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Jeep Wrangler JK: How to Install LED Foot Well Lighting

Illuminate the interior of your Jeep Wrangler with some LED foot well lighting.

By Piyush Kayastha - November 24, 2015

This article applies to the Jeep Wrangler JK (2007-present).

All vehicles come with lighting of many sorts including headlights, tail lights, park lights, etc. How about the interior lighting? Most commonly, you come across dome lights or reading lamps, but very rarely do you see lighting in the foot well area. This could be especially useful in Jeeps or other off-road vehicles that might see a lot of dirt and mud, and it is a mostly aesthetic modification in the least. Since you're working in the area, you can even swap out your dome lights with LED bulbs to accentuate the new interior look of your Wrangler.

Materials Needed

  • Wire splice tools
  • Electrical tape
  • Clear, double-sided tape
  • Pliers
  • LED strips
  • Multimeter
  • LED dome light bulbs (optional)
  • Flat head and Phillips screwdriver
  • Latex gloves (optional)

Step 1 – Disconnect foot well lamps

There are foot well lamps that exist in Jeeps, but they are very dimly lit. The wiring at this source can be used to tap into with the new LED strips. You may need to lift some of the carpeting along the sill in order to reach the connectors which are held in by clips and bolts held in by one Phillips head screw per side.

  • Unclip the harness connectors on the edges.
  • Unscrew bolts for the connector plugs and disconnect the foot well lamps.
Figure 1. Connector plug.

Pro Tip

This is a good time to determine where you will run your wiring to tuck neatly and keep clear of anything that could damage it. If necessary, you can also use a flat head screw driver to persuade the clips from the connectors to separate.

Step 2 – Splice harness connector

There is a red and white wire that can be used to power the source for the LED strips.

  • Use wire splicers to cut red and white wires.
  • Wire in LED strip connectors (black wires) and secure with wire connectors (also called butt connectors).
  • Use a test light or a probe/multimeter to check for continuity.
  • Wrap everything in electrical tape.
  • Screw the connector bolts back in and reconnect the harness for the foot well light.
  • Repeat for opposite side.
  • Figure 2. Cut the red and white wires.
  • Figure 3. Splice wires.

Pro Tip

It will be a good idea to measure how much wire you want to splice in before making the splice to avoid cutting twice.

Step 3 – Test your connections

Now that everything is wired up, it's time to test your connections.

  • Turn on your accessory lights with a door open.
  • Exit, close the door and enter the vehicle to ensure lights come on and off as desired.
  • If the lights illuminate as desired, finish up the process by mounting the LED strips under the foot well using clear double-sided tape.
Figure 4. LED strip installed.

Step 4 – Swap dome lights (optional)

This is a good opportunity to upgrade the lighting for the dome light.

  • Use a flat head screwdriver to pry the edge of the light cover off.

Figure 5. Cover removed.

  • Disconnect the old bulb.
  • Wear latex gloves, or else be sure not to touch the new bulbs directly with your fingers. Insert the new LED bulb into place and close the light cover.
Figure 6. New dome lights.

Pro Tip

If you have extra LED strips, you could also wire them into the dome light, allowing them to come on with the dome light or when doors are open. If you are planning on wiring the foot well LED strips to the dome light, you will need to access the power source (black wire) connecting the dome light. You would need to follow the windshield trim through the roll bar out into the dome light.

Figure 7. LED dome light strips.

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