Underglow lighting kits. Do they cause problems?

[T35L4]

Hi all,

I am looking at this underglow kit from RPM Tesla. Doesn't seem to be overly expensive and looks cool. Just wondering

• Power Drain: does it auto-shutoff when the car is off?Are there risks of phantom drain?
• Compatibility Any error messages?.
• Heat and Adhesion: after long wear/tear, does it come off?
• Warranty Concerns - does it void?

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[Ken in Miami]

Hi all,

I am looking at this underglow kit from RPM Tesla. Doesn't seem to be overly expensive and looks cool. Just wondering

• Power Drain: does it auto-shutoff when the car is off?Are there risks of phantom drain?
• Compatibility Any error messages?.
• Heat and Adhesion: after long wear/tear, does it come off?
• Warranty Concerns - does it void?

I have similar ones on my golf cart that is 53 v lithium powered and also uses a step down transformer but also has a feature that the bass in the music controls the pulses. When its off its off with no drain. I like this one thanks for the link.
on a side note on 95 in south Florida late n the evening now there are plenty of modified vehicles with under glow and x mas lights. I have not seen any one being stopped by state troopers when they cross paths but I do know it is a legal Nono when driving.

 

[Crissa]

Geez, as a driver I like underglow on other vehicles because it really shows the outline of vehicles with it. And it also highlights debris and cracks you'd otherwise miss in the dark from far away.

-Crissa

 

[RPM TESLA]

Hi all,

I am looking at this underglow kit from RPM Tesla. Doesn't seem to be overly expensive and looks cool. Just wondering

• Power Drain: does it auto-shutoff when the car is off?Are there risks of phantom drain?
• Compatibility Any error messages?.
• Heat and Adhesion: after long wear/tear, does it come off?
• Warranty Concerns - does it void?

This is Mark from RPM TESLA. We have sold over 500 of these to date, many for Cybertruck owners and other models as well. With the CT you have the voltage change requirement but it really works great. No warranty concerns as you pug the power wires into the Cybertruck aftermarket wiring connection in the front end of the CT. This simply means the power consumption is controlled by Tesla's monitoring systems as it is not wired to the 15volt battery. No issues at all and it times out after 30 minutes if you forget to turn it off on your display. No risk of phantom draining. For wear and tear, there is the risk of it coming loose in harsh weather conditions like rain or snow.

 

[T35L4]

This is Mark from RPM TESLA. We have sold over 500 of these to date, many for Cybertruck owners and other models as well. With the CT you have the voltage change requirement but it really works great. No warranty concerns as you pug the power wires into the Cybertruck aftermarket wiring connection in the front end of the CT. This simply means the power consumption is controlled by Tesla's monitoring systems as it is not wired to the 15volt battery. No issues at all and it times out after 30 minutes if you forget to turn it off on your display. No risk of phantom draining. For wear and tear, there is the risk of it coming loose in harsh weather conditions like rain or snow.

Straight from the source! Thanks!

 

[IronJoe]

I ordered my kit from Mark at RPM Tesla during their Black Friday sale, I'll make sure to document my install and post a thread.

 

[RPM TESLA]

Thanks Joe, we did sell out again, but backorders will ship this week or next.

 

[T35L4]

I ordered my kit from Mark at RPM Tesla during their Black Friday sale, I'll make sure to document my install and post a thread.

When do you install??

 

[IronJoe]

When do you install??

As soon as it gets delivered, still waiting.

 

[IronJoe]

Update: got the kit installed, wanted to share my experience.

First, the wiring was pretty straightforward after watching the video @RPM TESLA had linked for the front light bar, as the wiring instructions are identical. Simply unwrap the pigtails in the frunk (once you remove the plastic tub) and connect them to the step-down voltage regulator. Then connect the output of the step down converter to the + and - of the lights. I used waterproof fuse link solder connectors for this part.

Flick on the frunk power under "Outlets & Mods" and the lights kick on. I downloaded the app via the QR code printed on the lights themselves and didn't have to do any pairing!


The tricky part for me was actually adhering the light strips to the body, and routing the wires. I didn't do the best job largely because from what I can see, the wires are a tad too short for the overall large size of the Cybertruck. Also I put the truck in Extract mode to do the installation and while it's handy, some of your wiring decisions and clearances change as the body lowers back down to driving height. I knew this was the case so I taped everything into place before I actually unwrapped the adhesive and sure enough, some of my wiring paths (particularly the front wheel well) ended up being too close for comfort once lowered.

I started my routing with the front, then the driver's side, then the back, and ending with the passenger side. Because of the short wires the light strips aren't perfectly centered along each section. It's most noticeable along the last two strips (rear and passenger side) as I had taken up pretty much all the available slack centering the other ones.

