Cargo LED replacement

16521 Views 34 Replies 14 Participants Last post by jogosub, Mar 6, 2013

Se7enLC

Discussion Starter · Dec 10, 2012

2

960 Lumen 12000k LED assembly for $6.30:

24-5630 SMD LED White Light Car Indoor Lamp (T10 / SV85 / BA9S 12W 12000K 960-Lumen DC 12V) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme

FIts inside the light fixture just fine, puts out a lot of bright white light. The bulb adapter showed up broken and I had to re-solder it, but the assembly itself is well made. Overall I'm pretty happy with it. I tried to take comparison photos, but cameras mostly do light-leveling so it's hard to really tell. It's brighter, I know that much!

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Se7enLC

Discussion Starter · #21 · Dec 18, 2012

avk said:
I would still suggest brand-name products. They do fit properly.

Truth. It does fit the map lights properly, however, I just didn't buy the one that fits the dome light because this one fit "close enough".

This bulb is 31mm, not sure what the stock bulb size is, I think it was 28mm?

EDIT: Correction: I thought all 3 bulbs (both maps and the overhead) were 31mm because of a post I read here:
http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums...ing-interior-lights-led-bulbs.html#post350606

I'll throw my calipers on the stock and replacement bulbs to see if I can find the discrepancy. I'm guessing that the map lights ARE 31mm, which explains why they fit fine, but the dome light is shorter in length. If that's the case, it's definitely not the product that is to blame - it clearly states 31mm.

kissmeimirish

· #22 · Jan 21, 2013

I ordered and installed the LED that the OP links in the first post. After a day and 3 uses the adapter socket that plugs into the car melted and the light stopped working. There was very very slight charring.

No damage to the socket as I was able to plug in the OEM bulb and return to stock.

Just a heads up and would appreciate any other suggestions for a brighter LED panel back there. When it worked, it was awesome.

SubeRupner

· #23 · Jan 24, 2013

SubeRupner said:
I don't know how they'll last, but I'm feeling better about taking the leap to LEDs.

Follow up on my Putco LED experience:

The cargo light became intermittent last week, followed by smoke and darkness. :28:

Dajeepman

· #24 · Jan 24, 2013

Its hard to find good quality LED lamps with out finding crappy components where are the usa stuff lol

kpk02

· #25 · Jan 26, 2013

3

I just replaced the 4 interior lights with good results. At least initially. I'll have to see how they hold up in time. The bulb I used for the middle could fit in the front map lights and would be brighter. But for now I think I'll keep them as is. As for color of the light, I've never been a good judge. They aren't as blue as the pictures make it look and aren't too blue for my taste. Plus they seem to match the puddle lights color so I'm happy. None of the lights even get remotely warm to the touch so far.

Next up will be tackling the license plate lights and the door ground lights, which all appear to be 2825 types if my research is correct.

Front Map Lights:

Middle:

Rear/cargo:

Other bulbs I ordered but didn't try yet:

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Scorched

· #26 · Jan 28, 2013

So I went ahead and got the cargo area LED panel from extreme deals. Holy purple...did not like the color at all. I will not argue that it is extremely bright, but the color was not at all to my liking.

Since then I have replaced it with another panel from LED Lights, Bulbs & Accessories - SUPER BRIGHT LEDS. They list the color spectrums and detailed specs a lot better and have had great experiences with the LEDs they provide, both with being able to choose a suitable color and finding the right LEDs for a particular job (they feature a make/model selector for all the bulbs in your car).

I recently replaced the DRL courtesy light with a 1watt LED bulb from there that basically turned something that I never even knew functioned into a secondary light source to my low beams, **** its bright! As an added benefit it almost dead on at "natural white" to the color of the HID kit I will be installing once it gets a little warmer outside...

Dajeepman

· #27 · Jan 30, 2013

It's hard to find good lighting options for my 08 outback. Don't want to spend $100's just to try new bulbs out.

But again... you can't be to picky.. you not gonna get super bright light out of these with out major heat sinks.. whitch would make it too big to use.

Tom28

· #28 · Jan 30, 2013

You can't go wrong with the bulbs from superbrightled.com.

