2022 RWD Footwell door pocket light mod?

[Steve Thurston]

Popped the dome light panel, ran a wire under the top windshield trim to down behind the A pillar trim and then below

DRDUMONT, Which wires did you tap into on the dome light connector??

I couldn't find a wire in the front dome light connector that switched high/low with the dome lights sw.
Just a + feed and pwm signals switching the lights on and off via the dome/hazard pcb.

The rear dome lights connector have 2 wires that go high/low when the dome lights are switched, which would work perfect for rear footwell lighting.

 

[Ernest H]

DRDUMONT, Which wires did you tap into on the dome light connector??

I couldn't find a wire in the front dome light connector that switched high/low with the dome lights sw.
Just a + feed and pwm signals switching the lights on and off via the dome/hazard pcb.

The rear dome lights connector have 2 wires that go high/low when the dome lights are switched, which would work perfect for rear footwell lighting.

i'm trying to free myself up for a day all to myself next two weeks exploring how to use the rear dome lights console as that only has two wires to deal with. The front console is too crowded and there wasn't a lot of slacks with the front console connector.. NOTE - I have not taken out the trims across the middle / rear dome lights but hoping that's more accessible...

 

[drdumont]

DRDUMONT, Which wires did you tap into on the dome light connector??

I couldn't find a wire in the front dome light connector that switched high/low with the dome lights sw.
Just a + feed and pwm signals switching the lights on and off via the dome/hazard pcb.

The rear dome lights connector have 2 wires that go high/low when the dome lights are switched, which would work perfect for rear footwell lighting.

I had to do some surgery, I picked down in the socket to tag the switched feed to the lamp.

 

[Ernest H]

Oh wow, last time I replied to this thread was June... hmm.

Only had a couple of hours spare earlier - using the rear dome light socket (X288), pin 3 of 8 (L light) and pin 4 of 8 (R light) each draws 15.3V when it is on alone, or if both on at the same time, draws 9.17V. Acts the same when Dome light is ON or AUTO if door is opened. Pin 1 of 8 is GND return.

With that in mind, next free time of mine I'm probably connect up to a 12V relay:
- relay 30 taps into to ciggy 12V +ve;
- relay 85 connects to X288's pin 3 or 4;
- relay 86 to GND -ve on chassis;
- relay 87 to LED's +ve.

Wiring route:
- taking the headliner out so I can easily route single wire from X288 socket down B pillar and along floor;
- to have two small strips of LEDs underneath each front seats under B pillar shining towards the centre, hoping enough light for both front and rear footwell (I just want something soft and not blinding as I work nights and early mornings)
- hide most wires under carpet near centre console

I've some COB LEDs left over from ICE days.. but they have quite a high power draw. May get some lower voltage / shorter SMD LED strips instead.

Now I wonder when my next free slot would be to do all that..

@Steve Thurston , not sure how much you got through in the past couple of months, but I did see you popping up occasionally in the Aust Tesla 3/Y FB group.

 

[Swamprat96]

Oh wow, last time I replied to this thread was June... hmm.

Only had a couple of hours spare earlier - using the rear dome light socket (X288), pin 3 of 8 (L light) and pin 4 of 8 (R light) each draws 15.3V when it is on alone, or if both on at the same time, draws 9.17V. Acts the same when Dome light is ON or AUTO if door is opened. Pin 1 of 8 is GND return.

With that in mind, next free time of mine I'm probably connect up to a 12V relay:
- relay 30 taps into to ciggy 12V +ve;
- relay 85 connects to X288's pin 3 or 4;
- relay 86 to GND -ve on chassis;
- relay 87 to LED's +ve.

Wiring route:
- taking the headliner out so I can easily route single wire from X288 socket down B pillar and along floor;
- to have two small strips of LEDs underneath each front seats under B pillar shining towards the centre, hoping enough light for both front and rear footwell (I just want something soft and not blinding as I work nights and early mornings)
- hide most wires under carpet near centre console

I've some COB LEDs left over from ICE days.. but they have quite a high power draw. May get some lower voltage / shorter SMD LED strips instead.

Now I wonder when my next free slot would be to do all that..

@Steve Thurston , not sure how much you got through in the past couple of months, but I did see you popping up occasionally in the Aust Tesla 3/Y FB group.

