Would It Be Possible?

[Kaotic Lazagna]

I would like to use twp these: http://www.v-leds.com/Interior-LED/DomeMap-LED/White-LED/V-LEDS-WHITE-STRIP-LIGHT-p6374230-1-3.html

for footwell lighting in my sedan. Is it possible to just splice into the dome light wire, or would there be something else needed to be done?

I'm also planning on sticking the leads into a 194 holder and using it in my trunk as well. That should be no problem, right?

[rningonfumes]

You'll need to check the total voltage and load so you won't fry any wires. Best thing to do is to find a different power source like the cigarette lighter and use the dome as a relay to turn on that power.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

How easy would that be? TIA.

[rningonfumes]

The checking?...someone with more knowledge about that will hopefully chime in. The wiring?> quite easy, just the extra step of putting in the relay, same wiring and splicing techniques, it just draws power from the other source with input from the dome light.

I would do it for safety sake, more load on something not meant for the extra load spells troubles and headaches for me.

[YAR1S]

If I remember correctly, the cigarette lighter only supplys power when the key is turned to accessory or maybe only if the car is on?
I ran into this problem with my ipod not charging while I left my car....

Soooo if you only want them on when the car is running then you wouldnt have to splice them into anything and they would just turn on with the car....

no cool dome effect tho :(

[YarisSedan]

I think leds take hardly any power. And the dome light circuit is fused so if anything the fuse would blow before any wiring would melt.

[CTScott]

They would be fine. If you want them to be switched with the dome and to fade like the dome, see this post from a prior thread:

http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showpost.php?p=369710&postcount=14

You would tie the (+) lead of the LED strips to the blue wire and the (-) lead to the pink wire.

[talnlnky]

the draw from some LED's will not be an issue in reality... but to get technical, it is always best to use a new run of wire for your power & ground... people every year toast cars because they don't understand about heat & resistance of wires.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

They would be fine. If you want them to be switched with the dome and to fade like the dome, see this post from a prior thread:

http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showpost.php?p=369710&postcount=14

You would tie the (+) lead of the LED strips to the blue wire and the (-) lead to the pink wire.

Ah, the master mind. So, it should not be an issue if I just splice into those wires accordingly? talnlnky has me worried. I don't want to mess up/total my car. hehehe. THANKS!

[CTScott]

Ah, the master mind. So, it should not be an issue if I just splice into those wires accordingly? talnlnky has me worried. I don't want to mess up/total my car. hehehe. THANKS!

It's definitely safe to do. The dome light protected by a 10A fuse.

If you wanted to be super safe, you would add a fuse between your tap point and the LED strings that is appropriately rated for the current draw of the LEDs and the current carrying capacity of the wires that feed them. 24 AWG wire (which would be typically the smallest wire size for the leads of strips like those) is rated for 2.1A enclosed or 3.5A free-air. The LED strips would draw less than 0.25A per strip, so you could add a 2A inline fuse and be safe for the wire size. The 2A fuse would allow you to connect up to 8 of the strips.

When you have a huge discrepancy, like tapping a 50A fused circuit with 24 AWG wire, is where you really run into the issue that talnlnky is talking about. In that case, if you shorted your 24 AWG wires, the 50A fuse would need to pop, but the 24 AWG wires aren't rated for anywhere near 50A, so they would fail before the fuse, potentially catastrophically (i.e. fire).

[YarisSedan]

You could also replace the dome light bulb with LED that should cut down on the draw on the circuit to help offset the led strips your adding too.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

It's definitely safe to do. The dome light protected by a 10A fuse.

If you wanted to be super safe, you would add a fuse between your tap point and the LED strings that is appropriately rated for the current draw of the LEDs and the current carrying capacity of the wires that feed them. 24 AWG wire (which would be typically the smallest wire size for the leads of strips like those) is rated for 2.1A enclosed or 3.5A free-air. The LED strips would draw less than 0.25A per strip, so you could add a 2A inline fuse and be safe for the wire size. The 2A fuse would allow you to connect up to 8 of the strips.

When you have a huge discrepancy, like tapping a 50A fused circuit with 24 AWG wire, is where you really run into the issue that talnlnky is talking about. In that case, if you shorted your 24 AWG wires, the 50A fuse would need to pop, but the 24 AWG wires aren't rated for anywhere near 50A, so they would fail before the fuse, potentially catastrophically (i.e. fire).

Another question for you. I'd like to run two of those LED strips, one for the driver side and one for the passenger side. How would I go about doing so? Is there a splice connector that I can buy to do that? I've never done installs like this before (only just replacing). All help is very much appreciated.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

You could also replace the dome light bulb with LED that should cut down on the draw on the circuit to help offset the led strips your adding too.

hahaha, replaced my map and dome lights with HiLEDs a long time ago. My trunk has a crappy single LED, so I'm going to remove that LED from the 194 holder, and insert the LED strip I mentioned earlier into it, and use it in my trunk. My license plate bulbs are also HiLEDs as well. hahaha. The only thing short of LEDs is my taillights. hahaha.

[CTScott]

Another question for you. I'd like to run two of those LED strips, one for the driver side and one for the passenger side. How would I go about doing so? Is there a splice connector that I can buy to do that? I've never done installs like this before (only just replacing). All help is very much appreciated.

