Beaming with Pride (and LEDs)
Well, my friends, it's actually pretty easy! Here's what you'll need:
Wire cutters/stripper
Wire caps (those twisty things you put on top of wires to twist them together, while covering the exposed wires)
Flashlight, maybe
Electrical tape
Phillips head screwdriver, flathead screwdriver
"Goof-Off" or equiv. - glue, gum, tar remover
Socket set
"GOOP" or similar sealant -- black, tarry stuff that retains it's flexibility
First off, disconnect the battery.
Okay, let's start to work on the driver's side. Remove the interior molding over the center pillar. Use the PH screwdriver to remove three screws from the front (steering wheel) side and three from the rear.
Step two: gently pry the molding away from the frame. It's flexible but will scratch if not careful. Maneuver the molding toward the back seat. Be careful of the little plastic and metal clip holding the upper molding to the lower molding. I don't recommend removing it because the tiny metal clip is very brittle. If possible, simply push the molding to the rear of the car until the pillar is mostly exposed. Careful of the seatbelt. Gently remove the insulation that is attached to the pillar. The glue may still hold it in place but it won't require much effort to pry it loose. Once out of the way, you'll see the seat-belt retainer. See photo (Exposed pillar.jpg):
Step three: remove the screw holding the white seat-belt retainer. Don't drop the screw, just in case it goes somewhere you can't reach. Lift up slightly until the retainer slips out of its slot and let it slide down the belt and out of the way. You'll now have access to the goodies inside!
INSIDE the pillar you'll find those famous wires we've all been dying to see. They are twisted and wrapped in a black and yellow tape marked "Caution: 110V" or something to that effect. They are connected to a plug which is, you guessed it, plugged into the light. Pull the plug and bring the wires out into the glorious sunshine (or garage light, or what have you). See photo (Plug.jpg)
Now here's a bit of fun for you: using a socket set (I don't remember if it was 9/16) you'll have to remove the "nuts" inside the pillar. Now, you can't use your run of the mill ratchet. There's not enough room, as you can see. You need a socket set with the screwdriver type handle, on which you'd fit the appropriate socket. This is the fun part because, as has been mentioned before, these nuts can fall into the pillar and most likely cannot be retrieved. You may use whatever technique you wish to prevent that from happening. I used a telescoping magnet and STILL lost one of them. There are two on each light. Use the flashlight to peek inside to see where they are.
After the nuts have been removed, use a flathead screwdriver to very carefully pry the lights off of your roof. If you have a padded roof, this is a little easier, because you're not running the risk of scratching anything. I have no idea what it would be like with a painted, flat roof. I can't give you any advice there. It'll take a little doing, because these lights are on there pretty tight, but don't worry. Eventually you'll pry the light free and you'll see three holes: two smaller ones where the pins of the lamp fit through, and a larger one to accommodate the plug. See photo (No turning back now.jpg):
Use the wire cutters to snip off the plug at the end of the wires inside. Unwrap your new lights (LEDs or any +12V lamp you want) and feed the wires through one of the holes. The hole you choose will depend upon the lights you use and how they are to be attached to the car. In My case, I chose the top-most hole. You will have a positive and negative wire coming from you light (most of you know this, but just in case...) and fish them both through and then out the SAME hole through which you've pulled the blue, white and brown wires from before.
If necessary, strip the ends of the wires from your new lamps. Then strip the following, on the driver's side: SOLID BROWN, WHITE, BROWN with WHITE STRIPE. IGNORE the blue wire. Be sure your battery is disconnected or at the very least that your headlights are off. Take one of the wire caps and twist the SOLID BROWN, the BROWN with WHITE STRIPE and the power wire from your new lamp together. Wire cap the white wire to the ground wire of your new lamp. See photo (Twist the night away.jpg):
Repeat all the above steps on the opposite side, EXCEPT: Strip the SOLID BROWN and WHITE wires only. Wire cap the SOLID BROWN wire to the power wire of your new lamp. Wire cap the WHITE wire to your lamp's ground wire.