I have a may 2020 SR+ and my puddle lights stay on when I open the door. So in my case would it make sense to pick up the wires for the puddle lights in the A-pillar harness on each side and simply positap the footwell lights into these? I can't see that the extra current would trigger the solid-state fuses. Have I missed something? Worst case scenario I could use a relay and just use one side to trigger then attach the lights power to the ciggy 12vdc

 

[Ernest H]

I have a may 2020 SR+ and my puddle lights stay on when I open the door. So in my case would it make sense to pick up the wires for the puddle lights in the A-pillar harness on each side and simply positap the footwell lights into these? I can't see that the extra current would trigger the solid-state fuses. Have I missed something? Worst case scenario I could use a relay and just use one side to trigger then attach the lights power to the ciggy 12vdc

i think the puddle light turns off immediately on door close whereas the dome lights works off delay. which would work better imo.

 

[Swamprat96]

i think the puddle light turns off immediately on door close whereas the dome lights works off delay. which would work better imo.

Yep thats ok for what I want but I am a little nervous that the extra power drain might affect the windows?

 

[Swamprat96]

Yep thats ok for what I want but I am a little nervous that the extra power drain might affect the windows?

I've decided not to risk it and I'll use a relay and draw the main power for the footwell lights from the 12vdc aux. I'll just use the puddle light source as the relay trigger

 

[Ernest H]

Did look into this a bit further but still to no avail. I created a split of the ciggy 12v with inline fuse (accessible easily via removing just the centre console USB ports panel in case the fuse blows), and fished the extension to the bottom section underneath the rear air vent / USB. So now I have constant 15.5V whenever I needed.

Next my relay circuit - just a 12v normally opened 4-pins relay with an old-school indicator bulb I have spare for my other car.

Pin 30 - directly to constant 15.5V +ve
Pin 87 - to one end of the indicator bulb (say +ve). Bulb's -ve connects to the chassis
Pin 85 - taps into X288's pin 3 or 4, which is the +ve of the rear dome lights left and right respectively
Pin 86 - GND

So pin 85 is where I have a probe on the other end to test. Once pin 30, 85 and 86 are all in place, touching 85's probe with Pin 30 (i.e. has +ve power), my bulb would stay on. So I know my relay is working as expected. However this is where all the fun begins.

With the same setup, and with all doors closed and dome light set to OFF. 85's probe touching connector X288's pin 3, it would actually light up rear left dome light as well as my bulb. pressing the rear left dome light to try and power that off, but it stays on however, it would turn my bulb off. ?!? This is repeatable via X288's pin 4 (the rear right dome light).

With the doors open and dome light set to AUTO, meaning all 4 dome lights are on now, 85's probe touching pin 3 would light up the bulb (as expected), however, pressing the rear left dome light with the probe connected would have no effect on the dome light itself (stays on).

Have tested swapping pin 85 and pin 86 but similar result to the above.

Ran out of time but will test sometime next week, the +ve of the boot / trunk light, or the puddle light. Should be pretty straight forward since I only have to remove that lower rear air vent panel, plug whichever LED I can use to trigger my circuit.

(Update) just tested my boot / trunk light circuit as the trigger. Seems light my GND is playing up. When boot is closed, probe 85 to -ve of boot light still lit up my bulb. Oh well to test more next week.

 

[Swamprat96]

Did look into this a bit further but still to no avail. I created a split of the ciggy 12v with inline fuse (accessible easily via removing just the centre console USB ports panel in case the fuse blows), and fished the extension to the bottom section underneath the rear air vent / USB. So now I have constant 15.5V whenever I needed.

Next my relay circuit - just a 12v normally opened 4-pins relay with an old-school indicator bulb I have spare for my other car.

Pin 30 - directly to constant 15.5V +ve
Pin 87 - to one end of the indicator bulb (say +ve). Bulb's -ve connects to the chassis
Pin 85 - taps into X288's pin 3 or 4, which is the +ve of the rear dome lights left and right respectively
Pin 86 - GND

So pin 85 is where I have a probe on the other end to test. Once pin 30, 85 and 86 are all in place, touching 85's probe with Pin 30 (i.e. has +ve power), my bulb would stay on. So I know my relay is working as expected. However this is where all the fun begins.

With the same setup, and with all doors closed and dome light set to OFF. 85's probe touching connector X288's pin 3, it would actually light up rear left dome light as well as my bulb. pressing the rear left dome light to try and power that off, but it stays on however, it would turn my bulb off. ?!? This is repeatable via X288's pin 4 (the rear right dome light).

