DIY - super bright LED trunk lights
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From: SF Bay Area
DIY - super bright LED trunk lights
Cost is under $10 and can be done in 30-60 minutes.
I just picked up my '06 6MT sedan last week and was not happy with the dim trunk light so I added some LED strips. The ~2.5ft of LEDs only consumes about the same 4W as the stock bulb but is substantially brighter and casts even illumination throughout the trunk area.
1) Open trunk, identify OEM trunk light. It is inside the hemispherical diffuser.
2) Close-up of the diffuser housing. To open, use your fingertip or a small flathead screwdriver and gently pry up on the little tab.
3) Once the diffuser lid is open, you can see the bulb. Leave the bulb in place, and use your fingertip or a small screwdriver to press on the little tab. You should be able to wiggle the bulb housing assembly out.
4) Once the housing is out, you can then pull the connector off. Set the bulb + housing aside.
5) Grab your LED light strip and an optional connector. I used the following:
Warm white LED strip, $8: DC male power plug, $0.28: http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_i...seq=1&format=2
6) Cut the LED strip to length. Many strips, this one included, can be cut every 3 LEDs, which is about every 2". I cut mine to about 2.5 ft.
7) Solder power and ground wires to the existing harness. I chose to splice into the existing wires rather than cutting the OEM connector off so I can switch back to OEM at any time. The red wire is ground (confusing, I know), and the red wire with black stripe is +12V.
8) Tape it up. If you chose to cut the OEM connector off and solder your lights directly, it'd be even better to use heat shrink tubing instead of tape.
9) Pop the OEM bulb housing back in place.
10) Peel the paper off the adhesive-lined backing and apply your LED strip as desired. Photo below shows my lights installed. It looks like three separate segments from the angle of the photo, but it is actually one continuous strip.
11) Before. 1/30s, f/2.8, ISO6400 (straight out of camera)
12) After. 1/30s, f2/8, ISO6400 (straight out of camera)
Hope this helps someone else!
Happy modding,
Tim
I just picked up my '06 6MT sedan last week and was not happy with the dim trunk light so I added some LED strips. The ~2.5ft of LEDs only consumes about the same 4W as the stock bulb but is substantially brighter and casts even illumination throughout the trunk area.
1) Open trunk, identify OEM trunk light. It is inside the hemispherical diffuser.
2) Close-up of the diffuser housing. To open, use your fingertip or a small flathead screwdriver and gently pry up on the little tab.
3) Once the diffuser lid is open, you can see the bulb. Leave the bulb in place, and use your fingertip or a small screwdriver to press on the little tab. You should be able to wiggle the bulb housing assembly out.
4) Once the housing is out, you can then pull the connector off. Set the bulb + housing aside.
5) Grab your LED light strip and an optional connector. I used the following:
Warm white LED strip, $8: DC male power plug, $0.28: http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_i...seq=1&format=2
6) Cut the LED strip to length. Many strips, this one included, can be cut every 3 LEDs, which is about every 2". I cut mine to about 2.5 ft.
7) Solder power and ground wires to the existing harness. I chose to splice into the existing wires rather than cutting the OEM connector off so I can switch back to OEM at any time. The red wire is ground (confusing, I know), and the red wire with black stripe is +12V.
8) Tape it up. If you chose to cut the OEM connector off and solder your lights directly, it'd be even better to use heat shrink tubing instead of tape.
9) Pop the OEM bulb housing back in place.
10) Peel the paper off the adhesive-lined backing and apply your LED strip as desired. Photo below shows my lights installed. It looks like three separate segments from the angle of the photo, but it is actually one continuous strip.
11) Before. 1/30s, f/2.8, ISO6400 (straight out of camera)
12) After. 1/30s, f2/8, ISO6400 (straight out of camera)
Hope this helps someone else!
Happy modding,
Tim
Looks great, but, dont sedans have "carpet" on the underside of the the deck? I bought LED strips from Diode Dynamics, and my coupe has the carpet stuff all over, and the strips wouldnt stick, not even with some help from gorilla tape.
the issue he is getting at is sticking though. My led replacement falls off about once among to 3M tape so I tried Velcro and that failed too...
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Joined: Oct 2014
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From: SF Bay Area
Hm interesting, didn't realize I was missing some carpeted lining.
In that case, I would suggest applying the LED strip to a thin piece of plastic, and then securing the plastic strip to the underside of the deck via tie wraps where ever possible.
In that case, I would suggest applying the LED strip to a thin piece of plastic, and then securing the plastic strip to the underside of the deck via tie wraps where ever possible.
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Yeah, that whole undertray is lined with the same panels as the side/back. Yours are missing. You can see one of the holes for the push pins in the pic near the original bulb socket.
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