Dome light LED bulb that actually works right.

I just ordered one one of these. I'll let you know how it works in.... late March or so?

 

Awesome, if you're in the Yarmouth / Digby area drop me a PM.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/WHITE-LED-D...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item35bfe02709

I bought these, they plugged in right, and they worked perfect....

No need to solder a bunch of shit together. it just worked

(incase people see this after the item has ended, and want to find it on Ebay)
(WHITE LED DOME MAP INTERIOR LIGHT BULBS 12 SMD PANEL T10 Festoon Adapter Top)

They ship from China, and cost $1.76, shipped...

 

Well I have these in hand and they are not working well so far. No light in one direction and very dim in reverse polarity. Would be curious to know how you got them working without resistors. Off to radio shack to troubleshoot.

 

Some trucks will work without resistors, others won't, there's no magic to it, just trial and error... My truck requires the resistors... "See sig"

 

The difference Is the 95.5 to 2000 do not need resisters. In 2001 they changed the interior lights to dim down by reading resistance. That is why the 2001-2004 need resisters.

It took me a while to figure out why, but now my 95.5-2000 interior lights have no resisters and the 2001-2004 come with them already on them.

 

Here's my experience with the Ebay one. As mentioned you will need the resistors for 2001 on and I have a 2002.

Here's my lameness in stock mode.





Here's what came in the mail.







After some trial and error I took out this spring because it was pissing me off and PITA to fit. Since the bulb size is equal to this thing fully compressed I just super glued the 2 halves together.





I dremeled each end to get a good surface for the solder and then cut off the ends of the resistor to fit. Soldered it together.







The soldering iron was getting tricky and HOT to the point where it started to melt the plastic center piece, this lead to the wire ends melting into the plastic and I lost my electrical connection.



So... I had to go a different route, I soldered the wire ends back to the metal caps, continued to use the melted plastic piece, and then put the resistor between the 2 wires instead. This worked for me but that resistor gets pretty freakin hot... is it hotter than the old incandescent bulb only time will tell. I taped it off with electrical tape.



I coiled up the wire and did my best to center the led's, took off the 3M backing and stuck it in as best I could considering there's not much of a flat surface in the center.

Here's the AFTER pics.





Nice and bright. If I get time I might just try one of those with the LED's inbetween the contact ends for comparison.

 

If you use a heat sink where you are soldering, you won't melt the plastic like that. Heat conducts very well in metal, so attach the alligator clip (or pliers... or vise) to the metal festoon cap where you are soldering, make sure it is touching the metal but out of the way of your solder joint. The heat will dissipate into the metal and probably save the plastic.

 

FWIW, I used 2W 100olm resitors so they dont overheat with long usage.

 

My '08 works just fine with the Festoon LED. Dims as it shuts off just like it should.

Electrical tape is not the best thing to use... it's going to harden and crack.

100 ohm resistor? That's 140ma in parallel with the LED... that's only 2 watts, but that doesn't look like a 2 watt resistor... and it really should be larger to carry a 2w load continuously.
I'd go 200 ohms with a 2w resistor... should be enough to do the job.

 

80% rule... 100 ohms @ 14v is 1.96 watts. You should not run more than 1.6 watts through a 2w resistor.

 

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/festoon/

Could someone point me somewhere...?

 

Notice the "Relative Intensity" is only 2 out of 5 bulbs... If you want a reasonably bright interior light, I'd suggest at least 3-4 out of 5 bulbs... Just my opinioin...

 

I thought 2w would be better than 1w...

<- this guy is not an electrician.

 

2w is better than 1w, but a 100 ohm resistor carrying 14v is passing 1.96 watts, which is too close to it's rated limit of 2w and is why it is running hot.
You're basically running the resistor at "redline" 24/7.
A 1w resistor would likely have already smoked and burned.

Double the resistance to 200 ohms and keep the resistor at 2w and you're now running a cool 0.98w through it. The only reason that resistor hasn't overheated and discolored, and damaged surrounding plastic, is because it is generally only on for a short period of time.

 

Ive kept it on for a while... I got the nicer Japanese made resister so hopefully its holds out... Thanks for the tip though.

 

Hmm my 00 works perfect with festoon leds and theyre wicked bright

 

Id like to go with LED's in the cab too. Which bulb did you use? And where did you get it?
Thanks.

 

Just ordered a few 100 ohm 3 watt resistors. Might as well keep it at 100 ohms. And the wattage rating should be fine for the resistor if it sees around 2 watts with a 14 volt load. Ordered from Talon Electronics.. I'll report back with results. Radioshack around me doesn't carry sh!t anymore. Bunch of phones and accessories now. Totally useless store to shop at.

Here's the part I ordered.
http://talonelectronics.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=9574

 

You were right. My resisters burnt up... Thanks!