Dimmable Dome light in Prius with 1 Watt Xenon White high powered LED

I wouldn't know. I just did a search on eBay Motors. $100 is a bit pricey for me since the fogs are basically decoration.

 

So I don't understand. When I was growing up Amber/Yellow was the color fog lights were supposed to be. When did this change to white? Also it really seems like these are driving lights not actually fog lights because in fog you don't want anything really bright due to the reflection of the light.

Anyone change these out to Amber/something else and like the results in actual bad weather?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bert Fenenga @ Apr 7 2007, 12:18 PM) [snapback]419408[/snapback]</div>

Well that is true. however, the point of fog lights is to be low enough to the ground that it's almost 'below' the fog. that's why they're always below the vehicles headlights. My old subaru's fog lights were white and worked quite well in super dense fog (used to live in north cali where dense fog was much more common), illuminating the paint lines in the road and creating minimal 'white-wash' effect of light reflecting off the fog itself. That is, they worked quite well after I worked around the part where the heads had to be on for the fogs to come on.... kinda defeated the purpose.

I haven't been in dense fog with the prius yet, so I can't say anything about the performance of these fog lights, but I would say the subaru fogs were 3 or 4 times brighter than the prius'.

 

Thanks for the reply's!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Apr 7 2007, 07:20 PM) [snapback]419613[/snapback]</div>

Ah, I get it. So from my translation of your translation is that city lights like being bright..... nevermind.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bill Merchant @ Mar 23 2007, 12:06 AM) [snapback]410754[/snapback]</div>

Bill -

Ah, they may well be different. With these type of fixtures they can be swapped. When I make my modules, I use the same overall dimensions for both positions. My list is more of a "practical" list (what will fit, or what I've used) vs what is supposed to be in there!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(richard schumacher @ Mar 24 2007, 09:20 AM) [snapback]411500[/snapback]</div>

The factory electronic flasher unit will flash faster with less load. They're programmed specifically to act like they're load dependent. Grrr.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Squint @ Mar 27 2007, 07:19 AM) [snapback]412909[/snapback]</div>

George, who runs taskled, is my friend mentioned on my LED pages. That is the same circuit that I use for my modules - customized for the Prius. The only ones George sells is that one configuration - made for LandCruisers. Obviously it can be adapted to serve other purposes with a bit of rework. And of course it IS the ultimate.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(aaf709 @ Mar 27 2007, 07:46 AM) [snapback]412935[/snapback]</div>

If you're asking about the regulated circuit that we use for our modules, there is no way for it to dim - because of the strict regulation is provides. As long as there is enough voltages, the current to the LED never changes. AS soon as there is not enough voltage to support the current, poof. The LED snaps off.

 

WOW! That looks really bright! Did you take a pic of the fixture with the 42mm bulb in it? How did you rig that?

I finally got the LEDs shipped from Hong Kong yesterday and installed them. I'm a little disappointed, they seem much dimmer and much bluer than white, sort of cool-white-flourescent-tube color.

One of the 31mm festoon bulbs didn't work, so I left the cargo light alone since I don't use it much. The ones I really like are the flank firing ones in the lower front doors. Good ground light. I'll leave them all in for a while and hope I get used to the ghoul-white color.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Apr 17 2007, 09:48 PM) [snapback]425034[/snapback]</div>

seller is warden_jp2002
just take note about the qty of the lights you're ordering. some are 2pcs and some are 1pc

 

And be prepaired to wait on shipping from Hong Kong. I thought the LEDs were stocked in the US from his eBay store.

BTW, I tried the festoon lamp in both directions. It doesn't light.

I look forward to your pics.

 

I bought a set of LEDs from this seller for my Classic Prius and am quite impressed with the lamps for the most part.. The 3W 7440/7443 replacements are IMO the *only* ones I've yet seen that are any good in the Classic.. I've tried a number of other LED replacements and they were simply too dim to see well during the day; these 3W replacements on the other hand are very visible during the daytime, even with the sun shining directly on the taillight, and even off-angle. The only complaint is that because the side-emitter LEDs are very small compared to the 3x1W top emitters, during the day, the contribution from the parabolic reflector is negligible and they basically illuminate a spot on centre of the taillight lens vs. the whole taillight area like a bulb.. They're fine at night though.. The 1W festoon bulb is similarly very good and produces usable cabin light compared to the other LED festoon replacements I've tried, which are very dim.. The light color is quite pure- looks like a cool-white flourescent, without the purplish-blue central zone that plague most cheap "white" LEDs.. The 168/194 replacements on the other hand do leave somewhat to be desired.. Because they are size-limited, they are simply not bright enough- the Classic uses 194s for its reverse lights, and although the LEDs are fine to indicate to other drivers that you're backing up, the LEDs are quite simply not even close to bright enough to be able to see anything when reversing at night compared to the original bulbs or especially some of the aftermarket halogen reverse-light replacements..

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(usbseawolf2000 @ Apr 17 2007, 08:29 PM) [snapback]425062[/snapback]</div>

Great work, I will like to do the same mod on my prius as well. Could you kindly write out a list of location of each bulb and which model bulb, description and price from this ebay seller works please?

