Improved Trunk lighting - Is there demand?

[BoldSharpe]

I've looked at 4 cars now, spanning from 2013 to 2015. All definitely have the wiring for rear seat, puddle lights and ambient lights. You need to be sure you get the puddle light wire, as if you use the ambient light connector (same type), there will be no power. The Ambient connectors seem to always have a purple wire whereas the puddle/red lights are both the same color, but it varies between a blue, red, or green wire depending on door and car year.

I recommend taking the door panel off for this work. It's not hard, but you need a 9mm socket and a T30 Torx bit. There is a plastic cover behind the door release lever that unsnaps, revealing the 2 T30 bolts, and a rubber cover down in the door handle pocket that pops up to reveal the 9mm bolt. Once those 3 fasteners are removed the door panel simply snaps straight off. It requires a lot of force, so I just start at the bottom with a big flat-blade screwdriver and pry until I can get my fingers in there then it's easy. Be careful once it's in your hand; you have to disconnect all the wires and the cable for the door release (front). There are connectors for the lights, the door release, and the power window control.

This is fantastic information - thank you! I do not have premium lighting on my March build 85D but am really interested in retrofitting the rear puddle lights (why? I'm not quite sure. :smile I see an indentation for where the light should be on the bottom of the door panel but am curious if there's any scoring on the inside once in the panel is removed? Of course, I can just measure the opening from the front puddle lights but this would make things a bit easier.

Has anyone else tried retrofitting the rear puddles without premium lighting?

 

[Wojski]

Has anyone else tried retrofitting the rear puddles without premium lighting?

I was thinking of attempting this with my April P85D. I haven't been able to find any write-ups on it so far, there are some projector puddle light installations that make it seem like everything is there. With Ingineer's comments, I'm feeling pretty hopeful that the wiring will be there and I was planning on dremeling out the opening to match the size of the carpet perforations that I popped cut out to install the two trunk lights.

 

[BoldSharpe]

I was thinking of attempting this with my April P85D. I haven't been able to find any write-ups on it so far, there are some projector puddle light installations that make it seem like everything is there. With Ingineer's comments, I'm feeling pretty hopeful that the wiring will be there and I was planning on dremeling out the opening to match the size of the carpet perforations that I popped cut out to install the two trunk lights.

This is a great video on how to remove the rear door panel. In short, Ingineer's comments are spot on. Once they get the panel off, you can see the purple Ambient light wire and what I think is a green wire for the puddle light (Ingineer said this color varies between green, red, and blue).

 

[RDuke]

Source for a 2 Pin "Y" LED Lighting Connector

.....I do have a question for crowd, does any one know where to purchase a -2- pin "Y" or a "Tee", connector so as to tie into the stock -2- pin Tesla wiring in the trunk?
(-1- male to -2- female)
Since installing these new units in my trunk I no longer have a power supply for my LED strip lighting in my trunk

Bump - I need a "Y" harness also. Anyone have a link to buy one?

 

[Ironman_Hokie]

I am a big fan of Pete's LEDs and would recommend them to anyone... I'm pretty happy with the 3 new LEDs (especially since I'm going from one crappy OEM LED to 3 really nicely bright LEDs in the trunk)... I don't know anyone who just sells the "Y" adapter as a separate product but there are other folks out there who have another solution for the trunk lighting and sell the "Y" adapter with their lights (to attached their lights with the OEM premium lights in the trunk)..

 

[tsarlsy]

I just installed he rear puddle lights on my 85D without premium lighting. I used the green wire which was taped close to the speaker. It's also the wire closest to the puddle light hole so it made logical sense to me.

 

[JPP]

This was a very good suggestion, so I replaced all -4- of my red warning lights.
It was very easy to change the clear lens on the AO lights, to the stock red lens.
Now, you can't help but see the little buggers!

Question on the 4 red warning lights--does the red lens just snap off and on? Do you lose water tightness (...Pete-are the lamps actually watertight)? Might just have to do this too....

