Foot Well Lighting

[JRinKY]

red one : HI Guys I just finished my foot well lighting as per the tread and I 'm having the lights come back on real dim after about 10 minutes has any one figured how to fix this problem If I have to use a resistor do I put it in the ground wire or the hot (FUSED WIRE) or should I just let go The draw is so small it probably won't hurt the battery. hope to here from someone Thanks STAN

If you mean 10 minutes after you turn off the ignition it sounds like you have connected something incorrectly. The Inadvertant Load Relay opens after 10 minutes to prevent an open door, trunk, etc from draining the battery. If the lights are coming back on when that happens, you are backfeeding them from another circuit.

Of course, it could also be unrelated.

[red one]

John
no the light come back onreal dim 10 min. after i shut the door

[JRinKY]

red one : John no the light come back onreal dim 10 min. after i shut the door

I still suspect a wiring problem. Recheck all of your connections, especially the ground.

[jrsno1fan]

Yep has to be a wiring issue and where you have it "plugged" in. I've not has one single issue. The footwells and the map lights come on when I open the door and fade out after a few seconds just like normal. I can also push the buttons on the rearview to turn on and off the maplights. I did have an issue at first where when I would push the maplight button the floor lights would come on also but with JRinKYs help discovered I had it plugged into the wrong outlet. The sticky tape on the back of the floorwell strips didn't hold up with the cold weather but I just grabbed some of my scrapbooking 2 side tape and attached that and haven't had a problem since. Mine are all red and pics can be seen here:

http://photobucket.com/lighting

[red one]

JRinKY
I soldered all the connection and covered with shrink tube except the ground to the gray wire I used One of those blue things that I hate but didn't want to cut original wire. The only thing I did different from original tread was I plug into 28 instead of 27 they both are grounds I might try putting it in 27. I PMed GXP asking Him IF he used to 10 amp fuse that he had to take out of27 and put it in fuse able link in his tread it shows a red fuse I used 5 amps but he hasn't gotten back to me yet thanks for the help I'll keep trying

[JRinKY]

red one : JRinKY I soldered all the connection and covered with shrink tube except the ground to the gray wire I used One of those blue things that I hate but didn't want to cut original wire. The only thing I did different from original tread was I plug into 28 instead of 27 they both are grounds I might try putting it in 27. I PMed GXP asking Him IF he used to 10 amp fuse that he had to take out of27 and put it in fuse able link in his tread it shows a red fuse I used 5 amps but he hasn't gotten back to me yet thanks for the help I'll keep trying

I suspect that using fuse 28 instead of 27 is your problem. In my manual 28 is listed as "Empty" and does not show up on the schematics. If it is on the opposite side of the Inadvertant Load Control Rely from fuse 27 you will get a ground loop through the original lighting circuit when the relay opens. Connecting the power tap to fuse 27 may solve the problem.

Regarding the use of the fuse tap: There are two fuse sockets on the tap. The one of them that is closest to the fuse block powers the original circuit and should use the original fuse, the other powers the tap, and should be fused for the load that you are adding. It is possible to install the tap backwards, which will cause both circuits to be fed through the "original" fuse, potentially overloading it. To prevent that, first install the tap without the original fuse, only install the upper fuse. If the tap circuit has power, it is installed correctly. If it does not, reverse it and check again. Once you know the correct orientation, install the original fuse.

[red one]

JRinKY
Thanks John I will give that a try Stan

[red one]

JRinKY
I did what you suggested used 27 put 10 amp fuse in bottom 5 amp in top I took that blue u-haul connector of and soldered the grounds together and they still come on real dim after about 10 minutes. What year car do you have mine is an 06 N/A if your is newer they might have changed something in the wiring I guess I'm going to have to try to put a resistor in if some one can tell me what size where i can get it and which wire i put it in + or - thanks again for your help Stan

[jrdallas]

Originally Posted by red one JRinKY I did what you suggested used 27 put 10 amp fuse in bottom 5 amp in top I took that blue u-haul connector of and soldered the grounds together and they still come on real dim after about 10 minutes. What year car do you have mine is an 06 N/A if your is newer they might have changed something in the wiring I guess I'm going to have to try to put a resistor in if some one can tell me what size where i can get it and which wire i put it in + or - thanks again for your help Stan

Red one, I just double checked and all's working fine with ours. Wired up as shown and they dim on time and no residual. I used 10 amp in both slots. Ours is a '06 NA, too.

[Chemist]

Originally Posted by jrdallas Red one, I just double checked and all's working fine with ours. Wired up as shown and they dim on time and no residual. I used 10 amp in both slots. Ours is a '06 NA, too.

As is mine.

Now, there is a thread somewhere that talks about how our cars are work in regard to the maplights. I can't find it, but it spoke to this issue. I'll try to find time to search for it tomorrow.