You would connect the two strips in parallel (i.e. positive wire to positive wire and ground wire to ground wire). You could then tap the dome wires using tap splices (pictured below). Even though this is pretty simple, if you have never messed with this kind of thing before, it's not a bad idea to have someone who has give you a hand.

http://www.allproducts.com/manufacture13/uta/18-quick_spice_a.jpg

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Would this work? http://www.v-leds.com/BlinkerWarning-Fix/Warning-Light-Fix/2-EA-3M-SCOTCHLOK-MOISTURE-p7420629-1-3.html

[Kaotic Lazagna]

You would connect the two strips in parallel (i.e. positive wire to positive wire and ground wire to ground wire). You could then tap the dome wires using tap splices (pictured below). Even though this is pretty simple, if you have never messed with this kind of thing before, it's not a bad idea to have someone who has give you a hand.

http://www.allproducts.com/manufacture13/uta/18-quick_spice_a.jpg

I'm not sure if I'm getting this right. Okay, so, with the passenger side one, I should splice it's positive into the positive of the driver side one, and the same with the ground? Then with the driver side wires, splice into the blue and pink wires accordingly? Hehe, I kinda don't want to call my friend over for a "simple" job like this since I don't want to take up his time and gas. hehehehe. Well, actually, I'll probably do this at a car meet and have one of my friends oversee what I'm doing. hehehehe.

So, I should order at least 4 of those tap/splice connectors? They're sold in pairs on v-leds.

[CTScott]

I'm not sure if I'm getting this right. Okay, so, with the passenger side one, I should splice it's positive into the positive of the driver side one, and the same with the ground? Then with the driver side wires, splice into the blue and pink wires accordingly? Hehe, I kinda don't want to call my friend over for a "simple" job like this since I don't want to take up his time and gas. hehehehe. Well, actually, I'll probably do this at a car meet and have one of my friends oversee what I'm doing. hehehehe.

So, I should order at least 4 of those tap/splice connectors? They're sold in pairs on v-leds.

You have it correct.

The splice connectors from v-leds are rated for 18-16AWG wire (which is correct for the car's wires that you are tapping onto). If the led strips have leads in that same size range, then you are OK. If they are smaller (24 - 20 AWG), then you would want tap splices that accommodate both (22 - 18 AWG for example). Auto parts stores typically carry a variety of tap splices.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

You have it correct.

The splice connectors from v-leds are rated for 18-16AWG wire (which is correct for the car's wires that you are tapping onto). If the led strips have leads in that same size range, then you are OK. If they are smaller (24 - 20 AWG), then you would want tap splices that accommodate both (22 - 18 AWG for example). Auto parts stores typically carry a variety of tap splices.

Cool. I'll order the LED strips and two of the splice connectors from v-leds. I'll wait until they come in to see what gauge wire the leads on the strips are, then I'll go to an auto parts store to get the right connectors. Thanks CTScott!

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Hey Scott, is it suppose to only turn on when the doors are opened, and don't turn on when the dome light is set to on? That's how mine is acting, and I just installed some LED strips on my gf's Civic, and her's does the same. Any way to have the strips turn on when the dome light is switched to the on position as well as when the doors open?

[CTScott]

Hey Scott, is it suppose to only turn on when the doors are opened, and don't turn on when the dome light is set to on? That's how mine is acting, and I just installed some LED strips on my gf's Civic, and her's does the same. Any way to have the strips turn on when the dome light is switched to the on position as well as when the doors open?

Yes, when you connect it under the dash, you either get always on or, switched with the doors. To have them switched with the manual switch on the dome light, you'd have to get a wire up to the dome light switch.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Yes, when you connect it under the dash, you either get always on or, switched with the doors. To have them switched with the manual switch on the dome light, you'd have to get a wire up to the dome light switch.

Dang. I might just get a switch and redo everything. Get the positive to a constant power and place a toggle switch somewhere hidden. I'm thinking this is more than I can do on my own, so I'm going to have a friend help me out this time and learn so that I can redo my gf's Civic. Thanks for replying, Scott.

[CTScott]

Dang. I might just get a switch and redo everything. Get the positive to a constant power and place a toggle switch somewhere hidden. I'm thinking this is more than I can do on my own, so I'm going to have a friend help me out this time and learn so that I can redo my gf's Civic. Thanks for replying, Scott.


Buy a single pole dual throw switch (SPDT), and then you can use it to switch the ground leg between the door input and the chassis ground. That way it will act just like the dome, but with a separate switch for the constant on mode.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Buy a single pole dual throw switch (SPDT), and then you can use it to switch the ground leg between the door input and the chassis ground. That way it will act just like the dome, but with a separate switch for the constant on mode.

Which one is the chassis ground? How would I connect the two grounds to that switch?

[Kaotic Lazagna]

So, there's three terminals on the SPDT. I'm assuming I would keep the splice wire in the ground you told me before, cut it on the other end, add a female connector to the end, stick it in one of the terminals on the SPDT (assuming left or right one); find the chassis ground (wire?), splice a wire to it, connect a female connector to the other end, connect it to the SPDT; take the negative wire from the LED strip, solder a female connector to it, and connect it to the top terminal?