- - - Updated - - -

OK, so I have finished both cars-frunk, trunk, all 4 footwells and all 4 puddle lights (...haven't gotten to the red warning lights on the doors). Ran into an interesting technical glitch on my wife's June 2015 build S70D. When I went to change out the single central rear lift gate lamp, the OEM lamp was not lit. I had never noticed whether this ever worked (don't really pay attention, don't drive her car that often, she never commented/complained, and the light output is so pathetic anyways). So I popped out the OEM bulb. There was a connector attached (...checked for loose connection), which I removed. I got out my voltmeter and checked for power at the connector--none. So I reassembled it and let my local TM Service Center have a go. To make a long story short, when her car (without Premium Audio so no rear lift gate speakers) was assembled, one of the rear speaker wires/connectors was attached to the lamp, and the power/connector for the lamp was dangling free. Must have been a Monday.....They sorted out the connections and the lamp is now working. Once I got her car home I installed Pete's lamp--much better.

Here is the service invoice:

(carefully worded to obfuscate the reason why the lamp was not working....).

All good now--thanks again, Pete, for a great upgrade.

 

[Camera-Cruiser]

Question on the 4 red warning lights--does the red lens just snap off and on? Do you lose water tightness (...Pete-are the lamps actually watertight)? Might just have to do this too....

- - - Updated - - -

OK, so I have finished both cars-frunk, trunk, all 4 footwells and all 4 puddle lights (...haven't gotten to the red warning lights on the doors). Ran into an interesting technical glitch on my wife's June 2015 build S70D. When I went to change out the single central rear lift gate lamp, the OEM lamp was not lit. I had never noticed whether this ever worked (don't really pay attention, don't drive her car that often, she never commented/complained, and the light output is so pathetic anyways). So I popped out the OEM bulb. There was a connector attached (...checked for loose connection), which I removed. I got out my voltmeter and checked for power at the connector--none. So I reassembled it and let my local TM Service Center have a go. To make a long story short, when her car (without Premium Audio so no rear lift gate speakers) was assembled, one of the rear speaker wires/connectors was attached to the lamp, and the power/connector for the lamp was dangling free. Must have been a Monday.....They sorted out the connections and the lamp is now working. Once I got her car home I installed Pete's lamp--much better.

Here is the service invoice:

View attachment 104757

(carefully worded to obfuscate the reason why the lamp was not working....).

All good now--thanks again, Pete, for a great upgrade.

Funny, my frunk light was not working on my CPO 85 when I installed all 12 of Pete's lights (which everyone should get). When I popped out the OEM, it was not connected to anything. About a minute of fishing and I found the power connector, which looked never to have been connected, and the light fired right up.

i haven't opened the frunk sense.

- - - Updated - - -

I meant "since". Sheesh.

 

[Gizmotoy]

Question on the 4 red warning lights--does the red lens just snap off and on? Do you lose water tightness (...Pete-are the lamps actually watertight)? Might just have to do this too....

- - - Updated - - -

OK, so I have finished both cars-frunk, trunk, all 4 footwells and all 4 puddle lights (...haven't gotten to the red warning lights on the doors). Ran into an interesting technical glitch on my wife's June 2015 build S70D. When I went to change out the single central rear lift gate lamp, the OEM lamp was not lit. I had never noticed whether this ever worked (don't really pay attention, don't drive her car that often, she never commented/complained, and the light output is so pathetic anyways). So I popped out the OEM bulb. There was a connector attached (...checked for loose connection), which I removed. I got out my voltmeter and checked for power at the connector--none. So I reassembled it and let my local TM Service Center have a go. To make a long story short, when her car (without Premium Audio so no rear lift gate speakers) was assembled, one of the rear speaker wires/connectors was attached to the lamp, and the power/connector for the lamp was dangling free. Must have been a Monday.....They sorted out the connections and the lamp is now working. Once I got her car home I installed Pete's lamp--much better.

