Trunk light

[Rocktman]

Where is the switch that turns off the trunk light? I've recently been having a battery dying problem that I think might be related to the trunk light staying on. I recorded a video of the trunk light with the trunk closed & it certainly appears that the light stays on. Or as another resolution, how do you remove the trunk light bulb? Or does the light time out?

Edited February 2, 2023 by Rocktman

[ammcinnis]

On 2/2/2023 at 10:27 AM, Rocktman said:

Where is the switch that turns off the trunk light? ... I recorded a video of the trunk light with the trunk closed & it certainly appears that the light stays on.

Unlike the Outback, in the Gen 6 Legacy there is no such switch. The trunk light is controlled directly by the BIU. (I checked the FSM.)

You can easily observe the trunk light by simply lowering one of the rear seat backs.

Quote

... how do you remove the trunk light bulb? Or does the light time out?

It's a wedge-base bulb. Swing open the plastic lamp guard, and pull the lamp bulb straight down.

The lamp should time out (under control of the BIU) when you close the trunk lid, but I think it will stay on indefinitely if the trunk lid isn't closed.

 

 

[Rocktman]

Thanks for the reply, ammcinnis.I confirmed the light stays on when the trunk is closed by videoing the light while closing the trunk. Also, the Trunk Open light on the dashboard turns off when the trunk is closed. So the big question now is how long does the light stay on until turned off by the BIU?

[Rocktman]

I confirmed the light is turning off by folding a rear seat, closing the trunk & watching the light go out with 10 seconds. That eliminates the trunk light as my problem.

[MTL_LEGACY]

I notice too that the light was not turning off right away when i was closing the trunk, it would take around 10 secondes to turn off. Also that little halogen bulb was not bright enought so i put a LED bulb instead. The later i was like.. still not bright enought.. so i decided to make a little upgrade. 2 LED strips, 1 on each side of that metal piece on top, and i just connect those to the hold halogen bulb wires. Now that's what i call having lights in a trunk when you are searching something in there!

also now all the wires are hidden nicely

[ammcinnis]

On 2/4/2023 at 7:11 AM, MTL_LEGACY said:

... i decided to make a little upgrade. 2 LED strips, 1 on each side of that metal piece on top, and i just connect those to the hold halogen bulb wires.

I did something similar, with a single LED strip mounted near the trunk center. Diode Dynamics in St. Louis even offers an inexpensive LED-strip kit (200 lumens) for just this purpose. Highly recommended.

 

[MTL_LEGACY]

Nice! Some mods i like to do it myself cuz at the same time it give's me ideas for other stuff, and the satisfaction you get when you add something to your car that you did is awesome. Tho i did bought the tail as turn from diode cuz that would of been hard with the module and everything. The result is nice too!