Lada Granta, Lada Kalina and Lada Priora are budget cars, so they do not have all the comfort options. For example, in the interior of these models there is no second lamp for rear passengers. However, you can install the ceiling lamp for the rear row with your own hands. Let's talk about all the features of this modification.
Features of interior lighting fixtures
In the minimum configuration, Kalina's interior lighting is represented by one lamp located on the ceiling in the front of the car. It gives a soft yellow light, but according to car enthusiasts, it is not enough.
More equipped versions have two built-in lamps: one in front, the second above the rear seat. Lighting in luxury versions has been improved: some halogen lamps have been replaced with LED lamps.
The front courtesy light in the Kalina's cabin, located above the rearview mirror, has a control unit. It consists of a right lamp for individual lighting, activated by a key, a left lamp, activated by a key, a lamp and a three-position switch that determines the interior lighting mode. When the switch is set to the far left position, the lamp lights up continuously until it is turned off. In the middle position of the three-way switch, the lamp is de-energized, and when switched to the extreme right position, the light automatically turns on when any of the car doors is opened and turns off when all doors are closed with the ignition on.
Connection
In order for the external lighting to turn on only on the door that is open, the ground from each LED strip should be connected to the end switch of this door. But they have a common connection, so you need to install a diode after connecting the tape.
The power can be taken “constant +12V”, or “+12 after turning on the dimensions”. The wire can be pulled along the windshield pillar to the courtesy light. The colors of the wires may vary depending on the model and configuration of the Lada car, so we recommend determining the purpose of the contacts using a test lamp. More often:
- black (extreme) - “mass”.
- green (from the door switches.
- red (extreme) - constant “+12V”.
Or we use useful contacts to connect the interior lighting to the ISO connector of the radio:
- A4 - +12V from battery ( yellow )
- A6 - +12V when the dimensions are turned on
- A7 - +12V after turning on the ignition
- A8 - “ground”
+12V from the cigarette lighter - white-red wire.
Causes of breakdowns and methods for eliminating them
Despite the simplicity of the interior lighting circuit, sometimes malfunctions occur, leading to malfunctions or complete failure of the lighting devices. The most common problem is that the light in the Kalina’s cabin does not turn on. The reason may be burnt out light bulbs and fuses, replacing which is not difficult.
The lights do not light up when the doors are opened due to wear on the cam washers. Some car enthusiasts try to reduce the stroke of the locking mechanism by moving the pusher mounted on the car body in the door opening. Sometimes this helps eliminate the problem, but when the pusher moves, the tightness of the door to the seal worsens. This breaks the seal and allows dirt and water to get into the seal.
Instructions for replacing lamps
Replacing the light bulbs in Kalina's lampshade is easy. To do this, you will need two screwdrivers: one – flat, the second – Phillips. The procedure looks like this:
- Remove the lampshade glass. To do this, you need to insert a flat-head screwdriver into the grooves on the glass of the lampshade and carefully open the glass, which opens access to the interior lighting lamps.
- Replace light bulbs.
- If you need to remove the lighting unit with control buttons, insert a flat-head screwdriver into the groove of the unit on the driver's side and press the tool. The plastic cover will come off easily, so it is better to hold it with your free hand. This will give you access to the screws securing the unit to the roof sheathing.
- By unscrewing the two screws with a Phillips screwdriver, you can remove the lighting unit by pulling it towards you with a little force.
- To completely dismantle the device, you must disconnect the electrical connector.
Installation
Disassembly
The process of creating illumination for the rear seating area of the Lada Vesta and X-Ray begins with the dismantling of the rear door panels. In general, there is nothing complicated in this process. You just need to work carefully.
First you need to remove the window handle. To do this, you need a plastic spatula from a special kit for disassembling doors. However, if you don’t have one, you can use a thin screwdriver or a knife, but you must first wrap the tool with cloth so as not to damage the plastic.
Plastic tool for work
Use a spatula to pry the handle from the reverse side, which will allow you to disengage the latch and remove it. All that remains is to remove the handle itself. For Vesta and X Ray, the operating algorithm is the same.
The process of removing the handle is demonstrated in the video
Next, use the same spatula to remove the facing trim on the door handle, behind which 2 fastening bolts are hidden. They need to be unscrewed by 10.
All that remains is to unscrew the screw at the very bottom of the door, and then unclip the door card itself, which is held on by the pistons. According to the experience of owners, sometimes clips break, so you should be prepared to buy new ones.
We create interior lighting ourselves
There is not enough light in the interior of the standard Lada Kalina, so most car owners improve their lighting themselves by installing 0.6 W LED lamps instead of 5 W incandescent bulbs.
The most popular LED lamps of the F-3s50f37 brand provide a luminous flux of 80 lumens and have much lower power. A rectifier is built into the lamp design, which protects the product from incorrect polarity connection.
Additional lighting in the Kalina's cabin allows you to create more comfortable conditions, especially at night. It is an LED strip secured with double-sided tape. The device is glued to the bottom of the dashboard and illuminates the floor under the feet of the driver and passenger.
