Model S - Trunk Lighting

Another option are some Duracell lights from Costco - here's the link to someone that posted a bunch of pictures of the packaging, I've got one screwed to the underside of my parcel tray, and it works great. Obviously, it would be better if it wasn't white, but you never see it. I did toy with the idea of sourcing these for the website, but as always, I couldn't get close to Costco's price. If anyone wants before and after photos of the truck (didn't bother with the frunk - hardly ever use it), I can post some up. No wiring, it has a motion sensor, and while I assume it might come on when I'm driving and have something moving around in the trunk, it's been 4 months now and the batteries are still going strong.

beck.christopher said:

I am all for people trying to make money but $189 for the kit. Really???

I just installed LED lighting into the frunk and trunk of my Model S and used connectors that where compatible with the factory harness and it cost me less than $50. I probably could have done it for cheaper if I used the led strip I originally bought from Amazon but they where too blue so I went with ones from VLED.

Also why would I return my OEM light housing to you?? In my install I was able to make add a y-splitter that allows me to maintain the factory lighting as well as adding additional lighting. All without cutting the factory harness.

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I'm curious where you found the connectors that are compatible with the factory harness. I just ended up tapping into the wire on the factory lights, but would have much rather used something that did not require the tap.

I am going to take some pictures/videos and put together the build list from my install. I should have some time towards the end of the week to get it put together.

beck.christopher said:

I am all for people trying to make money but $189 for the kit. Really???

I just installed LED lighting into the frunk and trunk of my Model S and used connectors that where compatible with the factory harness and it cost me less than $50. I probably could have done it for cheaper if I used the led strip I originally bought from Amazon but they where too blue so I went with ones from VLED.

Also why would I return my OEM light housing to you?? In my install I was able to make add a y-splitter that allows me to maintain the factory lighting as well as adding additional lighting. All without cutting the factory harness.

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+1 please refer to the link below,
Modifications | TeslaTap

one can certainly do it for a whole lot less, as for LED strips you have lots of choices on ebay and Amazon etc.

beck.christopher said:

...Also why would I return my OEM light housing to you?? ...

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That's the ideally compatible connector for sure.

I'm soldering some extra wiring in the OEM light housing to tap into the 12V circuit, without the need for connectors.

Soflason said:

Yes, price is $189, and, it's a product that we've created for a subset of Model S owners that might prefer our all-in lighting package solution

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I just order the parts for the setup described on teslarati.com. $42 including shipping and tax. And I get to pick the light color (I prefer 3000k). The only significant difference it using wire tap instead of your modified light assembly.

edit: the instructions are at Modifications | TeslaTap, not Teslarati.com

beck.christopher said:

I am going to take some pictures/videos and put together the build list from my install. I should have some time towards the end of the week to get it put together.

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Cool - thanks, would be interested in seeing that.

I am interested in the various solutions for lighting and appreciate the teslaccessories option as well as the cool homebrew methods. It's awesome to live in a country with free speech and a free market economy. This thread could use more of the latter, lol.

I started replacing the old Trunk Lights with these:
5pcs LED Tube Light Bar 7W 12V 36LED SMD5050 White Lamp Aluminum | eBay


@ $23.25 for 5 pieces was a good buy for me atleast (We are going to use two more on Nephew's MS) and still would have one left over.

Required some double sided tape (Less than $5 at Home Depot), connectors and some wire from Radio Shack, and little bit of my own effort. Entire solution is less than $45 (for two TESLAs) and some of your time.


Left side of the picture is the old one and right side is the new and even brighter than the old one.
Hope it helps DIYers.

I also looked at these options early on, and I have a simple engineering question: what about the concept of using more power on that controlled (switched) loop than it was designed for? I haven't measured the existing light but my best guess is that it pulls about 50-75mA at 12V (resistor limiting methods waste power - the LED probably is 3V @ 50mA).

If you advocate a DIY solution and believe that the Tesla drive circuit likely easily supports 200mA or so per channel, then 'have at it'!

But a supported product takes an additional risk which I was not happy to take - that my design (some of these draw upwards of 250mA) would physically damage the internal drive device and I would be liable for that. I tried fruitlessly to get internal Tesla data about the max current that each light circuit might take, and have had no luck with any of my requests.

