Hey guys,

I'm taking my 2016 Fit on a three week camping tour. Sleeping in the back, bought one of those SUV tents that wrap around the back of the car. Plan to sleep with the hatchback open.

I'm concerned about battery drain on from the trunk light. I've read that it turns off after a certain time, is this confirmed? Is there an easy way to turn it off and on without installing a new light?

Don't want to kill my battery in the woods!

Thanks!

 

I don't think so. When I first got my 2016 LX, didn't slam the hatch all the way one night, woke up the next morning with a drained battery.

To prevent this from happening again, I replaced the stock bulb with an LED I had leftover from a GD3 project. The power drain is so small compared to the stock that it won't drain the battery if it stays on overnight.

If memory serves, you can also replace the entire trunk light assembly with a slider switch model from a CR-V. I think there's a link on this site somewhere as to which one.

Now couple the slider switch CR-V trunk light with an LED, and you're in business.

 

Awesome! Thanks for the advice.

I'm leaving in less than a week, so I may not be able to get the lights here on time.

I'm a little clueless when it comes to this sort of thing: if I just unplug the light, will that do in a pinch?

 

Sure, you could just pop the bulb out, that would do it.

Here's the link for the trunk light. Scroll to the end, I believe it's the Acura RDX trunk light, not the CR-V:

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...ll-w-pics.html

 

Thanks for the help!

 

Yeah, you could just pop the bulb out, easy enough to do ...I replaced my interior bulbs with LEDs when I bought it....have it open now to verify it shuts off (I believe it does), shall report back shortly...

 

OK, got interrupted by an errand I had to run.......left the hatch open, didn't feel like standing in the garage waiting, wasn't off after 30 minutes, but it did indeed turn off at about 50 minutes (or perhaps a little sooner_ on our '15 LX....it stays on a while, but does turn itself off eventually....on ours, anyway, but I can't imagine any 3rd gen would be different in that respect

 

You must have the deluxe version of the LX. Mine didn't kick in with any kind of auto shutoff. I wouldn't want to test this out in the wild.

 

Light attracts mosquitoes and bugs when I car camp so I removed the hatch lamp and placed the ceiling lamp to the manual position. I use a LED hanging flashlight when I need light, but making sure the doors are closed. Worst thing is a mosquito joining me when I am sleeping.

 

Haha, deluxe LX, nah it's bare bones ... like I said it auto turned off after 30 minutes but before 50 minutes on ours, most assuredly, and assume that has nothing to do with having an LED bulb in there instead of the stock bulb....you would think it'd be equipped with on/pff switch from the get go, though.
And, yeah, I wouldn't want to test this in the wild either. Great, now you're gonna have me go back down to the garage and check that the bulb still is working.....LOL....Don't want to pass on false info, and it took some time, but it shuts off in ours.....after a good while

 

Good points..... removing the bulb would be the best choice if you're worried about it not shutting or don't want to attract bugs, good call. But ours does auto shutoff after a good while. which would indeed likely attract bugs. Skeeters are no fun......gotta down to the garage, now

 

you'd also think a rear sway bar would be a standard feature, but it isn't
all about lowering the production costs as much as possible,

 

OK, went checked it again....light still works, closed and set the timer on my phone for 45 minutes and opened it......went down again to check and light auto-shutoff past 30 minutes but before 40 minutes, the last two times I checked, which is kind of a long time, imo, no big deal with an LED, but, still would be a bug attraction. But I can state with certainty that our bare bones LX does indeed auto-shutoff the interior hatch light...... just sayin' ymmv, but, there's nothing fancy abou this Fit..... LOL.....it does take too long, though

 

I've been pondering this same issue. How easy/hard would it be to add a separate switch next to the light? Maybe a small slider switch. Is it possible to remove the panel in which the light is mounted (and if so, how)? Maybe cut a small hole in it to add a switch, then re-route the wire providing power through the switch? I found a topic where somebody appears to have done this but the light mounting is very different on my 2016 Fit and I can't see how one removes the rigid plastic cargo rest on which the light is mounted from the felted side panel to get access to the wires behind.

Another post somewhere (my wife found it while I was driving and talking about a camper conversion on our Fit so I don't have it bookmarked) mentions pressing something in the latch while the hatch is open so the car thinks the hatch is closed when it isn't. You'd have to undo that before closing the hatch the next day. It sounds kind of finicky to me but if you're just one person and want to go that route it might work.

Can anybody confirm the Acura part number 34265-SFE-003 referred to in links provided in previous posts still works for the 2016 Fit? The topic I found dates from 2009 and I don't know how much Honda has tweaked its interior parts since then. $30 is a bit pricey but would be worth it IMHO if all it requires is a direct swap of parts.

 

IIRC, there've been fplks who replaced it with the light ftom a CRV...iirc, that is, been perusing a HRV forum since we bought one, might be confused ....now I gotta go down to the garage and check the HRV, but am pretty sure it has a switch ....... standby ...... nope, went down, apparently I misspoke, the HRV has no off swirch either.....am pretty sure I read here on FF about folks using a CRV light with switch, dunno for what year and from year CRV and dunno if it fits/is plug and play, read it SOMEwhere..... now, I have to check if my wife's HRV hatch light turns off after however long, but our '15 Fit LX most definitely shuts off after 40 minutes or so, fwiw..... a switch would be nice, not like it provides much light back there even with the LED in there

 

I'd be interested in a report about the SUV tent.
The light in my 2016 Fit shuts off by itself but IDK how long it takes.

 

I have a GK and just purchased 34265-SFE-003. I'll follow up if it is a drop-in replacement or not

 

34265-SFE-003 is correct. Almost every recent Honda uses the same trunk light.

 

That looks like just the cover/lens. Is it an entire assembly? I don't see a switch on it, or is this a newer model with an automatic timer?

 

that white plastic thing is the switch