An individual welcome by your car: the illuminated door sill!

An individual welcome by your car: the illuminated door sill!

The new ideas of the tuning scene never cease to amaze. Since the emergence of the cheap and very practical LEDs, interior lighting has become a true playground for car fitters. One of the most recent trends in this field is the illuminated door sill. Read below everything you need to know about this practical and stylish feature.

Attractive as well as practical

The door opens and the threshold lights up with a warm, soft light. Apart from being exciting, this has a practical use.

In extreme darkness the illuminated door sill is an orientation aid. Especially when wearing heavy boots or high heels you run the risk of getting caught in the door sill, which can be effectively prevented by illumination.

1. Traditional installation: wiring

The first illuminated door sill was wire-connected to the car’s power circuitry. The lighting’s location constitutes a real challenge. To prevent the cables from interfering with the illumination’s aesthetics, they must be skilfully concealed under the door rubbers and the interior panelling.

Some car owners drill holes in the door sills. We strongly advise against this. Door sills are carrier elements of the car. Every intervention weakens the chassis structure. Furthermore, moisture could penetrate the hole, causing the door sill to rust from the inside out.

Wired systems have therefore all but disappeared from the market. Only experienced DIY handymen still use them as they value individual concepts. As the tuning scene has discovered this element, nowadays other practical solutions have become available, rendering the use of soldering iron and cable pliers unnecessary.

2. Wireless illuminated door sill plates

Nowadays the trend is moving towards wireless door sill plates. These modules convince with their multiple advantages:

– quick installation
– no need for connection to the wiring
– safe, reliable and precise
– Powered by a long lasting battery

Installation of the LED illuminated door sill

The illuminated door sill plates are supplied as a complete set, containing a detailed installation manual. Practically, the installation steps for the door sill plates are always the same:

· The door sill is cleaned to enable a good hold for the adhesive magnet. After a profound cleaning with water and detergent, degreasing the sill with brake or silicon cleaner is therefore recommended.

· Now the LED can be carefully positioned. Prior to removing the pads, the door should be opened and shut several times to make sure whether the LED is chafing the door. This should be prevented at all cost. If the LED door sill plate continues to chafe, no other option remains than to look for another, flatter model. Therefore, always check when purchasing if the door sill LED is approved for your car.

· When you have determined the exact position of the LED door sill plate, remove the protective layer from the adhesive pads and press the door sill plate on its intended location. Marking it with a water-proof marker can be practical.

LED illuminated door sill plate suppliers

Evidently, the “common suspects” such as Osram already adapted to this theme.

Furthermore, plenty of no-name manufacturers offer a wide supply of illuminated door sill plates. Car manufacturers offer this feature in their accessory program, although the car manufacturers’ solutions are extremely expensive.

Alternatively, Led Door Sill Plates from specialised traders are a very interesting solution. They even offer individual laser engraving, enabling car owners to integrate their own logo or design into the LED door sill plating. These solutions are considerably cheaper than the solutions offered by car manufacturers, which only have the brand logo anyway. With the specialist trader’s supply you can obtain a very attractive and easy-to-install feature for your car at a cheap price.