How to DIY install an LED light for automatic Gearbox Suzuki Jimny SZ5

A weird design choice with the new Jimny is the lack of a backlight on the automatic gearbox. When we first bought the car it was the first thing my wife mentioned as an annoying omission.

I saw an Instagram story for the inspiration to do this mod (thanks Flying Fyllis) and immediately hunted down some suitable led strip lights. I then got completely side tracked by dozens of other mods and here we are many months later. I thought I’d give it a go today.

Kit you’ll need

• 10cm LED 12V Strip Light in Cool White (or Amber if you want to match the dash better) – £1.45
• 2 x 100cm lengths of 5 AMP Cable – ~ £3.40
  Use whatever you want, I had some already in RED & Black
• Mini Blade Add-A-Fuse – £8
• 2 Mini Blade Fuses 5 AMP – £2
• 1 Ring Connector 8mm – £3.90
• 2 Butt Connectors – £1.70
  Or whatever else you have lying around to connect the wires up.

Maximum cost = £20.45

You will hopefully have most if these items in your tool boxes, so it could be a super cheap mod.

Fitting

Remove the 4 clips on the gearbox trim, found on all four corners. They simply pop out with a flat head screwdriver or trim removal tool.

You remove the plastic trim box by lifting up and angling it towards the dashboard.

Unclip the trim that has the gear shift position writing on. This part won’t come off entirely so you have to leave it hanging loose.

Remove the trim from the side of the footwell by unscrewing the plastic clip circled in red. It’s easier remove if you pop the end of the door side step up to help pull this trim out.

Remove the curved black trim below the fuse box.

Remove the black cover from the fuse box and set this aside.

Extend the cables on the LED Strip Light with the two 100cm cables. Matching the corresponding coloured cables if you’re a fanny like me.

Then fix the light, face up onto the underside of the gear shift position trim. You want the LED to cover the white plastic. I used duct tape.

Feed the two cables under the trim leading towards the fuse box in the passenger side foot well. You can see the red and black cables on the picture below.

Use some cable ties to secure the cables until you reach the far side of the passenger footwell. I ran my cables along the bottom of the glove box out of sight.

I unhooked the glove box (which is a total pain in the ass) to gain access to behind the dashboard to cable tie the wires easier.

Trim the black cable to allow for enough length to reach the earthing point circled in red below. You can see I ran my cables down the right in the picture below. Attach a ring connector to the black cable then secure it to the earthing point.

Remove the 5 AMP fuse from fuse box in the location shown below in a red box. I used the fuse called IG1 SIG3.

Trim the red cable to allow enough length to reach the fuse box.

Connect the red cable to the red cable of the Mini Blade Add a Fuse.

Insert two 5 AMP fuses into the black connector on the Mini Blade Add a Fuse and push it into the slot where you removed the single 5 AMP fuse. You now have a fused circuit with TWO 5 AMP fuses. See photo below.

Note: The Suzuki fuse you remove will not fit into the Mini Blade Add a Fuse which is why you need to buy two 5 amp fuses that are made to fit whichever circuit extender you purchase.

You will not be able to replace the fuse box cover due to the extender protruding out but you can not see it unless you have your head in the foot well.

Turn on the ignition to test the LED light.

If it’s not working check if something is wrong with the connections on the cables.

Replace the side trim and reattach the black curved bottom trim of the fuse box.

And you’re done!

Result

It looks like a lot of steps but it’s a really easy install with very little chance of things going wrong. It’s harder to write the guide than it is to do the modification. Just be careful removing trim and ideally use plastic trim removal tools to avoid any mishaps.

Hope this helps! Comment below if there’s anything confusing you in the guide. My heads a bit foggy at the moment.

Cheers ?

UPDATE:

I’ve changed to the amber colour as the white LED was a bit harsh at night. Here’s what it looks like.