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what do you guys think?

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LED lights in trunk

2K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  IngotMK3 
#1 ·
I bought a led strip on ebay for some projects with the poor lighting in this car. The trunk lighting is lacking, as well as the lack of lighting in the glovebox and console. the leds i bought were a 300 led premade strip. they were set up cutable every 3 leds, 3 leds in series and connected to each subsequent set of 3 in parallel with a 150 OHM resistor at the start of each series.
i cut at the 10th series set(30 leds), put them in clear vinyl tubing and sealed the ends with hot glue. i tapped the + and - leads for the strip into the existing trunk light harness so they would come on when the trunk opens and go off when it closes. What a difference in lighting. if you guys need a detailed write up let me know...i plan on doing videos when I add switched lighting to the glovebox/console in case anyone else is interested in doing the same.

if you do this make sure you make your calculations to make sure you dont overdraw on current... the 30 leds with my configuration and resistors used only draw 795 mA(.795A) I am an electrical apprentice so if you need help with calculations I can help you out or point you in the right direction.
 

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#9 · (Edited)
Trunk lights were definitely not bright enough from factory.

The 2 different way's I've done it. Wife & I both have a sedan so I get use one as a test mule (mine) and her's gets the final result.

Option 1:

194 bulb from ebay that is an LED with like 10-15 smd's to it and thats pretty bright. Fits on the oem socket and cover.

example:http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-x-T10-20-SMD1210-LED-White-Super-Bright-Car-Lights-Bulb-194-168-2825-W5W-/121100360973?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c3224dd0d&vxp=mtr

Option 2:
Very simular to whats been shown but I nabbed a 12" LED strip off ebay (china) for $4-5 and unplugged the 194 bulb and re-wired the strip to the oem wires and since it's 3M on the other side it just sticks to the underside of the trunk in a very low profile. No ohm resistors due to the thought that LED's were drawing less juice then a normal bulb..... I'm not an electrician so I may be wrong in doing it this way but it works so far.

example:http://www.ebay.com/itm/HID-Xenon-3...Parts_Accessories&hash=item2ec824706d&vxp=mtr
 
#11 ·
No ohm resistors due to the thought that LED's were drawing less juice then a normal bulb.....
There are more then likely resistors already put into the strip that you bought. Thats the way that mine was. the voltage drop acrost the resistor is constant. the resistor limits the current. if there is really no resistor the leds wont last long before they burn out.there should b a small silverish component on the strip(or several) with a number on it...this is the rating.
 
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