DIY: Footwell LED's using the dome light as a switch

[Andrew09]

This is my first DIY, so if it is too detailed or not detailed enough, let me know! I’m new to all of this so hopefully this is helpful to somebody!

There are some DIY threads on footwell lights already, but I installed mine using the dome light as a switch so that it my lights will turn on when the doors are open or manually turned on/off with the dome light switch.

First, the materials I used were:

- 4 cheap LED strip lights from ebay (about $2.50 each, shipping included).
- Splice Connectors (or other types of wire connectors)
- Double sided mounting tape (Recommend the 3M stuff)
- Zip Ties (about 5-6)
- Flash light
- Phillip’s Screwdriver
- Electrical Tape
- Knife or Scissors
- Socket Wrench with a Torque 27 bit
- Flat Screwdriver or Butter Knife
- Approximately 20 feet (to be safe) of 18 Gauge wire (I recommend two different colours)

First, I pulled out the fuse for the dome light (under the hood). I then took down the dome light with a butter knife. It just has 4 clips that will unclip fairly easily. Then I popped off the metal backing to the bulb and, using a tissue, pulled the bulb out of the socket. (Be careful, if bulb was on, it gets extremely hot!)



With the dome casing hanging down by the wires, the bottom side of the bulb socket is positive and the top is negative. I took my yellow wire (which I used as my positive wire) and stripped the end and wrapped the wire around the hole of the positive terminal of the bulb socket. I then did the same for the black wire on the negative terminal. This pic looks messy, but I ensured it was in there nice and tidy.



After this is done, I ran the two wires across the roof above the headliner to the driver side pillar. To get the plastic casing off of the pillar, the left kick panel needs to be pulled up. First, grip the long portion and pull it up. The clips will come up fairly easily. Then do the same for the back door kick panel.



There is a screw on the outside of the drive side pillar that will require a Torque 27 bit. Using the socket wrench, take this screw out. Then, starting from the bottom of the plastic, grip it and pull it off. There are two white clips on the bottom, then two towards the front door and two towards the back door.



Once this is off, there will be two Phillips screws that will need to be removed in order to get the top plastic panel off. Once these screws are out, pull the plastic from the bottom again. It has two clips towards the front seat, and two towards the back (same as the bottom plastic panel). There is also a blue clip just on the top of the panel.





Once the panels are off, the wires from the dome light will need to be ran above the headliner across to the driver’s side pillar. From here they will run down the pillar and under the carpet under the driver’s seat. I installed a fuse on the positive wire in the pillar area, just a preference.



To get the wire under the carpet, I pulled the seat forwards all the way and from the back seat fed it through and pulled it up through the opening in the carper under the seat. I then opened up the center console. To do this, I used Shft99’s DIY instructions on taking apart the console, found here: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/sh...t=DIY+Footwell

Once this was done, I fed the wires up from under the carpet directly up into the center console.



I then ran the wire through the console up into the front portion, under the dash area. I then cut the wires the taped off the ends with electrical tape.

Taking two of the LED’s for the backseat, I placed two sided 3M tape on the back and mounted one strip under each front seat. I mounted them about halfway under the seat, where the carpet ends because the tape would not stick to the carpet very well. I then ran the wires under the carpet on each side into the centre console, where I spliced them into the main yellow and black where that I ran through initially.



Next, I took off the plastic panels under the steering wheel. To do this, I removed two Phillips screws from under the dash and, starting at the bottom, pulls out on the plastic panel and unclipped all of the clips as I pulled.



When this is removed, you can just unplug the tire sensor monitor wires from the button. Then, I mounted an LED strip to the metal strip going across using three ties. I pulled the ties tight, but it may be better to leave them somewhat loose because when the panel goes back over it, only the pedals are lit up because the panel blocks some of the light.



On the passenger side, I used ties to mount the LED strip up under the glove box area. To do this, I pulled off a plastic panel underneath and tied the ties to the clips and then clipped it back up.



There is a small plastic panel on each side of the center console in the foot area that just pulls off (2-3 clips will disengage easily). Then I ran the wires into the console through here. I then spliced the wires into the main yellow and black wire.

Once this is finished and the lights are working, everything can be put back in place. When putting the plastic covers over the seatbelt area on the pillar, be sure to place it so the button that moves the seatbelt shoulder clip up and down is above the white part of the seatbelt clip, to ensure that it will work again. Then, the top blue clip needs to be clipped in followed by the side clips. I found the side clips very tricky, they need to be manually pushed and fit into the slot where they clip into.

The final product looks very nice with no wires showing and no switches necessary, it’s all operated from the dome switch. I'll post some night time pics of it when I get some if anyone is interested.

Alternatively, if you would rather not run the wires from the dome light and would just like them connected to the door so they ONLY turn on when the door opens, you can just remove the left kick panel in the front driver side (no screws, just unclips with a bit of force), then remove the panel under the steering wheel, as mentioned above. After this is done, you will need to remove the plastic panel to the left of the one just removed (under the steering wheel). To do this, there is one Phillips screw and then you just pull it out from the bottom until it unclips. Just be careful when doing so. The white plug will need to be unplugged from this piece before hand. A flat screwdriver can be used to push in on the clip to the side of the white plug and then you just pull it out.





If anyone has any questions or suggestions on how this could be done better, let me know. Thanks!

[rustyxsurfx08]

First: good write up, i am looking to do the same thing.

