Hi all,

So my illuminated kickplates stopped working over winter in my '12 Coupe XS. Today in spring fever I traced the wiring up the driver's side by the parking brake fuse box and found the in-line glass fuse. Kickplate install manual says 3A but it was a 5A 250V. I replaced it with a 5A 250V and Vioala! only the passenger sill came to life....... So I traced the driver's side wiring to the connector at the plate and unplugged/replugged/fiddled with it to make sure it wasn't just loose. No luck, dead and dark still.

As the line is just a T off the fuse to connecters, I'm assuming at this point it's the driver's sill unit itself. Before I go prying up adhesive, does anyone know if these have accessible bulbs underneath able to be replaced with another LED? Or are they a sealed unit and I'm screwed?

Thanks in advance, you all have saved me lots of money throughout owning my G. I appreciate ya.

 

Technically, the illuminated part is a sealed unit and not serviceable. However, if you have the skills, and more importantly the PATIENCE, you could try to disassemble the sill and see about replacing the LED's. Honestly, it will likely be cheaper and easier to scour a used one off eBay or buy a set and replace yours.

This link might help: Illuminated Door Sill Color Change

At the very least, did you check to make sure the faulty door sill is getting power with a multimeter? You should also bench test the door sill by applying 12VDC directly to the sill.

 

Wow, great link! Thank you. Looking at the thinness of the logo lamp unit itself I'd imagine those diodes are probably soldered to a board and/or sourcing them would be too much of a pain vs. getting a new unit. Inserting a color gel looks like a fun project though!

Before buying one I'll check that the driver's side harness is getting power, will have to find a meter, electrician buddy moved away
From the wiring diagram it looks like the wires split post fuse so since the passenger side is working it would have to be a direct issue with the driver's side wire itself burnt out internally, correct? Visually the connector/harness is fine and no nicks/scrapes/folds on the length of the wire itself.

Thanks for the help and the cool project link! You rock!

 

I would disconnect the harness at the "bad" sill and run a length of wire from the battery directly to the sill and see if it lights up. (You could also try a 9-volt battery- should have enough juice). If not, then the sill is dead. If it works, then you can investigate the wiring from the sill to the T-harness.

I do not know how the LED's are wired: in series or parallel. I find it hard to believe that if one LED goes out the whole thing dies but who knows ..

Whatever issue that caused the fuse to blow (?) could easily have created a problem somewhere else.

 

Good thinking on the meter workaround. I knew I kept that 10yr old spool of thermostat wire around for a reason. Tested off the battery, the sill is dead. I'm still going to check that power is making it down to the harness before buying a unit once I see a friend who has a meter. It'll give me time to set cash aside.

In the meantime I went with a custom rig. It's pretty freakin' sweet. If ya'll get super jealous I suppose I could put some kits together and throw them on ebay for a couple hundred. Lemme know...







Kidding aside, thanks for the troubleshooting tips, links, and help. I appreciate it!

 

Hey, I'm all for the glitz, glamour, rainbows and unicorns. I have the SKYLINE sills and, admittedly, the color is boring compared to my old purple INFINITI ones. I have ZERO patience so a color change is out for me. Not a great pic but you get the (blah) idea.


Hopefully you will get yours sorted. Be sure to check eBay as used ones sometimes pop up.