[TikiTime]

Tore my dash apart....no harness love me. No harness in storage tray area...or the footwells. Bummer.

 

[ToyoteroSiii]

I bet you have one in armrest box though - that’s what I used.

 

[KGB4187]

Just installed the light in my Japan built XLE with weather and convenience packages.

 

[Dadalorian6685]

I am so pumped I just found this thread! For someone with an LE who would obviously not have the plug or harness for the cubby light, would it be possible to pull power from the circuit for the console backlighting, that way the cubby light comes on and off when you turn on the headlights? Then I could buy the light and the proper harness connector for it?

 

[VladR]

I may end up being the guinea pig to pry off the center console panels. Not just for the light, but I want to find a place to hide the USB hub and tap into the cigarette lighter socket power. Since there's only one USB tied to the media console, the manual states you can use a hub to access both a phone (for music/navigation) and a flash drive (for music), but nothing else. So, I bought a 4-port hub and a 12v-5v converter, and it works. It just wastes a bunch of space.

I swapped the whole tray with an aftermarket wireless charger. It comes with 2 additional usb ports. One normal USB-A and one USB-C
And you love the one from the system to it along with the lighter socket. Works great. My only gripe is that my phone is huge so I cannot see the power stripe glowing once the phone is charging. 😀

 

[WillRav4Tacos]

I am so pumped I just found this thread! For someone with an LE who would obviously not have the plug or harness for the cubby light, would it be possible to pull power from the circuit for the console backlighting, that way the cubby light comes on and off when you turn on the headlights? Then I could buy the light and the proper harness connector for it?

Yes, you can! One of the folks on the forums did it earlier in the year. He posted in either this thread or the footwell lights one. These threads are so long and old now that it is hard to keep track of the useful bits of info scattered in them.

I used a fuse tap for my 2019, it came on whenever you started the car, but it isn't bright enough to really notice during the day anyway. I did this method because I wasn't comfortable cutting/splicing the factory wires/harness. Ran some speaker wire from the fuse tap I installed in the driver footwell area over to the storage cubby and used an OEM LED harness I bought from a dealership to splice into my speaker wire then snapped in the OEM LED. It was a nice and easy (and cheap!) QoL upgrade. That tray is hard to see at night.

In my 2020 Limited, I will have to check but I believe these cubby lights are on all the time also, even during the day regardless of headlights.

EDIT: Yep, they are on all the time, even in broad daylight.

 

[Dave19447]

Hey I already have the tray lights and the footwell lights but my biggest complaint is the bulbs are super dim for my liking. I even took out the bulbs and removed the white cover and still didn't get any brighter. Those connectors provided by Toyota and the bulbs, do you know wat they're called and if there is anything that is brighter out there for those sockets?

 

[Dave19447]

Also is it ok to tap into the wires of the lights that run into the tray and footwells and run wires to the rear seats for footwell lighting?

 

[Dave19447]

Help! Installed the center light but I can't figure out where this plug goes. It must have come loose when I was pulling out the seat warmer cover. I don't see a spot for it.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

Edit: oops of course it's for the AC panel above

Hey great post guys definately helping a non handy person like me to do things. I do have to ask, I just got the 3.0 QC charger for the dummy button and there's videos of guys just sliding the wire through and down to the cigarette lighter plug. But they all have LE models and models with the seat warmers buttons and wiring harnesses makes it almost impossible to get that wire through. How did you guys manage to get the trim out with the seat warmers buttons? I tried last night couldn't figure it out. I pull out the 3 tabs in the front but after that couldn't figure out what to do next. To slide that trim loose so I can access behind the wires

 

[Allyn]

It was very disappointing to learn my 2021 RAV4 XLE Premium didn't merit a lousy blue ambient light in the center storage tray. $30,000 USD and they couldn't even put it in an XLE Premium model - infuriating. Even more disappointing to learn no wiring harness either. (Canadian made, car purchased in Florida.) If it helps anyone, I did find a nice place to get power that is easy access. The back of the center console pulls off easily. Under the USB hub there is a "plug to no where." It literally is an unused cable that terminates into the back of the plastic. See photo. I bought the OEM 81080-42040 as keenly suggested by others in the forum (THANK YOU!) and voilà. I ran wire to the spot above the center tray as detailed earlier in this great forum. To keep things simple, I cut the plug off and soldered in my own connectors. TIP - polarity matters! If you don't have the OEM wiring harness and have to find power elsewhere remember that LED is not like an old fashion light bulb - you must distinguish between positive and negative wires for the LED to glow.

I hope this helps!

 

[mkerick]

Thank you Satavtech for the tutorial. I just did this myself, it was pretty straightforward. I added a couple photos, the first is the plug you use which is wrapped with the white tape over to the right. You can also see the top of the whole for the light.
The second photo is of the light installed and the harness plugged into it.
Thanks! View attachment 146853 View attachment 146854 View attachment 146853 View attachment 146854

I am having trouble figuring out where the light is located once the console is back together. Could someone post a picture?

Do these lights remain on all the time or do they work in conjunction with the map and dome lights?

