Rear trunk light retrofit?

[Atebit]

My S only has a single (ineffective) light in the center of the hatch. Apparently newer cars also have a pair of lights along the rear trim as well. Assuming these extra lights actually provide useful light, has anyone inquired with an SC about a retrofit?

 

[Chris TX]

My S only has a single (ineffective) light in the center of the hatch. Apparently newer cars also have a pair of lights along the rear trim as well. Assuming these extra lights actually provide useful light, has anyone inquired with an SC about a retrofit?

I just replaced them with these. Just test out the polarity before you put it back together. They are very bright in the trunk and the frunk. The same lights are in the front seat footwells. They don't snap into place like the stock black units, so I taped them to the lens piece. Works great.

Amazon.com: Auto Car 8 White 5050 SMD LED Map Reading Light w T10 Festoon Adapter: Automotive

 

[russman]

I just did this to my frunk. Most of the solutions I saw were not integrated into the lighting system or required cutting or changing things on the car. I just tweaked some of the options I saw and now have an integrated light and I didn't have to change anything on the car that I couldn't put back easily. The trunk is the same as the frunk, but even easier, because the connector is very close to where I would put the light strips. I was going to do the trunk later this week.

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...nk-Light/page4?p=649437&viewfull=1#post649437

 

[ABVA]

Please take a look at:
ELLuminer - Frunk + Trunk Lighting Package - Page 3

and also:
Lights How to Improve Trunk Lighting | TeslaTap

Hope it helps you.

 

[yobigd20]

Please take a look at:
ELLuminer - Frunk + Trunk Lighting Package - Page 3

and also:
Lights How to Improve Trunk Lighting | TeslaTap

Hope it helps you.

No need to drop that kind if money on Elluminer , besides it doesn't even work with new models due to lighting changes in the MS. Everyone here is smart enough I think they can figure out how to wire up LED light strips for $10 that are just as effective. Plenty of owners here did that and posted instructions/pics. Just pick one and follow them.

 

[AnOutsider]

No need to drop that kind if money on Elluminer , besides it doesn't even work with new models due to lighting changes in the MS. Everyone here is smart enough I think they can figure out how to wire up LED light strips for $10 that are just as effective. Plenty of owners here did that and posted instructions/pics. Just pick one and follow them.

ABVA was linking to their post in the elluminer thread outlining another approach.

 

[Atebit]

Please take a look at:
ELLuminer - Frunk + Trunk Lighting Package - Page 3

and also:
Lights How to Improve Trunk Lighting | TeslaTap

Hope it helps you.

Thanks. A corollary to my original question was "is it pre-wired anyway/is DIY possible". Not sure if the SC guys would've known this/been forthcoming about it. It would've been nice if there were some pics on preparing the knock-out & fishing out the connector, though. If I decide to do this I will take a few.

I guess another alternative to the LED strips would be to try to buy the OEM housings from Tesla and perhaps use the upgraded LED bulbs indicated at the beginning of the thread for a more "stock" look.

As an aside, this seems like a really dumb feature for a Tesla to deprecate in favor of a paid option. The trunk is a black hole at night, and the light in the hatch is too far away (and usually obscured by my body) to be useful.

 

[russman]

I did the trunk and the frunk, using the existing wiring. Without cutting or splicing any of the car's wiring so that I can restore it to the way it was originally.

 

[AnOutsider]

looks good. It's nice to see so many options available.

 

[darthvdr]

I will have to seriously look into this.