Well, I found a person that can fabricate it for me out of metal, but that was a long time ago so my plans might have fallen through. In the short-term, I could make a prototype out of thick Plasticard - I have switches just dangling at this point that really need a home...

 

That's great! Did you mount the strips on the bottom of the privacy cover facing down?

Where did you tap the power?

More pics please?

Also, nice match on the amber in your cockpit. Where did you get the extra lighting up front from?

 

Looks to me like he put two of Ozniums LED strips on the privacy cover, yeah... Is that right, Yo'sDad?

 

I used two strips of LEDs, each about nine inches long on the under side of the little shelf. There is a support beam running all the way across that shelf. I put the strip of lights just behind or on the front side of that support. These LEDs are very light directional, so I pointed them striaght down. I secured them with black silicone selant. The LEDs had electric leads that are about 3 ft long, so I threaded them over and temporarily connected them to the existing boot light.

I plan to install a mini RCA panel connector near that boot light so I can quickly and easily disconnect the lights when I remove the shelf.

I learned that if you remove the existing bulb, the LEDs flicker when you turn on the running lights or headlights, but if you put the original bulb back in along with the LEDs the flickering stops. Apparently, the bulb is acting as a capacitor. So if you don't want the flickering and also don't want the stock bulb to shine, then install a resistor in the bulb location with a similar resistance of the bulb (will need to measure this).

I'll try to do more pics later, but what you see in my previous post is really close to what it really looks like.

The amber light inside the cabin is merely an Autozone red condom over the stock dome bulb. I did the same for the puddle lights and the footwell lights.

YD

YD

 

Your boot lights are nice!

 

Can you change the bulbs in the boot? Like to LED Lights?

 

In the cabrio (I'm not familiar with the hardtop) there is only a single puny 194 (W5W) bulb to light the entire boot. There are some bright 194 LEDs but none with the right beam pattern for the light fixture in the boot.

My LED strips from Oznium arrived today and I will be doing this mod on my cabrio soon. Thanks ImagoX for coming up with the idea.

 

The hardtop is the same set up. If you parrallel into the existing light circuit and then remove the stock bulb, you may get flickering of the LEDs when you don't want them to do anything. I'm working on installing a resistor in place of the bulb to eliminate that issue. I don't want the stock bulb burning at the same time.

YD

 

Don't you get the stock light AND the LEDs simultaneously with that setup, though? Let me know how you solve the flicker issue - if it's just a resistor, you can just snip the power leads to the OEM light (like I did) and just put the resistor on the positive power lead - that would be cleaner, I'd think...

 

I think then the issue is whether to put the resistor in series or parallel. When you have the stock bulb in place and parrallel the LEDs everything works properly for me. When I remove the stock bulb, then I have essentially the same wiring as yours, without any resistor.

When the stock bulb removed then I get flicker. when the bulb is installed, I don't get flicker. Obviously, I don't want the stock bulb to burn.

I talked to oznium and they said the flex strips don't need a resistor in series. They are currently pondering about intalling a resistor across the leads from + to -, which is what the bulb is doing. I'm out of town right now, or I would measure the resistance of the bulb and hit radio shack for a similarly rated resistor and just see what happens.

Will do this this weekend when I get home, so if this has not been resolved by others by then, I'll post my results.

I just ordered more strips from my footwells and I assume they will have the same issues, so this needs to be resolved. I'm on a mission, I'm all over it, I will emerge victorous. These little LEDs will not defeat me.. hehe.

YD

 

I could have sworn someone mentioned using a "voltage regulator" (IIRC) when using LED bulbs in the trunk, but I can't find the thread that mentioned the right kind to use... I can see the theory, though: absorb just enough of the 12v current that's "leaking" to the LEDs when the trunk is closed via a resistor without cutting down the current so much that the LEDs don't light or are dimmed...

Honestly, with a cabrio, you can't noticd the flicker AT ALL from inside the car so I had it as a low priority thing, but I'd like to make it perfect, obviously...

 

I figured it had something to do with the slow dim feature. It is apparently some sort of solid state device and perhaps leaking enough voltage to flicker the LEDs.

YD

 

ImagoX, what did you do to securely attach the LED strips to the underside of the tray? The tray in my cabrio is lined with a felt/carpet type of material. I want to be sure that the strip won't get knocked off if I load up something bulky in the boot. The tray does not have a support beam as Yo'sDad described for the hardtop.

 

Looks good!

 

I just measured, and the bulb is slightly under 3 ohms (around 2.7-2.8)

 

I just used 3 of the smallest black zip-ties I could find - mine came from Radio Shack. I drilled a pair of holes spaced about 1/2" apart in the privacy shelf for each zip-tie (they were so small that the carpeting closed over the holes to give you an idea of how small they were), then I zipped away. The black zip ties are only noticible if you know where to look, I think.

One thing: when placing the LEDs on the underside of the cabrio shelf, set them in about 2.5" or 3" so they don't show at the edge of the shelf. I initially placed the strip about an inch from the outer edge and I could see the LEDs a bit, ruining the glow effect. Don't be afraid to set them deeper in.

 

I don't think you'd need a resistor that low to suppress the flickering - I'd probably try first with something like 1Kohm across +/- ... hopefully that'll work.

The 3ohm bulb resistance is when cold; it'll be a bit higher when hot, but any low value resistor will like the bulb get very hot - not recommended.

 

If one put the resistor in exactly the same place as the removed bulb, then the heat should not be an issue.

I'm now thinking about just leaving the bulb in place since everything works properly that way and just make something to keep the light from coming through the clear stock light lens.

Still working on the resistor issue.

YD

 

Suggestion:

Electrical Tape on the inside of the lens cover so you can leave the stock bulb in and then you won't have the flickering issue??????

JUST A SUGGESTION! I have not done this mod!

 

Ian's right. A 3 ohm resistor would need to dissipate ~48 watts of heat at 12 Volts. If you could even find a resistor at Radio Shack with a rating that high, the heat generated would damage the light socket. A 1 kohm resistor will draw 12 mA and need to dissipate only 0.14 watts. It would be better to try this first before you melt down your original light socket.

This looks like a great mod. I may have to try it as well.

Phil

 

Today, I picked up an assortment of resistors from Radio Shack to try. I wound up installing a 1K ohm resistor, as suggested by pjschaffer, in place of the stock bulb. This stops the flickering in all situations and does not even get warm. Works great and cost me the great sum of two resistors for $1.29. Thank you pjschaffer for the calculated value to try.

The nice thing is that I have not altered the stock wiring or stock light fixture, so if I want to put it back to stock, it will be simple.

Now waiting on the mailman to deliver more LED strips for the footwells for this weekend's project.

YD

 

So did you wire the resistor in parallel or in series with the LEDs?

 

I believe that installing the resistor across the 12V+ to the grnd (exactly where the bulb used to be) would be parrallel. Instead of a stock bulb in the stock bulb holder, I have a 1K resistor sitting in the stock bulb holder. Works great. I'll do a diagram and post if anyone wants it.

YD

 

Got it! Thanks.

 

Yes please!!! I would love to do this mod, but for those of us that aren't electrically inclined (i.e. me) a guide and diagram would be great.