 

[ToRayBa]

It was very disappointing to learn my 2021 RAV4 XLE Premium didn't merit a lousy blue ambient light in the center storage tray. $30,000 USD and they couldn't even put it in an XLE Premium model - infuriating. Even more disappointing to learn no wiring harness either. (Canadian made, car purchased in Florida.) If it helps anyone, I did find a nice place to get power that is easy access. The back of the center console pulls off easily. Under the USB hub there is a "plug to no where." It literally is an unused cable that terminates into the back of the plastic. See photo. I bought the OEM 81080-42040 as keenly suggested by others in the forum (THANK YOU!) and voilà. I ran wire to the spot above the center tray as detailed earlier in this great forum. To keep things simple, I cut the plug off and soldered in my own connectors. TIP - polarity matters! If you don't have the OEM wiring harness and have to find power elsewhere remember that LED is not like an old fashion light bulb - you must distinguish between positive and negative wires for the LED to glow.

Thanks Allyn, this was helpful. I bought the OEM console tray light, but in my 2021 LE, there's no ambient/tray lighting connectors to be found. That "plug to no where" you mention, actually has a purpose in the lower trim versions, it would seem. In my case, this connector runs to the back of a 12v cigarette charger. I spliced in to this, tested the power to make sure it shuts off when the ignition is off (it does, thank god), and ran my wire direct to the light. I find the OEM part is quite dim with full power, so I've opted to not make it dimmable. However, I have pre-mounted a dimmer switch inside my armrest cavity for future tray lighting, as without ambient light connectors, I want the ability to manually set the brightness. I used Blue/Red butt connectors, 18g - 105 Degree rated wiring and loooots of electrical tape to keep everything snug and secure. Due to the missing wiring harness for the OEM light, I used female round pin connectors, flattened to snug up tightly to the square pins in the light housing, and added heat shrink to prevent +/- contact. The light works great, it's a tad dim, but I like the clean factory look.

^ Pulled back the shielding just enough to make the splice.

^All cleaned up and ready for the prom

^Now the charger can still be used and everything is held secure - win/win

^I removed the detachable panel located inside the arm rest cavity (The panel that would be USB ports in XLE Trim models). Pre drilled the holes slightly undersized and used #8 x 1/2" Panhead screws to hold in place. Drilled out a 7/16" hole for a wiring pass through. This is a standard LED (12v - 24) dimmer that can be found on Amazon.

^ Backside: The pass through was so tight, that I had to remove the rubber antishort inside, but no biggie. I'm glad they're snug. I had to cut away a section of plastic meant for holding a connector in place (but unused in my car) in order to punch the wiring through. The plastic is quite soft and easy to cut with a standard box cutter blade. Wire's are pre run and tray light is working like a charm! Thanks to everyone in this thread for being so helpful and informative. I hope this was helpful as well!

 

[M2R]

It was very disappointing to learn my 2021 RAV4 XLE Premium didn't merit a lousy blue ambient light in the center storage tray. $30,000 USD and they couldn't even put it in an XLE Premium model - infuriating. Even more disappointing to learn no wiring harness either. (Canadian made, car purchased in Florida.) If it helps anyone, I did find a nice place to get power that is easy access. The back of the center console pulls off easily. Under the USB hub there is a "plug to no where." It literally is an unused cable that terminates into the back of the plastic. See photo. I bought the OEM 81080-42040 as keenly suggested by others in the forum (THANK YOU!) and voilà. I ran wire to the spot above the center tray as detailed earlier in this great forum. To keep things simple, I cut the plug off and soldered in my own connectors. TIP - polarity matters! If you don't have the OEM wiring harness and have to find power elsewhere remember that LED is not like an old fashion light bulb - you must distinguish between positive and negative wires for the LED to glow.

I hope this helps!

View attachment 161914

View attachment 161915 View attachment 161914 View attachment 161915

Thanks for the post showing how easy the back of the console is removed.

I have a 2020 TRD and it has the USB power cable, but not the additional one for the factory LED. I used your idea to add two 3mm LED's above the USB ports to add ambient lighting to the rear seat area.

I could have easily added a light in the console storage bin as part of this project. I have an organizer tray in the center console and have a light in one of the USB ports. It works well and illuminates both the tray and the area below when the tray is removed. I couldn't find a good location for a light above the storage tray, otherwise I would have put one in above and below it. Thanks again for your idea.

Wiring connection for the 3mm LED's

Installation completed

I added these 3mm LED's in the two dash storage trays and created a post on how to install them.
Dash Storage Tray Individual 3mm LED Light Installation | Toyota RAV4 Forums (rav4world.com)

 

[Rav4ManAus]

Can anyone post photos of the interior lights in the driver's and passengers storage compartment areas. So what the light looks like in which part of the compartment. So a photo from underneath.

I'm in the process of retro fitting the stock lights but those compartments in my rav4 don't have the hole cut outs. However all the plugs and cabling is there.

 

[WillRav4Tacos]

Can anyone post photos of the interior lights in the driver's and passengers storage compartment areas. So what the light looks like in which part of the compartment. So a photo from underneath.