Here is the service invoice:

(carefully worded to obfuscate the reason why the lamp was not working....).

All good now--thanks again, Pete, for a great upgrade.

Glad the light is working. I'd be worried that the amp for that speaker channel would have not appreciated the resistance difference through the LED. You might want to check that speaker actually works now. Based on other threads here, Tesla seems diagnose audio issues as "If I hear any sound, everything is working," so you should double-check.

Also, it's a little strange they use the same connector for both the speakers and for 12V power. Seems like a recipe for these kinds of mistakes.

 

[Andyw2100]

Pete, my son says, "Abstract Ocean is great" and he wants to know if there's a replacement planned for the emergency (edge of the doors) lights. I guess he wants more stuff to work on!

This was a very good suggestion, so I replaced all -4- of my red warning lights.
It was very easy to change the clear lens on the AO lights, to the stock red lens.
Now, you can't help but see the little buggers!

Question on the 4 red warning lights--does the red lens just snap off and on? Do you lose water tightness (...Pete-are the lamps actually watertight)? Might just have to do this too....

So, Pete...it looks like you're gonna owe bmah's son a big commission check since he's single-handedly increased your market for these by 33%!

 

[Eslee]

Does anyone know how to remove the red warning light lens and replace them with Pete's lights?
i've replaced all 12 lights without too much difficulty.

 

[pete8314]

Question on the 4 red warning lights--does the red lens just snap off and on? Do you lose water tightness (...Pete-are the lamps actually watertight)? Might just have to do this too.....

We've not tested for water resistance....it's fair to say they're probably similar or the same as the OEM bulbs though, since they have the same construction.

 

[wizputer]

I have 90D (09/2015) w/o premium lighting package. Though it is only missing the rear puddle lights and two trunk lights. I assumed there would be even fewer, but not complaining

I was only able to replace 2 and add 1 light today.

Frunk was the easiest and after I stopped being gentle pulling back the carpet, driver side trunk wasn't so bad either.
The hatch light on the other hand wasn't so willing. It required using a screw driver + spudger. The spudger was just not rigid enough to provide enough force to pop the light out. I even had tried spudger and pushing with my fingers via the emergency trunk release access panel.

As I have the premium audio package, the box shape that's in the carpet on the passenger side of the trunk keeps it stiff so I gave up trying to pull the carpet back to hunt down the power connector. Not sure if I'll try that again later or maybe risk breaking clips removing the outer trim.

The front puddle lights are behaving like the hatch light. The spudger even made dents in the trim material at the fulcrum, I'm too afraid to try to use a screw driver there. I pushed the spudger into the light as far as it will go and can push it up flat against the door trim, but the lights will just not pop out. Not really sure what to do about these yet.

At this point, I had spent an hour, so I haven't attempted to replace the front+rear footwell lights yet.

The 3 lights so far are super impressive compared to the Tesla ones. Even in the shade, you can see them light up the carpet a little.

Thanks Pete for such a great product!

 

[Dborn]

Thanks, Pete. Received my lights in Australia and installed all 8 that I ordered. The only tools I used was a screwdriver. It damaged some of the really tight lights, but not the trim, anyway you don't see the trim once the lights are installed. The rear footwell lights are a real bugger to get out! Being right handed, I suggest doing both from the left side of the car, and moving the seats all the way forward. The puddle lights are relatively easy since you do have access. The front ones were a real issue. Mine is right hand drive, and the drivers one was just behind the brake pedal, and very tight. I eventually managed it with a lot of sweat and swearing.
The front passenger one on the left was relatively easy to pop out, BUT Tesla did something really weird with the wiring. The wire ran across the face of the trim then dived into a crack to end up behind the fitting and there was zero slack. Very difficult to plug in as there was just no slack.eventually success. If this were a visible area, I would have had the car back in a heartbeat to correct a very unprofessional job of wiring and installation.

