How do I get to the interior lighting bulbs?

[Kim]

Can someone describe or show pics how to get to the bulbs of the interior lights? Front, middle and back of the car?
Since I only own it for a few hours, I don't wanna try to hard on my own, not to break something right away

I need to see what types of LEDs I need to order....

Also will swap the bulbs of the outside lighting with LEDs, but that is well covered in the manual....

 

[RazMan]

All of the roof light lenses simply pop out with a little persuasion and they are all (I think) small 36mm festoon bulbs. I only replaced the boot light with an LED 'matrix' which is a huge improvement when loading or unloading at night - I left the others as standard because I prefer the softer light for map reading and the slow fade when switching off (LEDs are rather abrupt in this area)

 

[Kim]

I found, that they can be pryed/levered out on the side where they're hinged.

Will post a picture or a short vid to clearify as soon as the LEDs arrive.

Now I need to find the balls to yank out the fog/DLR cover ring to get to the DLR,
and to yank out the taillight assembly to get to the indicator bulbs.

Screws seem to be fairly rare in Japan, or why do they clip in and on all those covers (also the number plate light covers, reverse light cover.......)?

 

[Regulo]

Hi, Kim,

The front DRL/Fog cover is easy - you can practically take it off by hand! Don't know about the rear lights though.

 

[Kim]

The front DRL/Fog cover is easy - you can practically take it off by hand! Don't know about the rear lights though.

Can you describe where you put the pressure/lever on to the DRL cover to remove it? Or better: mark it on a picture?
I tried hard today, but wouldn't get it to move a bit....

 

[Regulo]

Kim,

Page 11-26 in the owners manual shows where to lever. I was surprised how easily they came off. A padded flat-blade screwdriver will do the job. I think you could do it by hand once you know where the locating lugs are!

 

[Kim]

The manuals will be my reading tonight.

Btw:
Today I ordered 3 x 150 Lumen warm white LEDs (all are 31mm!) for the front and the middle,
plus a 300-400 Lumen bright white LED for the boot,
also a killer 1200 (!!) Lumen (12 Watt) LED (T20/W21W) for the reverse light :lol:

Still to come: LEDs for indicators and DRL

 

[Regulo]

Just trying to post my first pic!

EDIT: It worked!!!!!

 

[RazMan]

also a killer 1200 (!!) Lumen (12 Watt) LED (T20/W21W) for the reverse light :lol:

Still to come: LEDs for indicators and DRL

You will probably find little improvement with that particular reversing light - I've got twin reversing lights with these bad boys fitted:

Reversing is soooo much better now!

p.s. I will be interested in your indicator swap - I haven't got round to this yet and wonder if the flasher unit will tolerate the low current consumption and give the 'bulb out' fast flash thingy.

 

[Kim]

Well, the original 21 Watt bulb should emit less than 300 Lumen!
So if the 12 Watt LED really puts out 4 times the light, we should see a lot of thrilled faces in the rear view mirror when standing at a red light and dip the gear selector into reverse for a second or two.
( http://www.dx.com/p/mz-t20-12w-led-car-steering-backup-lamp-white-yellow-light-1200lm-6000k-24-smd-5630-12-24v-376086#.VOgaUiyDhZw )

Will of course keep you posted concerning indicator LEDs a.s.o.

Waiting for delivery from the peoples republic...

 

[Kim]

Going to try these for indicators:
http://www.dx.com/p/1156-ba15s-p21w-7-5w-500lm-635nm-5-led-orange-car-steering-light-tail-lamp-12-24v-266867#.VOdUPCxz-Hs

Polarity Free High Power; High brightness, energy-saving, easy to install; Lifetime: more than 50,000 hours. 7.5W is theoretical power. Because we add the resistance to protect the LED. So the actual output power is about 1/3 of the theoretical power.

