Footwell leds that activate with dome light

[John Pish]

I do DIY the hard way. That is, I do it because I have to in order to save labor costs. I bought a 99 Civic EX Coupe from my nephew for my daughter as a first car. The interior was so thrashed that she said that she would rather take the bus than drive a manual shift with a destroyed interior. So, though I know little about car repair, I have repaired most of the interior using these forums, Google, and Youtube.

I would like to install footwell leds in this car that operate with dome light. I have seen a few things on the internet, but nothing specific enough for this car. I know little about car electrical, so I want to be clear before i do this mod.

I have seen this mod done three ways: 1) leds wired to the fuse box in some way (little fuzzy on how); 2) leds wired to the dome light plug near the fuse box; 3) leds wired to the dome light with a wire run up into the headliner.

Number two seems the cleanest and easiest install. If anyone has used this method and would you please share the specifics on the wiring. You have my gratitude. In the meantime, I will continue researching.

 

[John Pish]

The dome light is controlled by two separate switches - the dome switch and the door light switch. Which of the latter switches do you want to turn on the LEDs?

In addition, be aware that the switches control the dome light by supplying ground rather than voltage.

This is where my ignorance betrays me. I would like the footwell led to activate just like the dome. That is, when I unlock with the remote, when I open the door, and, if I am seated in the car with the doors closed and switch on the domes, the footwell will also activate.

I assume the door switch will not work for this application because leds will only work with door open.

Thanks for the reply, will I have to connect directly to the dome?

 

[John Pish]

Wiring the the LEDs as shown below will make them operate identically to the ceiling light.
View attachment 28730

Thank you!