Detaching headliner's light assembly? (completely)
 

Hey gang,

Redoing my headliner, have it removed already, but the light dome housing is attached to the headliner with looks like six plastic rivet looking things? Really they're plastic nail looking things with a metal "washer" clamped/crimped down from the backside to keep it in place...not sure what I'm looking at....it's a thin little metal thing that was clearly pressured down over the plastic post until it squeezed against the headliner and the plastic post at the base of that plastic post...is that essentially a rivet then?

What's the smartest way to remove them and now does one reattach the housing to the headliner?

I figure I could buy a cheap rivet gun and just use rivets to reattach, but if I ever want to redo my headliner again I want to keep it as simple as possible to remove the housing again....so what would the mod experts here recommend?

Thanks to all once again, you guys have really been a huge help in many things.

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Post a pic of what your talking about... Could you use aI small plastic clip to hold it back on? Like a trim clip, like a plastic rivet? They have a variety at auto parts stores.

Thanks for that, and posting a pic is in the plans, was hoping someone would just know off the top of their head real quick. :)

Thanks for the heads up on plastic rivets being at auto parts stores..I didn't know that. That's probably what I'll wind up doing, and will check out a store or two tomorrow.

If I don't get a solution I'll post a pic up, or if you just want one to learn I can do that too. Pretty interesting project....I really want to take it much further and customize the location of the dome light, moving it back so the light isn't right in your eyes so much at night.

Light coming from the center of the car would be better. :)

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If you get this mod done by zLEDs you won't want/need to move it, as it's plenty bright (and adjustable, too). One of my favorite interior mods.

http://zledslights.com/#!/350z-03-08...tegory=6624014

Thanks Dean, looks like a great mod.

I've got the Cree LED's in there now, and it's very bright, but kind of a harsh bright...and a little too blue....I put a gel filter up there to soften it a little and warm it up some, but the light is still far from first class in my opinion.

The ZLeds look like it'd be pretty similar in output to the Cree though? The location is the same so I kinda think it'd just be more bright, but not a better bright? Or is the lighting softer somehow than just the standard array of LED's in a block plugged into the stock bulb outlet?

My ideal for the driver's cabin is to have light coming from behind the peripheral vision of the driver, but I probably won't be able to do this mod in the time I have.

To add another tangent, I want to add a light to the hatch area coming from the hatch shining down...the trunk light is really a dumb design...should've been put up above in the black plastic hatch cover with a shade blocking light from entering the owner's eyes...that way only light spilling downward would be seen and illuminate the trunk without blinding the owner. Not hard to do, will be one of next year's mods for me I think.

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The zLEDs light assembly has a much more even and soft illumination than other plug-in LEDs I tried first, and even though it was $$ and took 3 minths to deliver, it was well worth it. If you were to move the light assembly back, you'd have trouble with depth for the housing, and you'd be in your own shadow, so I think it's in the correct spot.

Rear compartment lighting is a cheap and quick upgrade, I have the LED board from zLEDs in the original bulb location, and a low-profile LED strip under the strut bar.

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...-9vpw3pK-L.jpg

Thx for all that great info and pics...truly appreciate it.

I'm going to take your advice as your point is a good one regarding being in my own shadow...I was thinking something similar as I looked at how feasible it is or isn't to move the dome or put in a third party dome....can only go back a little bit before the seats block the light as you've mentioned.

Any chance I could bug you for a pic of what your interior looks like with the ZLed dome light? I would spend the money but only if it's a much nicer upgrade over the LED output I've got now. Softer is what I'm looking for...these LED's are bright but garish...I'm trying to figure out to diffuse the diffusers to make the light be less harsh.

Hatch wise....nice upgrade but my problem is if I travel with a bag or two back there they block the lighting when the hatch opens....I've got an LED of some sort back there too...bought on Amazon and it's better than oem light by quite a bit...but the location of the light from oem is poorly thought out in my opinion. If I get a better solution done next year I'll try to share it...I've got ideas but a ton of other things to deal with before that project.

Thanks for all the help, now if I could just get these stupid plastic rivet thingies off the headliner I'd be all set....made progress on other things today, should be working on the headliner tomorrow at some point and reinstalling everything this weekend.

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Here's a pic of the interior light from the zLEDs dome light:

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...-PbPxtcg-L.jpg

Very even, with no real hot spots or dark areas. And here's the LED strip under the strut bar:

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...-QK7b7x8-L.jpg

Wow that really is nice. Looks like one more thing to add to the project list. :)

Nice strut bar mod too. Which LED strip did you go with if you don't mind my asking?

Thanks sincerely for those pics...much appreciated :)

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Oh...and update for anyone wanting to know what's what with removing the dome light....the dome is not secured by plastic rivets as some people online have said in other threads or even other sites...I forget where I found that tidbit but it's wrong.

The plastic posts emanate from the dome light assembly, go through the headliner holes and are part of the assembly itself, the plastic posts have a swell to them (with little grooves in the swell also) so they're secured with a metal washer looking thingy that has little teeth on the inside circle of the washer thingy....the washer thingy goes down the post past the swells until it hits the headliner and clamps down via a tension fit.

They can be gently and slowly wiggled up back off the post with a thin screwdriver or prying device, but it's 50 50 on the posts breaking....I broke some, some survived. I'll just super glue the posts back onto the assembly and then buy new washer clamp things when I'm ready to reassemble.

Hope this helps someone,

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There are countless types of strip LEDs available. Just search eBay for something like "5050 smd adhesive 12 white led strip" to get the kind that's a low-profile tape.

Thanks Dean, looking into them.