Miata Mailing List: June 1992, Message #22
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   From: (none)
Subject: Re: lights and things
   Date: (none)

> Also, have any of you installed trunk lights?  Where'd you get them / how
> much / what do they look like / how do they work?

My girlfriend got me a trunk light kit for Christmas '90.  It was a snap to
install, it works beautifully, it has never failed, and I can't imagine not
having it now -- a dark trunk at night was no fun.  I know she ordered it
from Danny Schacht's "My MX-5 Shop" (a local enthusiast's shop) but I don't
know how much it cost.  Basically it's just a mercury switch, a 12V light
bulb, and some wires.  The light and switch go in the trunk lid just to the
right of the center brake light; the wires run down through the
reinforcements in the lid, cross the hinge, and attach directly to the
battery and a ground point.  When installing it you adjust the switch to
turn on when the trunk is open some amount (say, halfway), and to turn off
below that.  Since the bulb is way up above the trunk when the lid is fully
open it gives a startling amount of illumination, covers the entire trunk
area evenly, and does not shine in your eyes.  I have wondered if the light
comes on when I go over bumps or when I'm going down a steep hill, and
whether it makes it look to someone behind me that my center brake light is
on, but I've never experimented to learn the answers.

Executive summary:  Get one.

> I also think a a trunk release would be nice.

I don't understand the philosophy behind Mazda trunk releases that go in the
center console compartment.  I leave the top down all the time, and when I
park I make sure the glovebox and center compartment are locked.  When I
return to the car, I almost never need to get into either space, so I leave
them locked and just go.  But then say I want to open the trunk when I get
somewhere?  I still have to turn off the engine and take the key out of the
ignition to unlock the compartment.  How does this help over turning off the
engine and taking the key out of the ignition to unlock the trunk from the
back?  And then if you say that the ignition must be on for the switch to
work, well then I'd have to turn the car back on after unlocking the
compartment, and then get out of the car to go around to the trunk
anyway....  I guess if you don't store stuff in that compartment you might
leave it unlocked all the time, but then your fuel-filler lid lever is left
unlocked.  I just don't get it.  Also, I put stuff in the trunk because I
know the trunk is relatively secure; a battery-powered trunk release in an
unlocked compartment means that any joe can get in my trunk any time, but
locking the compartment defeats the whole purpose.  HUH???

On the same general topic, does anyone know of a way or product to lock the
hood?  It bothers me to know that anyone can walk up to my car and just
reach in and open the hood without needing a key.
--
Michael J. Abbott		mja@kpc.com
Kubota Pacific Computer Inc.	Santa Clara, CA		408-987-3303