 

[Andyw2100]

The rear footwell lights are a real bugger to get out! Being right handed, I suggest doing both from the left side of the car, and moving the seats all the way forward.

Did you see my note about these up thread?

I realized that once you had the light in the bracket off the bar, the approach to take was to then disconnect the power connection, so that you could remove the light and bracket combination, and work on getting the light out of the bracket anywhere you wanted to, as opposed to doing it lying in an awkward position in the back of the car. Popping the bracket off the bar and disconnecting the power are both relatively easy things to do as compared to actually getting the bulb out of the bracket, so doing those things while in the car--the only way to do them, of course--is really not that bad.

 

[Eslee]

How do one remove the red warning lens

This was a very good suggestion, so I replaced all -4- of my red warning lights.
It was very easy to change the clear lens on the AO lights, to the stock red lens.
Now, you can't help but see the little buggers!

Hi BozieBeMe2,
How did you remove the red warning lens from the stock lights.
Any directions on how this done would be greatly appreciated.
I've replaced 12 lights with Pete's lights.
I tried to pry a stock white lens off but was concerned about breaking the lens.

 

[Dborn]

Did you see my note about these up thread?

I realized that once you had the light in the bracket off the bar, the approach to take was to then disconnect the power connection, so that you could remove the light and bracket combination, and work on getting the light out of the bracket anywhere you wanted to, as opposed to doing it lying in an awkward position in the back of the car. Popping the bracket off the bar and disconnecting the power are both relatively easy things to do as compared to actually getting the bulb out of the bracket, so doing those things while in the car--the only way to do them, of course--is really not that bad.

while the bracket moved around a bit on the bar, I could not see how to remove it from the bar. It looked to me like the bracket might have been screwed on. Strange since so much on the car is clipped or snapped together.

 

[Andyw2100]

while the bracket moved around a bit on the bar, I could not see how to remove it from the bar. It looked to me like the bracket might have been screwed on. Strange since so much on the car is clipped or snapped together.

Yes, the directions could have been a hair clearer on that.

The bracket snaps off the bar. The part of the bracket that attaches to the bar is essentially open on one side. (As you find the light, that side will be behind the light, facing the front of the car.) I found the easiest way to get the brackets on and off the bar was to have the light parallel to the floor of the car, (so rotated 90 degrees forward) so the open part of the bracket was facing up towards the bar, and then press down on the bracket to get it off the bar, or press up on the bracket to get it back on the bar.

 

[sigurdi]

Questions about a Y hardnes for using original pluggs and lights.
I make them with original connectors on my plug and play light kits.

Have used the last two years to find the right hausings, plugg and ledstripes. Testing out the quality over time in regular use.
It is more than 100 Model S in Norway that have it instaled in the last year.
It will be a separate thread when it is ready for US sales.
Shipping to US is $10 for just two Y splitts and it is regular shipping.
Price on the parts for one Y cable with two female and one male ink. the time to make it will be another $15-20 a piece.
Price on two Y cables with shipping will be at least $40-50.

sigurdi

 

[pete8314]

Hi BozieBeMe2,
How did you remove the red warning lens from the stock lights.
Any directions on how this done would be greatly appreciated.
I've replaced 12 lights with Pete's lights.
I tried to pry a stock white lens off but was concerned about breaking the lens.

It's not super-easy to do. There's 4 clips that hold the lens to the rest of the assembly, 2 on each side. The problem is as you release one or two of them, the others snap back in. That said, with a bit of patience it's easy enough, ideally with a couple of small flat-blade screwdrivers. The good news is that if you're patient and reasonable dexterous, then they're not too bad, and there's no glue or anything else to complicate things. Removing them from the doors is the same as the puddle lights.

Since there's some interest I'll see about getting some red-lens versions manufactured; that should be easy enough.

As a general note, stock is running low....we're out on Amazon, and running out on the site. There's a much larger delivery due mid-late January, at that point I'll be sending a mailer out to all the newsletter subscribers and increasing the price to $45.99.