ADDING BLUE TESLA LOGO DOOR PUDDLE LIGHTS

So yeah, my last blog entry was all about switching the standard white LEDs to blue ones. But I wanted to take it a little further. I found a great thread on teslamotorsclub.com about door puddle projector lights.

So I ordered some on ebay right away. They are cheap and you can even define your own logo. So I went with a blue Tesla logo.

I used the stock light fixtures because I wanted to retain as much of the original pieces as possible. And this way it also would be easier to easily remove them if necessary. So here’s how I did it:

  1. The projector lights come with a special drill bit that is usually used to drill a hole in the door. I used this piece to drill a hole into the original light fixture. First I removed the stock black LED housing and then used some double sided tape to fix the clear plastic to  a piece of wood. This helps greatly with the drilling. The drill bit is almost as wide as the light fixture so make sure you drill the hole exactly in the middle. I was lucky and didn’t mess it up.
  2. Remove the double sided tape and fix the projector light directly onto the clear plastic light fixture. The projector light helps to stabilize the light fixture – there was only a milimeter or two left on either side of the hole.
The original light fixture with the projector light attached.
The diameter of the projector light is exactly as wide as the fixture

Once the projector light and fixture where one piece, I soldered on some of those two pronged connectors that fit the existing adapter that’s already in the door.

So out I go and wiggle myself under the car door so that I can remove the old lights. I then realized that the projector lights cylinders don’t fit into the rectangular original hole. I had to use a file and also some wire cutters to just slightly enlarge the hole. Yeah and it also involved some angry cursing because it’s a pain in the ass to do this while on your back under the door…

The projector at another angle. I ended up having to remove the octagonal thread (visible behind the fixture) because it would not fit through the enlarged hole in the door.
But even without the thread, the whole piece fits perfectly and firmly.

It took some fiddling the get the projector aligned perfectly so that the logo is straight when the door is opened all the way. I would recommend doing this before you push it all the way into the hole in the door.

So here’s the final result. Once in the garage right after installation…
…and once outside at night right after (finally) getting the 7.0 SW update ! I think it looks great !

So there you have it. My kids love it and my wife just shakes her head ; )

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