Super cheap and easy center console LED light

I'm new to this forum, but have found it very useful and gotten a lot of good information from it. Time to give a little back; not much, but it's all I have to offer for now.

My wife bought these little magnet-activated, battery-operated LED lights; they came in a 10 pack (as seen on TV!) and she only used a few. I've found many uses for the rest including a nice way to light up the center console without any wiring. Each light has an adhesive strip on the back for mounting and another on the back of the magnet that is included. Simply stick the light and magnet where they will be very close to each other when you want the light off (center console lid closed) and as soon as they are apart from each other (lid open) the light turns on. The pictures probably explain it better than I can with words:

The light:


Where I put the light so it would not shine up into my eyes:


Where I put the magnet on the console lid:


The light when activated at night:


I have verified on several occasions that the light is off when the lid is closed and so far I've found it very useful. If you choose to mount the light someplace else, just make sure you put it where you can open the battery compartment to replace the three AG13 batteries. I think this light will also work well in the glove box, but I haven't explored this idea any further. As to where to buy these lights...I'm not positive....Edit: these lights have been available recently at Harbor Freight, Wal Mart and Home Depot.


Enjoy!

 

Damn! I never realized I needed a light there until you posted. Now I have to do another lighting project.

 

Good idear.

 

The still have those lights at Harbor Freight. They are not exactly like what I used, but very similar. They're only $2.49, probably cheaper than the batteries themselves.



BTW, I'm still loving mine every time I open the center console at night.

 

cool

 

Sweet!
Great Idea!

 

great idea OP!... but i swear i saw a LED mod for this IIRC.... wondering if someone ran LED instead and used some sort of pressure switch?

 

yeah but this is so much faster lol

 

Great Idea... doin it this weekend

 

did this today with a 2 pack of those lights from wally world for like 3 bucks! great mod!

Also, to test to see if the light goes off i just put my phone video on in the console and opened and closed it and it worked!

 

real goo idea, i just added that to my to-do list.

 

FYI: I recently saw these types of lights for sale at Home Depot in a two pack. They were in the light bulb section by the night lights.

 

Thanks OP!

A bit off topic here. For people who tapped OEM wiring for LED lights, any hassle from dealership during warranty work because of it?

 

Great idea! I'm gonna go get some right now.

 

I'm really glad to hear other people have found this useful. I've thought of several other good uses for these little lights over the years. Anyplace you access at night but don't want to turn on a bright light, like a night stand drawer or medicine cabinet. Anyplace you might need to get to when the power goes out, like the kitchen drawer you keep a flashlight in. Gun safes, tool boxes, circuit breaker box, entertainment center.....feel free to add to the list.

 

I did this mod about a month ago, and I noticed today that the light was weak and barely shining. I hope that it is the "high quality" batteries that get shipped from the company. Have not had time to check tonight, but I will check tomorrow and let everyone know.
edit:
Checked today and it was the battery, but also the magnet that helps shut off the light fell off, draining the battery. Fixed not hopefully. Would recommend to anyone. Thinking about the glove box next!

 

Awesome! I need to go to lowes

 

Link?

 

So far I've only seen the lights at stores. I'm sure if you do enough searching you'll find them someplace. If/when you do, please post a link.

 

Sweet little mod. I like having a pressure switch..but great thinking.