Well, here it is! I finally finished this little side project and I have to say I'm really happy with how it turned out.
First, the materials:
LE Lampux 12V Flexible LED Strip Lights, LED Tape, Daylight White, 300 Units 3528 LEDs, Non-waterproof, Light Strips, Length 5M
LE Power Adaptor, Transformers, Power Supply For LED Strip, 12V, 3A Max, 36 Watt Max
Estone 10pcs Connector Adapter Cable LED PCB Strip 3528 to 3528 Single Color 8mm Free Welding
Magnetic Switch (fail--see below)
LEDENET® 12V 24V PIR Sensor LED Dimmer Switch Motion Timer Function Sign Control PIR8 Cotroller LED Strips Lighting
So, I first attempted to use the cheap magnetic switch. Unfortunately, the way my safe door is constructed, there were no two level surfaces where I could get them to match up to shut the lights off. I even took video from inside with my iPhone while closing the door to try and find a flat spot, but no dice. So, I picked up the PIR sensor instead. It says it's a dimmer, but it's not. It does have a variable timer, but it doesn't seem to go any lower than 2 minutes. Oh well--fine by me.
So, I wired it up with some solid copper, 4-conductor thermostat wire I had laying around (needs +/- input and output to the motion sensor). This worked even better than I expected and I tacked it into the corner where you can't see it with some insulated wire staples. Tucked the AC adapter and cords all bundled up into the back of the safe. My safe has power to it and a nice finished outlet inside otherwise I probably wouldn't have even bothered with the project.
I ran all the light strips up the inside of the front of the safe around the door. Up one side, across the header, and down the other side.
Here is all the wiring I did. One pair for input from the power adapter, another pair for output to the light strip. Soldered neatly and heat shrink wrapped.
Tucked it all in the back neatly and wire stapled it where necessary. This pic is pre-lighting.
A quick shot of running the lights and wiring to the motion sensor up the inside of the door frame.
Let there be light!
MOAR GUNS! One last picture after I put everything away.
I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I was using some battery-powered little stand-alone LED lights, but it was dim and hard to see (especially since this is in a corner of my basement where there's not great lighting in the room to begin with). Now, you open the door and BAM--you get full lighting on everything in the safe. Then, the light turns out after two minutes (tested it several times).
I ended up spending about $45 and $7 of that was wasted on the mag switch that didn't work out. It did take me quite a bit of time since I'm so picky about how I do things. I'd say I probably spent about 6 hours on it, but a lot of that was just thinking things through and trying stuff so I was sure it would work. Sadly, it was pretty much a waste since all the guns were lost in a tragic boating accident shortly after this. But, at least I have a nicely lit safe now.