I did wonder if this was worth a write up, and initially wasn’t going to bother, but I had difficulty working some parts of this out, so here goes.
Disclaimer:
- I am an idiot.
- I am not an auto electrician, or any sort of electrician.
The lights are run off the dome light; being LEDs they only draw a nadgers of current, so this shouldn’t present any issues.
Remove the interior trim around the windscreen:
Open the roof and flip both visors fully down. There is 1x T30 screw under each visor about halfway along. Then remove the two metal locating sockets for the roof at the top of each A pillar; this is 2x T40s each. Pull the top of each A pillar trim inwards; this will pop off, then lift in and up to disengage the features at the bottom of the trim. Check that the metal panel clip on each A pillar trim is still in place. Pull down on the upper windscreen trim; there are 4x metal clips holding it up spaced across the width of the panel. Unplug the dome light.
The following bit may not be entirely correct, but is my understanding and worked for me. The dome light harness has 3 wires; Ground (Black), Switch ground (Blue/Black), and Permanent Live (Blue/Orange). I de-pinned the last two connectors and piggybacked twin-core wire onto it. Solder & heat-shrink, pop the pins back into the connector. Run your twin-core across and down the A-pillar, following the existing harness. Removing the glove box will let you pull the wire through into the back of the glove box area where you can work on it. At this point, you can put your trim panels back into place, which is the reverse of the above. NB: for the metal locating sockets, leave the screws loose until you close and latch the roof, then snug them up.
The actual location of the strips is up to you. I ran mine along the very edge of the lower trim on the passenger side. This is enough to clear the glovebox and is out of sight without casting any shadows. Clean the area well with meths before sticking the LED strip on.
On the driver’s side, I removed the lower trim below the steering wheel (pull the top towards you). On either side of the opening is a metal bracket with a c. 3.5mm hole. I bent up a L-shaped angle about 35cm long out of some metal cable protectors I had lying around. I marked and drilled to attach the angle to the bracket with short M3 bolts. Clean & attached LEDs, and pop the trim back on.
Worth noting: This method will mean that the footwell LEDs come on each time the door is opened, regardless of dome light switch position. I spent far too long trying to connect or solder to the dome light itself before concluding that I couldn’t, and did what I was going to in the first place, i.e. soldered into the harness. As the LEDs draw a nadgers of current and I don’t tend to leave the doors open, I don’t really see this as a drawback.
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