assistance in fitting courtesy lights

[rich19]

hello all

i am looking to fit courtesy lights into my footwell's. i am not going for the chav look as they will be a single white LED that i am hoping will come on with the car unlocking and door opening and also hoping they will fade out like the dome light. from my reading i believe the best option is to wire it to the dome interior light to achieve this.

where you lot come in.....

i am hopeless at anything electrical so i am looking for either a guide i can follow or possibly some help if i throw some skittles your way as payment


any help would be greatly appreciated


Thanks, Richard

 

[Sparky]

I did this the other night, YES NIGHT!
Bought footwell lights and never really used them, only for finding crap out of my girlfriends handbag on the passenger floor, it goes negitive constant positive then negitive (Dependent upon doors), I also wanted the option to have the footwell lights on with the door shut, so I bought from maplin for £3ish a break before make switch, I wired the two negitives to the switch then the positive went straight to the lights so effectivly

Door dependent negitive Positive Negitive
| |
---------BREAK BEFORE MAKE SWITCH--------------

This way I can choose whether it works on the doors or whether to override and have them on,
Another bit of useful information is if you leave them on all the time they turn off with the central locking.

Took me about 1 hour most, You could solider on the end of the of the light (the three points but risk melting the plastic, drill holes in the light and solider the inside or finally choc block the 3 wires before the light)

Good luck peoples!

- I left this like 2 months ago somewhere

If you pull your light out, your middle wire is a common negative, and the other two are positives One door sensitive, one perm on. I used a break before make switch so both circuits worked so I could have them on perm if I wanted but that is quite easy, if not just test with two wires and a standard bulb to check which ones which I'll have a better look tomorrow night but just choc block into it and run down apillar mate, very easy I promise ;0

 

[rich19]

ha ha anythings easy in principle! where do you feed it between the light and A pillar? is it possible to tuck it into the roof lining?

i noticed your original posts but wasn't much else added to it! i may have a look yesterday but im about as useful with electrics as Susan Boyle having a rape alarm!

 

[Sparky]

Would you be interested in making it have the option to stay on permanently? Before you answer I must point out the off option to this is very handy Aswell!

All my wiring went from Interior Light Through Lining to A Pillar Down a Pillar along the base of the roof of the Footwell into centre console area (behind the diagnostics panel) then separated there.

 

[rich19]

no i think i prefer it to fade out with the centre interior light and give it abit more of a factory look.

do you think a nonse will be able to do this? think the hardest part will be trialling the 2 different wires to see which is perminant and which is fade!

 

[Sparky]

you owe me ill be back in 5...

 

[rich19]

i'll go buy some skittles and parcel force them

 

[Sparky]

I have checked my car and looked in both your and my haynes manuals... And will explain as follows...

 

[Sparky]

Your plug to your interior light will have three wires...

Red - Positive Which Has Power When Permanently
Black - Ground/Negative
Orange - Positive Which Has Power When A Door Is Open

You want to ChocBlock Your negative (For Your light) to your Middle Cable (Black)
Then You want to ChocBlock Your Positive (For Your Light) to your Orange Cable


Routing Guide: Interior Light > Under Roof Lining > A Pillar > Down Dash Side > Accross Footwell Roof > Through Gap Into Centre Console Area

This is the simplest way, complete.

Personally I believe you would benefit from a break before make light, what you would do here is run the negative as above but a break before make switch will have 3 prongs 2 inputs 1 output, carry the 1 output off as if it was just the positive, then connect the perm wire and door wire into each of the other two prongs (maplins can describe easier) This would on one setting let you have them on perm (Good For Looking For Something Or Letting your missus look through her bag,) Door (Which is what you want - still will fade) and Off - This is great because if you every do work on your car or clean it you don't want to drain your battery.

Even if you ignore my advice on the break before make switch I still strongly encourage a simple one or off switch for them even if out the way - leave the circuit on 24/7 whenever you want, just use it to 'disable them' when required.

Or Drive down to Swindon & I'll Do It For you.

