2010 Trunk Light Woefully Inadequate, Solutions anyone ?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by Ed Burke, Dec 29, 2012.

  1. Ed Burke

    Ed Burke Junior Member

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    For some reason Toyota wants to punish you for opening the hatch on your prius at Night. The light they installed is on the drivers side only, and has a bulb designed to light the interior of whatever a small insect could drive. I am seeking a Brighter Alternative to a headband flashlight, my adaptation.
    If you have an answer why the hatch itself hasn't got a pair of lamps mounted on its inside that shine down when the hatch is fully open, the ideal option, please explain. Maybe Toyota has lighting consultants who can see in the dark ? ?

    At any rate I am entertaining any solutions anyone has come up with that can cure this for me.
     
    #1 Ed Burke, Dec 29, 2012
  2. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    How about one of those stick on battery operated touch LED lights?

    Edit: I changed out my interior lights to LEDs, and they are brighter. Whether they are bright enough for you, can't say. ;)
     
    #2 xliderider, Dec 29, 2012
  3. Ed Burke

    Ed Burke Junior Member

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    1- The Glue comes loose in the cold weather and they fall off
    2- The batteries (3 AAA) have to be swapped out
    3- you have to open the hatch with the junk you need to stow in your hands and push the ligh above you with ? ? ? ? Your Nose ? Some Other Appendage ? ? ?
    Surely my 40 grand Prius deserves better.

    The 'Double Ended teeny tiny bulb used in the ridiculously small trunk light does gain much even with LED's and while the Headlamps on my Prius are LED's and quite Bright, I have discovered that most LED bulbs are dimmer than the Halogen bulb they replace. The trunks 'bug light' probably isn't even Halogen.

    Thanks for the suggestions but I will find a better solution.
     
    #3 Ed Burke, Dec 29, 2012
  4. 13Plug

    13Plug Active Member

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    I agree the factory light is a joke, obviously not thought out when the car was designed.
     
    #4 13Plug, Dec 29, 2012
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the pip's is on the upper inside left fender. it's adequate but not bright by any means. i wonder if an led bulb would make much of a difference?
     
    #5 bisco, Dec 29, 2012
  6. Bob Hahn

    Bob Hahn Wingman08

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    I like all the posts, I think this issue has a place in the suggested mods post too.
     
    #6 Bob Hahn, Dec 29, 2012
  7. BZzap!

    BZzap! Senior Member

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    In my Suzuki SX4 the dome light was useless so I installed an LED matrix and it made the inside light up super bright. Attached is the link for these LED systems. There are a lot of them out there. All you have to do is Google.
    LED Dome Lights
     
    #7 BZzap!, Dec 29, 2012
  8. Jay J

    Jay J Active Member

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    HB Sports Japan Sells the LED panel squares...I think the rear squares have lighting pockets in Japan....
     
    #8 Jay J, Dec 30, 2012
  9. sfv41901

    sfv41901 Masta S

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    #9 sfv41901, Dec 30, 2012
  10. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Alright, get a pair of these, or similar, and mount them to the inside lower panel of your hatch. Wire them to the hatch light circuit:

    http://www.carid.com/universal-lighting/putco-exterior-lights-173943.html

    They'll come on when you open the hatch and cast a lot of light. Can't do anything about your head casting a big shadow on whatever it is you need to see though. ;)

    Edit: Search eBay for "clear side markers", many available for much less than linked item above.
     
    #10 xliderider, Dec 30, 2012
  11. BZzap!

