The so-called welcome lights, or “puddle lamps”, are a relatively recent trend in the auto industry. By the early 2010s, they were mainly reserved for the luxury segment of the market – until the rest of the market realized that they were flashy, gimmicky and cheap as a means of brand promotion. Rewind to today, and you can expect to see a light like this in just about any car… But what about a microwave?
Meet Pablo Rochat, who bought a handful of these projectors and put them all around his apartment. The fridge greets him with a Mercedes-AMG logo when opened, the chest of drawers casts a BMW badge on the floor, the cupboards in the kitchen identify as Lexus, and the microwave oven likes to think it’s an Audi.
According to Rochat, these are all cheap puddle lights readily available from third-party vendors. It looks like they rely on 12V PP9-standard batteries for power, so you should be able to keep them going on any suitable 12V power source. The point? There is none, arguably, but you can at least have a laugh with your friends by putting these into the doorframes of your house or garage. Or make your mundane daily driver pretend it’s an Aston Martin.
It seems like there are a few important considerations for choosing these lights. One is that the OEM lights tend to feature higher-quality, brighter LEDs that last longer and result in a more detailed image. The cheaper aftermarket replicas often ditch glass lens elements in favor of plastic, resulting in a yellowish tint to the logo and eventual discoloration. In other words, pick a simpler logo to project if you are buying cheap or do your research if you want quality. And don’t be afraid of overdoing it – car manufacturers already are, after all.