Also you may be looking at my placement of the LED strips and wonder why they are curved they way they are. The reason is that the LED strips are flexible but not infinitely so - you can't really curve it with a tight radius so you have to get creative.

Front: I ended up moving the right end of the strip here closer to the skidplate to free up some slack. In retrospect I could have moved the entire strip further into the body but I was afraid it would limit the view of the light pattern from the front.

Driver's side: I ran the light strip along the inside of this channel.

Rear: At this point I'm noticing how short I am on wire which is why I couldn't center this one very well.

 

[IronJoe]

Here's a link to a video I took after installation:
https://www.instagram.com/pinkcybertruck_pnw/reel/DD_Lsv-pooz/

All in all it's been great, my kids love it, and I'm constantly playing with the colors in the app. It does shut off when the truck goes to sleep (this was something I wasn't totally clear on) so I keep the Power Feed ON in the truck menu. When I walk up to the truck and it wakes up, the lights turn back on.

As to the adhesion question, it's already been a very rainy PNW winter so I'll report back if I have issues, but so far so good.

 

[Kryptek]

Here's a link to a video I took after installation:
https://www.instagram.com/pinkcybertruck_pnw/reel/DD_Lsv-pooz/

All in all it's been great, my kids love it, and I'm constantly playing with the colors in the app. It does shut off when the truck goes to sleep (this was something I wasn't totally clear on) so I keep the Power Feed ON in the truck menu. When I walk up to the truck and it wakes up, the lights turn back on.

As to the adhesion question, it's already been a very rainy PNW winter so I'll report back if I have issues, but so far so good.

Thanks for the write up! my order should be processing soon!

 

[T35L4]

Update: got the kit installed, wanted to share my experience.

First, the wiring was pretty straightforward after watching the video @RPM TESLA had linked for the front light bar, as the wiring instructions are identical. Simply unwrap the pigtails in the frunk (once you remove the plastic tub) and connect them to the step-down voltage regulator. Then connect the output of the step down converter to the + and - of the lights. I used waterproof fuse link solder connectors for this part.

Flick on the frunk power under "Outlets & Mods" and the lights kick on. I downloaded the app via the QR code printed on the lights themselves and didn't have to do any pairing!


The tricky part for me was actually adhering the light strips to the body, and routing the wires. I didn't do the best job largely because from what I can see, the wires are a tad too short for the overall large size of the Cybertruck. Also I put the truck in Extract mode to do the installation and while it's handy, some of your wiring decisions and clearances change as the body lowers back down to driving height. I knew this was the case so I taped everything into place before I actually unwrapped the adhesive and sure enough, some of my wiring paths (particularly the front wheel well) ended up being too close for comfort once lowered.

I started my routing with the front, then the driver's side, then the back, and ending with the passenger side. Because of the short wires the light strips aren't perfectly centered along each section. It's most noticeable along the last two strips (rear and passenger side) as I had taken up pretty much all the available slack centering the other ones.

Also you may be looking at my placement of the LED strips and wonder why they are curved they way they are. The reason is that the LED strips are flexible but not infinitely so - you can't really curve it with a tight radius so you have to get creative.

Front: I ended up moving the right end of the strip here closer to the skidplate to free up some slack. In retrospect I could have moved the entire strip further into the body but I was afraid it would limit the view of the light pattern from the front.

Driver's side: I ran the light strip along the inside of this channel.

Rear: At this point I'm noticing how short I am on wire which is why I couldn't center this one very well.

Looks like a great install. I think I'll have to pass though since its just tape under there and I am on the east coast with constant snow, salted roads and just straight cold weather. I imagine this install would not last long under these conditions plus I'd have to constantly do undercarriage washes that might make it need constant reapplications.

 

[65SoYoLO]

anyone know what the extra wire is in the frunk? A power, a ground and a green wire?

 

[Kryptek]

Got mine on in Alaska! The self adhesive works really well on the main metal under the footwells, the plastics near bumpers not so much.
I used gorilla glue clear tape and had it heated up over a Mr heater buddy for a few seconds, this turned the surface into a shrink wrap cling type consistency and worked phenomenally on the underside front and rear.

I feel this is very secure even in Alaska as long as you don’t scrape the skid plate. Install on the metal took minutes front and rear 1 hour each. Very simple electric install. Amazing selection of light choices!

spotted my first other CT owner at the local charged tonight, the green really helped differentiate our trucks. I feel it matches the green energy symbols were so accustomed to ?

it should glow green under from the Tesla factory when charging!

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