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How To: Interior and Rear License Plate LEDs

Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 1:40 pm
by bs0u0118
I decided to change out all my interior lights, including boot and rear number plate lights for some nice white LEDs in my E86.

This was not quite as easy as I thought due to slight variations in bulb sizes, in particular affecting the main dome and reading lights.

The footwell, glovebox and seat compartment (area in-between seats) all take the same bulbs, as seen below. These bulb holders just slide to the left or right and clip out – very easy to fit.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220880644828? ... 1497.l2649

The dome light and reading lights are similar to the above, but have a slimmer fitting. The bulbs above would not slide into the fitting holes in the dome lights, so I had to search around for these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120708113993? ... 1497.l2649

The dome light is a little more tricky and I used a bank card around the edges with a butter knife (careful with the upholstery) to unclip this from the roof. There’s then a plug to attach the electrics, but this can simply slide out, then the unit is free from the car.

Note: if you have an E85 which does not have reading lights (i.e. lighting package), the bulbs are festoon, not wedges, so you’ll need to get 2 of those I’ve linked to for the boot below.

The boot light is a festoon bulb and I found the one below fits nicely, whilst having a high number of SMDs, meaning more white light!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251005743885? ... 1497.l2649

The car now looks amazing in the dark, the whole interior lights up in perfect white and draws a lot of attention. Overall, they’re actually much better at providing light to those dark areas like the boot and footwells.

A great mod for around £10 and 30mins work :D

I'll get some photos up soon...

Re: How To: Interior and Rear License Plate LEDs

Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 3:04 pm
by M@r]{
Looking forward to seeing the pics :thumbsup:

Re: How To: Interior and Rear License Plate LEDs

Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 4:04 pm
by aquazi
def a good mod... i love my ice blue interior lights :thumbsup:

Re: How To: Interior and Rear License Plate LEDs

Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 1:36 pm
by corsaire77
Good info on the bulbs and fitment. It could be moved to the DIY section.

Re: How To: Interior and Rear License Plate LEDs

Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 2:20 pm
by JimmyPop
Just done the same with my E85 - big improvement. I did however forget about the compartment between the seats!

Anyone know how easy it would be to change the dash lighting?

Re: How To: Interior and Rear License Plate LEDs

Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 4:09 pm
by chrisba
JimmyPop wrote:Just done the same with my E85 - big improvement. I did however forget about the compartment between the seats!

Anyone know how easy it would be to change the dash lighting?
Any tips on what bulbs to use for the E85?

Re: How To: Interior and Rear License Plate LEDs

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 9:01 pm
by JimmyPop
chrisba wrote:
JimmyPop wrote:Just done the same with my E85 - big improvement. I did however forget about the compartment between the seats!

Anyone know how easy it would be to change the dash lighting?
Any tips on what bulbs to use for the E85?
Sorry for the late reply. I used these for the dome lights. I'm not sure about the luggage compartment. As for the rest of my lights, I had to install my own footwell and door lights as I didn't have them on my car.

Re: How To: Interior and Rear License Plate LEDs

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 9:08 pm
by markeg
Which ones were used for the rear numberplate? They seem to be single units rather than bulbs in my zed, like these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Error-Free- ... 2a04463a9a. Has anyone taken these units apart, or is it a 'black box' replacement?

Re: How To: Interior and Rear License Plate LEDs

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 9:22 pm
by bs0u0118
markeg wrote:Which ones were used for the rear numberplate? They seem to be single units rather than bulbs in my zed, like these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Error-Free- ... 2a04463a9a. Has anyone taken these units apart, or is it a 'black box' replacement?
It should be a standard wedge fitting, asper my first link in opening post. The bulb holder screws out the black unit, allowing you to change it, it looks sealed but its not

Re: How To: Interior and Rear License Plate LEDs

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 6:09 pm
by Voodoo
Hi all.

Just in the middle of a full interior and plate led upgrade, popped out the rear number plate light holder and the poxy thing when it goes back in is as loose as hell. Can anyone post a pic of how the spring securer fits as I think this stretched and bent on removal! Cheers in advance!!

Re: How To: Interior and Rear License Plate LEDs

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 6:45 pm
by Voodoo
Scrub my last!

Just bent the springy bits to sit them in snugly. No idea what shape they should be, but they're back in and snug now. Very pleased with the new interior and number plate lights. Look a million times cleaner. Happy days. :0) :thumbsup:

Re: How To: Interior and Rear License Plate LEDs

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 2:45 pm
by half
Jimmy, I don't have the footwell light! who knows where I can get the power to create the footwell light???

Sorry for the late reply. I used these for the dome lights. I'm not sure about the luggage compartment. As for the rest of my lights, I had to install my own footwell and door lights as I didn't have them on my car.[/quote]

Re: How To: Interior and Rear License Plate LEDs

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 6:54 pm
by Clueless1
bs0u0118, I'm interested in changing the rear number plate lights. Are these the ones you refer to, in your opening post, as "boot lights" or are they for inside the boot?

A link to the bulbs you used for the number plate would be much appreciated.

Re: How To: Interior and Rear License Plate LEDs

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 3:51 am
by Hotride
i used t10 led's for the number plate lights.

In fact on my 03 E85 every single bulb in the car is a t10 base including inside the boot, number plate lights etc
the only dificult one is the dome light, which i had to get out the dremel and shave the led bulb down till it fit.

I know some people hate coloured LED's but i put blue in the footwells and I think it is the perfect colour for down there, I also put blue led and 2 led strip lights in the trunk, totaling about 60 smd's (led bulbs) and it is bright as day now :thumbsup:

Re: How To: Interior and Rear License Plate LEDs

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 7:22 am
by jamesgarbett
When you say seat compartment light where is that exactly?