I am in no way responsible for any damage or injury caused by these modifications. WORK AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!
How to install an undercar neon kit
So you have seen The Fast and the Furious about 30 times now and you are convinced that you want to have the glowing light under your Pinto, right? You called your local shop and ordered your Street Glow neon kit and now you want some help understanding the instructions.
Well, companies like Street Glow and LiteGlow offer different types of kits. Choose which kit is best for you. Kits differ in design, thickness of glass around the tube, brightness, manufacturer, etc. We have chosen to order a Street Glow Gold Series Under Car Neon Kit, Neo-Blue in colour.
When your kit arrives it is time to check the parts that have arrived. Neon tubes are very fragile and easily broken, so check all 4 tubes for cracks, broken tube areas, etc. Also check for a power converter, a switch, about 14 ring clamps, 16 screws and plastic tubing.
The first step in the installation process is to find a location inside your vehicle to mount the switch. This location should be easily accessible to the driver, have some visual appeal, have a deep enough area behind the mounting base for the switch to fit, and be close enough to a firewall connector for the wiring to reach the outside of the vehicle. Once you have found the location you want, get a Dremel and start cutting out the area for the switch to fit. Note to self, always cut small and try to fit the switch to avoid ugly holes protruding from the switch.
Once you have cut the switch hole and fitted the switch into the hole, run the 3 wires towards the firewall. There should be a rubber grommet in the firewall that you can pierce with a screwdriver. Feed the wires through the hole you have just made. Now open the bonnet. If you look down the firewall into the engine bay, you will see the wires you just put through the hole. Grab these wires and pull them towards you until they stop coming out. Be careful not to rip the wires off the switch by pulling too hard, Hercules!
You’re now ready to install the bulbs.
Remove one of the two shorter neon tubes from the packaging, and you will need 3 plastic clamps and 3 screws. It’s a good idea to jack up the car for this step, as you’ll be getting underneath the car. You may also want to use a screw gun to secure the screws to the underside of the car. OK, are you ready now? Align the neon tube where you feel it is centred with the width of the car. You should also be about 10″ – 14″ back from the front of the bumper. Have someone hold the tube in this position for you while you wrap the 3 clamps around the neon tube. If you notice, there are marked places where you should place the clamps on the tube. Now screw the clamps into place to secure the tube to the underside of the vehicle. Wow, look at that, a tube installed and looking good! Follow these steps to install the rear and side bars. For the side tubes you will use 4 clamps.
So to recap, you now have a switch installed and the wiring for it in the engine bay. And you have now installed all 4 neon tubes on the underside of the car. The next step is to fit the power converter for the neon tubes. This is a fairly straightforward process. If possible, find a place on the firewall where you can place the converter flush against the wall. This is an ideal location for the converter, but it is not always possible on newer vehicles where there is no room. You will then want to secure the converter to the new location with 2-3 screws, which should be included in the materials supplied. The red wire with the fuse should face upwards. If you cannot mount the converter to the firewall, you can mount it to a side panel in the engine bay, as far away from the engine as possible, or to the underside of the car, as you have now done with the neon tubes.
There are 2 thick black wires coming out of the converter. Slide one of the clear plastic tubes over the end. Now take one end and locate the neon tube closest to this wire and grab the wire coming from the end closest to the power converter. Splice these two wire ends together, wrap with electrical tape, slide the plastic tube over the splice and wrap the tube with electrical tape. You now have a secure and weatherproof connection.
Now repeat the process with the opposite end of the neon tube and the tube closest to its end. Repeat the same steps as for the previous connection. Complete the wiring of the remaining tubes in the same way. When you have reached the last connection of the last neon tube, connect it to the remaining thick black wire on the power converter.
Next, take the longest red wire you ran through the firewall and splice it to the fused red wire coming out of the inverter. The black wire hanging from the firewall is your ground and should be attached to the chassis of the vehicle. The final step is to run the power cable. You have two options here. You can either run the wire directly to the battery to have direct power whenever you flip the switch for the neon, or you can connect it to a wire coming out of the fuse panel. The battery option allows you to switch on the neon kit at any time, even when the car is not switched on. The option of tapping into a wire in the fuse panel usually means that the car has to be switched on to receive a power signal. This is good for all you idiots who forget to switch things off when you get out of the car. The only problem with this option is choosing the fuse you want to tap into without draining too many amps and blowing the fuse all the time. The choice is yours though.
So guess what, the wires are all connected, the tubes are all connected, the switch is installed and connected, and you are ready to glow… er, I mean go! Pull into the garage, close the door, turn off the lights, put on some Barry White and flick the switch for the new mood lighting you just installed. In a Barry White voice: “Yeah, baby…you like that?”
