DIY Project 45

Adding OEM Lighting to the Cargo Area

by southpawboston (difficulty: easy/med.)

It's a given that the single small light provided in the cargo area of
the GT 5-door is totally inadequate. Club member reviewum has already
posted a DIY for supplementing the factory light with LED's on both
sides of the cargo area. This DIY focuses on integrating three
additional Hyundai incandescent cargo area lights around the cargo
area. The end result is a totally factory look, since it makes use of
Hyundai parts.

Equipment Needed:

-flat-head and philips-head screwdrivers
-wire cutters/strippers
-18-gauge lamp cord or speaker wire (about 8 feet needed)
-female spade crimp connectors (8 needed)
-crimping tool
-utility knife with fresh blade
-chalk pencil and ruler (or other marking implement)
-heat-shrink tubing and heat source (optional)
-trunk light fixtures (from your local Hyundai parts dept.-- retail
price is ~$3.50 each, and they come with bulbs. I no longer have the
part numbers, but the parts desk will find the part number)
Alternatively, you can find generic interior light fixtures from most
auto supply stores. But the Hyundai units are small, cheap, they snap
into place, and they even come with bulbs.

- Total cost: under $15

The Project:

1. Disconnect the car battery. Pry out the factory light by inserting
a flat-head screwdriver into the slot on the right side of the light. The

lens pops out easily. Remove the harness connector from the light by
bending the plastic release clip upwards and prying off the harness
using a flat-head screwdriver.

2. Cut the connector, strip the ends of the wires, and splice in the
new lamp cord/speaker wire. Crimp an insulated female spade terminal
onto each end (diagram), and plug into the light. Optional: slip a
two-inch length of shrink tubing over the terminals and splice junction
before plugging back into the light. Connect the light and slip the
tubing over the connectors and shrink for a nice, snug, professional
fit. This shouldn't be necessary if you use insulated terminals and
make good, tight crimps. Note: It is absolutely essential that you
use insulated connectors. Note: it is not important to remember the
polarity. The light fixtures are not designed for a specific polarity
so it doesn't matter which terminal receives negative/positive.

3. Remove the left and right side tail light access covers by
unscrewing the two philips-head screws and pulling off the access
covers.

4. Carefully snake the new wire back into the light socket and down
behind the plastic cargo area lining until you feel it hit the trunk
floor. Then snake it towards the rear and up behind the tail light
access opening. Cut the wire, leaving several inches of slack, and
repeat the splicing procedure as in step (2). Feed the remaining wire
back down behind the access opening, and snake back down to the trunk
floor. Feed the wire towards the left side of the trunk, running it
behind the plastic fascia that connects the left and right sides of the
hatch opening. There is no need to remove the fascia to do this.
Snake the wire up to the tail light access opening. Repeat the
splicing procedure as in step (2).

5. Now you have to do cut the additional light sockets. The sockets
can be placed anywhere that the trunk lining is flat and has at least
one inch of clearance behind it. I found the best places to be on the
diagonal slope below the tail light access openings and on the left
side of the cargo area, opposite the factory light. Each
opening needs to be 4.3 x 2.3 cm. Mark the area to be cut using a
chalk pencil. Using the utility knife, cut a clean rectangular opening
based on the outline. The cutout does not need to be perfect, as the
plastic lining is very flexible and will conform a bit to the shape of
the light fixture. Better to err on the side of too small an opening
than too large. It can always be trimmed larger. Note: because of
the fuel filler neck on the left side of the cargo area, there is only
a narrow vertical space behind which there is adequate clearance for
the light. This space runs along the left edge of the part of the
lining that protrudes inward (see photo). This hole must be cut with a
vertical orientation as opposed to a horizontal orientation that the
factory light uses. If you make your cutout any more to the right
(towards the front of the car), the light fixture will hit metal and
potentially cause a short. Verify a snug fit for each opening by
trying to snap the lights into place.

6. After the holes are cut, feed the crimped ends back into the tail
light access openings and out of the cut holes. Run the last bit of
remaining wire behind the left side lining and out through the newly
cut opening. Crimp the last ends as before.

7. Attach the lights and fit them into place. Reconnect the car
battery. Again, don't worry about the polarity of any of the lights.
They are all hooked up in parallel, and if one light blows, it won't
affect the others (a la Chevy Chase and the Christmas tree lights in
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, anyone?). Bulb replacement is
easy-- just pop out the light fixture! And if any of your wiring
shorts out, it's running off the same fuse as the original, so you're covered.

right side

left side

Final note: You may prefer other locations within the cargo area for
installing the additional lights. I chose the locations indicated here
because of their easy access and because there was adequate clearance
for flush-mounting the lights (these locations did not require me to
remove the trunk liner, I was able to fit my hand behind these areas to
make sure they were okay). Wherever you choose to install them, make
sure beforehand that there is adequate clearance behind the trunk
liner.

- southpawboston