Footwell lighting fitting guide

[J.Topaz]

You've probably seen the other thread called 'ambient footwell lighting' as there is a lot of posts in there now, I decided to create a guide to keep things tidy and easily found by other members. Hope it becomes useful

What is this guide?
This will eventually be a comprehensive guide on how to install LEDs in your footwell that will come on with the interior light and dim when the light goes off.

What you will need:
Wire
LEDs of any colour (need to handle 12v)
Nimble fingers

Step 1
Take out your interior light fitting completely and locate the connector housing as shown in the pic below

Remove the connector housing with a knife or screwdriver by levering it out. You will notice on this block you can see numbers 1, 2 and 3. We are interested in numbers 2 + 3, this is the feed your lamp uses when in the flat posistion (or when your lights come on when you unlock your car and open a door)

You will see 3 prongs which you need to tap into. Do this by attaching a few cm's of wire. I would have soldered the wires on but my soldering iron broke so i simply twisted them on tightly ensuring not to short circuit anything. The copper prongs do come out to make life easier.

Next put the block back on and you should be left with something looking neat and tidy.

The reason why I attached the wires to the housing is because it will make things easier, when it comes to running wire from these 'extension points' to the floor. This took me about 5 minutes and is stage one of the process. Stage 2 will be running more wire from the lamp to the floor - i'll do this at the weekend when I have daylight. I have tested the LEDs I bought and can say, once finished this is going to look V smart.

They can be purchased here: http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/u12v60w-white-20000-angle-with-wires-p-1484.html

Step 2 UPDATE

I decided to fit my LEDs tonight as i couldnt wait for the weekend and i'll probably end up busy. So I thought i'd install them. Hiding the wire wasnt hard at all, I simply tucked it under the roof lining and tucked it down the side of the pillar. Basically its invisible!

Here are the results. It's really hard to get a decent pic at night. I tried taking a video of the dimming effect but you can't see a thing.

Interior light on

Drivers side footwell

Passenger footwell

Overall i'm happy with this subtle/practical mod and I would recommend you do the same thing. It doesn't look chavvy at all, and the light isn't too bright either. To put it simply...tasteful.

Get out there and buy some LEDs!

 

[Pantygirl]

nice work!

Did you think of it all on your own?


I would solder the connections If I were you. The IEE wiring regulations state that a loose connection is an illegal connection.

... but then again it doesnt cover cars does it

 

[UncleFester]

As above, you really need to solder the wires - also pick up some heatshrink cover - cheap and makes things neat elsewhere.

When I wired mine in, i made the rear courtesy lights removable by using molex connectors for the power /dimmer circuit. Did something similar with the ones in the doors too - everything is easily removable.

I'll keep an eye on this as i've still got the footwell ( front and back) led strips to wire in

 

[antnee]

Are these prongs the pos and neg feeds for the lights? Is the first one for when you switch the light on permenantly?

 

[J.Topaz]

As above, you really need to solder the wires - also pick up some heatshrink cover - cheap and makes things neat elsewhere.

When I wired mine in, i made the rear courtesy lights removable by using molex connectors for the power /dimmer circuit. Did something similar with the ones in the doors too - everything is easily removable.

I'll keep an eye on this as i've still got the footwell ( front and back) led strips to wire in

I would have soldered them in but as I've said my soldering iron broke. Trust me I made sure they were wrapped and twisted on tight enough never to move. The block itself keeps the wires held down in place anyway so its not much of an issue.

Are these prongs the pos and neg feeds for the lights? Is the first one for when you switch the light on permenantly?

The 2+3 prongs are the +ve and -ve for the lights. 1 is for the light to be constantly on.

 

[ibiza_95]

the wiring for the courtesy light runs down the a pillar anyway, so if you wanted to make life a little bit easier, you could just have a look at the colours of the wires going into the block connector, and then have a look at the bottom of the a pillar for the wiring down there...

Just another option anyways

 

[cus]

what happens if you turn the main light on in the car to find something, will this turn on all the other lights i take it?

 

[Myki da Pyki]

Pure bodge

 

[cus]

Pure bodge

does that mean you approve??

 

[J.Topaz]

the wiring for the courtesy light runs down the a pillar anyway, so if you wanted to make life a little bit easier, you could just have a look at the colours of the wires going into the block connector, and then have a look at the bottom of the a pillar for the wiring down there...

Just another option anyways

I had a look but couldnt find them?

what happens if you turn the main light on in the car to find something, will this turn on all the other lights i take it?

No just when the door opens. Thats all i want, too bright otherwise

Pure bodge

it works doesnt it.

 

[cus]

i've ordered 4 interior lights off ebay, not sh*tty looking ones, but quite nice ones.

i want one in each foot well, to only come on with the doors
one in the centre console (below stereo) when i turn the main interior light on
one in the back somewhere (like bmws) to light that up, and to only come on with the doors

so how would i get the centre console to light up with the main interior light? do i wire it up to the third cable somehow?

 

[J.Topaz]

i've ordered 4 interior lights off ebay, not sh*tty looking ones, but quite nice ones.

i want one in each foot well, to only come on with the doors
one in the centre console (below stereo) when i turn the main interior light on
one in the back somewhere (like bmws) to light that up, and to only come on with the doors

so how would i get the centre console to light up with the main interior light? do i wire it up to the third cable somehow?

Sounds like a very good idea.

If you want a light to come when the interior light is constantly on, you will have to use the 1+2 wires. 2+3 are for lights that only come on when the door is opened/unlocked.

2 is +ve
1 and 3 are -ve

What lights have you gone for exactly? If your going to do it before saturday let me know how you get on at taking the pillar off.

 

[cus]

well i'm in new zealand until sunday, so wont do it until the following weekend. pillars should comeoff quite easily! the ones i've gone for are

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=350116222692

i dont mind what they look like as they are getting hidden away, but they do come with everything needed which is good! just gonna get some good quality wiring for it

should look nice once its all wired in

 

[J.Topaz]

not bad, the only trouble with a filament bulb is you get a horrible orange colour. LEDs give purer light are smaller (easier to hide) and last longer.

The end result WILL look good. Welcome to the footwell lighting club

 

[antnee]

So would it be possible (using LED's) to use prongs 1+3 and 2 so then the footwell lights are opperated the same as the interior light?

 

[J.Topaz]

So would it be possible (using LED's) to use prongs 1+3 and 2 so then the footwell lights are opperated the same as the interior light?

you want the footwell lights to come on when you flick the interior light to constantly on? if you do then use 1+2

if you want the footwell lights to come on when you open a door/unlock you car use 2+3

There are only 3 functions of the interior light

1. constantly on
2. on when doors open/unlocked
3. permanently off

Using 1+3 would do nothing...other than keep the lights off permanently. HTH

 

[antnee]

I mean would connecting up to all 3 prongs be alright, or would it foobar something else up?

 

[J.Topaz]

wouldnt break anything. If you think about it as an extension of your interior light just with sepearate controls eg flicked left or horizontal.

connection to all 3 prongs will be fine.

 

[antnee]

Sweet, Might have a play soon

 

[J.Topaz]

you should it will look class