambient light in bottom center console?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by boooey, Dec 12, 2015.

  1. boooey

    boooey Junior Member

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    I have a 2015 Prius Two, not II. I may be going crazy but when I first bought it there was a blue light glowing on the storage area under the shifter console at night.

    Now there is nothing.. no light.. Does anyone know where the light is under there?
    I called the dealer and they didnt even know over the phone..
    Am II hallucinating?

    thanks!
     
  2. Munpot42

    Munpot42 Senior Member

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    There is a light in the roof that shines down and illuminates the shifter when the headlights are on, is the what you mean? I should say that on my 11, there was a light, don't know if things changed in the 15.
     
  3. boooey

    boooey Junior Member

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    no this is underneath the shifter area where the 12v power plug is.
    there is an open storage area like in the picture.. when i bought the car there was a glowing blue light under there.. now nothing :(
     

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  4. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    I have a 2010 II that has no under console light and just bought a 2015 Four for my Son in College and don't remember seeing one on this car either. Have seen mods to install one though.
     
  5. boooey

    boooey Junior Member

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    well.. it turns out my wife had a small usb power adapter plugged in which has a blue light on it.. duh. i feel pretty stupid now, lol
    but it turns out that its a really cool and cheap solution to getting some blue ambient lighting under there!!

    thanks
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i might try that, thanks!(y)
     
  7. boooey

    boooey Junior Member

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    I will try to take a picture of what it looks like
     
  8. JDW91479

    JDW91479 Junior Member

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    I noticed a red light reflecting in the passenger window and found it to be the same thing. I hadn't noticed it before because my phone cable had been plugged into the other side of the dual usb, blocking the light.
     
  9. phoenixgreg

    phoenixgreg Senior member

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    night picture.jpg I did this mod about 5 years ago on my 2010:
     
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  10. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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  11. phoenixgreg

    phoenixgreg Senior member

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    Cupholder with LED.JPG Thanks! I also added a green LED to the main cupholder.
     
  12. PriusNeckBeard

    PriusNeckBeard Active Member

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    Greg / anyone,

    Where can I get these?

    I really want to add recessed subtle mellow blue lighting to the Prius.

    I don't mind if they're disposable - I can replace them every week. Or maybe there's a very low lumen plug-in type.
     
  13. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    Buy LEDs. You can get them with the required ballast resistor built in or add your own to control brightness. 1000 ohms would be a good starting value (would result in around 10 mA draw). Don't exceed 30 mA or the LEDs will overheat. I recommend avoiding white, blue and green. Red is safest (to prevent reducing your vision in very dark areas). I have heard claims that green is fine too, but haven't tested it.
    There are plastic holders available for the LEDs as well, that snap into an appropriate sized hole. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to find a supply source (accessory power). The auxiliary power outlet might be a good start.
     
    #13 David Beale, Oct 31, 2016
    Last edited: Oct 31, 2016
  14. phoenixgreg

    phoenixgreg Senior member

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    I got those shown above at Radio Shack (now defunct). But you can get equivalent ones at any big box electronics store such as Fry's Electronics. As David Beal says, not all LEDs are geared for automotive use so you may need to use resisters in-line with the POSITIVE lead of the LED (yes, there is a difference). Some LEDs come with little holders that can be used to snap-mount them in a plastic wall such as the cup holder that I did. I powered mine from the glove box LED, so no resister was needed.
     
  15. PriusNeckBeard

    PriusNeckBeard Active Member

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    That is all Greek to me.
    We don't have Fry's.
    Honestly I was just hoping for an easy Amazon order..
    I did buy something there, but it had many blue LED's along a string (instead of just one or two), and they were too bright. They use CR2032 batteries, which I don't mind replacing. But they were overkill.
    Guess I'll keep looking.
     
  16. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    You ought to post that in the Prius Mods forum, cause it'll be the first "Wife accidentally installed a cool led lighting mod" thread. Anywhere. Ever.
     
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  17. Koray

    Koray Junior Member

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    That s one of my project
     

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  18. Calutzu

    Calutzu Junior Member

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    Hello. I know this post is a little old, (about 3 years old..) but you manage to do this things? I'm interested to do lighth on handles, to be more clearer in the dark... i want to made permanently lights on handles, permanently means only when the car lights are ON