Finally- A REAL Cargo Light Solution, Works w/ the Door Switch - Lots of Pics

OK - as anyone who has tried to load/unload anything from the 4.3 RAV's after dark has found out - there is no light in the rear cargo area. I liked that joke about the complimentary Toyota flashlight, but unfortunately, mine didn't come with it... only the silly light that is in the door, so when you open the door, the light goes with it. *smacks forehead... duh*

Anyways, I've read some of the fixes, but was not pleased with the options I found. I wanted a light that turned on when I opened the rear door, and turned off when I closed the rear door (just like the silly light in the door). I didn't want to have to hit a switch, I just wanted it to work on the door sensor and give me enough light to at least be able to look for that magical flashlight. :-)

Unsatisfied with the available solutions, I finally tore the rear apart and came up with a REAL (at least in my mind) solution:

- My Steps with Commentary -

Step 1 - Go to an auto parts store and select one or two interior lights... these lights can be called cargo lights, dome lights, interior lights, etc. Any Kragen, Pep Boys, Checkers, wherever should have at least a small selection. For this mod, just make sure it's got a 12 volt source and it can be hardwired into the car (in other words, it doesn't run on batteries).

Step 2 - Tear apart the interior of the rear cargo door. Take the door panel off. It is held in only by fast clips, no screws at all. You'll be able to lift the top lip over the windshield wiper mechanism, and then disconnect the wiring harness to the existing light in the door - it's an easy to remove harness that just slips off by using your fingers. Like most of the panels in this car, the rear panel is on tight, so it will take a good tug to get it started. Just grab the panel near the bottom where you'll have a small lip to grab onto and give it a good/gentle tug. It is pretty simple once you get going, heck, I'd just had my nails done before I did this, and they all held up perfectly. (Then took break. Had girlie flavored cigarette cuz I don't drink no more)





Step 3 - Run two separate wires through the door boot from the rear door to the back corner panel of the car (where the jack is located). I did this by slipping the boot out from the door and car, ran the wires through the loom, and then slipped the boot back into the holes in the door and rear corner of the car.





Step 4 - Removed enough of the passenger side rear cargo area panels to run the wires to the desired location of the light. I didn't need to remove the panels completely, just loosened them enough to run the wires and attach the light fixture.







Step 5 - Selected final location of light and drilled hole for fixture. (Took another break. Had another girlie flavored cigarette)





Step 6 - Connected the 2 wires I ran from the door and under the panels to the 2 wires of the light fixture. I made sure the the ground and positives matched up, but I noticed on some of the lights I looked at, the manufactures didn't have + or - wires... so I don't know if it really matters on something this small. (?) I just used some quick connects to make it really simple this time. I finished by taking the other end of the wires that were run to the door and splicing them into the wires leading up to the harness of the cargo light.





Step 7 - Tested everything. Saw it all worked. Put everything back together.





Step 8 - Enjoyed having a light in the cargo area! (By having another girlie flavored cigarette)







I will probably end up putting in a light on the other pillar at the rear of the RAV. I need to be able to have light back there for my job, so... this wasn't the cleanest install I've ever done, but I needed it done now - it suits my needs and I can always install a nicer fixture if I choose to do so in the future. I would have liked to have a slightly smaller light because this one sticks out over the front edge of the piller just a tad - this can be seen clearly in the pictures, but it's really not noticeable in person.

Overall, this didn't take too long once I figured out what I wanted to do. Not including going to the store for the light fixture, I'd say this took maybe an hour, and that was taking my time. Hope this helps someone else solve this problem. Let me know if you have any additional ideas/tips/critiques/comments/etc.


I will be adding access to larger pics sometime in the next couple days, but the info listed so far should be enough to get you started if interested in performing this mod yourself.