I upgraded the dome lights to LED and huge improvement

Topics related to Lights, Radio, Stereo, Headunits, Alternators...

Moderator: volvite

rangeoflight32
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2014 9:51 pm

I upgraded the dome lights to LED and huge improvement

Postby rangeoflight32 » Sat Mar 04, 2017 11:30 pm

I know there are older threads about this and I found them accidentally when searching for headlight upgrades. But I had to make a new one, because was so easy to do (I am not mechanically inclined) and absurdly inexpensive. I figure may turn on a few more people to this mod.

There are five dome lights in the Pathy. Two in the front, two in the middle, above the 2nd row seats ,and one in the back cargo area.

I upgraded the front four and couldn't figure out how to get the cover off the cargo area one, but going to go with something more aggressive back there and have someone else install it.

But first of all, if you want to do this, just buy some cheap LED lights off ebay. Search for "3175 LED" and you will see they are very inexpensive. I suggest ordering them from a USA seller unless you want to save some pennies and wait a few weeks longer for delivery, but not worth it to me for such a low amount of savings.

You will see there are "bulbs" with different numbers of LEDs on them...4, 6, 8, 12, etc. Some people here said that 12 was too bright and they were blinded while driving and turning the dome light on, but 12 seems just fine to me. It doesn't seem too bright and is a definite improvement, although not as bright as I imagined.

I used a butter knife to pop off the plastic dome light cover. It didn't take too much pressure to get off and it doesn't seem that fragile. Be careful, but you probably won't break it. Getting it back on was a bit trickier, because seems like it was on correctly, but wouldn't press to turn the light on and off. So I had to just press up on it even harder and some last bit snapped into place and worked. After I figured this out with the first one, the other three went very quickly.

For the very back cargo light, I think going to get a "48-SMD LED Panel". Someone else said they had this. But looks more complicated to install, so I may have to get a shop to do it. I'm sure many of you guys could handle it though. I wonder if these 48 SMD panels are also compatible with the 2nd row dome lights? I suppose I will try it one in the cargo area first and then go from there. I suspect that those would be too bright for the front though.

Anyway, I recommend this upgrade to everyone. I'm sure there will be some downsides like attracting more insects, etc, but hopefully won't be too major.

Thanks to this forum for suggesting this and I'm really pleased. Now I just have to figure out the headlights and maybe a light bar and I'll be set for now.


BullDozer
Posts: 165
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 10:27 am
Location: Detroit, Michigan

Postby BullDozer » Mon Mar 06, 2017 6:41 am

Thanks for the write up. I will be doing this. Must be better on the battery as well, when dome lights accidentally left on.

User avatar
HiBRiD109
Posts: 63
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2017 3:06 pm

Postby HiBRiD109 » Mon Mar 06, 2017 8:59 am

I think my LEDs from ebay are arriving today. I'm doing a similar set up except just regular 12 leds in the cargo. But I am doing a red LED for the front driver side map light to keep night eyes and to give it a tactical feel. So I will have the choice of super bright white one the right side and a less light pollution red on the left.

EvilTheCat
Posts: 59
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2017 10:03 pm
Location: Lincoln, ne

Postby EvilTheCat » Fri Mar 10, 2017 6:25 am

That's a great idea! I'll be ordering some right away. I'm super excited to have a red map light.

EvilTheCat
Posts: 59
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2017 10:03 pm
Location: Lincoln, ne

Postby EvilTheCat » Mon Mar 20, 2017 6:00 am

I got my LEDs put in yesterday. A word of advice, if they don't light up, put them in the other way. LEDs only work if installed correctly. + to + and - to -. The polarity does matter unlike the incandescent bulbs that came out.

rangeoflight32
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2014 9:51 pm

Postby rangeoflight32 » Wed Mar 22, 2017 7:59 pm

I am still loving my lights, and I am finding that they are so bright that I can just switch the passenger side light on while driving and it's so bright that I can see what I need to on the driver's side.

But really makes a big difference at night when unloading items from the vehicle or cleaning it out. I used a headlamp sometimes before, but now everything is lit up and much better.

