Swift DIY: LED Light Conversion For Cabin, Boot & Registration Plate

[anuraagshenoy]

The Need:

With the cabin light being located in the center but the sort of dim lighting never illuminated the whole cabin as required making me use the flash light of my mobile to find things inside or if I needed to read anything even for a shorter while. Worst parts effected were the glove box, rear seat area as the front seatback used to deteriorate the vision further, door pockets.

It was getting a bit painful to the eyes frowning to search stuff in the car. Looked up websites for a cabin lamp LED changeover for a brighter output without killing the battery / electricals.

Came up with a simpler solution of changing the OEM festoon bulb to a LED festoon one.

What I have bought for this DIY:

1) For Cabin Light:

Name: High Power White 10W 2 CREE XB-D CANBUS 36mm Festoon LED
Price: $1.11 = ₹72.63
Bought from: AliExpress

2) For Boot Light:

Name: Got a cheaper T10 or W5W LED
Price: ₹68
Bought from: Local store

 

[anuraagshenoy]

Re: Swift DIY: LED light conversion for Cabin & Boot

Tools required:
A flat head screwdriver OR an ATM / loyalty card

Installation Procedure:

1. Open the transparent plastic cover;
2. Remove the OEM festoon bulb from its holder;
3. Clean the area with a brush;
4. Replace the OEM festoon bulb with the new festoon one;
5. Re-fix the transparent plastic cover.

Time taken for the DIY: <30 minutes

Here are the picture for better understanding:

Cabin light with circles marked to open the cover


Light Casing free from the headliner


Roof portion seen from the headliner


LED Festoon in place


Trial Shot


Casing Refit into the headliner


36 mm LED Details




OEM Festoon Lighting


LED Festoon Lighting


VERDICT:
There is a marked difference and it feels like having replaced the OEM bulb with some kind of CFL. With black interiors it feels bright, I'm just thinking how would it be if the same is done for a beige or a lighter colour interior car, Dazzling I must say.

 

[anuraagshenoy]

Re: Swift DIY: LED light conversion for Cabin & Boot

LED CONVERSION BOOT LIGHT

A very simple procedure:

Boot Light


OEM T10/W5W Bulb


New LED Pair that I bought


LED Bulb in place


Test Shot


Light intensity comparison between the OEM vs LED


Another View of the boot with the LED On


A cheap and minor upgrade that makes life easier when in need at night times during emergency. Beats me why OE manufacturers do not think in these lines as such small things make life easier in small ways that aren't expressed much by customers.

For all the interested guys, here is the part number details and diagram from the parts manual that I have.

Part Number & Diagram


Thanks for reading.

 

[350Z]

Re: Swift DIY: LED Light Conversion For Cabin & Boot

Note: Thread Now Live. Thanks!

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[bhvm]

Re: Swift DIY: LED Light Conversion For Cabin & Boot

welcome Anurag to our forums.

your DIY are very well written and are an absolute treat to read. also you're lucky to get genuine cree festoon bulbs with heatsinks and all.

good luck and keep it up.

 

[anuraagshenoy]

welcome Anurag to our forums.

your DIY are very well written and are an absolute treat to read. also you're lucky to get genuine cree festoon bulbs with heatsinks and all.

good luck and keep it up.

Thank you for the appreciation.

Was searching for a long time and found that bulbs so without any thought bought it right away.

 

[ice_wise]

Re: Swift DIY: LED Light Conversion For Cabin & Boot

Nice DIY and write-up Anurag. Thanks for sharing.

We don't get such good quality bulbs in India and I have reverted back to OEM halogens totally after trying lots of cheap LEDs. Infact, I have changed close to 10 pairs of LED for the reverse number plate (in 4-5 months of ownership) as they conk off very fast, and vibrations from my ICE make matters worse.

I was thinking of Philips W5W Halogens with a blue tint. I saw those for 200+ bucks on Amazon.in but they feel expensive as compared to LEDs and light output won't be that great.

One question - If the items from Aliexpress are dead on arrival, who pays the charges for sending it back? I mean, how is the entire process then?

I haven't ventured to international shopping yet, and have very limited choices at this moment.

 

[anuraagshenoy]

Re: Swift DIY: LED Light Conversion For Cabin & Boot

One question - If the items from Aliexpress are dead on arrival, who pays the charges for sending it back? I mean, how is the entire process then?

I haven't ventured to international shopping yet, and have very limited choices at this moment.

