Color changing ambient lighting using Ford OEM parts

[‘21OBX]

Edit this is my experience for my vehicle I cannot guarantee results for your vehicle proceed at your own risk!
Ok first attempt at trying this so I hope you can follow along.

I set out to put the color change ambient lighting in my bronco but did not want an aftermarket setup(yes aftermarket would have cheaper by far)

so I started in forscan in the plain English apim. By changing the ambient lighting type to pantatone and write that gets you the color selection screen

I also found a thread on an f150 thread that said to change a line in the as built apim as just changing the plain English does not let you actually use the options on the color change screen.

That seemed to do the trick so I then ordered some led’s from ford. Here is the list I found and what I ordered.

After a month the first two lights showed up. The drivers side was a simple swap with just having to shave off two guide nubs so it would plug in.

The passenger side factory light has a female end vs the male. I did not get pictures but I swapped the ends so I could plug it in. In the parts list the passenger footwell light may have the correct end but I ordered these particular lights because thewere the identical size/shape for our factory holders.

Once this all worked one of my sons asked are you going to put them back here for us in the back seat too. Well then I looked under the seats.

I’ll be darned if ford didn’t put a rectangle hole the size of the ambient lights built into the plastic under the seat.

I then remembered a post on the ford truck enthusiast forum of a member making and selling ambient light harnesses for the superduty and offering cup holder setups as well. I got in touch with @JHForman812 to make me a harness for the lights under the seats and the cup holders.

After much discussion and measurements he found a cup holder assy that he thought would work.

This part of the project is not for the faint of heart. The cup holder is not a drop in replacement. Many things had to be trimmed on both the underside of the console and on the new cup holder. All 6 mounting posts on the console had to be shortened by 1/4” or more but it was a slow trim test process. I did not get get pics of my cutting the console up. It was tedious to get it to look good. Maybe an hour and a half of work. The cup holder comes with everything except the led’s. The harness guy supplied them as well so I do not have part numbers for the leds themselves. After I received everything it was just a matter of plugging the harness into to where the drivers side light is connected. This harnes extends out from the driver side ambient light connection. Then removing the console and running the wire extensions from the drivers side ambient light under the dash thru the console and then down under the seats. The under seat leds will fit in the rectangle holes without any trimming and if you press firmly will stay. If you want a completely flush fit under the seats minor trimming is needed to the seat plastic. Then you have ambient lights that change color in five locations.

because I added the under seat lights and cupholder lights I’m in this project for near $300. I ended up ordering two seats of the under seat lights. I don’t see a difference from left to right so a guy could order 4 of one and be okay. But it’s all factory led controlled through sync and looks factory. If a guy got the connectors and made his own harness he could probably trim costs down quite a bit.

Edit I forgot a couple pics drivers side led and connector

passenger side

Sponsored

 

[GravyTrain]

Well done!

 

[cmcbronco]

This probably wouldn’t work with a base I assume….

 

[Bronco21fan]

Ok first attempt at trying this so I hope you can follow along.

I set out to put the color change ambient lighting in my bronco but did not want an aftermarket setup(yes aftermarket would have cheaper by far)

so I started in forscan in the plain English apim. By changing the ambient lighting type to pantatone and write that gets you the color selection screen

I also found a thread on an f150 thread that said to change a line in the as built apim as just changing the plain English does not let you actually use the options on the color change screen.

That seemed to do the trick so I then ordered some led’s from ford. Here is the list I found and what I ordered.

After a month the first two lights showed up. The drivers side was a simple swap with just having to shave off two guide nubs so it would plug in.

The passenger side factory light has a female end vs the male. I did not get pictures but I swapped the ends so I could plug it in. In the parts list the passenger footwell light may have the correct end but I ordered these particular lights because thewere the identical size/shape for our factory holders.

Once this all worked one of my sons asked are you going to put them back here for us in the back seat too. Well then I looked under the seats.

