How to install
your Apex kit

Before You Start

Decide what you're installing. The kit ships with everything for both setups — the only thing that changes is how much you fit on day one.

What You Need — Tools

Materials

Best Fuses to Use

Usually safe targets:

• Cigarette lighter fuse
• ACC (accessory) fuse
• Radio fuse
• 12V power outlet fuse

They turn on and off cleanly with the car and handle small accessory loads without complaint.

Finding the Correct Fuse

Easiest method:

That site has fuse-box layouts for almost every car. You'll see exactly which slot is ACC and what amp it is.

Fuse Size — Use 10A

Apex kits are designed to run on a 10A fuse.

• The fuse protects the wiring from overheating, not the lights themselves.
• Never replace a 10A with a 15A or 20A "to be safe" — it does the opposite.
• Use a 10A piggyback on an existing fuse via the fuse tap.

Recommended Wiring Setup

Fuse Box
   ↓
Fuse Tap (10A)
   ↓
Apex Controller
   ↓
LED / Fibre-optic strips
   ↓
Ground (Chassis bolt)

Ground Connection — Critical

The kit needs a clean earth or it will flicker.

Door Panel Removal

Most cars follow the same playbook.

Hidden screws are usually:

• Behind the door handle
• Under the armrest
• Behind small trim covers
• Along the bottom edge of the door card

Steps

1. Disconnect the battery. Especially important near airbags.
2. Remove visible and hidden screws. Trim tools only — don't lever with a metal screwdriver.
3. Pry around the bottom edges first with the trim tool.
4. Lift the panel up and away — most door cards hook over the window edge.
5. Disconnect the harnesses (window switches, door lights, speaker) before fully removing.

Running Wires Through Doors

The hardest single step.

• Feed wires through the existing rubber grommet between the door and the body — never around it.
• Avoid the window mechanism (it'll chop the wire).
• Avoid sharp metal edges. Use grommets or loom protection.

Tip: A flexible wire puller / fish tape makes this five times faster.

Hiding the Wiring

What separates a clean install from a botched one:

• Follow factory wire looms — the manufacturer already ran cables where they belong.
• Wrap with Tesa fabric tape to prevent rattles.
• Zip-tie every few inches against existing harnesses.
• Keep all wiring well clear of moving parts and heat sources.

Never leave loose wire inside a door cavity.

Test Before Reassembly

Before you snap any panels back on, check:

• All lights power on
• Lights turn off with the ignition
• Windows still operate normally
• Doors close without pinching
• No new dashboard warnings
• No buzzes or rattles from inside the panel

If anything's off — fix it now. It's far easier than re-removing everything.

Common Beginner Mistakes

Recommended Install Order

This way, your first mistake is on a £15 footwell strip — not on a £400 RGB controller buried behind your headliner.

Pro Tips

Quick Shopping Checklist

Best Beginner Advice — Start Small

1. Footwell lights first
2. Learn fuse tapping
3. Learn grounding
4. Then move to doors and dashboard

That single ordering avoids ~80% of the costly mistakes we see. Phase 1 should take a relaxed afternoon. Phase 3 is a confident half-day.

Starlight Headliner — the full job

The Starlight Kit is a different beast to the Ambient Kit: the headliner comes out and every fibre is threaded by hand. Set aside 4–8 hours. Same electrical rules as above — switched 12V ACC feed, chassis ground, 10A fuse.

The install, in order

1. Drop the headliner. Remove grab handles, sun visors, pillar trims and dome light. Release the clips and lower it out through a door or the boot. Two people makes this painless.
2. Mark your star pattern. Use the drill template card from the box. Natural skies cluster — avoid neat rows. Denser above the rear seats, sparser at the edges reads most realistic.
3. Drill and thread. Drill from the face side, thread each 0.75mm fibre from behind, leaving a few millimetres proud. Work in patches — hundreds of holes is a rhythm, not a race.
4. Trim the tips. Use the hot knife tip on the fibre ends — a clean melt gives that bright pinprick. Cut cold and the star looks dull.
5. Mount the host machine. The compact unit (7 × 7 × 2.5 cm) sits flat behind the headliner. Route the meteor strips along the roof frame and bundle fibres with the supplied tape — nothing should rattle.
6. Wire and test before reassembly. Switched 12V ACC + chassis ground + 10A fuse, exactly like the ambient chapter. Pair the app and run every mode — twinkle, meteors, music sync — before the headliner goes back up.