2004-2009 Mazda3/MAZDASPEED3 OEM Foot Lamp how-to
by Edwin Man
Copyright © 2009 Edwin Man. All rights reserved. No reproduction by any means permitted.

Mazda Japan sells an accessory Foot Lamp kit for the Axela and markets it only for Japan. Mazda also sold this kit in Canada but because the kit is exactly the same, the instructions included with the kit are in Japanese only.
This how-to is to assist you in making this kit work with a LHD "BK" Mazda3.

This how-to attempts to follow the Japanese instructions as much as possible but because of RHD and LHD differences, some adaptations were made and are shown. If you have a RHD vehicle, please refer to the Japanese instructions and follow its installation positions.


Kit includes:
 Required time: 1 hour
Difficulty level: moderate
Required tools:
 Basic disclaimer: work carefully and take your time. If you screw up, it's your fault. Always exercise caution when working around electrical systems.


Parts Removal
  1. Record all radio presets and settings. Open the hood and disconnect the battery using a 10mm wrench. You will have to remove the battery cover by pressing on the clips where the air scoop duct meets the battery cover.
  2. Remove the driver side scuff plate. You can easily remove it by grabbing onto the edge where it is over the carpet and gently pulling it off.
  3. Remove the driver side kick panels. There is one by the door and one by the pedals. Both kick panels are held in place by a plastic push pin. The push pin is removed by pulling the center portion out then prying the outer portion out. Pull it towards the rear of the vehicle to remove the kick panel.
  4. Remove the hood opener handle. Pull the handle towards you then use a flatblade screwdriver and insert it into the slot in the middle. Pry the screwdriver towards you as you pull the handle off.
  5. Remove driver side lower dashboard panel. There is a phillips screw that was once covered by the hood opener. Remove this screw then pull the panel off. The rest of the trim panel is clipped onto the dashboard. You may need to pull the weather strip back to get the panel off easier.
  6. Disconnect the dimmer switch, headlight leveling switch (if equipped), passenger side airbag off switch (if equipped), and DSC switch (if equipped).
  7. Remove the OBD-II diagnostic port by prying against the clip at the ends of the connector as shown below.

    Once the diagnostic port has been removed, the lower dash panel can be taken out of the car. Set it aside in a safe place where it will not get scratched.
  8. Remove the lower heater duct as shown below.

  9. Remove front passenger scuff plate and kick panels. There is one by the door and one by the exhaust tunnel. Both kick panels are held in place by a plastic push pin. The push pin is removed by pulling the center portion out then prying the outer portion out. Pull it towards the rear of the vehicle to remove the kick panel.
  10. Remove the plastic cover under dashboard below where the glove compartment is. Push against the clips shown below then just grab it at the edges and gently yank it off.
  11. Remove the dashboard "decoration panel". Using your plastic trim tool, start at the center dashboard end of the strip and pry it off and work across to the right side of the LCD display and unclip that end. Work slowly across to the passenger side of the dashboard until you get to the pointed end of the "decoration panel". The very end is not clipped on but is just hooked onto the dashboard. Pull it out towards you at a slight angle then it will slide off in the direction towards the driver side.
  12. Pull back the weatherstrip along side the dashboard up until the bottom of the "A" pillar (top of the dashboard).
  13. Remove the glovebox by removing the black 8mm hex/phillips screws shown below and pulling the entire glovebox assembly out towards you.
  14. Remove the glovebox light by using a small screwdriver to pry the light bulb socket clips outwards as shown below.

    You should now have the passenger side of the dashboard apart.

