Lift back interior light

I ordered this one. The LED panel fits perfectly into the liftback. I still have to do the wiring.

For Toyota Prius XW50 2015-2018 LED Rear Gate Inner Trunk Luggage Cargo Lamp | eBay

 

That's pretty neat.

It shows tow wiring harnesses - what are you seeing as the wiring challenge(s) to make it work? Are there directions, or is it just about wiring into a power source?

 

Just curious. If you have the kit in hand, does the LED array have clear lens/cover or are the LED's exposed. Also, if the LED array does have a lens, does it look like it can be removed/replaced or is it hermetically sealed.

I am looking at the possibility of purchasing and modifying the kit with a dark-room red light filter so I can use my Prius hatch/cargo area as a telescope workstation.

 

Yeah, but the light, with the hatch open, would be blocked by you just standing there. Would've been better if Toyota had two lights in the cargo area opposite each other.

 

I'm fairly sure I've seen 12v LED Darkroom lights. Not sure if they're a specialised LED or just a cover.

 

Amateur Astronomer here! Yeah you don't need darkroom lights for astronomy, any red LEDs will be fine. Darkroom lights specifically aim to filter out the wavelengths (colours) of light that undeveloped black and white photographic film / plates / pictures / etc are sensitive to. They don't work for colour film.

Astronomy is just about not killing your dark-adapted eyes. Red light doesn't cause your pupils to close as much as green (and to some extent blue), nor does it hurt as much when it shines in your eyes. It also doesn't produce as much of an after image. So pretty much any red-looking light is fine.

Of course, those in the know, sometimes prefer the pirate approach! Wear an eye patch over the eye you use your telescope with. Use your other eye for looking around with your torch etc. Remove the eye patch only to look through the telescope. That way you have one dark-adapted eye for observing, and the other for everything else.

 

I don't know about special purpose LEDs, but you are both correct. A darkroom has specialized requirements, whereas in field astronomy, you use a red light so you don't have to wait for your eyes adjust to the darkness.

In any case, I was trying to find out if I could replace the lens protecting the LED array with a red filter. That would be easier (and less expensive) than replacing the array itself with red LEDs. Easier still would be to just cover the whole assembly with a red filter 1/8 in acrylic plate, which is probably what I will eventually do.

Thanx for point this out. I just checked it, and yes standing under the hatchback would block the light, but only when leaning over. This won't be a problem when using the hatchback cargo area as a workstation. I will be sitting on a high-stool opposite telescope equipment. This will allow me to access computer (with red light display) accessories, optics, etc. without worrying about tripping over things when moving around in the dark.