This little guy is fan-freaking-tastic in the cargo area:

30 High Power LED Rectangle PCB Lamp w/ Wedge Base | Miniature Wedge Base LEDs | LED Car Bulbs | Super Bright LEDs

I've had mine for several months now without narry an issue and gobs of light.

Se7enLC

Discussion Starter · #29 · Mar 6, 2013

kissmeimirish said:
I ordered and installed the LED that the OP links in the first post. After a day and 3 uses the adapter socket that plugs into the car melted and the light stopped working. There was very very slight charring.

No damage to the socket as I was able to plug in the OEM bulb and return to stock.

Just a heads up and would appreciate any other suggestions for a brighter LED panel back there. When it worked, it was awesome.

Ack! Just came back to this thread and saw that - sorry to hear it! The one I got actually arrived broken, and it looked like the adapter was just made with very very thin conductors. I fixed mine by soldering on 0.1mm header pins. I've been using it for months and have had no problems. But I'm guessing that if I'd stuck with the adapter as it was designed I might have burned mine out, too. Do you have any photos of the adapter and where it melted/charred?

I should probably not recommend this LED module to others unless they are willing to mod their adapter like I have. That being said, I'm still really happy with my light module (been a few months now with no problems).

jogosub

· #30 · Mar 6, 2013

I have ordered those recently (your link Se7enLC) but, after reading this, why not just totally bypass the bulb adaptor and connect it directly to the incoming wires in the dome cluster? Do you know what gauge the wires are from the LED panel to that bulb adaptor? If they are less that incoming OEM wires, they can be wired (soldered) straight from the LED panel with the same wire gauge....

Se7enLC

Discussion Starter · #31 · Mar 6, 2013

jogosub said:
I have ordered those recently (your link Se7enLC) but, after reading this, why not just totally bypass the bulb adaptor and connect it directly to the incoming wires in the dome cluster? Do you know what gauge the wires are from the LED panel to that bulb adaptor? If they are less that incoming OEM wires, they can be wired (soldered) straight from the LED panel with the same wire gauge....

Sure, if you wanted to modify the dome light fixture, I don't see why you couldn't do that. I was much more willing to modify a $6 LED module knowing that I could always swap in a normal bulb at a later date. Plus I could do the work on a table inside rather than trying to work in the roof of the car.

The wires from the LED module to the adapter are thin, but sufficient (I'd estimate 22-26GA or so, but I don't have it in front of me). It's the adapter itself that has very thin conductors. Not the wires - but the metal prongs that stick out to make contact in the bulb socket. They are like filament thin and break easily.

Here's a closeup of the adapter: http://i.imgur.com/bduYys8.jpg
You can see a thin metal prong on one side. There's one on each side of the adapter (well, there should be - on the one I got, one of the prongs was missing). The prong is really thin and breakable. You can bend it and pull the wire right out of the plastic housing (so you just have two wires with thin pieces of metal soldered to the end. I soldered a better piece of metal to both wires, pushed them back through the adapter, and bent them back down. I would much sooner recommend that mod than modifying the dome light fixture in the car.

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jogosub

· #32 · Mar 6, 2013

The only time I have experienced "melting" the bulb sockets was when I was using higher than OEM Wattage bulbs in headlights. I have "cured" that issue with using heavy gauge harness and ceramic bulb sockets. Since then, none of my bulb housings ever melted again.

jogosub

· #33 · Mar 6, 2013

I would also like to see what acutally "melted" ... as earlier posted by another member of this forum....

Se7enLC

Discussion Starter · #34 · Mar 6, 2013

I think when I get home today I'll pull the bulb out and inspect it just to make sure I'm not seeing any melting/charring. I wonder if other adapters can be sourced that are made better.

jogosub

· #35 · Mar 6, 2013

Se7enLC said:
I think when I get home today I'll pull the bulb out and inspect it just to make sure I'm not seeing any melting/charring. I wonder if other adapters can be sourced that are made better.

Thanks... I've ordered that 10 LED panel as well, based on your review(s). When it gets here, I may just bypass the bulb socket and wire it directly to the cargo dome light - to the wires that feed that dome light. If there is any heat generated by LEDs it's typically at the base of LEDs/diodes and for that, they should have some kind of heat sinks...there shouldn't be any heat generated down the wires...I would think.

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