Interior Footwell Lights
 

I had the interior footwell lights option dealer installed when I had my car delivered, but they only light up for about 5 seconds after the car turns on. How do i enable them to either stay on always or to turn on whenever the doors open?
Thanks

Rewire the lights
 

I just ordered the footwell lights too and I am planning on wiring them with the fog lights instead of to the door sensors. This way the lights are on whenever fog lights are on does't matter the engine is running or not. Justin (in this forum) wired them to the headlights and that's not a bad idea either. I have fog lights installed so I don't know if this works on cars without them.

In terms of installation it should not be hard to rewire as long as you know which wires to pull out from the dash.

I'll do it myself when they arrive and will appreciate any feedback from you guys.

I picked up a set of 6" red and a set of 6" blue neon lights. I'll try them out see which color I like. The other set will end up in the PC. I heard that the Mazda lights only lit up for a few secs and thats why I didn't get them. For that price I'll do my own install.

I got cold cathode tubes. I wired them to the same wire that runs the courtesy door lights. My initial attempt failed miserably. They wouldn't even come on. So, 09Factor, if you get the neons to work, post a DIY, cause I couldn't myself.

Cool idea! I may try this. I got the lights 8-9 months ago and like them but might like them more when they're wired to the fog lamps or the headlights. Probably the latter since I did the fog rewire and they're always on.

I am sorry. The fog lamps are actually on with the big head lights. What I meant was actully the small head lights, or day lights that's on with corner lights when the light switch is turned forward just once.

Do you guys know if the corner and day lights are wired separately from the big head lights? I really want to know which wire is which before install.

Also, will the red night light change intensity as you step on the gas as the head lights do change? I wonder how will it affect longevity, and where do we get replacement night light bulbs?

Lastly, I purchased extra warrantee so I wonder if wiring night light affects anything. Does installation involve cutting wires??

Thanks for any insight!

the corner lights come on before the headlights. i fail to see why this would be more beneficial...

if the intensity of the headlights change, i have not noticed. if they actually do, i'm sure it is a product of the extra power being generated (or i would guess anyway).

the installation of the shock sensor, and AFAIK, the footwell lights involve a "vampire" clip that splices into the wire. Assuming you do it correctly, it will not cut the wire in two, but take power from it (by strataling the wire inside of the plastic "insulation" of the wire). the footwell lights should not void the warranty at all. Besides, if you do break the wire, you can solder it back together or splice it back together with a couple of vampire clips and some additional wire.

I see, and thanks for the info. It sound easier than I thought becasue there is no wiring cutting. The corner lights are on with the small lights in front...not sure what to call them sicne they are not bright but in front. Then one more turn of the switch turns on the big head lights. I notice the intensity of front light changes when cars get warmed up, I mean cars in general, at least my previous car and not sure if it happen to my 8. Oh, maybe the AC changes light intensity too. I guess it's ok then since you have not noticed intensity changes from the night lights.

I want to wire the night lights with the corner lights because I can choose to leave the night lights on without having the high beams on to save gas...you know....especially during idle.

So do wires underneath the dash have labels saying which wire is for which device?? Do I need to buy a book to know the wires?

I also wonder how power gets to the passenger side...I assume may be another wire clipping on the other side?

Thanks!

I think the differences in light intensity and a/c power have to do with idle and the alternator.

The wires in the '8 are definitely NOT labeled. However, they are all color coded. This is all outlined in the wiring manual that you can get from Trussville Mazda or CanZoomer (I think).

I think that the footwell lights tap into the green and black (if I remember correctly) wire that is "behind" the courtesy door lights on the drivers side. If not it is the one that is in front (don't remember the color). I'm not sure which color the wires are on the passenger side, but, rest assured, there is a wire over there that goes into and out of the courtesy door lights just like on the drivers side.

So do you know the location and color of the corner light wires, or the head light wires??

Thanks!

Here is what I found, but still no corner light & head light wire color & location tho :(

But you are right: green/black is the door trigger wire which te night light is supposed to connect to. But I want to connect to corner light wires.

Wire Purpose -- Color -- Location
+12 Volts -- Yellow -- Ignition Wiring Harness
Starter Signal (+) -- White/Blue -- Ignition Wiring Harness
Ignition Power (+ -- Black/Yellow -- Ignition Wiring Harness
Accessory (+) -- Blue/Green -- Ignition Wiring Harness
2nd Accessory (+) -- White/Red -- Ignition Wiring Harness
Power Lock Signal (-) -- Green -- Driver Side Kick Panel
Power Unlock (-) -- Green -- Driver Side Kick Panel
Parking Lights (+) -- Black/Red -- Driver Side Kick Panel
Door Trigger (-) -- Green/Black -- Driver Side Kick Panel
Trunk/Hatch Pin (-) -- Brown -- Driver Side Kick Panel
Trunk/Hatch Release (-) -- Yellow -- Trunk Release Button
Brake (+) -- Black/Blue -- Brake Pedal Switch
Tach Signal – See https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...highlight=alarm