WildES330

Hello friends,
I wanted to share this mod I did to increase the rather dismal lighting in the trunk. I ordered a string of 300 LED's with 3M self-sticking adhesive and ran them across the bottom of the rear deck, along the inside of the trunk liner toward the light, then into the trunk light connector. I included a few pictures, keep in mind I have a blue moving blanket lining my trunk. After you purchase the string set (Amazon), it really only takes about 1/2 hour to do it. My ES330 is a 2005, with almost every option including the ML sound system. I love this car! Bought it a month ago and have already put 1,000 comfortable miles on it.
-WildES330

ml2

That is sweet, how did you connect it to the light?

WildES330

I stripped and tinned the two wires from the LED string, unplugged the OEM connector from the old light, the just inserted the tinned wire ends into the slots in the connector and taped everything in place w/black electrical tape. The better solution is to cut the wires, solder the ends together, and use plastic acorns to hold them together.

diddly

So, just to be clear: It was a 12V, 300 bulb light set that you purchased from Amazon? What are the 12V sets usually used for...landscape lighting?!

WildES330

I've used these for indirect lighting in our kitchen and under my basement bar. I power these with simple 12DC "wall wart" 1 amp transformers. I did this trunk light mod in my 2004 ES330 and liked it so much I was happy to repeat it in my 2005.

I believe they make these for 5 volt systems, and of course 120 volt rope lighting is available with LED's inside. The advantage of these 12 volt strings is that internally they are wired in 4-5 light sets in parallel, so you can cut these to virtually any length.

Here's the details on the set I used:
LE 16.4ft Waterproof Flexible LED Light Strip, 300 Units SMD 2835 LED, 6000K Daylight White, LED Tape, 12V LED Light Strips, For Gardens/ Homes/ Kitch

diddly

Thanks for the info. Wild ES300: As it is: I was just about to start playing around with some 12V lighting ideas in my kitchen: This stuff could really help! Now I can play out in the car AND in the house, maybe without winding up with curly hair...(that 120V stuff can do that to ya!) Thanks for the link!

cory143

Love it - thanks! Now if I only have time to do it to my '05 330.

speedkar9

The 300SMD LED strip lighting is amazing stuff.

I put it all over my (old) ES330 back in the day, foot wells, dome light, rear glass, trunk, etc:

WildES330

OMG, that puts my trunk mod to shame, but it sure gives me more ideas for my ES330! Thanks for posting that video. Inquiry: do you prefer your ES350 over your old 330? Why or why not?

WildES330

Sorry, I see you now have a GS330, not ES. Sorry.

WildES330

I just replaced the courtesy lights (left side in photo) in my doors with LEDs and they are quite a bit brighter. These are 194 equivalent LED lights.
(I also replaced my dome light with a hi-brightness LED)
Slowly I'm swapping out most, if not all of my old incandescent bulbs on my ES330...

wmj259

When swapping with LED's, do you have to worry about heating?

WildES330

I would say that's the beauty of LED lights, they run much cooler!