Foot Well Illumination

[jaM3ican]

Dont know what happened to the first pic but you get the idea.


http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t262/jaM3ican/IMG_1163.jpg
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t262/jaM3ican/IMG_1158.jpg

[-RJ3-]

what kind of lights did you use? Tubes, Leds?
Nice look may I suggest Blue dash and Dials??

[Xerox]

How are they wired? Are they triggered by the dome light?

[jaM3ican]

they were cheap "Euro Glo" tubes Wal-Mart brand.

Might consider the dash lights soon

[jaM3ican]

Took out the centre console up to the Cig Lighter and then hardwired a 4 way 12V adapdter which is hidden on ly wires hang out in key places that are not to visible.

They come on when you turn the key to the accessory position. 1 click They can also be turned off or switched to flash to the bass in music.

[wingnut12]

That's kind of funky for an inexpensive mod!

Remind me to have you help me wire up something similar when it gets warmer.

Do they have them in other colours, and how do you control whether or not it comes on? Is there a toggle somewhere?

[3GFX]

Moved to Lighting, Electrical & Security (http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=98)

[Broli]

i did this mod a few times, i like the lights under the seats i found they lit up better, but one time i let a friend drive, and she moved the seat forward and ran over the wire, then next they you now the little control box was smoking and then she stopped the car and got out running!

lol, i blew a few of those boxes in similar but different ways!

lol

looks good mang

[BLKOUT]

where is the best place to get the lights? is it better to get the led strips?

[stas]

where is the best place to get the lights? is it better to get the led strips?

if you're making up ur mind between neons and leds i suggest led as they dont get nearly as hot at neons. although neons are good in winter when you want some heat for your toes :chuckle (seriously)

[jaM3ican]

go with the led strips. already notice that one of the tubes are flickering at the full on position. Less chance of that happening with Led's

[skunk2]

i bought led strips from devin for the footwell illumination...they work very well and i guess cheaper then neons. $7.50 US for a 2 pack. no fancy flashing with this option though =)

[stas]

i bought led strips from devin for the footwell illumination...they work very well and i guess cheaper then neons. $7.50 US for a 2 pack. no fancy flashing with this option though =)

after you installed them did the bulbs stick out underneath the plastic??

[skunk2]

u won't see the led strips i used unless you crawl underneath the dash.

[jaM3ican]

:pics you have a link to the pics of your interior?

I would have to be eye level with the seat of the chair b4 i can see mine.
I like it.

[stas]

how did you attach the strips? bolts or tape?

[skunk2]

sorry don't have pics......the led strip was like 3 inches in lenght maybe less. if you noticed the steel tube that ran accross underneath the dash, that's were mine is installed.

[BLKOUT]

i live in Markham, does anyone know where I can pick the led strips up locally?

[skunk2]

contact devin98.

[stas]

i live in Markham, does anyone know where I can pick the led strips up locally?

or get different ones from Pacific mall or canadian tire, or any other place that sells autoparts

[jaM3ican]

stas... to answer your question Velcro. The fronts are velcro cable ties and velcro patches on the rear, that way you can just move them on the underside of the seat that you can place it anywhere. you can get from Home Depot or hardware store

[pb_blade]

she moved the seat forward and ran over the wire, then next they you now the little control box was smoking and then she stopped the car and got out running!

lol, i blew a few of those boxes in similar but different ways!

lol

looks good mang

Yeah that can be a problem, me I wired in 4 tubes, passenger and driver footwells, and underneath both seats. Though for the two seat lights, i put the boxes inside the centre console right under the hand brake. then just slipped the wires to the tubes between the plastic console and the carpet. Spent quite abit of time to make sure i could move the seats however i wanted without the wires interferring. I just zip-tied them to the lower rails of the seat that were attached to the floor making sure u could still move the seat without hitting anything. Great mod tho, i found blue/black lights match the other OEM glows, like the one in front of the ash tray and gauges.

[floating_weasel]

I got a bag of big blue 10mm LED's (Damn 100 of em) off Ebay (10 000mcd brightness whatever the hell that means). Now wondering where the hell I am going to put them. I can wire them in sequence so I have sort of a Christmas String type effect spaced as far as I want, or I could use a piece of plexiglas and drill holes for the leads to make a strip. I'll have to wire up a few resistors depending on how many I run in a strip, there is a great site that gives you the calculations.

http://www.theledlight.com/ledcircuits.html

Anyway, the real questions I have are as follows:
a) Where is the most common place for illumination ?
b) What wire do you usually tap into ? Lighter ? Radio ignition switch wire ?

Any help would be great before I start digging into the guts of my girl.

Thanx,

JP

[Broli]

i tapped my cig lighter when had them in

[jaM3ican]

i think the easiest way to do it is to tap into the cig lighter. going anywhere else will involve a lot more of removing components and leave more of a chance for errors.

i got the tubes with the control box just for ease of install also the option to have it pulse to music, completely shut it off or on all the time.

might not be as bright as led's but it does the job for me.

[Broli]

they have those tubes now with a row of leds in them,
haven't used em
they are prob brighter

save the leds and ur time and use a ready made kit FW

[jaM3ican]

Hey Broli,

you got suggestions where to get them? I think i may replace my tubes with led's. Probably last longer too.
Tubes are already starting to flicker.

[sauga_kid]

You can always hit up Devin for LED strips, they look pretty nice, thinking of doing it myself.

[sp3GT]

I'm thinking of getting the LED strips too but how do you exactly tap into the cig lighter?

[sauga_kid]

I'm not sure, I was planning on tapping into the map lights so that they are only on when you first enter the car or turn the map lights on...might have to check with others who have done it already.

[sp3GT]

If I put those in I want a switch that I can control when to turn them on or off.

[1flycdnM3]

little off-topic but if you guys are looking for red LED tubes (from CT) you can have mine CHEAP as I decided not to install them. Getting LED's in the map/dome light(s) now.

PM if interested (better to not get too cluttered with off-topic in this thread)