Has anyone added a light to the storage area under gear selector?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mark W
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Sandroad said:
My dealer quoted $365 for the “interior illumination”, parts and labor. I didn’t do it; I bought light tan Weathertech floor liners instead. Works great to lighten up the footwells o_O
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Yipes! I was afraid the price would be high based on the installation instructions. I think having the lamps linked to the ambient lighting system, with presumably very low intensity, based on the existing center light, wouldn't really work for me anyway.

I don't need the dim lighting while I'm driving at night - I just want to be able to see the lower interior areas when I open a door, trying to find the umbrella (black) or my phone (black), etc. in that really dark space. There has to be a way to wire a few small LEDs discreetly, connecting to the courtesy lighting, rather than ambient.
 
I bought a cheap black let light at Walmart for $4, but it's too bulky for the space. It's 4" round and an inch thick :(
 
JCEV said:
The LED is fairly bright it lights up everything easily. Not sure why people can't see it ?
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The intensity of that little bulb adjusts with the brightness setting on the dashboard, and, at least on my Clarity, I can see it only when the intensity is set high. Even then, it doesn't cast enough light downward to be any help seeing anything directly below. Maybe it varies from one vehicle to another.
 
That could be it, mine is one notch down from brightest dash setting as full makes the LCD screen go blazing. Here is a sample.
 

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JCEV said:
That could be it, mine is one notch down from brightest dash setting as full makes the LCD screen go blazing. Here is a sample.
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Yes, I agree. I don't usually have my dash set to full brightness, and the brightness adjustment can only be made when the car is ON. Even fully ramped up on my car, it isn't bright enough to be very useful for me. What I hope to find is lighting tied to the courtesy lighting system in the car, rather than ambient, that will effectively brighten the footwell areas, along with that center shelf.
 
I'm wondering how difficult it would be to find a higher intensity LED bulb that could directly replace the existing one, and ideally, even add one on each side angled down toward the foot wells.
 
Thanks Chris5168 for sending me down the right path! My light came in, and it's perfect! It's the one I linked above. Just run your hand over the top of it to turn on and off. Always plugged in and ready to go. I'll post a picture of the setup.
 
Two girls love the pink lol.

used the 12v outlet and bought slim usb adaptors for it.
 

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