So you got your kit(s)? Now where to begin.....
Your order of flow should be lights first, then amps (black boxes), then your power harness and last being your controller. In order to know where your power cables from your power harness need to be, you need to know where your amps will be. But to know where your amps need to be, you need to have your strips installed first.
Each and every strip we make here is tested for power and functionality before it is packaged. Before installing anything, pre-wire a simple setup on your table or bench and test your strips. If they work on the bench and but not after the installation, check your install to make sure nothing has been damaged during the installation.
If you find something missing or would like to see something added, please use the Message box at the bottom of the homepage and let us know.
Strip installation
The placement and location of your strips can be identified by using the pictures on the website. Each kit has pictures that show this. Use them as a guide. Make sure your surface is clean. Use alcohol to clean your surfaces. DO NOT bend the strip at the connection. You can bend the wire before it goes into the strip but do not bend the soldered connection. DO NOT bend the strip at an angle that is unnatural to the strip. If you are forcing it, you will break it. They are flexible but not indestructible. Do a dry test fit to get an idea where exactly you are going to place them. Peel and stick only after the surface is clean and a dry fit has been done. On some of the black textured panels, it is a good idea to use 3M 94 adhesion promoter and use Q-tips to apply it. This will help with the bonding of the two surfaces. This is available on Amazon in various forms.
Signal amplifiers
The black boxes are your signal amps that are used to expand the system. They take signal from the controller, amplify it and provide it to the strips in your kit. Some kits will have more than one amp while some will only have one amp. Below is a good baseline to go with but can change depending on the installation configuration. On the amps there is a red (+) wire with an insulated male spade terminal and a black (-) wire with a ring terminal. The red wire will connect to one of the power wires from the power harness. The black wire will go to ground. These can be extended if needed. The single male 3 pin connector is your signal INPUT from your controller OR from another amplifier. The female 3 pin connector is the signal OUTPUT and is ONLY used to pass through signal to another amp. This is called "daisy chaining". The 4 two pair of female 3 pin connectors (8 total) are your LED outputs and where your strips will connect to. Sometimes not all will be used depending on the kit. Sometimes not all CAN be used. Like all amps, there is a power limit. Just because you have an extra port not in use does not always mean it can be used. Over powering the amp can give undesirable effects that will be addressed later. Each amp will require a power wire from the power harness. Depending on how large the overall setup is, you may have 2 power harnesses. You can watch a video for a visual reference here - https://youtu.be/qlwkguxFMro
Triple Eyebrow Kit - 1 amp
Mega Eyebrow Kit - 1-2 amp(s)
Standard Hood Kit - 1-2 amp(2)
Sports Hood Kit - 2 amps
Suspension Spring Kit - 1 amp
Mirror/Side body Kit - 1 amp
Interior Kit - 1 amp
Rear Exterior Kit - 1 amp
Underbody Kit - 1 amp
Wheel Kit - 3+ amps
Location of signal amps
Amps are designed to be installed close to the kits strips. Extensions for strips are ONLY used on certain kits. Those kits will be the mirror/side body kit, spring kit and rear wheel. The usage of extensions can introduce signal drop and/or act like an antenna that can pick up inference from other electronics and cause flickering, flashing or strobing of certain strips. This undesirable effect can also be obtained from over powering the amp with too many strips. Do not decide you want to place all of the amps in one centralized location and want to use extensions to make up the difference of distance. You will create your own headache. The easiest way to describe the location of placement of the amps is to say where all of the cables from the strips meet together, that is where you will place your amp. A general location of the amps are as follows.
Triple eyebrow kit - behind the center headlight. Watch your wires around the hood hinges.
Mega Eyebrow Kit - if you have a single amp, behind the center headlight. If you have two, one on the driver side frame rail and the other on the passenger side frame rail. Watch your wires around the hood hinges.
Standard Hood Kit - same as eyebrow kits.
Sports Hood Kit - same as eyebrow kits.
Suspension Spring Kit - on driver side frame rail. Use the supplied extension to connect the passenger side spring AND rear spring to the driver side amp. Watch the extension around hood hinges, moving engine components and exhaust.
Mirror/Side body Kit - in the pocket behind the driver side fender, next to the PCM (computer). Use the supplied 2-to-1 extension splitter to connect the passenger side strips to the driver side amp.
Interior Kit - under the rear fin deck.
Rear Exterior Kit - under the rear fin deck OR drop the rear splash shield in front of the rear tire.
Underbody Kit - behind the center headlight.
Wheel Kit - the drivers side wheel amp will go on the frame rail by the UCA (upper control arm). The passenger side wheel amp will go on the frame rail by the UCA (upper control arm). The rear wheel amp will go behind the splash panel that is in front of the rear tire. NOTE: All rings are usually marked for their location but the front rings will have their wires at 12 o'clock while the rear rings wires will be at 6 o'clock.