[JRinKY]

red one : JRinKY I did what you suggested used 27 put 10 amp fuse in bottom 5 amp in top I took that blue u-haul connector of and soldered the grounds together and they still come on real dim after about 10 minutes. What year car do you have mine is an 06 N/A if your is newer they might have changed something in the wiring I guess I'm going to have to try to put a resistor in if some one can tell me what size where i can get it and which wire i put it in + or - thanks again for your help Stan

The service manual that I checked is the '06 Sol, so it should apply to your car exactly.

This mod has been done to a variety of models and years without issue, so I think the problem is something different that you have done without realizing it. A resistor is pretty much a band-aid, and, in my opinion, not the best solution.

I would re-check everything. Do you have any other electrical mods ? You have used the term "ground" pretty interchangeably between the two connections. Make sure that you have the wiring correct: The grey wire is he ground, the fuse tap is the supply. I don't know what will happen if they are reversed.

[red one]

JR inKY
John I have been a mechanic on just about everything that moves I just didn't do any thing wrong . I used a 18 gage double wire off of a recharger for an 12 cordless drill. I soldered both black wires with the white tracer to the black wire with the white tracer and both Led pods had a label on the black wire with the white tracer marked positive i soldered the black wire with the white tracer to the red fuse link plugged into number 27 with a 10 amp fuse in the bottom position and a 5 amp fuse in the top position and soldered all the black wires to the gray ground. they were all good solder joints and covered with shrink tube I took the glove box door down and there was a straight shot behind the radio to the drivers side. there just has to be some thing in the system that isn't right. they go out alright they have to be getting a very small feedback from somewhere. I would think if something was hooked up wrong something would get fried!!! There we other members on this tread that had the same problem I haven't heard from any of them as to what they found I guy said the draw was so small that after letting the car sit for 4 days he had no battery or starting problems and I guess he was going to use it that way.. That might be alright for him but not me I have to solve this problem thanks again for your help and concern Stan

[BLK GXP]

The problem probably lies in the fact that this circuit is controlled by the computer in the car. As most of these are completely solid state circuits using things like diodes and triacs that are not as simple as on/off circuits. They will sometimes pass a minimal amount of current when they are in their off state. LED lights draw very little current, and may be below the current threshold in some cars. A resistor may indeed ad enough load to bump the circuit over this threshold. It's a common fix for things like when people install LEDs in the turn signals, and they won't blink properly. I have no idea what size would be used. I've just heard of this being done. Another possibility is to isolate the LED strips from this circuit by wiring them through the contacts of a relay, and triggering the relay with this circuit. A mechanical relay will chatter a bit as the circuit dims though. A solid state relay will not chatter, but may suffer from the same problem as the LEDs. I used a solid state relay to solve this problem when I changed my mirror to one that had LEDs in it instead of the incandescent bulbs in the stock mirror. It worked on my mirror, and I also have the foot well strips through this relay.

[crappa]

Originally Posted by BLK GXP The problem probably lies in the fact that this circuit is controlled by the computer in the car. As most of these are completely solid state circuits using things like diodes and triacs that are not as simple as on/off circuits. They will sometimes pass a minimal amount of current when they are in their off state. LED lights draw very little current, and may be below the current threshold in some cars. A resistor may indeed ad enough load to bump the circuit over this threshold. It's a common fix for things like when people install LEDs in the turn signals, and they won't blink properly. I have no idea what size would be used. I've just heard of this being done. Another possibility is to isolate the LED strips from this circuit by wiring them through the contacts of a relay, and triggering the relay with this circuit. A mechanical relay will chatter a bit as the circuit dims though. A solid state relay will not chatter, but may suffer from the same problem as the LEDs. I used a solid state relay to solve this problem when I changed my mirror to one that had LEDs in it instead of the incandescent bulbs in the stock mirror. It worked on my mirror, and I also have the foot well strips through this relay.

Thanks for this post BLK GXP. The ballast resistors used for LED turnsignals part. It just clicked (no pun intended).
I installed LEDs for interior lighting, disconnecting my mirror lights awhile back. They never went completely off, just dimmed to a low glow.
I had a 2200 ohm 1/2 watt resistor laying around, so I wired it in parallel with the LEDs, and like magic, the LEDs go completely off, and stayed off for at least 1/2 hour now. That resistor should only draw about 1/10 watt at 15v, so it should be safe.
Just wanted to share this.

[crappa]

Originally Posted by red one There we other members on this tread that had the same problem I haven't heard from any of them as to what they found I guy said the draw was so small that after letting the car sit for 4 days he had no battery or starting problems and I guess he was going to use it that way.. That might be alright for him but not me I have to solve this problem thanks again for your help and concern Stan

I'm the guy and have been following this thread with interest. See above post.
Just checked my lights again, they are still off.