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Maplights
The headliner of my BRAT had, at some point in it's past, been host to something, probably a radar detector. Problem is, it had been glued in place. I managed to remove most of the glue, but the surface showed some battle scars. I work for Subaru as some of you know, and I started looking for things like sunglass consoles and such from Foresters to cover up the scars. I found an old style Legacy accessory maplight kit that fit the bill perfectly. List price is only $8 though I did get my employee discount and only paid $5.50! The part number is H4610AC000MS if anyone was wondering, and it can be had from SubaruProParts.com if you would like to pick one up.
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The kit comes with a template, which I used to cut a rather large, drastic hole in the headliner. I traced the hole with a permanent marker and cut it with a sharp razor knife. |
This is the maplight kit (it comes in gray) and it leaves a bit of room for other toggle switches between the map switches should you desire to put some there. |
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As it comes, the maplight housing is a bit too tall to fit in the BRAT. I removed the "negative" terminals for the bulbs and cut the housing down as low as I could. |
I rebent the negative terminals to fit and stuck them in place with silicone. I also used the silicone (the black stuff in the photo) to cushion the housing (to keep it from rattling against the metal roof once reinstalled). The lights were, originally, grounded to the roof of the car by 2 screws which were lost when I cut the housing. I added the new grounds you see in the photo, which I will run to a screw into the roof metal upon installation. |
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After trying a few things to attach the maplights to the headliner, I found thin automotive trim double-sided tape works great. It's very thin (almost unnoticeable) and incredibly sticky/strong. |
The installed maplight housing, just prior to me dyeing the headliner and housing to a uniform light gray color. |
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All images, items, documents, text, and content on this site are either copyright Ravensblade.com or used with permission from the copyright owner. Please do not use, alter, modify, or distribute without express permission. This site is not affiliated with Subaru or Fuji Heavy Industries- I'm just another enthusiast like you. Modification of your car involves risks and may void your warranty. I can not be held responsible for the modifications you consciously decide to undertake nor for the results of doing so.
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