Cut the rubber coupling making two 1/4in or so bushings, and cut 1-1/4in holes in the panel.. you can us the plug to fit between the strength ribs to get it centered. It is the same location on each end so keep it simple. As you can see you can just unscrew the coupling and put in a red Lense if you need to convert these to red light only.
And the results are very good. Controlled the same as the rear dome light as that is where I spliced in. Hard to tell in these pictures but opening the back door causes these things to really light up the whole back area like the sun is shinning in from the rear of the vehicle.
Each light was about 8 dollars from Lowe's home improvement. The PVC pieces were totally about 9 dollars including the rubber joint I cut up. The two strand wire i already had 22 awg. And crimps connecters I already had in bulk. I connected to the rear dome light switch by soldering a small pigtial from the two tabs that hold each side if the bulb. This is to get the lights to have the same function and controlled as the rear domelight. I did spray some Teflon spray in the rubber grommit tube between the hatch and body the wire would slide easily. I would say i am probably at about 30 USD for cost.
Decided to use a Kichler (#0805253) to upgrade the crappy LED dome light I had before. Much brighter after taking the landscaping bulb housing and some soldering and moving things around a little. I don't think I've ever had a dome light this bright before. Not as easy as the hatch lights since you have to disassemble the Bulb housing and solder. But the results are pretty impressive. I am including a picture of the original super white LED that is getting replaced next.
Ive had my second 80 for many years and just installed one of these in it. I still like these lights the best because of the factory look and function.