Second: is there any way to tap into the wires that run to the dome light, as opposed to touching the wires to the bulb connections?

[nate89]

I tried thinking of a way to do it that way but this is probably better since you can have the light on with the dome, when you unlock the car and turn em off when you want! Add a diode and tap them into the headlights so they'll also turn on when your headlights do. That' what I'm planning on doing. That should add about $500 to the car's resale right (luxury!!! hehehehe)

[flamedrgn]

seemes interesting enough for me to try the next long holiday i have. Thanks :]

[Andrew09]

Originally Posted by rustyxsurfx08

First: good write up, i am looking to do the same thing.

Second: is there any way to tap into the wires that run to the dome light, as opposed to touching the wires to the bulb connections?

I tried to think of a way of tapping into the wires rather than using the bulb connections, but if you want total control of the lights with the switch, this is the only way I know how. It appears that the switch is right in the fixture.

There are 3 wires coming out of the dome light, grey, pink, and black/white. These 3 wires represent the 3 settings of the switch. Grey represents when the switch is on the "door" setting, pink is for the "off" setting and black/white for the "on" setting. You could tap into one of these by the dome or at the ecu (same as the alternative method in my post). You will need to tap the negative wire into the red/green in the ecu for this though. Then you will get that one setting only, aka lights come on with the door open no mattter whatr position the switch is in.

IF anyone finds another way to do this though, let me know!

[lolitsalan]

Originally Posted by Andrew09

There are 3 wires coming out of the dome light, grey, pink, and black/white. These 3 wires represent the 3 settings of the switch. Grey represents when the switch is on the "door" setting, pink is for the "off" setting and black/white for the "on" setting.

This doesn't sound right to me. I'm pretty sure one of those wires is a negative.

[Andrew09]

Originally Posted by lolitsalan

This doesn't sound right to me. I'm pretty sure one of those wires is a negative.

Well I think you can use the black and white at the dome as the negative instead of the red and green one down at the ecu, but I don't think there is a way of having the lights work with the switch by using any of those three wires.

Here is a wiring diagram given to me from d0za. Might help someone, the colors don't match exactly for the dome lights (says white for all three, but they are grey pink and black/white) but they seem to match mostly at the ecu.

[Shft99]

Great write up man. Thanks for the credits!

Heres the link to the wiring diagram posted above from d0za

[rustyxsurfx08]

Looks to me like one is constant power, one has power when the door is open, and one is a negative. Can anyone confirm this?

[Andrew09]

Yep you're exactly right. As long as you're using the wires, you can choose which setting you want to use (always on with your own switch or only on with the doors open), but only one, as you're on the wrong side of the switch. This is where tying into either side of the bulb comes in.

[romansj]

Originally Posted by rustyxsurfx08

Looks to me like one is constant power, one has power when the door is open, and one is a negative. Can anyone confirm this?

It's actually the opposite of that. There's 2 grounds, and one constant power.

Pin 1 is power (I would assume 12V?)
Pin 2 is grounded when the doors open.
Pin 3 is constant ground.

If the switch is "on", it connects to pin 3, grounds the light and it turns on. If the switch is "door", it connects to pin 2, and is grounded by the ECU only when the doors open.

You could tap the "door" ground wire for the lights to always turn on with the doors. Or alternatively, make your own footwell switch with similar 3 positions. Personally, I would avoid tieing directly to the bulb in the housing... very dirty and messy and potentially dangerous.

[rustyxsurfx08]

So you would tap into pin 1 for power to the lights, then pin 2 for negative wire from the lights, and this would make them turn on when the door opens?

[romansj]

Originally Posted by rustyxsurfx08

So you would tap into pin 1 for power to the lights, then pin 2 for negative wire from the lights, and this would make them turn on when the door opens?

Well those pins were for the dome light switch above your head. I wouldn't bother going up there, personally.

I would tap the redgreen wire for power (or ECU pin 4), and ECU Pin 7 for ground (grounded when door is open). Thats the the last image is in OP is showing. I'm planning on doing this mod, but have my own ON-OFF-DOOR switch, so I can have the footwells on without having to turn on the dome light...

[johncal]

Originally Posted by romansj

Well those pins were for the dome light switch above your head. I wouldn't bother going up there, personally.

I would tap the redgreen wire for power (or ECU pin 4), and ECU Pin 7 for ground (grounded when door is open). Thats the the last image is in OP is showing. I'm planning on doing this mod, but have my own ON-OFF-DOOR switch, so I can have the footwells on without having to turn on the dome light...

I'd be willing to bet you that every output on the ECU, goes to a relay (mechanical or solid stae) and through a fuse. Tapping directly onto the ECU which typically puts out very low current voltage could damage it. I wouldn't do that myself. But hey, it's your massively expensive ECU.

[romansj]

Originally Posted by johncal

I'd be willing to bet you that every output on the ECU, goes to a relay (mechanical or solid stae) and through a fuse. Tapping directly onto the ECU which typically puts out very low current voltage could damage it. I wouldn't do that myself. But hey, it's your massively expensive ECU.

None of those are outputs from the ECU. You're not sourcing any current directly from the ECU. The redgreen wire is fused at 10A for the dome light, and pin 4 is fused at 25A for the door lights. Pin 7 is a switch to ground and is already sinking the dome light's current. You could easily install your own fuse for double protection if there's concern, similar to the trunk light mod which uses a 2nd fuse.