Hey, I am working on replacing the weak cargo light with some strip LEDs on either side of the cargo area. With the hatch closed and putting a voltmeter into the wiring connector shows a power draw of 1.09 volts. With the hatch open it shows 11.94 volts. Does anyone know why it isn't 0 volts with the hatch closed?
All that I can think is that the ECU is connected - to detect if the light is ON. There is a timer, I think 20 minutes, where it turns some bulbs off. Only a guess. @Elektroingenieur might be able to help?
Just tested my light in the boot, unplugged it, and put meter into the plug. I was getting 11.2V (yep - need to take it for a driver today or charge it) with the boot open, and 0.01V with the boot closed (that's within the tolerance of the meter, so is probably 0). All my lights are LED... I used my DC Clamp meter to further test it, and it was drawing 80mA when on with the light reconnected, and 0mA when off with the hatch closed. I'm wondering how it detects if the boot hatch is open or closed. I can't see a switch anywhere. If it's mechanical, it may have water ingress, or there could be water ingress into the connections to the sensor.
Current draw is not measured in volts. It is not unusual for an electronic "switch" to show a small "off" voltage like that. It takes a very high impedance meter to even see it. While it will supply zero current, effectively, it might cause an LED to glow faintly.
