[EDSanka]

Added some footwell lights, cargo lights, cargo stop

I wanted the footwell area lit whenever the interior dome light came on. So I added some LED lights under the dash. I have posted a picture here.

I think others on this forum have done similar things. Nothing new here. But this is what I did.

Bought the following: LED light strip at amazon.com.

Littlefuse Add-A-Circuit kit at the local auto parts store O'Reilly.

Because I wanted the footwell lights to come on whenever the dome light came on, I wired the negative from the dome light switch and ran it down to the fuse box area under the dashboard on the driver's side. Running the wire is not hard because you can easily tuck the wire over the overhead trip and the A pillar trim without removing them.

Note that I said "wired the negative". That's because the dome light is switched on the negative, not positive.

I then used the add-a-circuit to R7 fuse (the one that controls the positive for the dome light per Smart Owner's manual) and took the positive from there.

I cut the self adhesive LED light strip for the appropriate width under the dashboard, stuck it on and connected the power. It all worked well.

I am not sure how long the adhesive is going to stay stuck. I may have to add some small plastic clips. But so far so good.

Edit April 20, 2014
See post #3 for cargo lights and cargo stop

 

[DrKillerBee]

Congrats...nice job. You need to do installs at events...I know I would be in line. Why not cruise over the mountains and make it to the Midwest Rally in June?


Never mind about the trip...I think the ED is not your first name...nor a medical problem.

 

[EDSanka]

Cargo Lights and Cargo Stop

Cargo Lights
I don't know if the cargo cover is a standard accessory in Smart EDs, but mine came with it. With the high seats and the cargo cover in the way, the dome light from the front couldn't quite reach the cargo area in the back. So I decided to add some cargo area lights.

I first thought about drilling a few holes in the top trim over the cargo area and installing LEDs on the trim. But I was concerned about drilling holes in a leased car. Instead, I took some of the leftover LED strip from the footwell light project and stuck it at the bottom of the cargo cover's hard plastic spine. I then ran a pair of wires from the dome light to the cargo cover via the passenger side. I dislodged the cargo area top trim and the passenger side trim to route the wires.

I like how the solution turned out. Here is a picture.

Cargo Stop
I wanted a cheap and effective way to prevent things from slipping and sliding in the cargo area. I took a couple of bookends and stuck velcro at their bottom. The velcro sticks very well to the cargo floor mat. I am able to make quick, rigid walls for everything from Kleenex boxes to grocery bags using the bookends. See this picture.

 

[DrKillerBee]

I love your ideas and ingenuity. Can you remove the cargo cover while it is wired? If a larger item needs to be transported I will remove the cargo cover. I do it for a long trip where a lot of soft bags (luggage) will be stored in the back and the cargo cover makes it difficult to store larger bags.
The book ends sound way too simple to work so well...nice call.
Your pictures show your ideas very well.


On a similar note...how have the battery operated puck lights in the cargo area worked out for the people that tried them?

 

[EDSanka]

Can you remove the cargo cover while it is wired?

I joined the wires from the LED side and the dome light side using coax power plug and jack (like this and this). The connection is at the end of the cargo cover spine on the passenger side. When removing the cargo cover, I can easily pull the plug and jack apart. You could also use something like this instead of the coaxial connectors to avoid soldering. I used the coax connectors only because I already had them.

btw, the LEDs, wiring and connectors are all hidden from view, unless you take effort to look underneath the cargo cover spine. They don't stick out much and shouldn't interfere with any cargo that is pushed all the way to the back.

On a similar note...how have the battery operated puck lights in the cargo area worked out for the people that tried them?

I am curious too because I thought about putting a couple of these in before I took the LED strip light approach. I like that this amazon light is auto on/off. It might work well if one is disciplined enough to replace batteries when needed. A lot simpler solution than having to wire in lights like I did.