I'm in the process of retro fitting the stock lights but those compartments in my rav4 don't have the hole cut outs. However all the plugs and cabling is there.

The driver side uses the same light as the center console, I actually bought the driver side cubby harness for my 2019 XLE to modify it for center console tray. The only difference is the higher trim levels with these cubby lights have different part numbers for the trays. (They have the holes cut for the LED). I have a Limited now so these pics are from it.

The passenger side is much more complex as it appears to utilize a light bar to scatter the LED light the entire length of the tray. Sorry for the somewhat crummy photos but it's daytime here.

I think if I had kept my XLE I would have eventually searched a junk yard for the Limited tray housings to install the OEM lights, or purchased from BAM. The OEM look is clean and matches the buttons at night. Plus the way I had wired up my tray in my XLE the lights were bright all the time and didn't dim when in drive. I wish there was a way to keep them bright all the time in the Limited. 😎

 

[Rav4ManAus]

thanks for that...yeah that passenger compartment light seems a bit more...I can't find that led strip light in the parts catalogue..unless you have to buy the whole storage console part, which has the led integrated or something.

 

[Dave19447]

thanks for that...yeah that passenger compartment light seems a bit more...I can't find that led strip light in the parts catalogue..unless you have to buy the whole storage console part, which has the led integrated or something.

I think I saw somewhere that the strip is a set with its housing. I'm really not sure how to disconnect that strip or even the light bulb on the driver side cubby but would be nice to take those out a put brighter ones on. The Toyota ones are way too dim in my XSE. I ordered some brighter bulbs from Ali express for the center console and cup holder lights but still waiting for them to arrive so I can swap them

 

[ToRayBa]

Thanks for the post showing how easy the back of the console is removed.

I have a 2020 TRD and it has the USB power cable, but not the additional one for the factory LED. I used your idea to add two 3mm LED's above the USB ports to add ambient lighting to the rear seat area.

I could have easily added a light in the console storage bin as part of this project. I have an organizer tray in the center console and have a light in one of the USB ports. It works well and illuminates both the tray and the area below when the tray is removed. I couldn't find a good location for a light above the storage tray, otherwise I would have put one in above and below it. Thanks again for your idea.

This was a great idea! I grabbed some 3mm LED's, and ended up doing something similar thanks to your post. In my LE, there's no rear air/con, but instead a little storage cubby, so I installed an LED inside and below. I also installed one for the cupholder as it was bothering me, not being able to see them at night. I also installed the OEM light for the front storage tray. The hotspotting of the blue colour was bother me, as I wanted a more factory diffused glow, rather than intense blasts of light focused on one spot, so I ended up painting the bulbs white with a solvent based car paint. I have the lights on a dimmer as well, as I want all the illumination to match the intensity of the factory stuff to keep it all consistent.

^ I used a dewal 90 degree extension with a stubby bit to install the bulb & bezel. When I remove the panel inside the arm rest compartment, you can access the back side of this area quite easily.

I ended up super gluing this one in, as the bezels are metric, and a 1/4" bit had a bit of slop to it. After this, I ended up masking off the bottom half of the bulb and painting the top half black, so that you don't see the blue bulb shining in your peripheral while driving.

^ You really notice it when an actual cup is sitting in place. Just enough light to not have to be feeling around in the dark for your beverage, as it should be.

^Factory light installed, with a secondary hole drilled for my iphone cord. I decided I wanted to keep the area clear of clutter, so I ran the cord inside the center console and in to arm rest area. I made sure to buy an upper end, strong cable, so hopefully this one will last me a good while before having to replace it.

^ Dimmer switch and iphone cable installed. There is now an aftermarket tray that hides everything nicely, and my phone just sits on top while driving.

I found, once diffused, a single bulb for each section did the trick. There's a nice glow in the rear area now when driving at night.

I'm currently waiting for the blue led strips to arrive for the front storage trays. I have a few ideas of how to make it clean and effective, but won't know for sure until I've messed around a bit. I'll post an update when I have that portion complete!

 

[ElNopal]

Can anyone post photos of the interior lights in the driver's and passengers storage compartment areas. So what the light looks like in which part of the compartment. So a photo from underneath.

I'm in the process of retro fitting the stock lights but those compartments in my rav4 don't have the hole cut outs. However all the plugs and cabling is there.

Hi,
I just did this project about a week ago and retrofitted OEM lights into these spaces.

However, my rig lacked the wiring so I used the illumination circuit to power. This allows for the lights to come on with the rest of the dash lights and DIM at my personal preference!

I used a 1/8 drill but for a pilot hole then finished with a 3/8 drill bit. This size allows for the light to “snap-in” place and leave an almost perfect looking finish.

After cruising around for about a week, I have decided I am a glutton for punishment! I am going to add another two more lights to the passenger side cubby to avoid a “pooling” look. I still very much prefer the single led’s vs the kind of “tacky” look of the strip LED’s (IMHO).

I have pictures from the first tear down but I will add more and complete a write up for those that might be interested how I disassembled my dash...

Cheers!

 

[Rav4ManAus]

Nice 😁 what's the process of removing the driver's side small tray?