So, I fully believe the car can support these add-ons well up into the 3W range (12V @ 300+mA) but I'd not bet my company on it.

David

Were you able to create the parts list and video?

Babylonfive said:

I also looked at these options early on, and I have a simple engineering question: what about the concept of using more power on that controlled (switched) loop than it was designed for? I haven't measured the existing light but my best guess is that it pulls about 50-75mA at 12V (resistor limiting methods waste power - the LED probably is 3V @ 50mA).

If you advocate a DIY solution and believe that the Tesla drive circuit likely easily supports 200mA or so per channel, then 'have at it'!

But a supported product takes an additional risk which I was not happy to take - that my design (some of these draw upwards of 250mA) would physically damage the internal drive device and I would be liable for that. I tried fruitlessly to get internal Tesla data about the max current that each light circuit might take, and have had no luck with any of my requests.

So, I fully believe the car can support these add-ons well up into the 3W range (12V @ 300+mA) but I'd not bet my company on it.

David

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The good news is that it appears that the circuit has some kind of built-in current limiter because I experimented with several different lights looking for one with the right aesthetic and color temperature. One of the ones I tried were designed to be DRLs so they were very bright. When I'd open the trunk, they'd come on for a second then shut off. Looks like some kind of limiter was kicking in and shutting down the over current. Didn't cause any permanent damage and just replacing with light strips with a lower draw restored operation. If you really wanted to, you could do an experiment to figure out what the max draw is.

Just picked up my model s this past weekend and notice I don't have trunk lighting beside the one on the lift gate which doesn't do anything. I'm getting mixed responses from different sources and some say if comes on the the premium lighting package (which doesn't even have it listed on the site) some say they have it on their vehicle. Can anyone confirm that they have lights on each side of the trunk without premium lighting? Or if anyone that has premium lighting confirm they have trunk lighting? I see the aftermarket mods,but I was under the impression that I would have at least the trunk lights on each side without adding the premium lighting. Called Tesla and the service advisor I spoke to wasn't sure either.

On the current MS you need premium lighting to get the extra trunk lights. That being said, they aren't very bright either. If you look closely at the trunk liner you can see a couple of slight indents in the carpet where the lamps would go. At least on my MS (without premium lighting) the wire connecter for the extra lamps was coiled up behind where the left side cutout is located. I attached a high powered LED lamp to that connector and good really nice trunk lighting. The connector power is controlled just like the lamp on the hatch so no additional switching is needed. If you wanted to add the factory lamps, you would need a jumper harness from the left to the right side.

So the harness is only on the driver side? And not on the passenger on vehicles without premium lighting? I'm an installer so I can do the aftermarket lighting easily,but was just upset because they don't list it as an upgrade on the premium lighting package. Can someone post pics of their stock lighting in the trunk passenger and driver side?

The earlier VINs have the lights on both sides near the footwell. This was when those lights were included with the Tech Package. Now these two lights are only included with the Premium Interior Lighting Package. Even though we don't have the PILP, our cars do have the perforation for the lights in the rear. Our cars also have the wires underneath the carpet. It took a little digging but i found the wires. I bought a strip of cool white LEDs that I plan on using for this project. Here is the passenger side bumper pillar. Notice the flap of carpet loose from the underside of the trunk. Pull the carpet down. The connector is behind the carpet. The little connector between my fingers is the connector for the lights. It's attached to the other connector in the photo. Don't know what the big one is for. I'm thinking subwoofer since I don't have the sound package. Here's one of the lights I took out from the underside of my door and popped it into the connector. If you need more info let me know.

@FLDarren thanks for the pics. I was going to do the extra lighting mod also, yea....I am already researching the connectors to order so I can make my own harness
or just tap them. So the harness's are in both driver and pass?

My 27XXX car has the premium lighting and has the two additional side lights in the rear trunk area.

shadowinstallz said:

@FLDarren thanks for the pics. I was going to do the extra lighting mod also, yea....I am already researching the connectors to order so I can make my own harness
or just tap them. So the harness's are in both driver and pass?

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Just the passenger side. I looked at the drivers side with no luck. That doesn't mean they're not there though. I didn't dig as extensively on that side. If you do the mod and if you find it let me know. Otherwise you'll have to run an extra couple wires under the carpet across the rear.