That could do the trick regarding the "double speed indicating"

 

[RazMan]

I am not sure that is the answer as the resistance is only really there to protect the led from instantly burning out - a current limiter I believe. The flasher relay 'looks' for a typical filament resistance which the LED does not emulate without other, more sophisticated electronics. As an experiment I tried a simple LED 'bulb replacement' which didn't even flash so I am not sure if anything else will work properly.

 

[Kim]

I'll order them and give it a try as soon as I manage to get to the original indicator bulbs, to find confirmation that they would at least fit size wise.

 

[RazMan]

Just for reference they are the standard 21w Amber bulbs with offset pins

 

[Kim]

...offset pins

Ah well, gotta do some some grinding then.
And maybe a drop of solder to give it the extra support point in the socket then...
Even more fun than just a quick swap.

 

[MartinH]

Interesting to follow, but i Think you will get problem with the can-bus system and the lights will not flash at all.
I did think the reverse lights alos was controlled by the can-bus, but as you have tested with LED´s and it works, tey are not.
You can test to see it the DRL is controlled by simply remove the light bulb, will you have 12V(13.5 or something) or 0V in the socket, this tells you.
To solve this you need Electronics to fool the can-bus system, the whole PRC is ful of this things, with different quality(i know by experience!)
Or you can connect a resistor between the + to the light bulb and chassi and drain app. 20W from the Cable, but be aware, the resistor gets very hot!
Often you only need one resistor per side of the car, to handle both front and rear turning light.

 

[Regulo]

Or you can connect a resistor between the + to the light bulb and chassi and drain app. 20W from the Cable,

So what's the advantage over a 21W filament bulb? Apart from longevity? Trying to save miniscule amounts of current from, effectively, a 12kW battery seems a bit pointless to me. Or am I missing something? I've changed the DRL's simply because I prefer the whiter light, that's all.

And very few cars invoke canBus for lighting, it's mainly to allow the various computers to talk to each other. But knowing this PHEV, I wouldn't count it out!

 

[RazMan]

So what's the advantage over a 21W filament bulb? Apart from longevity?

Absolutely none really :lol: Personally I prefer the 'instant' nature of LEDs for indicators but not keen on faffing about with resistors - I would rather keep the filament bulbs if the CANBUS is going to throw a hissy fit.

 

[MartinH]

Regulo, very few cars use the can-bus system for Lightning?, then your knowledge of newer cars is limited , I say all newer cars uses the can-bus system also for lights.
Low beam- all cars, license plate lightening, very few cars, and then everything between, therefore i also asked about testing if the PHEV controlls the DRL.
99% of all cars that have a warning on your dasch for broken lamp, uses the can-bus system for this, and it is a computer for the control, if the buld brakes, the system senses a change of the Power, and actually shuts of the Power totally to the specific lamp.
Simple test, purchase a bad 55W H7 lamp from PRC, the Power is so low that the car will not even light up the buld, own experience.

And yes, most common purpose to change from normal lamp to LED is the color of the light, to use a resistor will not save you any Power, as i also described, as you drain the Power into heat.

 

[Regulo]

Regulo, very few cars use the can-bus system for Lightning?, then your knowledge of newer cars is limited

99% of all cars that have a warning on your dasch for broken lamp, uses the can-bus system for this, and it is a computer for the control, if the buld brakes, the system senses a change of the Power, and actually shuts of the Power totally to the specific lamp.
Simple test, purchase a bad 55W H7 lamp from PRC, the Power is so low that the car will not even light up the buld, own experience.

Martin, you are quite correct, I live in the 70's for the most part! . I am going by what I read on the internet, and to my way of thinking, CanBus only refers to the way microprocessors in the car interact with each other. Although a computer might monitor a bulb, the CanBus doesn't directly deal with the bullb itself. Is that correct? Always glad to be informed and corrected.

And I can't find mention anywhere in the manual of a bulb failure warning light in the PHEV, although I've had them on all my previous cars since the late 80's!

Edit: This is the sort of page I've been reading http://ledchoice.eu/en/making-led-bulbs-can-bus-friendly.html