With the doors open and dome light set to AUTO, meaning all 4 dome lights are on now, 85's probe touching pin 3 would light up the bulb (as expected), however, pressing the rear left dome light with the probe connected would have no effect on the dome light itself (stays on).

Have tested swapping pin 85 and pin 86 but similar result to the above.

Ran out of time but will test sometime next week, the +ve of the boot / trunk light, or the puddle light. Should be pretty straight forward since I only have to remove that lower rear air vent panel, plug whichever LED I can use to trigger my circuit.

(Update) just tested my boot / trunk light circuit as the trigger. Seems light my GND is playing up. When boot is closed, probe 85 to -ve of boot light still lit up my bulb. Oh well to test more next week.

Ahhh. Sounds like we need to add a diode to the trigger circuit? So add a diode between the wire going to 85 in the relay. The band on the diode should be on pin 85 side. That will stop current going back to the source

 

[Ernest H]

Actually.... Kind of sorted it out. The ciggy 15.5v brown and blue wires were reverse polarity (brown is -ve and blue +-ve) and hence my extension harness was wrong.. doh! Anyway it now correctly functions with the relay when trigger via the x288 connector pin 3 or 4. I.e. when rear dome light is on it triggers the bulb to ON and off, vice versa.

But, there is always the but, the mechanical relay I have / had started playing hissing / humming sound after several goes and doesn't pass current anymore. when energized via probe 85 triggers it doesn't light up the bulb but when tapping the 85 probe with the 30 to act as being energized, it lights the bulb.

Again I'm out of day light and will prob test more when my solid state relay arrives in two weeks time. @Swamprat96 if you have more ideas I'd love to hear it. Cheers

 

[Swamprat96]

Actually.... Kind of sorted it out. The ciggy 15.5v brown and blue wires were reverse polarity (brown is -ve and blue +-ve) and hence my extension harness was wrong.. doh! Anyway it now correctly functions with the relay when trigger via the x288 connector pin 3 or 4. I.e. when rear dome light is on it triggers the bulb to ON and off, vice versa.

But, there is always the but, the mechanical relay I have / had started playing hissing / humming sound after several goes and doesn't pass current anymore. when energized via probe 85 triggers it doesn't light up the bulb but when tapping the 85 probe with the 30 to act as being energized, it lights the bulb.

Again I'm out of day light and will prob test more when my solid state relay arrives in two weeks time. @Swamprat96 if you have more ideas I'd love to hear it. Cheers

Hey thats great feedback. I was also going to use a horn relay but after hearing your results I'll make sure its a quality unit. The one I've picked is supposed to last 10million activations. Lets face it- how often do you use the horn so most will be low-standard units. The are not designed to stay activated for a long period. I'll look at a more robust relay before I start based on your findings like a driving light relay. Just remember that solid state relays can get warm and also will trigger on a much lower voltage pulse or spike than a mechanical relay.

Question the x288 connector- is it behind the console or somewhere else? Picture possible as a reference point? I'm going to have to open up the sides of the console anyway so if its handy I will use that. I haven't been able to find that connector in the tesla online service manuals

 

[Swamprat96]

Actually.... Kind of sorted it out. The ciggy 15.5v brown and blue wires were reverse polarity (brown is -ve and blue +-ve) and hence my extension harness was wrong.. doh! Anyway it now correctly functions with the relay when trigger via the x288 connector pin 3 or 4. I.e. when rear dome light is on it triggers the bulb to ON and off, vice versa.

But, there is always the but, the mechanical relay I have / had started playing hissing / humming sound after several goes and doesn't pass current anymore. when energized via probe 85 triggers it doesn't light up the bulb but when tapping the 85 probe with the 30 to act as being energized, it lights the bulb.

Again I'm out of day light and will prob test more when my solid state relay arrives in two weeks time. @Swamprat96 if you have more ideas I'd love to hear it. Cheers

hissing relay-15.5 vdc on the control side? That will fry a 12 volt relay. sounds like you have a later model 3 with the lithium iron battery rather than the 12v lead acid?

