So I've got fed up with my boot light working intermittently for the last 10 years (mostly not working than working), and had a 12V LED strip laying around to illuminate the horrid boot darkness even when the light is working, I figured to solve both in one go.

 

From just trying out the LED strip I immediately noticed what others experienced, when the boot is "shut" the strip doesn't turn off, only dims. Adding a resistor would fix this, but rather than go into that way, I guessed why not leave the original light in its place and connect the strip in parallel, that way the circuit would have resistance in off mode, and just a bit more power draw when on (the halogen light is 5W, this 0,8m strip is less than 5W). And guess what, this works perfectly, no dimming of LED strip when off. Redundancy if one fails is also great, and if I ever need to remove the trunk lid I still have the old light in it's place.

 

Solving the switch was a bit more work, the original died, so I sourced a new one from a local electro shop. It wasn't a direct fit, but functional, it's a 3A microswitch. Dirt cheap, something like 1,5€.

 

I didn't find a guide on this on briskoda, or anywhere online actually, so a very brief guide is below (I believe this also works on the VW Polo and Seat Ibiza of the same generation). Any improvements or comments are also welcomed.

 

I hope this little guide helps someone, and as always, everything described below is done at your own risk.

 

Fixing the boot microswitch

 

 

You will need:

- 6mm allen key

- 3A microswitch

- soldering iron

- WD40, penetrating oil (bonus)

 

1. get the plastic boot cover off (just strongly pull the cover down)

 

2. disconnect the jack

 

3. unscrew the three allen screws, and you'll have the unit (plunger in metal, microswitch mechanism in plastic):

 

4. disassemble the switch unit from the plunger unit (unscrew one screw on the metal side, and lift the plastic part out), you'll end up with this (you can see the faulty microswitch connected with green and brown wires)

 

5. the microswitch can be taken out with the connector for easier operation, unsolder the old one, and solder back the new one, bear in mind they are not identical, the new one is a bit smaller, you should have something like this (I used toothpicks to fix it in place, the switch and the unit have holes for these which fit almost perfectly, the upper side I reinforced with cut out plastic and duct-taped it, the bottom side (you see pictured) goes on directly to the metal so nothing needed here):

 

6. try out the plastic unit with new microswitch, connect it to the connector in the boot and switch it a few times, the boot light should illuminate

 

7. return the plastic unit with the new switch back to the metal plunger part, screw it in with one screw

 

8. assemble everything back on the boot (three screws, mind the rubber "gasket" to be in correct place, connect the unit, put the boot plastic back)

 

*. bonus point, my unit was a bit rusty so I grinded the rust down and sprayed it with black paint

**. bonus point 2, while the plunger unit was out, I thoroughly cleaned it with WD40 and compressed air, then freely applied penetrating oil

 

You should have a fully functional boot switch now.

 

Installing the LED strip so it doesn't dim when the boot is shut (soldering the LED strip in parallel to the original boot light)

 

You will need:

- 80cm 12V LED strip (can be cut out from a role to desired length), mine is a 4,8W/m, 3000K warm white (the least powerful, but still very intense light) it is also dirt cheap, 5m role is about 15€.

- 50cm speaker wire

- soldering iron

- 4 "crimp jacks"

 

1. disconnect and take out the old light unit out (you have to bend the metal parts holding the light to the upholstery)

 

2. solder two wires on top of the metal parts, the right is +, the left is - (this can be tricky, leave some solder material first on the unit, and then solder the wires), see below (admire my masterful soldering technique):

 

 

3. use crimps to have jacks as connectors (if I wrote this down correctly :)), it can look like this, prior to installing everything back correctly

 

4. install the LED strip where you want it, I used the position in the picture as it illuminates most of the trunk when the boot is up, but doesn't blind you, you don't see it actually:

 

 

5. install the old light back in place, bend the metal pins so its firm with upholstery, connect everything with jacks:

 

 

6. tuck the wires back in neatly, you can barely see the wiring when finished, voila - finished product

 

 

Nice guide. Thanks

 

Do you have a part number for a suitable microswitch?

16 hours ago, TMB said:

Nice guide. Thanks

 

Do you have a part number for a suitable microswitch?

 

It's basically this microswitch http://www.tme.eu/en/details/d2f223/push-on-blades-microswitches/omron/ avaliable at any electronics store. 3A 125VAC 12.8 x 5.8 x 6mm

 

And of course, before/after shots:

 

Before:

 

 

After:

 

 

Thanks for the switch type. I found some on ebay and have ordered a couple

 

Loads of light in your boot now!

Edited 27 August, 20178 yr by TMB

Seems that some of them have two microswitches. Might be for cars having an alarm, not sure. Looking at yours it looks like the other wire is there but has been glued down out of the way?

 

Edited 28 August, 20178 yr by TMB

Got the microswitches

 

Hmmm, mine has two microswitches. The one that controls the boot light (circled in red) has no metal lever and the switch plunger comes out of a raised part of the switch body, meaning that the plunger of the bought switch will not make contact with the operating cam.

 

 

However, the original switch looks in perfect condition with no wear on the plunger at all, so I might try putting some contact cleaner in past the rubber plunger seal.

 

 

Edited 1 September, 20178 yr by TMB

It lives!

Interesting, so you didn't actually change any microswitch? And the one without the lever actually opens/closes the circuit for boot lighting?

2 hours ago, Juka said:

Interesting, so you didn't actually change any microswitch? And the one without the lever actually opens/closes the circuit for boot lighting?

 

Yes and yes. It's working fine up to now. If it fails again I will just buy a whole new lock. They are only about £30 from Skoda. I did have my boot light wired to a separate switch but decided I wanted it working automatically again.

 

Edited 4 September, 20178 yr by TMB