LED interior light upgrades

[turbojetta83]

Hey DKC, love the light strip you added into the boot, looks great!

I've got a Golf Alltrack and I'm suffering the same frustration you were with complete darkness in the boot when the luggage cover is drawn. As I tend to remove the divider mesh crossbar frequently, I would have to disconnect the light every time I did - so I'm thinking of fitting an additional interior light housing and wiring it up into the side carpeting to achieve the same result.

My question, how easy was it to tap into the wiring of the roof light and thread it down the trim into the boot area?

Finally, I'm not sure about whether the divider mesh crossbar adds any structural rigidity to the car, but given how heavy and strong it appears to be I kind of think it might. Though I haven't noticed any particular difference when it's been removed vs. when fitted. Anyone else know?

Cheers.

[DKC]

Hey DKC, love the light strip you added into the boot, looks great!

The tapping into the roof light was a simple plug and play if you can find a thin piece of metal like I used. it simply fits between the festoon and the metal connectors, adding may be 0.2mm to the length of the festoon. Then threadin the wire around and down is quite easy too, as for most of the length I could just push the wire into the gap in the trim. Having car trim tools help.

I thought about putting the LED strip on either the Divider Mesh Crossbar, or the lighter horizontal luggage cover bar. Since I usually leave them both in the car, either would do. But I did also think about putting the light on the side which would work as well.

[Barracuda]

Do you have a link? The eBay one I fitted last week is not that bright and a bit too blue for my liking.


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Yep! Here it is: LED Festoon Globe, 42mm 6x5730 LEDs, CANBus Compatible | Jaycar Electronics

Highly recommend it!

[Mattlock]

Awesome. Purchased and fitted! Looks a lot better already.



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[Guest001]

Can I just give a word of warning here. Pushing a piece of metal or wire between 2 things with voltage going between them is a potential recipe for disaster. Have seen installers jam wires down the side of fuse when installing dash cams and wonder why the plastic beside them melts.

Had a similar instance when some idiot didnt put the fuse on my caravan fridges circuit in properly. Checked it one day to find a molten mess where the blade of the fuse was on the outside of the clip. Had heated up and melted everything.

Things are clipped together with a certain amount of force for a reason and just putting something touching it lightly is not a good idea.

Would be far better to strip the wires and solder onto them.

Dont start me on Scotchlocks either

[turbojetta83]

The tapping into the roof light was a simple plug and play if you can find a thin piece of metal like I used. it simply fits between the festoon and the metal connectors, adding may be 0.2mm to the length of the festoon. Then threadin the wire around and down is quite easy too, as for most of the length I could just push the wire into the gap in the trim. Having car trim tools help.

I thought about putting the LED strip on either the Divider Mesh Crossbar, or the lighter horizontal luggage cover bar. Since I usually leave them both in the car, either would do. But I did also think about putting the light on the side which would work as well.

Thanks DKC, I've gone with fitting an additional light into the removable panel where the wheel jack is stored. Simple access and removing the panel to fit the light makes things much easier.

Can I just give a word of warning here. Pushing a piece of metal or wire between 2 things with voltage going between them is a potential recipe for disaster. Have seen installers jam wires down the side of fuse when installing dash cams and wonder why the plastic beside them melts.

Had a similar instance when some idiot didnt put the fuse on my caravan fridges circuit in properly. Checked it one day to find a molten mess where the blade of the fuse was on the outside of the clip. Had heated up and melted everything.

Things are clipped together with a certain amount of force for a reason and just putting something touching it lightly is not a good idea.

Would be far better to strip the wires and solder onto them.

Dont start me on Scotchlocks either

Hey Hillbilly,

I was thinking the same thing and ended up soldering the wires.

Cheers.

[agentthumb]

Thanks @Barracuda. Bought mine this morning, working fine. Much brighter

[R_LINE]

Yep! Here it is: LED Festoon Globe, 42mm 6x5730 LEDs, CANBus Compatible | Jaycar Electronics

Highly recommend it!

Thanks for the link.

Quick question... so are all the lights the same fittings other then the glove box?

If so.. I assume I will need to order 4 of these globes to cover front and rear lights?

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[chapplenick]

Hi all - sorry to bring this thread back to life! I followed the very helpful guide and replaced my boot light with an LED - a world of difference!

Ive noticed the existing LED interior lights in the rear and front arent all that bright - does anyone know if there are options to upgrade/brighten?

Thanks!

[notaGolfR]

Hi all - sorry to bring this thread back to life! I followed the very helpful guide and replaced my boot light with an LED - a world of difference!

Ive noticed the existing LED interior lights in the rear and front arent all that bright - does anyone know if there are options to upgrade/brighten?


Thanks!

I'm sussing this out too. If nothing else I will be brightening the area above the bulbs with Al foil or white paper stick-on to reflect. I have found those areas are usually black!!! (DOH). If Al can make a "short" I will insulate. If the bulb gets hot I will not use paper. Our previous car had a lenticular cover meaning the interior of the fitting was not visible so I painted above the bulb with white correction fluid.

[notaGolfR]

I'm sussing this out too. If nothing else I will be brightening the area above the bulbs with Al foil or white paper stick-on to reflect. I have found those areas are usually black!!! (DOH). If Al can make a "short" I will insulate. If the bulb gets hot I will not use paper. Our previous car had a lenticular cover meaning the interior of the fitting was not visible so I painted above the bulb with white correction fluid.

I got a bulb out and they have a silver reflector built in but I added Al foil anyway as the bulb doesn't poke down far and shines on a dull black plastic surface. Good luck with brighter bulbs. The o.e. ones are a weird unusual design.

[notaGolfR]

In the end I used correction fluid to "paint" the o.e. dull black plastic around the bulb as the foil might fall off. Tested in the dark of night it looks twice as bright as the un-modified rear lights so I'm very happy.