Anyone with info on footwell lights that are constantly on?

[itsAlex]

Hey everyone, I just received the red LED strips I plan on installing under the footwell of my car. I'm interested in looking for a way to get these LEDs to operate with the body ECU but I don't know if our car's BECU has such functionality.

On my 2011 RAV4, if you bought the limited model, it would have came with LEDs pre installed that illuminate the foot area of the front driver and passenger side. What was pretty cool about them was that as soon as the ignition was switched to ON, the LEDs would be on the entire time. When the vehicle was shifted from Park to any other gear (such as Drive), the LEDs would automatically fade to a dimmer brightness so that the light wasn't distracting the driver. When the vehicle was put back into Park, they'd fade to a brighter light again.

The coolest part was that they'd fade on when the doors were opened with the key fob, and fade off when the doors were closed, also with the key fob.

I don't own a limited model RAV4, I just figured out what pin on the body ECU controlled the footwell lights and I tapped that pin to get my custom LED lights working. I was just curious if there's any such functionality like this on the twin's body ECU. I realize I could tap the dome light to get the fading when the doors open, but that would mean that the LEDs would only illuminate if the dome light is also on. And no, I don't want to drive with the dome light constantly on lol.

[sdemo]

Easiest way: use wire taps to connect the lights to one of the cigarette lighters.


EDIT: ^ That will get them on when the car is on. If you want the on/off with the doors, then you'd have to tap them into the power and switched ground for the map lights. There may be less intrusive methods here, but these are low hanging fruit...

[Ashikabi]

I think the "fade" your looking for is going to be a custom job and a pretty complex one at that. I don't believe there is stock functionality for this but I suppose if the dealer offers a kit then maybe you can use their install procedure. Call and ask I guess

[murdoc]

My plan was to tap the dome light circuit for a bright white footwell led that dims with the dome light. Then I was going wire up a relay switching between a bright red led powered by the 12v socket circuit, and a dimmer one when the headlights are turned on.

But I'll probably just wire the red one to be on with the instrument panel lights, since I don't need it during the day, and the lights are on at night.

[Chimera]

I have LEDs run off the map light circuit, it is a PWM circuit, so the fade effect is maintained with LEDs. I also have LEDs in my wheel wells that are running signal from the map light using a SSR. My advise here is be carful with your current draw on that circuit. I would start by removing the OEM halogen and replacing that with an LED. This circuit is connected to the BCU, so if you mess up it will be expensive to fix.


that said I probably have some odd 50 or more LEDs between footwells, map light itself, all 4 wheels, and the front grill has a strip too, all running off that circuit with a SSR driving most of them.

[ShackontheTarget]

I used wire taps to connect the wires to a 12V plug and plugged that in the 12V socket in the glove box, since it was too much hassle to reach the wires for it.

Mine have a remote control for colors and effects but i have them on constantly.