Any more help just ask

 

[rich19]

im lazy so i may go for option C

i really appreciate you taking the time and i will have a butchers tomorrow to see if i`ve got the nerve to start it!

cheers fella

 

[Dink]

if the interior light has 2 positives and a neg

can't you just have a 2 way switch connect either pos to the outputs and the common to your lights and pick up a neg from anywhere?

 

[CCrispUK]

Innterested in doing this as well, reckon i'll just use the interior light switch on its own and just have the footwell lights acting the same as the interior light. Thanks for the info wilcox92!

 

[Sparky]

Innterested in doing this as well, reckon i'll just use the interior light switch on its own and just have the footwell lights acting the same as the interior light. Thanks for the info wilcox92!

I did make a guide but don't think they liked it - annoying I spent ages on it. Here is the wiring diagram for my idea (which is in my car and works well)

 

[CCrispUK]

Nice diagram. Yours is basically adding an additional break-before-make switch just for the footwell lights, which allows the same control as the interior light, right?
Where did you locate your switch? i might just run it off the interior light switch so it looks factory.

 

[Sparky]

I put a hole next to the headlight height adjuster, but you could put it in glove box or even in the footwell themselves, basically there is two curcuits a perm on for the "I still think lights are cool" look and the door only for the "I have footwell courtesy lights" tbh being able to turn them on is quite handy sometimes, I hardwired them into the physical interior light originally, that went bad. Way bad.
Yeah the break before make switch in the diagram is option just pick the black or orange wire instead if you want black = perm and orange = door sensitive, but I do like my method lol (obiously) If you need any help feel free to pm me, I wasted a whole hour on the diagram! glad someone likes it

break before make switch 2.50 from maplins and put small hole in next to headlight adjusters but I have installed one by the footwell centre console part for a friend and another friend actually sent the switch off on an independant wire next to the base of the seats (wierd option I know lol) also conceder glove box lol

hope it helps

 

[SimonR.]

You could just solder it on to the bulb circuit.

That's what I did so it runs as normal like that

 

[Sparky]

You could just solder it on to the bulb circuit.

That's what I did so it runs as normal like that

I did that originally, but found that it didnt press queit as nice and liked the option of disabling them if I want to leave the door open and have them on perm without having the ceiling lamp on lol

 

[SimonR.]

I did that originally, but found that it didnt press queit as nice and liked the option of disabling them if I want to leave the door open and have them on perm without having the ceiling lamp on lol

Yeah I understand, I have 4 led's drilled into my interior light that are wired up to that. For the footwells and under seats I installed a switch in the drinks holder and ran them off the ciggy lighter wires

 

[CCrispUK]

I put a hole next to the headlight height adjuster, but you could put it in glove box or even in the footwell themselves, basically there is two curcuits a perm on for the "I still think lights are cool" look and the door only for the "I have footwell courtesy lights" tbh being able to turn them on is quite handy sometimes, I hardwired them into the physical interior light originally, that went bad. Way bad.
Yeah the break before make switch in the diagram is option just pick the black or orange wire instead if you want black = perm and orange = door sensitive, but I do like my method lol (obiously) If you need any help feel free to pm me, I wasted a whole hour on the diagram! glad someone likes it

break before make switch 2.50 from maplins and put small hole in next to headlight adjusters but I have installed one by the footwell centre console part for a friend and another friend actually sent the switch off on an independant wire next to the base of the seats (wierd option I know lol) also conceder glove box lol

hope it helps

Sounds great, i'll have a look tomorrow i might go for the second switch afterall. Did you use bulbs or LEDs? I'm assuming both negative lines are 12v?

EDIT: Also, is that a push start button in your avatar? haha

 

[Sparky]

Sounds great, i'll have a look tomorrow i might go for the second switch afterall. Did you use bulbs or LEDs? I'm assuming both negative lines are 12v?

EDIT: Also, is that a push start button in your avatar? haha

Both are 12v, I used LED's because there are more colours and a strip is more bright than a bulb + i had them lying around from my 59plate mini project, they are £8.99 at Maplin,
Yes that is - its a push start button, rewired the immobiliser to a hole in the handbrake area where you drop your key then turn the switch (where you would put a key)
and my guide has been accepted!!!
http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?543306-Wiring-Courtesy-Lights