[mrbrace]

Alrighty folks, I am looking into installing some LED footwell lights. I am going to go with blue because that is the color of my underbody light kit.

Light Kit

Secondly, I want to be able to hook these up to switches either illuminated or not doesn't matter but I want to know how I could run these bad boys. Any wiring diagrams or extra stuff would be greatly appreciated. I am a DIY so I have some basic knowledge of where stuff is on the car. I was hoping to put a toggle switch so that I could turn them on and off and I wanted to run it through the cigarette lighter.

Thanks for all the help.

Matt

 

[Soundguy50]

okay u first need a relay and a switch....total cost at autozone, pepboys etc... 10-15 dollars...

2. find ur power source cigarette lighter as u mentioned will work.
3. using a butt connector tap the positive and of the cigarette lighter and connect it with the existing wire for the cigarette lighter as well as the positive wire(s) to the light kit.
4. u have options on the grounds, but i would keep it simple and tap into the ground of the cigarette lighter also (again using a butt connector)
the relay goes in between the power from the cigarette lgihter and you new lights....

on a relay there are 5 tabs, 2 go to the positive of ur switched device (ur light kit), anotehr goes to a chassis ground, another to the switching device, and one is the constant power coming in (from the cigarette lighter) it is pretty self explanatory on the back of a relay, just keep in mind that your constant 12v power is actually in your case the power lead coming from the cigarette lighter....

b/c u said u have a basic understanding i think that shoudl be more than enough info...however if u have anymore questions, feel free to ask.

a benefit to using cigarette power is that it turns of with the car, thus u dont run down ur battery, nor will u burn out ur lights

something to consider (instead of cigarette power), would be hooking up the lights to a constant power lead, and making the ground the switched means....by doing so u can tap the two door sensors (which act as ground when the doors are open) for the dome lights and then ur light kit will turn on when ur doors open....i did this in my car and i love it....if u think it might be something u want to try, let me know i can explain further

 

[Soundguy50]

diagram of relay

diagram

this pic is different than i decribed in that the power goes in from cigarette lighter to 87, and then also from 87 goes out to the positive lead of the switch (two wires from the same terminal of the relay...it is from crutchfield and is an example of neon or stroble lighting, so its legit....follow this diagram

86 goes to the terminal on ur switch that would go to the accessory that u were powering, in ur case since ur using a relay it goes to terminal 86 which should be the switched power...just read that over extremely confusing....

let me restate, on the switch u bought there are 3 terminals outside 2 are constant power and ground, middle is the device that is being turned on and off, in this case that (device) is ur relay. so when ur switch is on it will direct the power into the relay at terminal 86

wow i should stop im confusing myself

if u got questions ask, cuz im just making it harder than it needs to be

[email protected]

 

[JustWhite]

go to best buy and they have the same LED's for 6.99 for 3, thats what i put in my car plus u dont pay shipping if u pick them up. im not sure how u plan on mounting little leds to light up ur whole footwells but good luck. i had to buy two 12" (which fit perfectly and just enough light) neon bars off ebay i found for less than 20 for both bars shipped.maybe this will help who knows.

 

[mrbrace]

QUOTE

something to consider (instead of cigarette power), would be hooking up the lights to a constant power lead, and making the ground the switched means....by doing so u can tap the two door sensors (which act as ground when the doors are open) for the dome lights and then ur light kit will turn on when ur doors open....i did this in my car and i love it....if u think it might be something u want to try, let me know i can explain further[/b]

Yeah I would like to hook them up to my dome light to be able to have them turn on when my doors open, what would I take into the fuse then or what? THanks for all your help.

 

[JustWhite]

please dont pay 20+ dollars for 4 LEDS, got to ebay buy directly from little hong kong chinese kids who get paid 1 penny an hour, so u save money. you can get like 200,000,000,000,000 for 15 dollars. the leds wont do crap for your footwells u need neon bars...thanks so much noob

 

[Soundguy50]

okay paintball mentioned not getting these leds...now its hard to tell on the site if they are just leds, or if they are ian interior lighting kit....if they are just leds, paintball is right, DO NOT BUY THEM...but if it is similar to the cathode kit that u can but for the tC at the factory than its good.

my guess is that they are simple led BULBS!!! not cathode sticks....i say that becasue of the price. a cathode kit will cost somewhere between 50-100 dollars based on quality etc. research this a bit before u buy.

now as for connecting so illumination begins when the doors open u will tap into a constant power source (i used the yellow wire to my stereo), from there i ran a 20amp inline fuse, just incase something bad happens i blow a fuse and not my deck etc.

from the fuse u will attach the positive wire of each light.

unlike the previous setup with a switch, u are now using a ground as your switching means instead of the positive. to do this is a pretty easy*

brief overview: ur dome light have constant power, it is when ur doors open that the little button on the inside of ur door is depressed and makes contact wiht the frame of the car (creating a ground for the positivly charged domelights)...

what u need to do is locate these little buttons, they are covered by black little rubber thingies (techinical terminology for sure) on the other side of these buttons is a single 18 gauge wire (this is what u want to tap into....) to access these buttons remove that weird plastic hook in the panel just in front of the rear seat (twist and pull, use a plyers or seomthing), once removed u can pull that panel enough to unclick the wire from the back of the button (again using buttconnector, tap these wires)

tap both doors buttons and connect the two doors negative wires to each of the lights negative...and zesty u have lights that turn on and off when u open ur doors

*could be easier...but i ran a post asking if anyone knew how to find the wires that lead to the dome light, and i got no responses....so i did it my way.

 

[Soundguy50]

hope that helps, any questions let me know

 

[Soundguy50]

this is the kinda kit u want
cathode kits

this is what it looks like ur getting
simple leds

if paintball and i are right this is not a good thing u can get what ur bidding on much cheaper at and auto store for 6-10 dollars