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New tailgate interior lighting

5K views 42 replies 7 participants last post by  Cardude2000 
#1 ·
I am often needing to load and unload tools and gear in the back of the vehicle, and if it’s dark outside the light provided by the two built in lights are pathetic. Even changing the bulbs to LEDs did not help much.

So I purchased two LED cob lights.
Safego 2 Pcs/Set DRL Daytime... https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07415F2KB?ref=yo_pop_ma_share

Installed them this weekend. They are wired in parallel with the existing lights so they only come on when the tailgate is open. They work awesome!!!! A very simple installation and well worth it.

Here is the finished product:


And it lights up the inside of the vehicle with great results:




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#5 ·
Can you share, how you wired those lights? to which one?

The original lights on the tailgate just pop out of the trim. They have 2 wires going to them. I believe it’s light blue and red. Believe it or not the light blue is power and the red is negative. I just soldered the wires from the new lights in parallel with the existing lights. Every new connection I make in the vehicle is soldered and heat shrink wrapped.



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#3 ·
Neat and smart. Are they always on when the gate is open or do you have a switch for daytime off?

I assume you just tapped into the existing wires which has power only when the gate is open and you just have the original ones switched off at the light?

I like it.
 
#6 ·
I assume you just tapped into the existing wires which has power only when the gate is open and you just have the original ones switched off at the light?

Correct. I just leave the original ones off because when the new ones are on, the old ones make zero extra light by comparison. They always come on when I open the tailgate.



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#4 ·
I dunno. I guess if you want to hack up the car, your new lights do seem to be real bright. I merely replaced my OEM incandescent bulbs back there with LED bulbs right in the OEM socket and they provided about a 50% improvement in lighting, without cutting. That was all I needed. I'm not gonna work back there, merely light up temporarily so I can get stuff in and out - only at night.
 
#11 ·
oh, so you are tapping the wires from here (see pic) i haven't try to open it yet, but is it easy to remove?

Thanks

It is. It just pops out. Look for the indent on one side, like a small spot to stick in a trim tool (or a screwdriver). It’s the same thing you would need to do it to change the lightbulb.


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#13 ·
Did you switch the old light to always turn on or off? mine is off and never turn on. I'm going to order the led light and will install this weekend.

Thanks for the DIY.

The way it’s supposed to work is power only goes to the light when the tailgate is open. But the switch can override that and turn it off. But it can’t turn it on when it’s supposed to be off.


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#14 ·
The light pops out of the trim very easily.



I cut the two wires and soldered in parallel the new light. The new light always comes on when I open the tailgate, which is fine by me. I didn’t see the point of installing an additional switch. The original lights are still functional the same way as before, but now I leave them off always.




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#17 ·
I don't get it. It was very easy to just replace the existing bulbs with high power LED bulbs that had heatsinks on the back. I wouldn't want any more light back there than I have now with them (almost blinding, really). Cutting holes in the fascia and hacking the wiring harness seems unnecessary. The existing fixtures have good diffusion so the COB LEDs don't really improve things (I am a big fan of COB LEDs normally). It just seems like a lot of work for nothing...
 
#18 ·
I guess that’s why everyone gets to decide what works best for them!

If you look at my first post though, I did try switching to LED first. But they were still not enough for my needs. So I tried to find another solution that would work for me.


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#19 ·
#20 ·
Most of the compatible LED bulbs that I saw did not have heat sinks and thus were limited in output. With an aluminum heat sink bonded to the back of the PCB the output can be really cranked up. Of course with inflated lumens output ratings it is a trial and error process. This is what I am using for all of the T10-based lamps: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NCGFNB0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And these are what I used: https://www.ebay.com/itm/4pcs-T10-1...ht-Car-Tail-/361914913951?hash=item5443cf549f
They are a real nice improvement over OEM, and fit right in the OEM units. I would not want to cut into ANYTHING on these cars.
 
#21 ·
Those are basic 60-70 lumen lamps - simple and should be robust. The ones I used are 300 lumen, so 4x or 5x brighter; as I said, almost too bright. They are "CANBUS" compatible, which I take to mean they consume enough power to appear as an incandescent bulb working; this is not needed for us but are part of the need for the heat sink. The only bulbs that are monitored on the MDX are the turn signals, front and back, and for them I added external heat-sinked resistors with the bright LED bulbs (it is necessary to calculate the proper resistance as the acceptable range is fairly narrow).
 
#28 ·
PDXsailor; The ones I used are 300 lumen said:
Got your bulbs. One of the two didn't work so I'm getting a replacement. But the one that does work - holy ****! Quite a bit brighter than what I was using. Using these bulbs, it is not justifiable to add any external light source - and it looks perfectly original. Thanks for the heads-up.
 
#24 ·
OK - I'll bite. What are you doing with that dash?

I too like modifying things. My MDX is now all-LED and all quality speakers (boy are those stock speakers cheap!). I made custom roof rack mounts, and installed the full towing package (5k# with brake controller). But literally everything I have done is reversible. I really hate cutting into things on a $50k car (well, on anything nice). We are all different...
 
#25 ·
I use my vehicle primarily for work. I go to a lot of job sites, including mining sites, many times requiring lots of driving on less travelled roads.

So I have installed a dash cam, “proper” GPS, wireless charging phone dock, as well as additional LED light-bar driving lights, strobe lights for safety, back up alarm and extra backup lights. Plus an interface panel for all of it.


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#29 ·
Glad your happy.


I spent an inordinate amount of time chasing down the LEDs for the MDX, and bought some that didn't work out, so I am happy to share. The turn/flash lamps (especially the front ones) were the most difficult to get right due to the need to get the right parallel resistors. The only LEDs that are still an issue are the footwell lights: the MDX dims them but of course LEDs don't like voltage drops. They are OK but it would be nice to have the LEDs dim.
 
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