It is more convenient to fix the floor lighting for rear seat passengers on the air ducts. Connecting lighting to the on-board network can be done in several ways. The simplest one is to connect via a toggle switch to the “plus” of the low beam. If it is necessary for the backlight to turn on when the doors are opened, then it should be connected through the door limit switches.
Interior lighting plays an important role. It not only creates a comfortable atmosphere, but also makes driving conditions favorable, reduces driver fatigue and the risk of road accidents. For this reason, additional lighting has become widespread in recent changes to factory models.
The light in the Kalina, to put it mildly, is not very comfortable, rather dim, only one lamp, no lighting under the feet, in the trunk on the left there is one dim lamp. It was decided to fight this.
The following parts were ordered on the Energomash website:
— Board PL 27 lampshade 51.3714
- 1 PC.
— 219.40 rub. — Board PL 57-01 lampshade 51.3714
— 2 pcs.
— 128.40 rub. — LED strip white glow, 20cm, 12 LEDs
— 4 pcs.
— 320.00 rub. — LED strip white glow, 50cm, 30 LEDs
— 1 pc.
— 200.00 rub. — Transportation costs
— 1 pc. — 110.00 rub.
The PL 27 board and 2 57-01 boards are installed in the standard lampshade. Instead of conventional light bulbs, we get LED ones. At the same time, the light becomes much brighter, you can comfortably read something and find a lost item much easier.
How to properly connect an LED strip in a car
You can connect the LEDs in your car to the on-board network or directly to the battery (not advisable, more on that later).
The on-board electrical network of the car does not correspond to the nominal power parameters of the LEDs, since the voltage taken from the battery reaches 14.5 Volts. This is not fatal for LEDs, but it significantly reduces their service life.
The second risk factor for direct connection to the on-board network is significant current drops. Any car has units with significant power draw from the battery - starter, head lighting, air conditioning, electric power steering. They consume hundreds of watts, and currents reach tens of amperes.
You've probably noticed how, when starting the engine, the headlights go out, the radio and on-board computer turn off, and turning on the air conditioner "cuts down" the volume of the music. And this is when the wiring lines are separated through a distribution box and there are current stabilizers in the equipment.
Use stabilizer
Any LED can operate for a long time only in a narrow range of currents and voltages. For example, an SMD 3528 LED element requires 2.8-3.4V and 0.02A for power supply. Thanks to the limiting resistors on the tape itself, they only feel comfortable at a mains voltage of 12V.
To connect the LED strip to the 12V of the car, use a stabilizer; it is connected to the gap in the positive wire from the battery. You can assemble it yourself. Below is a diagram using the example of a voltage stabilizer LM 7812. It has an output voltage of 12V and produces a current of up to 1A. This is an outdated model and requires additional cooling.
More modern switching stabilizers will be a good replacement for outdated analogues. Here are the characteristics of a regular switching stabilizer from Aliexpress:
- Wide range of input voltage (4-36V) and adjustable output (1-36V);
- adjustable output current (0-5A);
- protection against overheating and short circuit;
- a wide range of operating temperatures is declared -40 +80 degrees;
- Conversion efficiency 96%;
- They cost around $3-4 on Ali (220-270 rubles).
Connecting RGB strip
Remember , there is a list of lighting colors that can be used on a car. Violation of the rule entails deprivation of rights, with confiscation of lighting devices. Read below about the legality of installing the backlight.
When connecting an RGB strip, an RGB controller is added to the circuit, which regulates the power of each color LED and allows you to obtain any color. It is connected after the stabilizer, before the RGB strip.
When connecting the diode strip to a car, you should avoid bending it. Any break will lead to a rupture of the conductive coating. If you need a sharp turn, make a break and connect the ends with connectors.
Use connectors
They clamp the contacts tightly and are quite reliable even in conditions of constant vibration. But it is better to fill the places of such connections located outside the car with sealant or hot-melt adhesive. If you had to make additional holes in the machine body to route the LED strip wiring, carefully treat them with an anti-corrosion compound and, if possible, seal them. The connection points of the wires should be covered with heat-shrinkable tubing for reliable insulation.
How to remove the lampshade on Kalina
Removing the lamp cover will not cause you any problems; it can be easily pryed off with a sharp object. To remove the lampshade itself, you will have to unscrew two self-tapping screws.
Carefully pry up the cover of the central lamp and remove it
To remove the ceiling completely, dismantle the ceiling lining
Unscrew the fastening screws and pull out the lampshade
Carry out the collection in reverse order. As a result, after installation we should have a light like this:
How to change the polarity on the interior lamp of a Lada Kalina
You can do this in two ways:
Swapping the + and wires is the easiest way. But the light will not work when the doors are opened.
The second option is more complex and involves replacing everything + that fits the lampshade. We need to replace the + with - on the base lamps, and ! we remake the “-”, which is taken from the body to the central lamp to “+”. Without this manipulation, nothing worked for me personally.
The pinout of the switch remains almost unchanged, with the exception of replacing “-” with “+”
Required
Lamp lighting, for example:
- from Lada Priora Luxe (catalog number: 21700-3714010-01) together with mounting frame (21700-3714014-01);
- from Sable or GAZelle (CA 453.0031);
- lamp from a foreign car (for example, with this number: 3b0947291);
- any other of your choice.
You will also need several meters of wires.
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