Est. Build Time: 2 Hrs.

Est. Build Cost: $20 to $40, depending on color and qty. of the LEDs

Supplies Needed/Used

7 White LEDs, but you can use more/less/other colors
Wire
9" of corner wire moulding
Solder
Quick Disconnect Connectors (Male, 2 of them)



For some reason, my 02 WRX did not come with a trunk light. This annoyed me to no end. After a call to the dealer, I found out one could be had for about $30 and a few days wait. Instead, I chose to build my own with LEDs, since it sounded really cool.

The first thing you'll need to do is choose a spot to mount it. I would advise any flat, metal spot in the trunk area. Flat, so the adhesive will have something stick to. Metal, because the adhesive has problems sticking to trunk carpet, and in the trunk area, since this is a trunk light mod.

See pic below for a suggested spot...

 

Next, I cut a piece of the corner moulding to about 9". This will serve as the housing for our light.

 

Using a marker, I marked off every inch, starting at 1.5" (1.5, 2.5, 3.5...) so that there is 1.5" from each end to the first LED. Then a black marker line down the middle. Where each line intersects, a hole should be drilled to accomodate the LEDs. You can use LED holders in these holes to give your project a nice, finished look.

 

Now we can mount and wire the LEDs. Most places will tell you not to wire the LEDs in parallel, but since we are using all of the same LED (you are, right?) then we can safely wire them in paralel. The easiest way I found to do this was to create a type of rail by using 18AWG solid core wire, and stipping it where I needed to make a connection. Then, solder the positive side of the LEDs to the positive rail, and the negatives to the negative rail. Be sure to test each connection for connectivity before moving on to the next one.

 

The LEDs that I used for my light are 5V white LEDs. Because they are 5V, and our car will deliver 13-14v to the socket in the trunk, we need to add resistance to lower the voltage. There are many websites out there that will tell you all about wiring LEDs. In my case, I needed to use a 47Ohm, 5W resistor, although a 2W would have done the job. The resistor will be wired up on the positive rail, before the first LED.

 

So now that we have completed wiring up the LEDs, and assembled our light, the last thing to do is wire it up and bask in the glow...

Some notes:

I would reccomend using all the same LED, otherwise setting up the resistance will be trickier. It is possible, but you will have to run 2 seperate parallel circuts.

I am in no way a soldering/LED/EE expert, but even I was able to find enough info online to make this happen. You can do it!

I would use 12V pre-resisted LEDs. It would make life way easier.

Have Fun!

 

Nice job.,but as i can see the reflection of the LEDS are in blue....!!??

 

good job! Do you have a daytime picture of finished assembly?

 

It's a soft white. The reflection is blue cause I have a blue blanket in the trunk.

 

Cdawg, Nice idea! Are these lights on all the time or are you using the quick disconnects to power them off? I was asking because a mercury switch on the trunk lid would work nice I assume.

 

It's wired into the factory trunk light harness, so its only on when the trunk is open. The switch is already built into the car.