How to Install LED Interior Lighting in Your Vehicle

Most new models have interior lighting that is frequently dim and stale. Occasionally, the color is ugly. When getting into your automobile at night, you should be able to see the interior and find it comfortable. LED interior lighting is the answer we have for you.

Today, we will examine the various options available for adding LED lighting to the interior of your vehicle. We will cover the best styles, various bulb kinds, the reasons to upgrade, and which bulbs you don't want to use. Finally, we'll walk you through the process of mounting them on your car.

WHY MAKE THE SWITCH?

Interior lights are a crucial component of your car, even if they don't negatively affect how it runs. They determine how the interior of your car looks and feels. Good inside illumination is essential for improving your car's visibility and creating a more comfortable driving and sitting experience.

The current bulbs don't emit much light and are dull. The owner can select from a wide variety of colors and brightness levels by switching to LED bulbs.

Stock halogen bulbs in older cars have the potential to overheat and damage the light housings, which is causing house cracks. LED bulbs won't affect your interior lighting fixtures in that way.

CHOOSING A BULB

T10 Bulb

Prior to discussing the options, it is essential to note that some light bulbs are too large and brilliant to be utilized for interior lighting. For instance, these GTR Lighting Ultra Series bulbs would fit into T10 bulb sockets. They might be too intelligent, though, for the majority of people.

Phillips and OSRAM produce this frosted lens 360° LED bulbs, although they are not very bright. The lack of brightness in the bulbs detracts from their excellent quality and color temperature.

Additionally, GTR Lighting's Carbide Series offers good choices. We advise using these lights to illuminate your trunk or trunk lid for cargo because they are very bright. Most people may find the front or rear passenger compartments too bright for comfortable use.

The GTR Lighting T10 Crystal Lens would be a suitable compromise among all of these. It has a nice balance of brightness, spread, cool white, and LED color.

The T10 sometimes referred to as a T15, 194, or 168, is the most popular bulb variety available for sale. After that, the only things you'll need to care about are the bulb's color, brightness, and direction. If it is marked as T10, T15, 194, or 168, you can be certain that it will work for your interior lighting application.

Festoon Bulb

A wire has been coiled inside this glass tube to produce light. Two metal clamps hold it together on the outside. To turn on the light, a current is sent via the metal of the clamps that these bulbs fit within.

These bulbs' susceptibility to breaking is a drawback. They do, however, emit a respectable quantity of light for interior lighting applications.

One of our options is the Ultra Series Festoon from GTR Lighting. These CAN Bus LED Festoon lights are incredibly bright, compact, and less likely to overheat. They are also available in colors other than white, exactly like the T10 bulbs.

Using a Festoon or T10 bulb anytime you wish is no longer an option. Choosing between the two depends on what your car can handle. The good news is that both types of bulbs offer high-quality lighting alternatives.

Modern SMD LEDs are more dependable than some festoon bulbs, which are available in "chip-on-board" varieties. Since these will be pretty bright and need to dissipate heat, it is a good thing that they have heat sinks on the back.

Festoons may include a small design that can be attached to the housing hook. When utilizing a conventional LED festoon, the hook attaches to nothing. In this situation, a rigid loop festoon with loops on the ends is required so that the light can function.

There are instances when festoon fitment can be tricky. There are three common sizes: 36mm, 31mm, and 42mm. This gives you some flexibility in how you use them. A 31mm LED can be installed in a 30 to 33mm hole, and a 42mm might work well for a 41–44mm application.

Other Bulb Types

We go on to more esoteric bulbs from other alternatives. The BA9S, also called the small bayonet bulb, or the H6 are examples of such bulbs. They feature two tabs on the side and one point on the bottom. A spring mechanism holds the bulb in place.

LED bulbs with the same bayonet spring base are available on the market as alternatives to this kind of bulb.

Another example is the T5 bulb. Its base is substantially smaller than that of a T10 bulb.

But, like the other bulb types we covered, you must understand each bulb's intended use as well as how its size, brightness, and orientation will affect it.

Direction and Fitment

When selecting a light bulb, it is important to ensure that it is horizontally oriented and sends light downward. This is a crucial factor when switching because LED lights are directed. One choice is a multi-sided SMD bulb; this is how GTR Lighting makes their 5 LED T10.

T10 bulbs are not all made the same way. Sometimes, they won't fit within the housing, but they might still connect to your inside lights.

INSTALLATION

Tools

You will have to enter the housing to change the bulbs in the internal illumination. Many people own a paint scraper or heavy-duty pry bar, which are both unsafe possessions. They are either too fragile or too violent for your purposes. Although pick toolsets might be useful, they often leave divots in the plastic.

The best course of action is to get a pry tool designed especially for the task. The 12-Volt Tools "Ultimate Pry Tool" is our personal favorite. It is the ideal combination of sturdy construction, thin metal, and width to prevent divots.

Another option is a trim tool package that enables you to operate on a range of vehicles. Each tool is created using a variety of shapes, sizes, materials, and curves for nearly every application.

How to Install Your Bulb

To remove the lens, first slide the pry tool beneath the lens cap. Please take your time so as not to damage the lens or the lightbulb.

After the lens has been removed, remove the bulb with a pair of pliers. Because of its size or the amount of heat it emits, it is frequently impossible to grasp with your hands. The bulb removal process will be considerably more straightforward if you use needle-nose pliers, particularly ones that can grab glass.

A plastic pry tool, like the one in our package, will help prevent glass from scratching while you work near it, such as on a vanity lamp.

As previously said, you can guarantee that as little harm as possible is done to the housing or the surrounding areas of the vehicle if you carefully pry the lenses away and try out a few various pry alternatives before deciding to remove the lens.

If your automobile has very flush lights, such as those that round the outside edge of the ceiling, you have two options for changing the lightbulb. You can reach the bulb by using the pry tool or removing the headliner. Try several different pry tools to choose which is most appropriate for the situation.

Door lights are typically complete, detachable units, which makes changing the lightbulb much simpler. After the lens's tabs are plainly visible, you can use the appropriate pry tool to remove them.

The light on the trunk lid functions similarly to the door lights that allow the entire assembly to emerge. Our car uses one of those festoon bulbs we talked about earlier. If so, be careful not to let the heat sink contact the metal assembly. If these parts contact one another, it could short the circuit and burn the fuse.

It's the ideal occasion to employ a dome light LED board because there's a lot of extra room. It is an LED-filled flat panel that connects to the festoon. The back of this item has some double-sided 3M tape. After everything is connected, push the exposed tape against the assembly's flat interior surface. The assembly can then be put back into position.

Last but not least, you can discover that your T10 LED lightbulb does not turn on once you have reached the point of connecting it. LED bulbs are typically polarity-specific, which means that in order for them to function properly, the positive terminal must be placed next to the positive terminal, and the negative terminal must be placed next to the negative.