Tapped footwell lights into wrong wire!
 

So I just purchased the new RX8Strakes footwell LED lights.. Followed the instructions, it was daytime so i saw they worked and left it at that. Came outside later (when it was dark to check them out) and they were ON still! so i checked everything, all the lights.. Turns out I tapped the damn wire into the LEFT TURN SIGNAL wire... what a pain in the ass! So they're permanently on, and when i hit the left turn signal they both blink! It would be just fine and interesting if they would go OFF when the car was! I tapped the blue/yellow and green/black wire... Should it be a different one? and will the LEDS still drain the battery if the LEDs are in backwards? Thanks!

I have the manual with the wiring diagram if you want to borrow it :)

Please check the included addendum instructions again (see colored pictures). I don't have them in front of me, but I believe the wires shown are "blue/red stripe" and "dark green/black stripe". Hope that helps! :)

-Dave

that's what i meant... I did what the wiring diagram told me! Dan... MAYBE... :)

Gotta watch the directions...wiring colors are different in different model years

Better to follow the wires and see where they go :) We ran into this problem trying to install shock sensors

A good wire to use would be the one to the door lights.....you would have to figure out where it comes out of the Molex connector in the door and tap it there

leds drain so little power but i wouldn't risk it or want them on all the time like that. Did you use wire taps? if so just unclip them and wrap electrical tape around the exposed wire.

Too bad it's raining today... grr don't really feel like sitting on the ground out there getting soaked trying to figure this out :puke:

Anybody that has a 2007 wiring diagram mind telling me which wires are for the MAP light units?

Why not just take power from the 'accessory' fuse in the footwell?

On and off with the ignition key, lots of spare capacity......

S

What color wire is that tough on an 07?

Pull fuse, put wire in hole, put fuse back in......

S

I had the same issue when I installed rotary rasp's footwell lamps... i think I posted which wire I used but for the life of me I can't remember which one it was.

When do you want them on...

Only when the door is open...or when the lights are on..or do you have them switched??

That will make a difference where you wire them

GREEN wire and DARK GREEN wire both have the same stripe on them and look nearly identical. Find both before you decide which is which. This is probably what you did wrong.

PBlue-- yes probably... I will check it out today.. Although, there was something up last night when i drove my car... the DSC light was blinking and the traction loss (car with skid marks) symbol was lit up. I was going to the store and when i was on my way BACK from the store (after a shutoff and startup) the lights were off.. I broke traction just to see if it was ACTUALLY on and it was... Kind of strange..

Traction light is the first thing to respond to a loss of 12 volt power. Sounds like you have a loose pole connection at the battery.


S

Hmm, maybe the buddy that was with me put the neg wire on loosely... I should have double-checked that..

So I swapped out the green/black with "dark green/black" (looks almost identical) and the lights are still on when i turn my damn car off and its locked and the door lights go out... WTF?

Dan: I want them on when the courtesy light/map lights come on... If not then DAMN I don't care I just want them to work without draining my battery..

I'll pull out the wiring dia....see what's up :)

PLEASE refer to the color illustrations that came with the kit. Check that you are tapping into the correct colored wires AND check that you are tapping into the correct wiring harness (sounds like you might be using the wrong one - the one to the left which has the same color wires will cause the lights to be on all the time.

-Dave

Yeah, I followed the diagram, but it's still difficult to tell because the pictures are taken in such an enclosed area... I'm supposed to go up ABOVE the taped part ABOVE the white harness?

ill try and go in and take a picture of mine later, after work. i didnt get mine from strakes.com but it's the same wires.

I just ordered the same thing, does anyone know how much more difficult it would be to tap them into my parking lights? or headlights? Do those wires run though that area? If so anyone know what colors I'm looking for? If not how much extra work is putting in my own switch?

http://www.modifiedlife.com/2007-maz...iring-diagram/

Website I used to find wires to installing my "homebrew" footwell lights. I can take pictures of mine tonight if nobody gets there's posted.

-Lane

Yes, you have to be careful about the wires.
Typically something like red/blue means it's a red wire with a blue stripe. Where blue/red means it's a blue wire with a red stripe. The first is always the primary color. Anyway, I might still have the original Mazda instructions from the footwell lights and I'll see if I can dig them up when I get home if you still need them. I eventually took those out, but connected my footwells in the same place.

If you go see Rodgers thread about "footwell lights"(do a search), I think it was discussed in there at length(with pictures).

I'm experiencing similar difficulties. The wires I was instructed to use for my footwell lights aren't in the same pins as the pictures I've been shown. Apparently Mazda has changed wire colors each year from what I've been reading.

I'm trying to wire into the foglights, low beams, or something similar so that I could have them on at night while driving (as opposed to door lights where they'd shut off once I close the doors). Any suggestions? It's difficult to take pictures of the area underneath the dash where the wires are located (no light, my DSLR doesn't want to snap a pic), but I'll try again tomorrow morning to post up the 09 wiring.