How to connect the trunk lighting with LED strip
Trunk lighting is one of the most inexpensive ways of car tuning, which is also useful from a practical point of view. The trunk can be fitted with several bulbs for local lighting or mounted on the contour of a multicolored LED strip.
Preparing the tools and lighting kit
To place the lights in the car, there are LED kits of several lamps. They are designed specifically for connection to certain models of cars, and their installation is not difficult. Together with the lamp comes a wiring diagram.
Mounting the LED strip is much more complicated. At first it is necessary to measure the approximate length and determine the number of colors of the backlight in advance. It is desirable to order moisture-resistant strips, so they will last longer.
To install LED strip lighting in the trunk, in addition to its own, you may need:
- A three-position switch;
- ties;
- heat-shrinkable tubing (kimbo), if additional protection for LEDs is required;
- connection terminals in the required quantity;
- 5A fuse;
- Contact wires, preferably of different colors so as not to get confused;
- tape measure;
- rubber grommets, in case the wires will go through drilled holes;
- cutter;
- soldering iron with solder;
- double-sided adhesive tape if the LED strip does not have an adhesive layer;
- a tap for the wires;
- duct tape;
- pliers;
- silicone sealant;
- Alcohol or alcohol solution;
- screwdriver to test the voltage;
- screwdriver.
The set of tools for different machines will vary, as well as because of the choice of connection source.
Choosing how to connect
In cars, there are several options for connecting the additional light with its own features. For each car there are nuances in the location of wiring, so you will need a diagram of the electronics.
To existing lighting
If there is already a light in the luggage compartment, it can be used for power. The wires must be routed to the plafond and connected via the terminal.
To the interior plafond.
It is also possible to use the interior ceiling light for power. To do this, you will need to carefully remove the interior ceiling liner. Do not do this if the car was parked in the cold, or if the device mounts unfamiliar, there is a great chance of damaging the locks. After removing the ceiling lay a cable and connect it with the plus after the toggle switch. The minus is connected to any metal part of the body, such as a bolt. Thus, the light will be lit in the cabin and in the trunk from a single switch.
To make sure that the light does not depend on turning on the cabin light, a toggle switch should be installed in the luggage compartment itself to turn it on. When selecting a place for its installation, you must take into account that it can be hit or damaged by the load. Cables from the backlight in this case should be connected before the light switch in the cabin.
It is recommended to mark the new wiring, so as not to mix up the wires later.
Automatic switch-on
To automatically turn on the trunk lighting, you should purchase a trunk door or lid limit switch that allows you to stop the current supply when closing that.
The difficulty in mounting the automatic light is the lack of a 12-volt wire in the trunk in some cars. In order to run the wire it is necessary to remove the floor, pads and seals on the left side in the trunk and interior (in right-hand drive car it should be done on the right side). Next, you should run the wire to the brake pedal in the underhood space and connect it to the battery. To do this, solder a terminal to the wire and solder a fuse to the plus circuit of the battery.
If there is a 12 volt outlet.
For those who have a socket in the trunk or cabin, there is an option to connect the backlight without too much complication. You just need to buy a plug, solder it to the strip wires and pull it through.
From external power
If you do not want to power the backlight from the car, you can install an external power supply. A power bank or reusable batteries will work for this. Connection to the powerbank is made through a special USB adapter. There are similar adapters for batteries, but it is possible to power without it. Any batteries will do, as long as they give a total voltage of 10-12 V. After soldering the wires to the strip, they should be stripped and soldered to the battery, black to minus, red to plus. You will need to wire the plus wire for the power switch and solder it as well.
Mounting the lights
At the beginning of the installation, you should decide where the backlight will be mounted and what exactly needs to be illuminated: individual areas or the entire trunk space. Then you need to decide what it will be powered from. After that you can proceed to the assembly and installation of lighting.
- If it is necessary to place the LED strip in separate parts in different places - cut It is strictly on the markings so as not to damage the LEDs. For extra protection you can place the strips in heat shrink tubes. For colored trunk lighting will do transparent, and to give the white light different colors can be used.
- Solder wires to the pre-baked contacts of the tape or connect them with special connectors.
- Disconnect the minus terminal from the battery. If you remove the whole battery, first disconnect the minus then the plus in order to avoid a voltage spike.
- Glue or otherwise secure the LED strip in the selected areas, pre-cleaning them.
![How to correctly connect the LED trunk lighting with a tape LED]()
Attach the tape to the selected area. - Check for any damage to the connections when placing the strip by connecting the backlight to the battery. Having cleaned the contacts they should be attached one to the minus, the other to the plus.
Further steps of the work are different because of several variants of connection to the network. Safety gloves should be worn to connect the wires. It is also recommended to use non-conductive tools.
How to fix the tape
Before gluing the LED strip should be rinsed of dirt and degrease the places of its future placement with alcohol. This way, the backlight will last longer. Next, remove the film from the adhesive layer of the tape, carefully put it on and press it down. Avoid pressing hard on the LEDs themselves to avoid accidentally damaging them. If the tape does not have an adhesive coating, you will need to carefully place a strip of double-sided tape on the back side. If it is possible to snag the wires, you can do without glue and use ties, the tails of which are cut off after attachment.
Connecting the segments
For connecting together two segments of LED strip using soldering or connectors made of plastic.
Using soldering, you can connect the strips into one and also attach wires to them to combine the distant segments into a single circuit.
Before soldering the ribbons, you must strip and expose the contacts (multi-colored ribbons have four, single-colored ribbons have two). Wires are either soldered to the contacts, or they are soldered to the contacts of another tape. It is recommended to use wires with a diameter of 0.75 to 0.8 mm.. To avoid confusion you should take red for the plus and black for the minus, solder at a temperature of 250 to 350 ° C.
Connectors can only fasten two strips of tape together by clamping the contacts. They do not eliminate the possibility of oxidation and are not as reliable as soldering.
How to hide the wires
Most of the wires are hidden behind plafonds or parts of the interior trim when connected. Those that are left in plain sight can be attached to the clips with a ZM scotch tape so they don't hang down. With other illumination power sources, the wires can be routed behind the rim of the mat and attached to the walls with the same clips. If necessary, the wires running along the walls of the trunk are also hidden behind the trim panels.
Video examples for popular car brands
For clarity we recommend to watch a series of videos.
For Renault Duster.
Lada Kalina.
Skoda Octavia
Mounting the backlight with your own hands is not too difficult for those who have already worked with electronics. If you lack experience, it is better to turn to professionals, so that a little work does not drag on for long hours and do not turn into problems.