[3hondas3]

Here is my install log of Honda's Ambient Light Accessory on a 2018 CRV. While I was at it I decided to splice into the wire harness and run a wire to the glove box so I could have an illuminated glove box ... which the wife loves BTW. The passenger side ambient light wire runs right underneath the glove box after all.

The Ambient Light installation was somewhat intimidating for me since it calls for the removal of the head unit. While I almost passed on the whole thing when I realized I had to do that, I didn't and it all worked out okay in the end. The ambient lights are blue and cast a very dim blue light into the foot well on both the drivers and passenger front seat area. I can guess why Honda did that, but the blue lights will take some getting used to. Still I am glad I spent the money and did this.

 

[3hondas3]

For the ambient lights, the first thing I did was hook it up to the dash wiring harness (per downloadable instructions) to make sure the darn thing worked. Then since I was also splicing into the wires for the glove box LED light I double checked which wire in the factory harness was positive & negative with a volt meter. Removing the head unit and other dash components to gain access to the wiring connections was a new experience for me, but thankfully Honda color codes & sizes the wiring harness connections so that everything can only be reinstalled correctly. There were about 7-8 wiring harnesses attached to the rear of the head unit alone. And the new ambient wiring harness gets plugged in right behind the head unit ... as you can see in the photo with the big black wire tie. The two ambient lights connected to the plastic shielding above each foot well. One thing I liked about the Honda wire harness is that it came equipped with plastic connectors on it that neatly plugged into brackets under the dash when you routed the accessory wiring harness correctly ... so that it fit like a glove. One thing that I did not like is that there is a 2 AMP in-line fuse in the wiring harness ... and it is right behind the head unit when installed. So it that blows, you gotta remove the whole radio/head unit again to diagnose that problem. Oh well.

 

[3hondas3]

Adding a glove box light was fun. While it looks as though Honda does not include that light with any CRV in the 2018 model line, the CRV glove box is actually cut with an opening for a light fixture right from the factory. My guess is that Honda uses this same glove box design on other models (like the Accord or Pilot) that possibly do include a glove box light. And since I had to remove the glove box in order to instill the ambient light accessory on the passenger side of the car, I figured "Oh, why not!!" It was simple. I used a "T" tap wire splice on the ambient light harness close to the glove box area and simply ran a new 2-pin wire up to the glove box light. Then I fashioned a very simple home-made jig out of spare wood laying around the garage to hold the LED and attached it to the glove box light opening. There was tons of room above the glove box under the dash for anything one might make to hold a light. Very happy with how it all turned out. Now every time the car's head lights are on, so are the ambient lights and the glove box light. It is amazing how good a silly little $0.58, 15 lm, 20 mA, 0.4 watt LED glove box light looks in a dark car at night! :applause:

View attachment 125323

 

[JustM3]

I thought about buying one of these to see if it fit 2018 CR-V.

Genuine Honda 34254-T2A-A01 Glove Box Light Assembly

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LIVY9C0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ad2OBb0HNC2TC

 

[3hondas3]

I looked at that as well. Not sure which vehicle it goes to, but my guess is that it will indeed fit the opening and drill holes in a CRV glove box. It also has the on/off spring loaded toggle switch so the light only comes on when you open the glove box door. I did not buy it however because the wire plugin to that assembly is a Honda oem connection, and I didn't know where to get that or how to make that electrical connection without it. Your Amazon link says it goes to an Accord, so I guess you could search Accords for the wiring harness to get the male connector. If you find the right one, it would make for a great setup on the CRV. I used a generic 2-pin connection from Superbrightleds.com for my glove box setup and soldered them to the Honda wiring harness in my CRV for power. So for less than $2 for the wire and light, along with a little creative labor, I had essentially the same thing ... albeit not factory original.

 

[lmaxim]

you all scare me..... wires everywhere! :headscratch: :wrenchin2: :thumb:

 

[JustM3]

I looked at that as well. Not sure which vehicle it goes to, but my guess is that it will indeed fit the opening and drill holes in a CRV glove box. It also has the on/off spring loaded toggle switch so the light only comes on when you open the glove box door. I did not buy it however because the wire plugin to that assembly is a Honda oem connection, and I didn't know where to get that or how to make that electrical connection without it. Your Amazon link says it goes to an Accord, so I guess you could search Accords for the wiring harness to get the male connector. If you find the right one, it would make for a great setup on the CRV. I used a generic 2-pin connection from Superbrightleds.com for my glove box setup and soldered them to the Honda wiring harness in my CRV for power. So for less than $2 for the wire and light, along with a little creative labor, I had essentially the same thing ... albeit not factory original.

I saw this when I contemplated doing this mod on my 2015 Accord. I’m pretty sure the process should be very similar.

 

[3hondas3]

The guy in the video used a fuse tap/jumper to get power from the fuse box, which is good way to go. Dash cameras are frequently hardwired that way. It could work. From what I was able to find, this light assembly comes on the '14 Accord Hybrid EXL. HondaPartsNow.com has it for $14.53, plus shipping. Still not sure where you get the pigtail connection. In the YouTube video the guy says he got it from an extra parking bulb light connector. Find that part, and I think you're golden!!