Parts Installation
  1. Remove the light housing from the longer side of the foot lamp harness by squeezing the cover and pulling it off. The bulb holder/harness will just slide off the back side of the housing.
  2. Feed the longer bulb harness (of which you just taken apart) to the driver side under the HVAC unit as shown below. The harness will run above the shifter cable gromet.
  3. Pull the harness (you just fed) out by the accelerator pedal.
  4. Reinstall the lamp housing to the driver side harness then route the harness as shown below.
  5. Clean the back side of the driver side light housing with an alcohol pad then apply the double sided tape onto it.
  6. Using the same alcohol pad, clean the bottom of the dashboard frame and HVAC unit then affix the light housing and harness clip as shown below. Route the excess harness upwards towards the harness near the steering column and use the small (white) zip tie to secure it as shown below. Secure the harness onto the harness clip against the HVAC unit also as shown below.
  7. Route the passenger side harness bundle around the outside of the power junction box (PJB) and above the metal bracket as shown below.
  8. Feed the passenger side harness bundle through the space between the PJB and the firewall down towards the floor as shown below.
  9. Pull excess harness from driver side and with an alcohol pad clean the bottom of the HVAC unit then attach harness clip as shown below. Route the remaining harness from there below the HVAC unit to the firewall then upwards a few inches before it will go towards the PJB. This will ensure it will not interfere with cabin filter removal/installation.
  10. Locate harness connector "J-05" and disconnect it. Flip the large black handle towards you to disconnect it. Connector "J-05" should be the sole large harness connector located at the bottom side of the PJB (the side without the fuses).
  11. Locate terminals "U" and "S" on harness connector "J-05". The wire colors should be Black/Blue for terminal "U", and Orange/Blue for terminal "S". The colors and terminal positions are the same regardless of RHD or LHD vehicle.
  12. Connect the RED wire of the foot lamp harness to the Orange/Blue wire using the supplied IDC wire clip. Connect the BLACK wire of the foot lamp harness to the Black/Blue wire using the supplied IDC wire clip. There are two slots on the IDC, one is a pass-through side and the other has a stopper. Feed the foot lamp harness wires to the stopper side and the vehicle harness wires to the pass-through side. Once the wires are in position, squeeze the metal portion of the IDC to puncture and secure the wires with a pair of pliers. Double check to make sure the wires have been successfully punctured through and are secured in place by the IDC. If everything looks good, secure the IDC by folding over the plastic tab and then clip it into place by squeezing it with a pair of pliers.
  13. Wrap the IDCs and wires a few millimeters before it with electrical tape.
  14. Reconnect harness connector "J-05" to the PJB. Connector MUST be seated flush with the socket on the power junction box!
  15. Secure the remaining foot lamp harness with the two remaining small (white) zip ties as shown below.
  16. Remove the light housing from the foot lamp harness by squeezing the cover and pulling it off. The bulb holder/harness will just slide off the back side of the housing.
  17. Insert the long (black) zip tie through the light housing back as shown. Ensure that there is only 30mm length between the housing and the head (clip end) of the zip tie! The center portion of zip tie MUST route against the flat side of the light housing!
  18. Reinstall the lamp harness to the light housing.
  19. Remove the passenger side lower heater duct the same way you did with the driver side.
  20. Clean the back side of the light housing with an alcohol pad and then apply the remaining double sided tape to it.
  21. Loop the light housing and harness above/around the dashboard frame through the space between the PJB and dashboard frame.
  22. Temporarily reinstall the lower heater duct and at the same time test fit the light housing in the space below it in order to understand its approximate install location. The light housing will be installed in an angle facing towards you. Failure to install the light housing at an angle results in interfering with the lower dashboard panel installation!
  23. Remove the lower heater duct again then clean the portion of the dashboard frame in order to affix the light housing to it. Install the zip tie on the light housing to secure its final location. Trim excess zip tie off.
  24. Reinstall the passenger side lower heater duct. You may have to adjust the light housing's position a bit in order to get the duct to fit properly.
  25. Trim excess zip ties off on both sides of the car.
  26. Reinstall the glovebox in reverse order of removal. Take note that the glovebox light's harness is secured on top of the glovebox unit with a placeholder near the light. Position the yellow part of the harness to that spot.
  27. Reinstall the passenger side weatherstrip.
  28. Reinstall both passenger side kick panels and scuff plate in reverse order of removal.
  29. Reconnect the dimmer switch, headlight leveling switch (if equipped), passenger side airbag off switch (if equipped), and DSC switch (if equipped) that are on the lower dashboard panel.
  30. Reinstall the OBD-II diagnostic port into the lower dashboard panel by simply clipping it into place through the hole.
  31. Reinstall driver side lower dashboard panel in reverse order of removal.
  32. Reinstall hood opener handle by sliding it through the slots and clipping it into position.
  33. Reinstall the driver side weather strip if necessary.
  34. Reinstall both driver side kick panels and scuff plate in reverse order of removal.
  35. Reconnect the battery and reinstall the battery cover.
  36. Your foot lamps should now be like this:


    The foot lamps will operate through the dome light circuit. They will come on even if the dome light is in the "OFF" position. They will not come on without the doors being opened even if the dome light is in the "ON" position. This is due to wiring circuit design and a workaround to this problem involves high technicalities.



Notes
A replacement fuse should be a 1 amp glass fuse as shown.


Alternate installation:
I have found that the harness routing on the passenger side as instructed by the Mazda instructions causes PJB removal difficulties. The solution to this is to route the harness above the PJB instead of below it. The harness will still be zip tied to the tab at the front of the PJB. You may choose to use a releasable (reusable) zip tie in lieu of a normal zip tie to aid future PJB removal/installation. PJB removal is a necessary matter during cabin filter changing.