$6 Lighting Upgrade
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Logistics Pro
Joined: Mar 2001
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$6 Lighting Upgrade
I decided to try some LED lighting upgrades and I started with the license plate lights. I got the bulbs on eBay, $6 shipped. The bulb is a 168. Here are the before and after pics. I really like the white light compared to the yellowish incandescents. One plastic screw removes the cover. Took 5 minutes.
With one bulb installed.
After
With one bulb installed.
After
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Logistics Pro
Joined: Mar 2001
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MMNC (SS)(Ret)
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 11,606
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From: SE Georgia
very nice...bookmarked those
now to see if there are LED replacements for the entire interior...especially those dull rear lamps by the rear hatch
now to see if there are LED replacements for the entire interior...especially those dull rear lamps by the rear hatch
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Logistics Pro
Joined: Mar 2001
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You are right, they don't light up anything. There are LED's but there are different lengths of the 578 (38-44mm). I have yet to pull the bulb and measure it. Once I do that I will order some.
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Brett Foote
MMNC (SS)(Ret)
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 11,606
Likes: 151
From: SE Georgia
okay, so from what I can tell, the interior Reading lights require the same LED's that you put into your licence plates.
mind doing a little experiment and seeing if they truly fit...and how bright?
the cargo lamps are another LED (#578). below is the lamp chart for our Expy's
(culled from the 2008 Expy Owners Manual)
mind doing a little experiment and seeing if they truly fit...and how bright?
the cargo lamps are another LED (#578). below is the lamp chart for our Expy's
(culled from the 2008 Expy Owners Manual)
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Logistics Pro
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Sorry just saw this. I ordered some 168 LED bulbs for the map lights and installed one of them. Not as bright as the OEM bulb, but a cool color. I ordered the SMT LED of the same bulb and will try that out, as it's suppose to be brighter and have better dispersion.
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Logistics Pro
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The SMD(surface mount diode or device) or SMT as some ebay listings call them are different than the typical led's. They are brighter. Here is what they look like.
SMT or SMD
Standard LED
The standard LED are a bit less bright than the OEM bulbs but have a cool color to them. The SMT or SMD are much brighter with the same color as the standard LED's. The pictures of my license plate are of the SMT bulbs, which is what I would get.
Also, LED's in general have a narrower light path so when choosing a bulb, get one with as many bulbs as possible on the sides and top. The one shown here on top has a better dispersion than the one below.
SMT or SMD
Standard LED
The standard LED are a bit less bright than the OEM bulbs but have a cool color to them. The SMT or SMD are much brighter with the same color as the standard LED's. The pictures of my license plate are of the SMT bulbs, which is what I would get.
Also, LED's in general have a narrower light path so when choosing a bulb, get one with as many bulbs as possible on the sides and top. The one shown here on top has a better dispersion than the one below.
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Joined: Sep 2004
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You could always replace your interior lights with some red LEDs too. You'll notice a huge difference at night when you need them. You can still see the road and what you are looking for in the car. That's the first thing I add to my trucks when I install the laptop mounts. Then I can work at night or early morning without having vision issues.