I’ll be darned if ford didn’t put a rectangle hole the size of the ambient lights built into the plastic under the seat.

I then remembered a post on the ford truck enthusiast forum of a member making and selling ambient light harnesses for the superduty and offering cup holder setups as well. I got in touch with him to make me a harness for the lights under the seats and the cup holders.

After much discussion and measurements he found a cup holder assy that he thought would work.

This part of the project is not for the faint of heart. The cup holder is not a drop in replacement. Many things had to be trimmed on both the underside of the console and on the new cup holder. All 6 mounting posts on the console had to be shortened by 1/4” or more but it was a slow trim test process. I did not get get pics of my cutting the console up. It was tedious to ge tit to look good. Maybe an hour and a half of work. The cup holder comes with everything except the led’s. The harness guy supplied them as well so I do not have part numbers for the leds themselves. After in received everything it was just a matter of removing the console and running the wire extensions from the drivers side ambient light under the dash thru the console and then down under the seats. The under seat leds will fit in the rectangle holes without any trimming and if you press firmly will stay. If you want a completely flush fit under the seats minor trimming is needed to the seat plastic. Then you have ambient lights that change color in five locations.

because I added the under seat lights and cupholder lights I’m in this project for near $300. I ended up ordering two seats of the under seat lights. I don’t see a difference from left to right so a guy could order 4 of one and be okay. But it’s all factory led controlled through sync and looks factory. If a guy got the connectors and made his own harness he could probably trim costs down quite a bit.

I was supprised this wasent standered on the bronco my 07 gt had the my color were you could change the gauge clusters differ t colors. Seems like a missed opportunity on fords end

 

[‘21OBX]

I was supposed this wasent standered on the bronco my 07 gt had the my color were you could change the gauge clusters differ t colors. Seems like a missed opportunity on fords end

That’s the my color I found out during this process and correct that is not available to us bronco peeps

 

[‘21OBX]

This probably wouldn’t work with a base I assume….

If the wiring was there for ambient lights I don’t see why not. If the base has sync 3 or 4 it should be able to be turned on with forscan.

 

[XirallicBolts]

Thank you, i was going to look into this when ours arrived. I don't understand why Ford removed it from the F150 but continued equipping it on the Flex and Explorer. I like my purple light, dammit.

Also interesting how it used to use a dedicated ambient light module, then in 2013ish transitioned to the LEDs being driven by the *hvac module* of all things

 

[Broncobren]

When you coming to do mine?

 

[MrGreen55]

This look great but after all that work still only blue? i wonder if some could make cupholder/back seat fix without all the cutting.

 

[JaxGtc]

This is fantastic. I have been wanting to add ambient for the rear, like you the kids are asking for it. My question is how do you tie the rear seat LEDs into the existing front LED situation? Is it plug and play or do you have to splice?
I have leather and it looks like the slip cover for the seats obscures the rectangular cutout on both sides.

 

[‘21OBX]

This look great but after all that work still only blue? i wonder if some could make cupholder/back seat fix without all the cutting.

lol no they are usually green or red or purple that’s just happened to be where I took the pics. They do default to the blue with a door opening only colored when the headlights are on since thats when the ambient light is activated. I haven’t found a way to have it stay colored with just a door open and no headlights on.

 

[Johnny Mo]

 

[mintypickleman]

Great stuff! I wonder if the light sized openings are there so they could add it in easily down the line, say in MY2023, or whenever the chip situation figures itself out

 

[‘21OBX]

This look great but after all that work still only blue? i wonder if some could make cupholder/back seat fix without all the cutting.

Back seat doesn’t require cutting they do fit and will stay put. The cup holder it’s all in the fitment. There may be a closer match out there but I was not interested buying and returning a bunch.

 

[JoeSpeed]

Definitely doing this, first the front leds, then later see it I can add it to the back

why Ford didnt do this standard is beyond me

Sponsored