Footwell ambient light install: how-to guide

I ran the wiring through the center console to a switch and the aux plug (explained in the pics) to the e-brake access plate

gotta know basic electrical and how to solder.

-$20 amazon light kit

-3.5mm female aux plugs

-male/male (i used 5 foot) mono headphone extensions

-Drinking straw...yes

-Flat crimp on plugs (see pics)

-Switch

-Wire loom wrap stuff

-Zipties

-Trim tools

-Sockets and ratchet with extension

-Solder gun, solder, electrical tape/shrinkwrap -or- crimp connectors and crimp pliers

-Wire strippers

-double sided tape (i used the foam material type)

-shoe goo or rubber cement

1. Cut a piece from an extension (leave a male end) and strip the cut end. Desolder your transmitter diode. Hardwire your remote with the extension

2. Take your transmitter diode and solder it to a middle piece cut from the wire you used for the remote. Stick it in a piece of drinking straw....yes a plastic straw.

3. Solder a female plug to the other end of the wire.

4. Stick the reciever diode in the other end of the straw and shrinkwrap/tape it up.

5. Cut and strip the power wires from that annoying cig lighter plug. Gauge up (solder to bigger wires) the tiny (also annoying) wires so you can actually work with them. Attach an inline fuse to the red wire because thats how you don't burn down your car.

6. Crimp on some of those flat plug things to the positive and negative wires. Don't know their proper names

7. Admire your work

8. Remove your entire center console and cuss as you see just how much crap is in there and also learn why your console cig lighter doesn't work

9. Run your 2 underdash lights through the supports under/behind your radio and stuff your splitter box thing under your radio. The easiest way to do this is after you run your two underdash lights, stick the control box as far back under your radio as possible. My line level converter made this a little harder. Then, wrap your remaining two light wires, diode wire amd power wire in the loom and fish the bundle under the frame piece where your center console meets your center dash. PITA, yes; necessary for fitment, also yes. Put the light strips through first, trust me.

10. Lay your bundle around your shifter.

11. Ziptie the loom closed and zip it to a handy spot on your shifter assembly.

12. Run your light strips down the sides of the trans tunnel, near the back of the seats (this should put them approximately just in front of the storage box in the center console) and fish them under the seat rails and out the front. You want the wires to end up UNDER the seat's mounting rails. Remember what i said about burning your car down? UNDER or you will inadvertantly cut into them.

13. Pull your power and diode wires out the loom around where you remember the cupholders being and ziptie before and after this point to keep all the other wires from pulling out.

14. Snip and strip you cig lighter's wires and wire your switch according to whatever style you have says to do. For the s197, black is ground and green is positive. I used a 3-prong, illuminated switch for mine so i can have a light in my little storage box.

15. Here is the 2nd hardest part: take that little removable panel for accessing your e-brake adjustment bolt, and cut holes in it for the female aux plug and your switch.
I had to make a small plate out of some sheet steel i had left over from making my bumper brackets so my plug would mount in the too-big hole i drilled for it.

16. Install the lower part of your center console and fish the wires up through the cup holders. Snap and bolt the console down.

17. Fish the wires through the access hole to the storage area, mount to your modified plate and make sure you have clearance for your e-brake bolt to move and not catch.

18. Test to make sure the lights turn on.

19. Snap the piece into position and reinstall all the trim

20. Admire your work

21. Mounting the lights: get some big tongue depressers, make slats like the picture. I used shoe goo to make them stick to the foam under my front seats. For the dash, there is a handy lip you can use double sided tape to hold the driver side piece in for the passenger dash lights, i used the same double sided tape to attach the stick with enough overhang for the light bar.

22. Use the same tape to mount your light bars to the sticks.

23. Tuck and ziptie your wires into safe places (especially under your seats) and enjoy.