DIY Liftgate LED install

[radman]

I had reached out to a fellow member about purchasing some parts; however, I never heard back from him and then decided to yolo and try to DIY. I hesitated posting this because I don’t want to take away from anyone’s business, but I also think others might want to save a few bones or mount lights in other places.

- I have an LX with power liftgate, so the light goes on whenever the liftgate opens. The rig automatically cuts off power to this circuit after 20 minutes, and you have to close/open the hatch to re-enable it.



The Amazons has 4 lights for $40...
Lights

Single Light

- you can add one of these to override the power.
switch

1) Open the small access panel on the hatch
2) I was able to squeeze my hand into the hold and disconnect the harness from the back of the factory "Close Hatch" button
3) mount your light and route wiring to the little hole
4) I simply shoved the light wires into the thick red and black wires on the harness, and then used some electrical tape to secure the LED wire to the OE harness.

Those wires automatically power on when the liftgate is open (off when closed).

 

[timjax]

Nice! Is your 200 a power liftgate model? I believe the automatic turn on wiring is only possible on those, but if not, I would be very interested in doing it myself too.

 

[catastrofe]

This is an option as well: Rear interior lift up door LED

 

[fasteddie2015]

Looks good. A few questions...

Why didnt you attach it to the small panel?
Does the light go on whenever the hatch is opened? Is there an on off switch on the light?
What did you have to do to get to the door switch connector? What did you have to remove and how did you do it?

Thx.

 

[radman]

Sorry for the lack of normal DIY details. I had assumed everyone was familiar with this mod from heat on the other thread.

- I plan to install a rear exit button at the small panel.

LC200 Rear (Interior) Exit Switch Mod

Rear Exit Switch Mod The 200 Series LC doesn’t have a way to exit out of the back hatch if you happen to be back there. The Lexus folks don’t have this issue as they have a power rear hatch that can be opened via the fob. After discussing with my buddies Dave and Kurt, I figured this was a...

forum.ih8mud.com

- I have an LX with power liftgate, so the light goes on whenever the liftgate opens.
- you can add one of these to override the power.
Amazon link


- I'm 6'2" and managed to get my hand into the small panel opening to disconnect the exit connector. Once I attached the led, I reached back in and pushed the connector back in place again.

 

[fasteddie2015]

On my manual liftgate, when I press the button under the liftgate, the latch opens and the interior lights go on. So there must be power at that switch even if I dont have a power liftgate. Am I missing something or does that make sense? Trying to avoid having to run a new wire from the hatch to a power source further forward.

 

[fasteddie2015]

Or is it the current draw on the existing wires? The spec for the light I'm using is
Watts/Amps: 4/.40

Seems to me that .4 amps isnt a lot of current draw, even if the light is on for a few hours. I'm not an EE, so am I missing something about the current draw on the existing wires? Dont want to fry anything.

 

[timjax]

On my manual liftgate, when I press the button under the liftgate, the latch opens and the interior lights go on. So there must be power at that switch even if I dont have a power liftgate. Am I missing something or does that make sense? Trying to avoid having to run a new wire from the hatch to a power source further forward.

YES. I've always wondered this. Feels like it should be doable to incorporate an aux hatch light (such as Baja Designs' or Rigid's) to switch on with the door light trigger. Maybe the door on/off switching line and power tap line are separate, if that makes sense?

Hopefully someone more experienced electrically follows up on if it's possible.

 

[Shadious]

I had reached out to a fellow member about purchasing some parts; however, I never heard back from him and then decided to yolo and try to DIY. I hesitated posting this because I don’t want to take away from anyone’s business, but I also think others might want to save a few bones or mount lights in other places.

- I have an LX with power liftgate, so the light goes on whenever the liftgate opens. The rig automatically cuts off power to this circuit after 20 minutes, and you have to close/open the hatch to re-enable it.



The Amazons has 4 lights for $40...
Lights

Single Light

- you can add one of these to override the power.
switch

1) Open the small access panel on the hatch
2) I was able to squeeze my hand into the hold and disconnect the harness from the back of the factory "Close Hatch" button
3) mount your light and route wiring to the little hole
4) I simply shoved the light wires into the thick red and black wires on the harness, and then used some electrical tape to secure the LED wire to the OE harness.

Those wires automatically power on when the liftgate is open (off when closed).

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I am on the final steps of my DIY light made with spare parts from other projects. I was wondering how you were able to slide the wires for the lights into the factory connector. I like that approach better than using tap connectors. Here are a few pics of my light. I have a tan interior and did not like the idea of using a black base for the lights. If I want to reverse it, I just need a new access cover, super easy…

 

[UT08LX570]

@Shadious if you decide to do it proper rather than shoving wires in factory connectors, I'd be happy to sell you one of my YotaForge3D wiring harnesses. Plug and play for the power liftgate in the LX. You would need to redo your four led pod wires to match the two pin JST that I'd send ya, and use the provided 19mm backlit switch.

 

[TeCKis300]

I am on the final steps of my DIY light made with spare parts from other projects. I was wondering how you were able to slide the wires for the lights into the factory connector. I like that approach better than using tap connectors. Here are a few pics of my light. I have a tan interior and did not like the idea of using a black base for the lights. If I want to reverse it, I just need a new access cover, super easy…

View attachment 3895263

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Nice. I use the same marker led lights. They're great as it's not blinding to kill night vision when camping.

I know more holes, but you might consider adding a couple more in the corners of the hatch. Standing under a single point light can block it.

 

[Shadious]

@Shadious if you decide to do it proper rather than shoving wires in factory connectors, I'd be happy to sell you one of my YotaForge3D wiring harnesses. Plug and play for the power liftgate in the LX. You would need to redo your four led pod wires to match the two pin JST that I'd send ya, and use the provided 19mm backlit switch.

View attachment 3897086

View attachment 3897087

Thanks, I honestly do like your setup better, but I’m cheap and wanted to use the factory cover since it is tan like the rest of the vehicle. I may use posi-taps for the connections, they are much better than the old blue tap connectors. I’d love to have a slick install like yours, but too much work/research for something I’ll likely never return to stock anyway.

 

[Shadious]

Nice. I use the same marker led lights. They're great as it's not blinding to kill night vision when camping.

I know more holes, but you might consider adding a couple more in the corners of the hatch. Standing under a single point light can block it.

View attachment 3897099

View attachment 3897100

Honestly, I considered doing your installation initially, but was not a fan of more holes. I think I’ll take a few camping trips and see how things go with just the center two lights. Generally I’m a “more lights are better” kind of guy, LOL. We used the blue ones in our camper, great for ambient lighting at night.