[DryDiver]

Hi

I'm frustrated by the poor lighting in the boot area and the tiny LED light in the tailgate is just useless. My intention had been to implement a couple of LED strips on the inside of the tailgate and simply connect these to the existing lights wiring.

The problem comes that the computer obviously senses the current on the LED and cuts the power as soon as I connect the new strips as they draw a higher current (still only about 0.3amps).

Looking inside the tailgate I can see that the control unit has a couple of hefty black & red cabled running to it which seem to have a permanent live.

I'm thinking I've got 3 options and would appreciate feedback from anyone with knowledge.
1) Bypass the current restriction on the existing LED, maybe via a suitable feedback circuit? or via the ECU with an ODB read / writer.

2) Run a cable from the 12v aux socket in the boot to the tailgate and add either a manual switch or relay to activate when the original light it powered.

3) Use the permanent live feed to the tailgate ECU and add the same switch relay solution from 2. This risks causing power issues for the ECU so would like to understand any options / implications from anyone in the know.

Thanks in advance