I haven't acquired a 'Dead-on-arrival' accessory or any purchase so I am not sure what it is but the process to deal with such issues is contact the seller as soon as you receive the product and inform them via a picture or a video saying the product received is faulty and you need a solution:

Solution 1: Repack and resend the package. Shipping cost is borne by seller.

Solution 2: Keep the dead product and receive a full refund (incl shipping).

Generally I choose Solution 2. Of the 53 orders done so far on AliExpress, I would have had 7 disputes where I received my money fully back.

Not a risk but a gamble!

 

[kannan.cnkr]

Re: Swift DIY: LED Light Conversion For Cabin & Boot

Thank you for the appreciation.

Was searching for a long time and found that bulbs so without any thought bought it right away.

Is this possible to have the luggage lamp assembly in the ritz as i have already wired till rear by i have waiting for the part no's. is this can be done as DIY?

 

[gears1313]

Re: Swift DIY: LED Light Conversion For Cabin & Boot

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...ior-lights-boot-light-changed-white-leds.html

Something for more reference... :-)

 

[anuraagshenoy]

Re: Swift DIY: LED Light Conversion For Cabin & Boot

Swapping to LED's on the Rear registration lights

Brand: OSRAM
Type: LED
Bulb Type: T10 or W5W
Voltage: 12V
Wattage: 1W
Colour Temperature: 6000K
Made In TAIWAN as claimed
Paid: Rs 900!
Bought from: AliExpress.

Osram LED T10/W5W


The Bulbs


Simple Process:

1. Open the boot lid; open the black cover by pulling the plastic clips;
2. There are 6 of them holding the cover;
3. Pull the connectors powering the bulbs by pressing down on the tab located on the top;
4. Hold the bulb holder and rotate it anti-clockwise (12-10 O' clock position) to free them from the boot lid;
5. Pull out the OEM T10's and replace them with the Osram T10 LED's.
6. Refit the holder and boot lid cover.

We are Done!
_________________________________________________________________

Black cover on the boot lid


Plastic clip that holds the cover


Connector for the registration plate lights - Remove by pressing the tab on the top


Rotate the bulb holder anti-clockwise (12-10 o' clock position) to remove the lights


OEM T10 vs Osram T10 LED's


Test Shot


Before (i.e OEM T10's)


After (i.e Osram T10's)

 

[DarshanR]

Hi Anuraag

This is very detailed setup. I am a fan of your DIY's. Have been following your posts and planning to upgrade the same in my swift, I have purchased the Osram T10 led bulbs costed 865/- at Amazon.in.

Needed few clarifications on the leds what you have installed in your car

1) Hows the reliability of Osram leds(Reg plates), Local led t10(boot light), Festoon led( cabin)?
2) Is it safe to use a local led vs oem?
3) Did you face any led failures after installation?

Thanks
Darshan

 

[anuraagshenoy]

1) Hows the reliability of Osram leds(Reg plates), Local led t10(boot light), Festoon led( cabin)?
2) Is it safe to use a local led vs oem?
3) Did you face any led failures after installation?

Hello Sir, Please find the replies to your questions in the same order.

1. Very reliable and stable even after so many days post installation. All are working reliably with no conking off.

2. It is never an issue if the right bulbs are purchased.

3. No failures at all post installation.

 

[DarshanR]

Hello Sir, Please find the replies to your questions in the same order.

1. Very reliable and stable even after so many days post installation. All are working reliably with no conking off.

2. It is never an issue if the right bulbs are purchased.

3. No failures at all post installation.

Thanks for the answers Anuraag. I would like to add a info regarding the T10 W5W bulb, MGA is exclusively selling these LED's for 199/- INR, it has 2 diodes, will post a pic as I am planning to go to Kalyani Motors this weekend. Hence I happened to return the Osram as I felt it is too costly.

Cheers,
Darshan

 

[KARANWAL]

Hi Anurag,

Let me start by saying that I am a newbee and this is my first post.
I started following a4anurag few months back on and on this as well and I must say you truly love your car.

Swift VDi is my first personal car, 4 years of ownership and driving +85K, I must say I never spent a second on things like detailing or gave a thought on which speaker/AMP or HU I should install in it until I accidentally bump on Team-BHP website and your posts.

Now after reading your posts and love towards your car I am trying to redo all the things in my car as well and I must say I am loving it.

So thank you so much for your detailed posts and I am sure there are thousands of others like me getting inspired from your posts.

Thanks,
Ankur Karanwal