Footwell Light installation, from scratch
By: Russ Caslis
Because
it seems like a hot topic these days (and due to constant complaints from
my fiance at night when she has to carry stuff by her feet), I decided
to go about adding some foot-well lights to my M roadster. If you want
to do the same, please read over these instructions before doing anything
- there are several gotcha's that you may want to avoid.
Step
1 - parts
- 2
Z3 trunk lights - These come with the clear plastic pieces and bulbs. I
used the trunk light piece, but you may want to consider using the entire
dome light assembly. That would eliminate the need for the next two items.
- 2
12-volt 5 watt bulbs - The bulbs in the standard Z3 trunk lights were 10
watt bulbs, which were a little two bright and made a little more heat
than I liked, so I replaced them with lower wattage bulbs. The new bulbs
look like the same size, but they were smaller. I was able to bend the
contacts in the light assembly to hold the new bulbs without any problems.
- 2
Radio Shack project boxes - I was concerned about wires getting burnt on
the lights, so I decided to use the project boxes to cover the back side
of the lights. Perhaps if I used the dome light assembly (which has a back)
I wouldn't need this. The part number was 270-1801.
- Spade
connectors - lots
- Wire
- red & black 18 gauge
- Heat-shrink
tubing - Just a little bigger than 18-gauge wire
Step
2 - disassembly
- Side
pillar coverings - These simply "pop" off. I would recommend
using a screwdriver with the tip covered by a towel (to prevent marring
the surface) and wedge it in the top, then pull down. These should come
off with a nice "pop". Do both sides of the car.
- Top
pillar covering - The clear plastic around the dome lights gets scratched
very easily, so please be careful (it's white plastic under the paint,
so it really shows when it's marked up. The clear plastic pops off, try
prying from the drivers side - that side is supposed to come off first.
Then remove the light bulb assembly, it also pops out. Once again, be careful
not to mark up the paint. Next, remove both visors, you will need a torx
screwdriver. Then remove the one remaining torx screw that holds the top
piece in place, it's behind where the light assembly was. Last, just pull
up to remove the covering. You will need to detach the wiring plug that
was under the passenger side pillar.
- Passenger
foot-well panels - Two panels need to be removed. First, take the bottom
plastic piece out, it's held in by three plastic screws. After that, the
panel should just pull forward and down. Next, remove the panel covering
the speaker. It's held in by 1 plastic screw, then you push back on the
panel so the lip comes out from under the covering under the door. Then
the panel is free and just lifts out.
- Driver
foot-well panels - Two panels need to be removed here also. Remove the
top plastic piece much the same way as the passenger side - remove the
two plastic screws then pull forward then down. The only difference is
that there are more clips holding it in place around the various pedals.
Next, unscrew the handle for the hood. Then the side panel removes itself
similar to the panel on the passenger side - one plastic screw and then
push forward to remove the lip. Be extra careful here, since you are also
removing the "dead pedal" on the floor (it's all attached - one
piece).
Step
3 - Building it.
- Grounding
cables - You will need to create two cables for ground. Cut two pieces,
one 25" long and another 15" long. Solder spade connectors on
one end of both wires and cover with heat-shrink tubing. Uncover about
1/2 inch of wire on the other end of the wire.
- Light
switch - Disconnect the black wire and connector from the switch that controls
the dome light (you may want to unwrap the electrical tape around
the wire). Cut this wire near the switch, then cut a 6'2" long piece
of red wire. Strip the ends of the black switch wire and the new red wire,
wrap then together, solder on a spade connector and heat-shrink tube it.
Connect the spade connector to the post on the switch. Take the other end
of the red wire, and attach another piece of red wire 3'8" long, putting
a spade connector on it (and solder and heat-shrink it). Now take the remaining
end of the new red wire and attach a spade connector (and solder and heat-
shrink it).
- Cutting
the panels - Cut a hole just big enough for the clear plastic piece to
fit in. Be aware of what is just above the hole you are going to cut, you
will need a good deal of space directly above the hole. Use these pictures
as guides, but you probably want to move the holes even further
back. And once again, be careful about placement, and double check that
you will have space above the hole (it needs to have enough space for the
project box above it). Also, you can make a hold bigger, but not smaller.
Make the hold just big enough so that the clear plastic can hold itself
in just based on pressure.
- Cutting
the project boxes - take the two project boxes and remove their tops. Now
cut slits in the sides big enough for the two connectors from the clear
plastic pieces to stick out the sides.
Step
5 - Final Assembly
- Attach
ground wires - In each footwell, near the speaker, there is a bolt with
wires attached to it. Loosen both bolts and attach the non-spade connector
end of the ground cables, then re-tighten the bolts.
- Re-attach
the top pillar cover - Put the cover back on in the reverse order from
how it was removed. Just remember NOT to attach the connector along the
passenger pillar yet. Also, run the new red wire along with the existing
harness down the side of the compartment. You can push the red wire into
the crevice by the door, the rubber molding will easily cover it all. Then
re-attach the driver door pillar.
- Run
the red wire along the inside of the passenger footwell. Take the end of
the cable and pass it though the center console so that it comes out the
drivers side. You may want to tie something heavy to it, like a socket
(from a socket wrench) to make it easier to grab.
- Driver
side - Hold the ground wire up and out of the way, then re-attach the speaker
cover, doing the reverse of how it was removed. Remember to snake the black
ground wire over the top of the panel. Now take the plastic lower panel,
and place the clear plastic lighted piece through it, the project box over
it, and attach the red and black wires to opposite terminals on the light.
Put the plastic panel back into place, securing it with the plastic screws.
Make sure that all the connection stay in place as you replace the panel.
- Passenger
side - Replace the speaker cover while snaking both the red wire and the
black grounding wire over the cover. Now do the same thing as you did on
the drivers side - put everything into place, attach the power and ground
connections and secure everything.
- Attach
the wiring harness under the passenger door pillar and replace the plastic
covering.
YOU
NOW HAVE FOOT-WELL LIGHTS!
They
are controlled in the same way as the dome light, and should make using
the car at night easier.
That's
it!
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