# Sneak peek - upcoming illuminated cupholder DIY



## Terry Kennedy (Sep 21, 2002)

Scooter086 said:


> nice mod terry, i got a question. how did you know how to remove the cup holder and where did you get the wiring diagram that helped you find the power source for this mod? are these in the service manual? i have an e36 i'd like to learn more about the wiring.


Thanks! I've actually had the center console stuff in and out multiple times - my car has the CPT8000 cell phone, which normally replaces the cupholders and change dispenser with a phone cradle. I decided I wanted the cupholders back for my cross-country drives, so I made a modified change dispenser / oddments tray which has the phone harness in it. Later on I decided I wanted LEDs in the cupholders.

The wiring diagram is part of the CPT8000 phone installation / service manual and you can find it here (near the bottom of the list).


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## Terry Kennedy (Sep 21, 2002)

GSR13 said:


> Nice Terry! Great write-up and very original idea. Not to mention, the CupHolder Tray is easily removed and replaced should you want to take it out.
> 
> I wonder how much trouble it would be to wire in an On/Off Switch and put the lights on Battery Power permanently? It would be cool to add lighting to my Storage Tray and have it on an independent switch.


Thanks!

I'd be careful with putting this on power not controlled by the ignition switch - these LEDs are something like 10mA per element, 12 elements total, so that's 120mA right there, compared to the BMW limit of 40mA for idle battery drain. If you really want to do it, there should be unswitched power on another pin of the CPT8000 harness.


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## 01silber (Jun 28, 2002)

Terry, can you post a pic at night with the interior lights on so I can see the new cup lights in contrast to the rest of the interior please
thanks
max


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## Jspeed (Dec 23, 2001)

Why not do halos around the cup holders, like the angel eyes? :angel:


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## jl5555 (Jan 28, 2003)

This is an interesting use of the lights. One thing missing from the convertibles is any type of rear footwell illumination. It would neat if someone came up with a solution involving these lights.


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## Terry Kennedy (Sep 21, 2002)

01silber said:


> Terry, can you post a pic at night with the interior lights on so I can see the new cup lights in contrast to the rest of the interior please


Will do. Probably won't happen until Sunday evening, though.


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## 01silber (Jun 28, 2002)

ahh so this is the Terry Kennedy of the famed Tivo disk and the phat voice, cool I just now put the two together


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## Terry Kennedy (Sep 21, 2002)

01silber said:


> ahh so this is the Terry Kennedy of the famed Tivo disk and the phat voice, cool I just now put the two together


That's Dylan of the Tivo disc - he was also the original author of PhatVoice and I just enhanced it. I did a lot of work with the Kermit software years ago, and a number of other products you're probably familiar with. But the Tivo wasn't one of them...


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## Terry Kennedy (Sep 21, 2002)

01silber said:


> Terry, can you post a pic at night with the interior lights on so I can see the new cup lights in contrast to the rest of the interior please


Ok, I finally took the pictures. They're not great, but they should give you an idea. I've also updated the DIY page to include these pics.


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## operknockity (Apr 19, 2002)

Cool! Except for the yellow star pattern, it looks like the color on these LEDs match the rest of the lighting perfectly.


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## Mr Paddle.Shift (Dec 19, 2001)

Terry, got to say this again: GREAT JOB!! :thumbup: 

I like how the light glows through the retractable latches at the side.


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## johnf (Sep 16, 2003)

Mr Paddle.Shift said:


> Terry, got to say this again: GREAT JOB!! :thumbup:
> 
> I like how the light glows through the retractable latches at the side.


That suggests an idea for someone's Christmas present. Thanks!


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## Terry Kennedy (Sep 21, 2002)

johnf said:


> That suggests an idea for someone's Christmas present.


You're going to get them some retractable latches? 

Seriously, one of the BMW accessory vendors has contacted me about making a product out of these gizmos, for folks who don't want to go through the hassle of building them themselves (and trying to get the 20mm punch with the 3+ month lead time).


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## JetBlack330i (Feb 8, 2002)

Excellent DIY.
This gives me some ideas. I need to replace the orage condom that I used for my garage door opener DIY. 
I checked the other day and after 2 years, the condom finally is starting to disintegrate with the heat. :bawling:


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## johnf (Sep 16, 2003)

Terry Kennedy said:


> You're going to get them some retractable latches?


Why, of course - some illuminated ones!


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## johnf (Sep 16, 2003)

Following in the pioneering footsteps of Messr. Kennedy, here is
another set of illuminated cupholders:



Instead of a large, central illumination LED, I placed a couple
minature, forward-firing LED's under the rear latches to produce more
ambient lit cupholders. More anon.


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## andy_thomas (Oct 7, 2002)

johnf said:


> Following in the pioneering footsteps of Messr. Kennedy, here is
> another set of illuminated cupholders:
> 
> 
> ...


Nice work John!

I toyed with the idea of putting some "waterfall" lighting in the E36 dash, in the section that overhangs the MID/clock/Check-Control panel (so the lights would illuminate the switch/blank panels, the gearshift console and whatever was in the sunglass holder/cubbyhole). In the end i just did the sunglass holder/cubbyhole itself, with a couple of dim orange LEDs. They faded with the dashboard illumination dimmer, too, although not very evenly. 

I recall Ron Stygar once illuminating his Z coupe's chrome interior door release handles, 7-series "pelmet" style...


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## fkafka (Mar 12, 2002)

*RE: Cupholder removal, Hey Terry, Kaz, or anybody else-*

**BUMP**

Hey Terry, Kaz, or anybody else-

I had a technical problem with a cup of coffee on the way to the ski slopes yesterday, and thus need to remove the cupholder. I can't seem to Google up any instructions on how to remove it, and based on my past mechanical ineptitude and misadventures, I'm loath to try to attempt it without instruction. How do I remove the the cupholder?

Thanks -F


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## Terry Kennedy (Sep 21, 2002)

fkafka said:


> I had a technical problem with a cup of coffee on the way to the ski slopes yesterday, and thus need to remove the cupholder. I can't seem to Google up any instructions on how to remove it, and based on my past mechanical ineptitude and misadventures, I'm loath to try to attempt it without instruction. How do I remove the the cupholder?


That's probably because it is so easy - pinch the sides in just forward of the centerline of the front cupholder and lift. It will pivot up, at which point you can wiggle it to un-hook it from the change tray.


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## fkafka (Mar 12, 2002)

Terry Kennedy said:


> ...


Thanks Terry!

I wonder if the cupholder part is dishwasher safe...


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