How To: Install LED Strips in CX5 Cargo Area

That is a great find for this issue.

When you put this modified bulb into the existing cargo light socket, did you notice any other metal contacts that would make it easy to short when changing out the bulb?
 
Nope. But to be safe, i remove the assembly from the wire plug before removing the orig bulb and replacing the modified bulb into the socket the plug the wire back.


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rear cargo interior lights turn on when we set the switch to on and lift the tailgate up. if tailgate is closed the interior lights will turn off even if the switch is on.
 
I have not noticed this on my car. I will have to test it to see, if this is the way on mine too.
 
The stock LED replacement will have to do for me now. Once the 36 month warranty is up I will do something like the OP's mod as it is very functional.
 
Nice write up deepfriedsushi. I've been impressed with your skills in the past, and this one is no exception [emoji106]
 
Thanks for the kind compliments from all!

Everything has been working fantastically for me still. Haven't come across any issues other than the ones stated. Lights are still super bright and useful! (nana)
 
I was looking into doing this as well. I checked the LEDs from VLEDs and they are out of stock. Anyone know where I could get some clean looking (no markings) led strips? I'm planning on doing just 6 inch long strips.

I bought some LEDs from superbrightled a while back so that's the first place I checked. But the ones they sell have markings on the strips which didn't look nice:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...ight-with-18-smdsft-3-chip-smd-led-5050/2138/

I'm looking for something that would easily blend in with the car's interior (or look clean at least).

I skimmed through amazon and ebay, there's a bunch in there, but based on the reviews, brightness and quality seems to be hit or miss.

Thanks
 
I wouldn't really worry about markings on the LED strips. When placed, they are not within your line of sight. The ones in the cargo area are under a ledge and the ones on the hatch will be above your head when you open the hatch. You'd have to specifically look up at the bottom of the hatch, or bend down to get a close look to the ones in the cargo area. And at night, when they're lit up, the LEDs are bright enough to where you don't see the ribbon anymore, same effect of looking directly into a flashlight at night.

I think the biggest factor in a clean install will be how the wires are attached to the LED ribbons. Ones that come with wires attached are much cleaner than ones that you have to solder wires on yourself. I've had experience with both and I much prefer pre-attached wires.
 
With the 2016 cargo light being moved onto the hatch from the side of the cargo wall, would the modified bulb mentioned above still work? I'm really wanting to add some lighting in to the cargo area, but I'm not sure if I should go through the 12V or use the modified bulb approach.
 
I think the real question is...how much light do you really want to add?

Replacing the current bulb with an LED one would definitely be a low cost upgrade, especially since it's in the hatch now. If an upgraded bulb is still not bright enough, then the LED strips are definitely the way to go (if the rear 12V still receives power at all times or if you get that dummy replacement bulb with wires to attach to).

My dad's MPV has it's cargo light on the hatch and I noticed that when standing under it, I would cast a shadow and block the light to the cargo area. Putting LED strips in the "wheel wells" of the cargo area solves this issue and is the main contributor to improved lighting. The LED strips on the hatch are only really for lighting up the ground behind the bumper area.
 
 
Yeah, I put an LED bulb in the hatch, but the light is always blocked if you're actually standing there doing anything in the cargo area. The modified bulb mentioned above, I don't quite understand it. The 12V in the cargo area is still always-on.
 
raystafarian said:
Yeah, I put an LED bulb in the hatch, but the light is always blocked if you're actually standing there doing anything in the cargo area. The modified bulb mentioned above, I don't quite understand it. The 12V in the cargo area is still always-on.
Click to expand...

The modified bulb method is done by replacing the cargo light bulb with a dummy bulb with wires coming off of it and using that to control and power the LED strips. The bottom right "bulb" in this picture.
48-smd-5050-led-box-door-dome-light-panel.jpg


This will negate the need to draw power from the 12V socket and eliminates the mercury sensor. This was my original plan in powering the LED strips, but supposedly there were a few people who damaged a rear light control module by messing with the cargo light. I'm not sure if this still holds true or not, but I decided to just make the LED strips independent of the cargo light and go off of the 12V socket instead.
 
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