I have been struggling with the idea of how best to illuminate behind the seats in the cargo area. The overhead dome light, with it's own modifications, does illuminate the cabin very well but it sheds very little light into the cargo area. On top of that my year Corvette never had a cargo light on the back wall.

I started thinking of using LEDs but I didn't know where to mount them until I ran across these strips of LEDs on Ebay. They seemed perfect, and gave me the idea.

It's not quite finished yet. I still have to trim the bar so the lower edge doesn't block the light, and I'm going to cover the upper edge and wire with reflective foil tape. Then it'll get mounted, and wired to the battery so it can be switched on easily from the driver's side.

The switch is a basic rocker with indicator. Simple wiring and simple installation. I chose white lights for mine, but most colors were available in case you wanted an accent light for shows or fun.

I showed the light bar switched on but because of the sunlight coming in the garage the effect was minimal. I tested the light bar in the car and it really did illuminate the cargo area perfectly.










The LEDs cost less than $20 shipped, the switch was a few bucks, and I just hacked a wire off of an old power cord from a wall phone for the power wire. The glue gun cost was less than one stick of glue, and the reflective tape might be a few bucks. Overall a very cheap and easy way to bring light to the cargo area.

 

i was just carpeting my visor cover (rear deck cover or whatever you call it) and was thinking of a way to light it up back there in the cargo area. thanks for a good idea

 

Yet another great DB idea. I think the light strip you have (I can't be sure by the pic), is used in the interior of boats. I have a relatively large sedan bridge boat and I have light strips running along the floor of the salon and staterooms for accent lighting.

They are 12v and look like a string of LEDs in a clear plastic tube. You can buy the tubes in multiple lengths, are flexible to go around corners, and come in differnt colors. I guess you could run a strip of these LEDs around the periphery of the rear compartment and get a good amount of light without the problem of harsh shadows or stuff in the back blocking the light.

 

Thanks so much.

Yeah the light strips I used are 15" long, and are flat and adhesive backed for VERY easy installation. They come with their own wiring, and lay flat and don't have protruding bulges. Very clever design and I'm sure they can be made a lot longer than the 15" versions I bought.

 

Nice idea DB, show us some pic's when you are finished.

 

How about one of those stick on disk lights you push cover and it comes on.....I think you find those at most yard sales. LOL

Also can be spray painted to match.

Cool idea. Keep them coming.

 

I have some of those here at the house. They don't work very long before tapping them just makes noise and not light. LOL.

 

Why wouldn't you just wire it to the interior light circuit? Door open, light goes on, door closed, light goes off. The light switch can control it as well.

 

Just ease. I did it this way so I have the choice of turning on only the light strips and not the rest of the courtesy lights if I want to grab something out of the storage area real fast. The switch is right behind the driver's seat on the driver's side, and very easy to reach in and flip quickly. It's just a fast and easy solution.

 

much easier and makes more sense