Power harness setup
The power harness has a heavy duty solid copper lug that can go on the (+) battery side OR on the alternator post. IF you put it on the alternator post, make sure you disconnect your battery first so you do not short anything to ground. It is not uncommon for most Slingshots to have two power harnesses. There are 6 power wires on each harness. There is a list of kits and amplifiers above so you can determine if you need one or two 6 device power harnesses. Each 6 device power harness will have (2) five foot power wires, (2) 8 foot power wires and (2) 12 foot power wires. Each of these have a female insulated spade terminal that will connect to the insulated male spade terminal on the red (+) power wire on each signal amplifier. There is a small black wire with e ring terminal that goes to ground. On the webpage for the power harness there is a picture of where we normally put the push button switch that comes with the power harness. It is recommended to use this location. Only one push button switch is needed to power 2 of the power harnesses. Install the switch and run the red wire (5ft) from the power harness to either one of the two wires on the switch. Ideally, use only the length of wire needed to get to the switch and cut off the rest. Use the rest of that red wire to go from the other of the two wires on the switch to a constant or switch 12v power source. If there is not enough wire left over from the first connect, add you own wire to go from the switch to your chosen power source. This is 16ga OFC wire. You can watch this video for a visual reference guide. - https://youtu.be/m7A2ug3TPmg
Controllers
There are a few controller options available. We have single zone that do not react to music and single zone that are music reactive. We have 4 and 8 zone controllers that are audio reactive AND have trigger hardware included at no additional cost. All controllers can adjust light intensity, speed up/down light patterns, create their own colors, etc. Both 4 and 8 zone controllers can control each zone independently or can be grouped together. The 4/8 zone controllers have built in highly sensitive microphones for light reactivity. Both have trigger inputs that can support "Left turn", "Right turn", "Brakes", "Reverse" along with many other features. Each controller has an insulated male spade terminal on its red wire and a ring terminal on its black wire just like the amplifiers.
Controllers A and B
Controllers A and B are single zone controllers. This means all kits work in synch with one another and no kit can be controlled separately from one another. For this setup, all amps MUST be daisy chain connected to one another. As an example, an extension cable would connect from the single 3 pin female OUTPUT connector to the signal INPUT connector on an amplifier. Then another extension cable would connect from the signal OUTPUT of that amplifier to the signal INPUT of another amplifier and this would continue until all amps are connected together.
Controllers C and D and Trigger supports
Controllers C and D are multi zone controllers. This means all kits can be controlled separately from one another and/or synched together. For this setup, typically, Zone 1 is reserved for the left side eyebrow amp. Zone 2 is reserved for the right side eyebrow amp. Zone 3 is reserved for the Rear Exterior Kit. However, you or your installer can set this up based on your needs but remember Triggers 1 through 4 only support Zones 1 through 4. For a FULL install, below is an example on how to setup the controller. Some kits like the wheel kit that has 3+ amps will still need to be daisy chain connected as described above. Each of your extensions will connect from a zone output on the controller to a signal input on an amplifier.
Zone 1 - Left side eyebrow kit (or full eyebrow kit if not splitting)
Zone 2 - Right side eyebrow kit (only IF splitting the eyebrow kit)
Zone 3 - Rear Exterior kit
Zone 4 - Hood kit
Zone 5 - Underbody kit
Zone 6 - Interior kit
Zone 7 - Mirror/Side body kit
Zone 8 - Wheel kit
Trigger supports are included with controllers C and D at no addition cost. These allow you to set zones 1 through 4 to act as (left and right) turn signals, reverse lights and brake lights when setup and configured. Triggers 1 through 4 control zones 1 through 4. If you want to use your Triple or Mega Eyebrow kit for left and right turn signals you will need to split the kit into left and right sides. This requires 2 amplifiers. One for each side. As as example, the left side amplifier of the eyebrow kit should be connected to Zone 1 on the controller and the right side amplifier of the eyebrow kit should be connected to Zone 2 on the controller. Then you will need to test and identify which wire on the left turn signal circuit (usually found at the turn signal bulb socket) provides on/off 12v with the turn signal on and 0v with the turn signal off. Connect wire (not supplied) from that wire you tested and identified and connect it to Trigger 1. The same process applies to the right side turn signal to Trigger 2. Then go into the mobile app, go to the Triggers tab and set Zone 1 and Zone 2 to do a turn signal function. How the entire process is fully integrated into the Slingshot is up to you. There are Pros and Cons to each configuration.
If you are not comfortable doing this,
If you do not understand this process,
If you do not have the skills or tools to do this,
STOP. Incorrect installations that cause damage to components are NOT covered under warranty.
Find an installer (preferably one who is MECP cert) to do this.
Smartphone applications for each controller
Controller A - MagicLED
Controller B - LEDchord
Controller C - BanLanX
Controller D - BanLanX