Growing up doesn't have to suck

[iamdub]

Did a little something today. A Jeep buddy sent me pics of some LEDs he bought to mount in the hatch of his wife's XJ. This reminded me of some similar projector LED pods I had left over from a project years ago. I figured I could put 'em to use as some downlights for the cargo hatch on the Tahoe.

I don't know the wattage, but I tested them prior and decided they'd be plenty bright enough for the purpose:



I mounted the lights and ran the wiring along the factory harness, taping it with 3M Super33+ every 6" or less:




I tucked about 12" of slack under the jute padding near each light so I'd have slack should I ever need to replace a light:




Soldered and heat-shrinked all connections:

 

[iamdub]

I ran the wire through the factory jamb boot and added a piece of spiral conduit as extra insurance where it passed through the metal body on it's way to tap into the cargo light about 2' inboard:




I located the lights so that they'd be in the gap between the hatch panel and side panel. This would shield them from firing forward when the hatch was closed and a door was opened as well as protect the light from getting sheared off should luggage or cargo slide along the back panel:




The light is focused downward so they're not overly bright as to blind you from overhead:




...But they put out plenty of flooded light to be a great help when in the cargo area or hitching/unhitching a trailer at night:




Now I'm wanting to replace my dome lights to match.

 

[wjburken]

That looks great! Thanks for sharing.

Might have to find a way to do something like that on my wife’s Denali.

 

[iamdub]

That looks great! Thanks for sharing.

Might have to find a way to do something like that on my wife’s Denali.

Thank you. It's nothing difficult, just time consuming but really convenient. If you'd prefer, there's a flush-mount version of these lights- around $13 for a 10-pack on Amazon. I almost bought them but decided that the whole point of even bothering with this was to use these lights that I've had for years and have yet to find any other use for them.

 

[Rocket Man]

I ran the wire through the factory jamb boot and added a piece of spiral conduit as extra insurance where it passed through the metal body on it's way to tap into the cargo light about 2' inboard:

View attachment 232699


I located the lights so that they'd be in the gap between the hatch panel and side panel. This would shield them from firing forward when the hatch was closed and a door was opened as well as protect the light from getting sheared off should luggage or cargo slide along the back panel:

View attachment 232702


The light is focused downward so they're not overly bright as to blind you from overhead:

View attachment 232701


...But they put out plenty of flooded light to be a great help when in the cargo area or hitching/unhitching a trailer at night:

View attachment 232700


Now I'm wanting to replace my dome lights to match.

Nice job. I’ve thought about doing this but never got around to it.

 

[iamdub]

Nice job. I’ve thought about doing this but never got around to it.

Thank you. I almost didn't do it after seeing I'd have to remove some trim pieces to lower the headliner in the back. I almost started drawing up plans for a sub enclosure instead but decided to do something I could actually finish. Get you a "round tuit"- it's totally worth it!

 

[swathdiver]

Thank you. It's nothing difficult, just time consuming but really convenient. If you'd prefer, there's a flush-mount version of these lights- around $13 for a 10-pack on Amazon. I almost bought them but decided that the whole point of even bothering with this was to use these lights that I've had for years and have yet to find any other use for them.

Our Montana's have lights for this purpose and instead of D-pillar speakers they are in the rear hatch as well. Cool when you are tailgating and have the hatch up. Wonder why GM did not do this? The Pontiac's also have a 120V outlet and can fill tires and beach balls off the air compressor if so equipped.

 

[iamdub]

Our Montana's have lights for this purpose and instead of D-pillar speakers they are in the rear hatch as well. Cool when you are tailgating and have the hatch up. Wonder why GM did not do this? The Pontiac's also have a 120V outlet and can fill tires and beach balls off the air compressor if so equipped.

Cool! I have a large inverter that I've considered mounting somewhere hidden to feed a couple of receptacles.

 

[swathdiver]

Cool! I have a large inverter that I've considered mounting somewhere hidden to feed a couple of receptacles.

I'm thinking of pulling the setup out one of the Montana's and put it in the GMC. It's on the right in those cars, behind the rear AC. The fitting and on/off for the compressor is on the left side, above the compressor.

 

[iamdub]

I'm thinking of pulling the setup out one of the Montana's and put it in the GMC. It's on the right in those cars, behind the rear AC. The fitting and on/off for the compressor is on the left side, above the compressor.

Aaaaaand you just reminded me of a 12VDC compressor I have kickin' around. It was from a 'bagged hack job truck I bought for parts. I also have a couple of aluminum tanks with about 6 ports. If I put a compressor and tank on the Tahoe, one of those ports will feed a train horn. lol