MatraSport Forum

Hi there im from the Murena side of the forum and am thinking of putting a boot interior light in to it, someone has told me that the bagheera has one and the switch is incorperated in the the boot catch which im told is similar to the murena? can you confirm. If so i may replace mine for a bagheera one as it seems a nice way of doing it. if so is it possible for someone to tell me a few more details, is it the same and what light fitting it connect to. If anyone has or can take a photo that would be great.

why don't you just put a micro-switch next to the rearwindshield lock? And what i know, i haven't seen any original switch on my bags...

Yes the Bagheera had a proper boot light and at least on some models (maybe all, I don't know for sure) they had a contact on the underside of the right lock so that as the pin on the glass went down through the hole it disconnected the light earth contact and the light should have switched off.

Once you see one, you'll see you could easily make up some contacts and fit them to your existing lock.  I have one of the Bagheera ones on my Murena, so I'll try to take a picture of it next time I'm in the garage.  However, it has been known for a Bagheera boot light to stay on or come on and then drain the battery!  This because the contacts do not separate very much.  A better solution is to wire the boot light from the rear lights.  When the lights are on, the boot light can be switched on, but once the lights are switched off, the boot light cannot be left on accidentally and drain the battery.

Roy

I think that will be my plan, it just sounded very neat and tidy to use matra parts, where did you mount the light? and what light did you use.... Most lights seem so small i was thinking of using two. I was thinking of creating a metal bracket that could be bolted on, possibly using the rivets in between the two rivets that hold the parcel shelf stops. This way its not making any more holes in the boot. With the amount of rain in sheffield over the past month mine got a bit wet! Anyway, It would just be a case of bending a piece of metal to shape, find a suitable light and srew it on, then wire it to the rear lights... All i need is time, enthusiasm and more time... oh and time.

Better still roy, i think i'll make new wider parcel shelf stops and mount the lights on them. That way the light will be angled in to the boot and the wiring to the lights will be nice and neat.. Best get on ebay to find some lights.....

Well I used the rear interior light from a Mercedes Van (it was many years ago when I worked for DB) which is long and thin and contains two festoon bulbs and is nice and bright.  Futhermore you simply slide the lens to one side to switch it on, and back to switch it off.  I mounted it between the boot catches up under the slight overhang, which meant it was out of sight, close to the rear lamps making the wiring neat, and as it was a high point it shines down into the boot.

Would you believe the original idea is for the rear lights to shine into the boot to provide a 'boot light'!  That is why they have holes in the lamp reflectors to allow the bulbs to shine light back into the compartment.  There are several problems with this.  The first is that dust and dirt gets in to the lamps making the rear lamps very dim.  Second the holes are small and don't allow much light in anyway, but even worse is that if the boot has a lot in it, the holes are covered anyway blocking any light into the boot and making them useless!

The one I have, has always worked fine.

Roy

and 4, those covers are made of paper and fell apart years ago, i keep thinking of buying the repros from delcour but my money is being absorbed in so many other ways that they'll have to wait. Plus they are in france (i guess you could make some fibreglass ones if youcopy the originals, anyone done this with any success?) . Thanks for the advice and i'll post you a picture when i've done it.

I have been following this thread for some time needing the switch to complete the alarm installation in my Murena.

I initially considered drilling a hole in the body panel to fit a switch that was activated by the window itself, but - like you guys - concluded that an fitting a switch in the catch would be better. Today I finally found some time to construct a bracket that could carry the switch without making any modifications anywhere.

(http://tmp.dinsen.net/murena/rearhatchswitch.jpg)

I apologize for the crude finish it has for the moment ;)

- Anders

Well theres food for thought! Maybe this thread should now be beemed back into the Murena domain, Thats a nifty idea there and something for me to think about with my long awaited boot light... I also wished i'd have seen this thread when i had my alarm fitted as the boot isn't wired.

Good point... it was never really about the Bagheera, so I've moved the whole thread.

I got the chance to take a photo of a Bagheera boot catch WITH light switch at the summer meeting in September, so I thought I'd post it here for reference (and Roy, you can now remove it from your todo list):

(http://gallery.dinsen.net/d/1418-2/DSC_0675.JPG)

It looks neat IMO, better than mine :D

Now i just need to find one! ::)