Boot light alternative solution

Saloons
1

My S Type has a mercury switched boot lamp but it is some sort of generic after-market Taiwan item, not a copy of anything. The problem is that it is surface mounted and projects into the boot and could be broken if closed firmly onto contents.

Has anyone come up with a neat replacement solution for these? I realise that the answer would probably be to adopt conventional plunger type switching via the hinges, but is there a suitable lamp fitting for the lid recess? There is some past dialogue on this subject but it does not seem to cover what I would like to do.

(By the way, I can’t imagine any manufacturer of a car today fitting anything containing mercury and that the manufacture of replacements probably ceased decades ago. Also, when I got the car, this light did not work despite everything checking out. I found it was mounted upside down and was therefore on when closed.)

Any ideas or suggestions appreciated.

2

Hi Peter,
If you don’t need originality, how about a movement sensor lamp? There are several versions,
most of them battery operated but can be converted to work from 12V. Even the battery ones should
last quite long unless you live in boot :slight_smile:
Something like: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004879209616.html?pdp_npi=2%40dis!EUR!€%206%2C29!€%203%2C46!!!!!%402103222416786103117322057ecac9!12000031476508506!btf&_t=pvid:03601242-f53e-418c-9ab9-e4d59b04b8b6&afTraceInfo=1005004879209616__pc__pcBridgePPC__xxxxxx__1678610312&spm=a2g0o.ppclist.product.mainProduct
Köpi
Jaguar Mk2 Restoration Project

3

Thanks Kopi, this is a possibility.

Peter

4

Hi Peter, Had the same issue with my 420 boot lid lamp. The original was not working at all. So, I found a NOS switch from the UK. Same iffy performance, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn`t. Just a poor design.
Regards,
Allen

5

Mine on my 3.8S only works with the side lights on but still takes a good bang with my fist to get it to light. I think this is a “feature”.

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