Tape off all other wires but don't be overly concerned because they will no longer carry any current after the next and most important step. Don't bother to reassemble things at this point but don't accidentally close the door and crush your new lights.
This next step is very important but much simpler than I thought it would be. Open your trunk and on the driver's side, remove the gray carpet from around the base of the spring and pull it toward the back. To do this, there is a black fastener you have to carefully pry out of its hole. Just go slowly and you won't have any trouble. Once pulled back, you'll see that familiar black and yellow tape wrapped around some blue and white wires. They feed to the inverter, which is very conveniently placed about midway between the spring and the tail light on the drivers side, tucked neatly up and underneath. See photo (Lip service):
You'll see in that photo that I've already removed the inverter and unplugged it. The inverter is about the size of a relay or child's building block. There are two plugs: one has blue and white wires, the other is a single solid brown wire. To be honest, I just yanked the thing out, breaking the plastic pin which held the inverter in place. I don't need it anymore, anyway, although I'm saving it just in case. Pull away the black tape and cut off both plugs. Strip the WHITE wires and the BLACK wire. Ignore the blue wires and the brown one.
Wire cap the two WHITE wires to the BLACK wire. Tape everything off and secure it; pay attention to that extra brown wire. It doesn't carry any current but just in case, make sure it's tapped securely. You may replace the carpeting now, if you wish.
Now, at this point, everything should be connected properly. I offer NO promise that these instructions will work for your car; it is up to you to determine if your model has the same wiring. I recommend using a voltmeter to be SURE of which wire is carrying what current. All I know is that this setup worked for me and my car. If you feel comfortable with the work you've done and believe my instructions were accurate, reconnect the battery and/or turn on your headlights to see if the lamps work. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!
That being said, there's some more work to do. You'll see that where you've removed the old lights, the padding has some glue left on it. Goof-Off is a great product and I use it all the time but any gum, glue or tar remover will probably work. BE VERY CAREFUL with this stuff because it WILL take off paint. If you have a painted roof, be especially aware of this! It is up to you to determine the best way to mount and secure your new lights so from here on out, these instructions apply to my own experience.
Rub away the glue residue until the entire pillar is clean. A paper towel works just fine. I suggest wiping it down again with water and allowing it to dry completely before mounting your new lamps.
Using GOOP or a similar tarry sealant, fill in the holes in the pillar, even around the wires. Let that set however long it needs to and under appropriate conditions.
My lights came with a padded adhesive backing and since I wasn't prepared, I used that. The lamps I bought JUST fit in between the moldings on the doors. HOWEVER! Because the roof was designed to accommodate the original lamps, they were recessed slightly. This means that my lamps, well...they stick out at the top a bit because they are longer and don't fit directly into the space provided. This is something I will correct at another time. See photo (Easy does it.jpg):
Assuming you're more or less happy with everything, it's time to make sure everything is taped up and tucked away. Reassemble the interior moldings but don't over-tighten any screws. I'd suggest keeping all the plugs, the inverter and the nuts in case you ever want to change back for some reason.
Now, again, the lights I bought are not exactly what I'd have picked if we had some huge selection. They're a bit large but once I figure a better way to mount them to the pillars, I'll be most happy. These give off a semi-ultraviolet white light. See photo (Let there be light.jpg, Light 2.jpg):
That's pretty much all there is to it! Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions and help. The wiring diagram was more complicated than the actual thing. Once I stared at it long enough I saw that I didn't need to wire anything special in the trunk, other than the white ground wires. Hopefully this information will prove useful to more than a few people. I doubt I'm the first to really do this but I have yet to come across instructions such as these. Now, if any of you have questions or need clarification, PM or post to this thread, unless a mod has a better idea. I'll try my best to help whenever possible!
The advantage to this method is that now we have lots of options. Any coachlight we can fit, any color we can LEGALLY drive around with. If I'm unhappy with these lights I can swap them out pretty easily! Good luck and have fun!