    BZzap! Senior Member

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    I finally got my LED's and got them installed in the rear dome light and trunk light. What an amazing difference!!!
    The photo attached is in complete dark without the flash. As you can see, the dome light really lights up the interior.
    The trunk light, I think, speaks for itself. If you want a modification that is worth it's weight, this is the one to do.
    [​IMG]
     
    #11 BZzap!, Jan 15, 2013
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  12. Ed Burke

    Ed Burke Junior Member

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    The stock OEM trunk light bulb makes a lightning bug look like nuclear Bomb explosion. I finally found an LED Bulb that uses that insanely tiny double end bulb holder and yet supplies about 3 times the brightness as that original bulb. Available in Cool White, (typical LED Blue white light) or Warm White and colors at www.SuperBrightLEDs.com then lok under 'Festoon Bulbs (Double Enders) the Bulb is listed as DE 3175 - 4 SMD LED - 1.18 inches long (the Brightest 3022 series bulb they have).

    To Install simply pry out the Lens from the trunk liner at the 'switch end' of the lens using a thin metal pry bar ( I used a metal Letter opener ) the unplug the whole assembly from the wire connector, snap off the grey plastric back, and replace the bulb. Re-install the grey plastic backing (it snaps on) make sure the 4 LEDs are facing out before doing that, then reconnect the wire being sure the two prongs are aligned with their recpetables inside the wire connector (they can be easily aligned with the letter opener). Now just push the whole assembly back in place the same as it was when you first removed it.

    I may still install a hatch cover set of lights wired into the rear seat overhead, but this bulb may make that unNecessary as it supplies a lot more light in the trunk of the Prius.

    _______________________________________________________________________
    _______________________________________________________________________

    There are better looking and more function lights available and for less money if you intend to wire them in yourself.

    Go to vehiclelights.com: The Leading Vehicle Light Site on the Net [​IMG]

    these are adjustable (they swivel to aim the lights) and were designed for the sleeper of a semi truck as a reading light. I may mount a pair of them inside the trunk/hatch. Iordered them and they have not arrived as yet.
     
    #12 Ed Burke, Jan 15, 2013
  13. Blu-ray

    Blu-ray Blizzard Brigade #215

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    Yeah. That's the first thing I did was change out all of the interior lights I could with LEDs. Much better than what was in there.
     
    #13 Blu-ray, Jan 18, 2013
  14. kmkremer

    kmkremer Member

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    Looks great! I'm very interested in this mod. What type of bulbs are they and where did you get them? Did you also change the other interior lights? Do they all match?
     
    #14 kmkremer, Jan 19, 2013
  15. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    LOL.

    Could you post non-flash pics of the trunk area with the light on? What color did you get?
     
    #15 spiderman, Jan 19, 2013
  16. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    "Please" post the details of your mod. Especially the trunk.
     
    #16 frodoz737, Jan 19, 2013
  17. BZzap!

    BZzap! Senior Member

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    My trunk and dome lights are modified with 4x6 (24) LED arrays. These can be found by Googling "automotive LED lights". Oznium.com is one of many. These lights come with various adapters to accommodate different bulb variations. They also come with double backed tape for mounting. I chose to use a hot glue gun. The trunk light was a little challenging due to the compact size. I just stripped back the wire on the LED and clamped them behind some convenient tabs on the light assembly. You can get an idea from the photos. I also trimmed about a 1/4" from each of the sides of the gray back cover to clear the LED platform.

    More pics
     

    Attached Files:

    #17 BZzap!, Jan 19, 2013
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  18. kmkremer

    kmkremer Member

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    Did you go with cool white or warm white?
     
    #18 kmkremer, Jan 25, 2013
  19. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    #19 xliderider, Jan 29, 2013
  20. Nick2011Prius

    Nick2011Prius New Member

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    Much lower price tag, slightly more futuristic look here... what I did is opened the light housing, removed the dinky little light the prius has in the trunk and attached a strip of the led lights that come in a roll - I think it was 1m long. Ran that from the light housing up along the cloth lining behind where the head of the person sitting in the back seat goes...thought about going to the trunk but did not want the light to go in the eyes of the driver, also did not want to leave the slack in the roll of lightsr to accommodate the movement of the trunk/hatchback.
     
    #20 Nick2011Prius, Apr 26, 2017
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