A Bright Idea?

[Hughzie]

One thing that really P's me off about the Berlingo is the Crap internal lighting. The front is not too bad with the 3 lights on but the back light is a waste of space.
So after 2 years of getting P'd off with it, I've finally added a strip of LED's down the drivers side of the back.
Its not the most upmarket of mods but its serving the function needed. These are soldered (amateurishly hacked) directly onto the existing light so function when it does.
Its like night and day in comparison.

( Hope these attached images work as I ain't paying Photobucket a penny!! )  

   

   

   

[berreke]

nice job.

[ron]

That looks impressive.Did you use ordinary led's?  I know diddly squat about them & assume they are like the ribbon one I've seen?

[Hughzie]

You should swap the standard bulb in the interior light for an LED one - the main reason is that the reduction in current consumption should at least partly make up for the extra you're drawing with your additional light.

There is a theoretical risk that you could blow whatever is controlling the light on/off/fade if you're drawing a lot more power than it can drive, so it would be a good idea to check the current of your strip and see how it compares to the original bulb.

I added a boot light and four moped number plate lights to mine - one on each of the internal rack covers.  I measured the current from all and, after replacing the original bulb with an LED equivalent, the total current was almost exactly the same as the original bulb.

There is a minimum draw - if it's too low the light will stay always dimly on.  But I don't think you'll hit that problem with that lot connected.

This was my effort...

https://www.berlingoforum.com/thread-110...l#pid71847

I did consider just pulling the bulb out all together but didn't because I was worried it might not draw enough to keep it happy!
My Berlingo seems to pop bulbs regularly and has done from since i got it, So We've started swapping them out for LED's which seems to have stopped the problem but the computer doesn't seem to like LED's. The on board diagnostic seems to read 'Bulb out' constantly, Unless you catch it in a good mood and its clear. The LED's must be right on the level of resistance needed.

Don't think it will check internal lighting though so should be good. I do like that LED idea though.

Good idea using the existing openings for the lighting on yours.

[Hughzie]

That looks impressive.Did you use ordinary led's?  I know diddly squat about them & assume they are like the ribbon one I've seen?

Yes, Just ribbon LED's, I've got them in my garden on the Decking but wasn't sure if they would be any good in a vehicle so bought a Kit bought off Fleabay as it came with connectors and it turned out to be the same thing as whats in the garden!    

I also never used the connectors either, Theres 4 wires going into the lights so ended up just soldering the +/- to either side of the bulb holder on the back of the fitting. The strip already had double sided tape on the back but I know from experience with my decking this will let go eventually so I used a Hot Glue gun and put a dab on every 4 inch or so just to ensure its not going anywhere. Theres also a cable tie on the end of it with 2 small holes drilled into the head liner just to ensure I don't catch the end with anything and rip it off (Took ages to secure the cable tie at the back with one hand in the hole!).  

Heres the link to the kit, comes with wire pre attached, cable ties and 2 connectors but you could just buy a roll of LED's and do it yourself.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Citroen-Berlin...2749.l2649