One of the modifications I had done yesterday was the addition of a light to the center console. With everything being black, it was just too dark for me to see what's in it. So I had a small light added at the rear of the console. It looks sort of like the OEM cargo area light (without a switch, though). There's an LED bulb inside. With the sliding tray in place at the rear of the center console, you can't see the light, but you can see what's in the console. I had it wired so that it comes on whenever the car is on (instead of just when the headlights are on).
I'm afraid my days of doing things like this DIY are over. I can ask my installer what he used when I go in next week.
Cool! So, from what I read, there's no "on/off" switch, it just comes on automatically when you start the car. Is it at all distracting at night?
Thanks. There is no switch, but I don't understand your question. How could it be distracting? If the center console is closed, there's no possible way to see the light.
But why would you do that? A small LED bulb hardly draws any juice. Why add the cost and complication of a switch?
Wondering if you might see a line of light in your peripheral vision, around the lid. I can't imagine that being a problem. Just curious.
What did you put in there? I know it's not the most important mod, but it is nice to have a light in there, isn't it?
I was running a couple wires for this mod (see below) so decided to installed a tiny LED in there (copied your idea). Only took me a couple minutes. Japanese version panel | PriusChat
Great, that's why I post (in case someone else wants to do the same thing), and why I look here to see what others have done. I attached an all-stainless steel camping mirror to the underside of the tray to distribute the light in the center console more evenly (and having a mirror on hand can't be bad). It makes a big difference in the effectiveness of the center console light.
It wouldn't offer the same result. The reflectivity would be different. It wouldn't be as bright, though it would probably be more diffuse depending on how flat the foil was, which might be better in some small way. Ultimately, it would definitely be less durable, and you wouldn't have the functionality and convenience of always having a mirror on hand in the car.
True, but those aren't removable (at least not easily). If you wanted a mirror to use outside of the car or in the backseat, the mirror on the tray would work, but the visors wouldn't.