 

[Ernest H]

@Swamprat96 yes, do have 2022 RWD MIC with LFP battery, hence, the readings of 15.55 most times. I have not tested whether it is the control side or the load side that's toasted but it was a spare 12v relay I had lying around from the old Toyota. But at least in theory using dome light as trigger can work and I will probably test out using the boot light or puddle light instead, since the dome light has a separate on/off/auto so maybe that's playing trick on me too.

as for x288 connector - it is in the service manual, can't remember which page but if you track down the rear overhead console (the rear dome light console), you will see that. It's the female connector. pin 3 and 4 are red and blue with pin 1 being gnd return.

 

[Swamprat96]

@Swamprat96 yes, do have 2022 RWD MIC with LFP battery, hence, the readings of 15.55 most times. I have not tested whether it is the control side or the load side that's toasted but it was a spare 12v relay I had lying around from the old Toyota. But at least in theory using dome light as trigger can work and I will probably test out using the boot light or puddle light instead, since the dome light has a separate on/off/auto so maybe that's playing trick on me too.

as for x288 connector - it is in the service manual, can't remember which page but if you track down the rear overhead console (the rear dome light console), you will see that. It's the female connector. pin 3 and 4 are red and blue with pin 1 being gnd return.

Thanks. Yep I'm going to stick with the puddle light. I suspect the dimming on the dome light is done by a dimmer on the earth to that light- most common way of doing it. That would screw with our mod. I'm going to use a brand new jaycar horn relay as the spec for the mechanical electrical life is the same as the heavier units. I think that the coil on your old Toyota relay wasn't very happy with 15.5v. Your solid state relay should be better is its the unit with 3-30vdc control right?
I'll be working on it this weekend. Having the older model I'm going to positap into the 12vdc accessory supply and then temporarily positap into the +ve side of the puddle light for the control and the footwell light from the 87 terminal- just with them hanging down while I test. I'm relying on the footwell light's existing ground(will test to see if it is first) If that works I'll do a permanent wiring job and hopefully trace the puddle lights cable in the A pillar. I'm going to have the relay easily accessible on a socket in the console in case it dies early

 

[Swamprat96]

OK more- just popped out the puddle light on one side- very skinny wires and we don't want to risk damaging these as it will screw up the windows. I have the circuit diagram now and it appears that X033 pin 9 has the power in for these lights. I'm assuming this is one of the large plugs in the A-pillar and the cable should be violet according to the circuit diagram I found (still can't find the circuit diagram in the tesla catalog- just part listings). Should be easyish to find as its so bloody skinny. I am hoping the other side of X033 has a thicker wire. the same plug has the speaker wires for the door speaker

 

[Ernest H]

I was looking at b-pillar connector (say x924 pin 14 on rear left door). however, maybe worth testing out, do all puddle light come on at the same time once any particular door opens? or just the opened door? Yes, x033 is front left door connector in a-pillar and VT is the wire colour.

by the way, where the heck do you find positaps in Australia? I'm in Perth and those things are damn impossible to find, may have to ship from oversea..

(and yes, the SSR is 2v (or 3v) to 32vDC, and it was going to be placed on the actual floor under the front of the centre console (lots of airy room there)

 

[Swamprat96]

I was looking at b-pillar connector (say x924 pin 14 on rear left door). however, maybe worth testing out, do all puddle light come on at the same time once any particular door opens? or just the opened door? Yes, x033 is front left door connector in a-pillar and VT is the wire colour.

by the way, where the heck do you find positaps in Australia? I'm in Perth and those things are damn impossible to find, may have to ship from oversea..

(and yes, the SSR is 2v (or 3v) to 32vDC, and it was going to be placed on the actual floor under the front of the centre console (lots of airy room there)

Mmm. Good point re puddles and door opening. Looking at the circuit diagram only the door open would have it's light on. That's a pita as it means I'd have to tap both sides or at least the front doors. Maybe I'll just do the drivers door. There is a local supplier for positaps- Posi Wire Connectors. Where is that x288 plug please? My diagram doesn't show the location

 

[Swamprat96]

ahh on studying the diagram more it appears the front doors share the same trigger. we'll see this weekend

 

[Ernest H]

Mmm. Good point re puddles and door opening. Looking at the circuit diagram only the door open would have it's light on. That's a pita as it means I'd have to tap both sides or at least the front doors. Maybe I'll just do the drivers door. There is a local supplier for positaps- Posi Wire Connectors. Where is that x288 plug please? My diagram doesn't show the location

X288 is the connector on the rear overhead console (rear dome lights, 2 clips and straight downward motion pull)