EvilTheCat
Posts: 59
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2017 10:03 pm
Location: Lincoln, ne

Postby EvilTheCat » Thu Mar 23, 2017 5:51 am

These are the led lights I bought and they are a huge improvement over the stock incandescent bulbs. I don't know what the proper size is for our lights but the bulbs I took out were a little bit longer than these. I needed to bend the retainer in a just a hair to make them fit securely. If you can find them 5 mms longer they'd probably fit tighter.

You need 5 to cover each dome light.

nismopath
Posts: 144
Joined: Tue May 24, 2016 5:19 pm

Postby nismopath » Fri Mar 24, 2017 5:51 am

I haven't looked at the space yet but there are the tube stle lights with little led's in them, or they have a lot of this style where the led panel comes out a little.. would you say that this should work fine ?

Im thinking about these for the dome lights up front..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-X-Pure-White ... nu&vxp=mtr

and these for the cargo area since I would need more light and wont care about it too bright as im not driving while in the trunk!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2X-Pure-White-F ... G~&vxp=mtr

User avatar
HiBRiD109
Posts: 63
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2017 3:06 pm

Postby HiBRiD109 » Fri Mar 24, 2017 7:06 am

I ordered this 8 pcs set that has 6 leds for the dome and cargo and 2 for the license plate.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/262419307812

I was not pleased with the dome leds. They were almost dimmer than the stock ones and had a slight blue tint.

I then ordered these.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AO ... UTF8&psc=1

These turned out much better. A nice white, clear light and very bright. Its bright enough for me for the cargo area as well. I only ordered 4 because I put a red led in the drivers map light so I don't have to be blinded at night if I need a low key light for camping or something. Coming from the military it gives a little tacticool feel.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0185 ... UTF8&psc=1

EvilTheCat
Posts: 59
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2017 10:03 pm
Location: Lincoln, ne

Postby EvilTheCat » Fri Mar 24, 2017 7:19 pm

The red map light was cool, but too cool for me I guess. I personally just like the white light better. Anyway, I just ordered this monster for the cargo light. You can never have too much light when unloading stuff. I just hope it fits well.

EvilTheCat
Posts: 59
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2017 10:03 pm
Location: Lincoln, ne

Postby EvilTheCat » Fri Mar 31, 2017 5:22 am

As always, watch where you're buying stuff from on eBay. The light I ordered on the link above will be arriving some time before the end of May. I'm guessing it will also be broken also after being shipped around the world and and bouncing around between who knows how many couriers over 1 or ever 2 months. Spend a couple more dollars and get one from your country.

EvilTheCat
Posts: 59
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2017 10:03 pm
Location: Lincoln, ne

Postby EvilTheCat » Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:17 am

It took 3 weeks but my $1.75 light arrived unbroken all the way from Hong Kong. It's quite a bit brighter than the little 6 LEDs I took out. You basically just set the led panel in the plastic diffuser. It has adhesive on the back, but there's no good place to stick it. So far I love it. Simple cheap upgrade that I'd recommend to everyone.
Image

rangeoflight32
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2014 9:51 pm

Postby rangeoflight32 » Sun May 07, 2017 10:46 pm

I was proud of myself for switching out most of the lights and just had the cargo light left. So I tried that and somehow it shorted out all my other lights and also the vehicle wouldn't start. (!). I had to get it towed to a dealership[ and they couldn't figure out what was wrong with it at first. They finally just recycled the computer and then everything worked fine.

So I was stubborn and tried one more time to put an LED in there for the cargo light and it shorted out the other lights this time, but not the entire vehicle. I replaced the fuse for the lights and they work fine and I gave up trying to change the cargo one and just put the old regular bulb back in there.

But my $10 DIY project turned into $120 one or whatever the dealership charged me. Oh well.

EvilTheCat
Posts: 59
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2017 10:03 pm
Location: Lincoln, ne

Postby EvilTheCat » Tue May 16, 2017 6:03 am

Yikes.


Return to “R51 Electrical”