I screw everything up the first time.

Careful installing footwell lights. The housing is very difficult to remove and install correctly. Advice- figure it out completely before venturing on. I now will Be ordering new housing lenses, but am still not sure how I will install them. I suck.

Lights are great, btw. ( installer...not so much)

 

I installed my LEDs from Suncoast. The glovebox, and two footwell lights came with new housings- pretty much the same as the originals, except the led bulb units inside.

The one under the drivers side was very tight and difficult to remove. My suggestion, do the glovebox first. I also tested the Suncoast led housings in the glovebox since 2 out of 3 didn't work. I glued the bulbs in with PFM ( a strong, translucent shoo-goo-like adhesive), and soldered in the bulb terminals just to be sure.

I'm sure those with Suncoast kits have spare housings. Their site also has instructions on removing and installing them properly. I think the key is what side of the housing on which to pry using plastic trim removal tools.

 

Thanks for the heads-up. Can you take a photo of the removed housing by chance? That might help us decipher how to remove/install.

 

I got my kit as pieces off of ebay and love it. 5 LED bulbs for the spot lights and door lights. Trunk and engine compartment were a breeze. Dome a little extra work. Footwells pain the the but.
Easiest thing is to take out the original ones you have, gently pry off the metal backcover with a super thin screwdriver and replace the T bulb with an LED one that yields some light.
For the super bright LEDs (12-18 LEDs) it is a little more tricky as the ones available on the internet are usually for Audi and VW and have a little higher "back" so they will fit , but not in the footwell. Also you might have any of 3 parts as footwell lights. A 997 starting part number a 955 starting number or a VW part which is actually the glove compartment light from Jetta (and that one has a different connector)
Good luck
I will post pics tonight of the work on the housing

 

My installation went just fine, right up till I got to my last bulb, for the glove box. I pulled the old bulb, which was working just fine, installed the new bulb, which worked, and proceeded to re-insert the housing into the glove box. The bulb shut off for no reason. I still have all other cabin lights, and the old bulb no longer works in the fixture either. I still have to put a multi-meter on the switch to see if power is going through it or not. Confused how this would stop working without any effect on the rest of the cabin lights.

 

couple of possible causes
I read in someplace (no recall) that in order to instal the glove box bulb you have to have everything else off, you may blow a fuse.

the bulb you are using has no IC so after some time it is viewed as non working and it shuts, had that happen with my E92 until I replaced those bulbs with good quality LEDs

 

Thanks for that feedback!
I don't think that it is a fuse, unless there is a separate one just for the box. All the rest of the interior lights work just fine. It has been suggested that the switch is now bad somehow.

What is an IC, if I may sound so ignorant?
And, what sets LED lights apart, (high quality vs low quality)?
And in that vein of thought, what is keeping the rest of the lights working?

 

I think it means integrated circuit or something like that, like a small chip on which the LED sits.
I am not sure what keeps the others working, in my other car, only the dome lights would stop working after a couple of minutes, the door and footwell lights worked all the time. Replaced them with IC+ lights and no problem

 

My install went EXACTLY like that. I went to put the housing on while the glove box bulb was lit and it died. I had the housing backwards, so I suspected that the metal of the housing completed the circuit at the end of the bulb and caused it to blow or short-circuit. Sounds like I may not need another bulb.

 

Use a small screwdriver, pry off the 2 edges on 1 side.
Then do the same on the other side.
Slip the cover off
Then replace the bulb with an LED bulb as shown

Hope this helps

 

@ OP and drummin4fun ,
Did you guys ever end up getting the glove compartment lights working? I'm having similar issues. Trying changing bulbs and swapping the fully functional light casing from the footwell with no luck . Used a multimeter and not getting any power from the socket that plugs into the glovebox light either. all fuses look good with test light at driver side fuse box too

 

Sorry Machinehead... I traded my car before I ever found a resolution to the problem.

 

I agree had a lot of trouble putting the one on the driver's side in
I had to bring out the "Dremel". More fun!

 

Aren't LED's polar? Try reversing the bulb in the socket.