Here is a mod that is useful, cheap, easy to accomplish and completely reversible.

I always have been frustrated about the lack of good lighting in the trunk of my 2001 A4. In stock form, there are two puny incandescent lights for the whole trunk, totally insufficient considering that the area is lined with black upholstery.

While shopping at Frys electronics, I came across some Cold Cathode Fluorescent (CCF) light kit, originally intended for adding lights to computer cases. Turns out that these 12” units are powered by a 12V inverter. Perfect for modding the A4 trunk.

The set I got cost ~$15. It includes two white 12” CCFs, an inverter and a switch. I’ve seen similar items advertised on the internet for less than $10 though so you can shop around if you are a cheap skate. These things are probably also available at CompUsa. You can also get them in different colors such as blue, green, red, etc...

First thing to do is to convert the power connectors. Here I’ve also added an 1 amp in-line fuse, just to be safe. Just use crimp on spade connectors after you cut off the original Molex one. The
red wire corresponds to +12V.


The CCF from this kid come with some double sided tape but I found that it is not strong enough to hold the lights in the trunk; they would stay put for a while but fall off after a couple days. Therefore, I used epoxy glue to attach some strong little rare earth magnets to each ends of the lights. These are perfect as it allows the lights to be repositioned at will.



Power can be taken right from the original top mounted Audi incandescent light by prying the light holder off, and disconnecting the spades connector. The light assembly can be popped back in place. The insulated connector is the +12V source. Remember this when connecting the CCF inverter.

Final assembly is simple. Just connect the inverter to the power line (make sure to double cheek the polarity or you will fry the inverter) from the original light, secure everything with tie wraps and let it shine (it actually looks much better than in this picture). Total cost < $20.