Replacing the Cab Light with LEDs

[jmoller99]

Instead of using 1 18 watt bulb, I ordered 2 10 LED (Soft White Light color) round units from superbrightleds.com ($14.95 each). These are 1 watt each and put out a lot of light. I soldered a piece of 14 gauge solid copper wire (same stuff you use in your homes walls for AC power) across the brass part of the lighting assembly (after pulling out the old 18 watt bulb), then soldered one of the 2 leads for the LED assembly (one LED assembly per side). Then I connected a stranded wire to the other LED assembly lead (on both), and wired that to the nickel plated side of the switched lamp holder (essentially, connecting where the original light would be).

The LED assembly can be plugged in either way (the 2 wires on it have built in diodes to make sure the polarity is ok no matter what). This simplifies wiring these up. I was unable to find a socket for these LED assemblies (I would have used one otherwise).

The solid copper wire can be bent around as needed to aim things. The plastic lens diffuses the light well.

This lights up the entire space in my 140 inch WB Sprinter. I plan on replacing more of these.

[knighty]

looks good !


my brother bought some el-cheapo led lights to replace the ones in his van... the kind that come inside a fitting the same size as the origonal bulb.... you just pop the old bulb out and pop the new one in.... the were great for the 20min that they worked before burning out :s

yours look much better tho !

[Aqua Puttana]

Originally Posted by jmoller99

...

This lights up the entire space in my 140 inch WB Sprinter. I plan on replacing more of these.

jmoller99,
Looks good. I can't really tell the diameter of your replacement LED unit from the picture, but it looks close to the lamp envelope size.

Maybe breaking the 2 original lamp caps off and epoxy them to the edge of the disc? Position one at the lead, jumper wire to the other cap and solder both before epoxy? You may need to notch or other wise shorten the caps. It would then snap into the original holder. Just a thought. Maybe my idea would be more work. vic

Originally Posted by knighty

.... they were great for the 20min that they worked before burning out :s
...

I'm cleaning the coffee off my screen. Good one. vic

[metalartgate]

Or just order the festoon bulbs from superbrightleds.com available in many colors Warm White, Natural White, Cool White, Blue, Green, Red, Amber and UV-BlackLight.

I used red for the door switched side and warm white for the map light.

[Mrdi]

Cargo fixtures:
There was a previous post that indicated the Festoon Bulbs
( installed in the OEM fixture) remained in a low glow mode when turned off... Indicating there was still a draw on the system?
I believe the cargo lights run off the main battery.
This situation may effect long term storage.
This is a recollection of previous posts and not a statement of personally documented fact.
Comments welcome.

[cahaak]

Just saw this post for the first time. I have done a mod like this in my pop up camper. You can get these LED discs with 6, 9, 12... surface mounted LEDs on Ebay for a couple of $ each. I did this and then just bent the leads to stick into my lights in the camper. Much brighter than the old 914 (I think) type bulbs and as indicated only draw one watt which we like for dry camping. May need to do this mod in the Sprinter as it would be nice to have more light - or may just try the LED festoons - I think 6 LEDs per Festoon.

Chris

[Mrdi]

Cargo lites:
OEM Bulb size is 13x42mm 15W max
a 44mm would fit easily.
The fixture just pops out from the van interior, there is a screwdriver slot at the end of the fixture.
Access to the bulb is by prying up the metal at the prong end of the fixture.


http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...2Ffestoon.html

[hulagun]

Better link to SuperBrightLED here: http://tinyurl.com/7qs55he

Festoon bulbs are also used in the license plate lamps, where they apparently they emit a lot of heat. Might be a good candidate for LED replacements.