Thanks,

E

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(usbseawolf2000 @ Apr 17 2007, 06:10 PM) [snapback]425020[/snapback]</div>

One thing to note: While the wattage of the factory bulb is obvious - the draw from the LED replacements is not - unless you measured it. If it is marked "2W" that simply means that an LED capable of dissipating 2W. Doesn't mean that's what it draws. And even if it did, that doesn't take into account the overhead of the circuit.

All that said, there's no way that the LED itself will draw 2W. That would be about 700mW, and would quickly overheat and eat itself for lunch. So.. the thing could coincidentally draw about 2W - but that's not 2W of light you're getting. If that makes sense...

As for the blue - that's a sign of either a cheap LED, and/or an over-driven emitter. Either way, durability can be a concern.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jgills240 @ Apr 17 2007, 10:36 PM) [snapback]425067[/snapback]</div>

so yea, benefit from my mistake. [edit] mistake of ordering too many.

I have some extras if anybody wants them:
ONE of these


TWO of these


basically the set of 3: 1 for the front dome light + 2 map lights. very nice!
all for $10 incl. shipping if necessary ($16.60 if buy from warden on ebay). or just pick up in SD till Saturday or north LA area Sunday on (moving sucks!)

Also a set of these:

for $10 also incl ship ($20.40 on ebay). don't really work as fogs, but if somebody has good LED circuitry skills and can remake them for radial emission they would work perfect!!

 

A few people have questioned what LED's to get. I did purchase some and currently have them installed. I bought them from the warden guy on eBay. Here's what I got and some thoughts on them:

Courtesy door lights: #168 Flank LED (White).
Front map light: #168 Wedge 6 LED (Xenon white) --Has 6 LED's
Map lights: #168 Wide Angle 12 LED (Xenon White) -- Has 12 LED's
Rear dome light: 31mm Festoon LED (Xenon White)
Cargo Light: #3175 Festoon 12 (Xenon White) --Has 12 LED's.

Also bought #168 Inverted LED (White) to test out as a front dome light.

Here's some thoughts:

The glow of these are the ghostly blue as suspected by others and shown in the photos. I'm not so sure that I'll keep all of them in. The warm glow from the OEM bulbs goes better with my beige interior than this color.

The flank LED's don't fit in perfectly. In the lamp fixture, there are little metal tabs that held the cylindrical OEM bulb in. These need to be tweaked to hold the squarish LED board in otherwise, the LED is only loosely held. Not a big deal, but go easy with the needle-nose pliers when doing this so as to not crunch the LED.

The Festoon cargo light has 12 LED's but guess what: Half of them face in opposite direction. This means that when you put the LED light in (After bending the metal arm to accept the longer light) 6 LED's face away from the cargo area and into the light housing. I spray painted in the interior of the housing (White) to get some return from these 6 backward facing LED's. As mentioned by others, the light switch is quirky in that the bulb rotates as the switch is used. I put a blob of generic silicon sealant/caulking on the end of the LED away from the switch to bind it to the terminal.

The rear dome LED is also slightly longer than the OEM bulb but it doesn't take much effort to get it to pop in place.

As mentioned, they all have a certain polarity so if they don't light up, swap them around.

Be aware that these LED lights are not really that bright! <_< They are only slightly brighter than the OEM bulbs. Yes, when you look at them, they are brighter but that's not what counts. One measure of brightness is how well they light up what you need to see. Whether it's part of the interior, the whole interior or a map that you're trying to read. For comparison, I pulled out the illumination meter and produced some numbers:

Courtesy door lights (Measured on the ground at the brightest spot):
OEM: 0.7 foot candles (fc)
LED's: 0.9 foot candles
The LED's light up a smaller area than the OEM's. OEM's are more diffuse.

Front dome light (Without the clear plastic diffuser in place):
8" away:
OEM: 7.5 fc
LED: 13.0 fc

Lap/map reading level:
OEM: 0.5 fc
LED: 0.2 fc

Top of center arm rest:
OEM: 0.7 fc
LED: 3.0 fc

These lights (Wedge) focus the light into one particular area.


Map lights (Without the clear plastic diffuser in place):
8" away:
OEM: 7.5 fc (Same values as front dome)
LED: 8.0 fc

Lap/map reading level:
OEM: 0.5 fc
LED: 0.6 fc

Top of center arm rest:
OEM: 0.7 fc
LED: 0.6 fc

These lights (Wide Angle) are quite diffuse. While I thought that with 12 LED's they would be great map lights, but because they are wide angle, they are best used to light up the interior. They have a wider spray pattern than the OEM's.

So, it would seem to swap the 6 LED Wedge light out from the dome light and use it as a map light. Not so. The Wedge light is quite directional, which is good, but it is aimed at the back of the center arm rest. Not a great place to have the light aimed at. The light fall off is such that it's worthless outside of a 8" circle at the back of the arm rest.

Rear dome light:
8" away:
OEM: 4.0 fc
LED: 6.0 fc

Lap level:
OEM: 0.5 fc
LED: 0.5 fc

Cargo Light (With rear of housing painted white):
8" away:
LED: 3.0 fc

Middle of cargo area:
LED: 1.0 fc

Far side of cargo area:
LED: 0.3 fc

Sorry, no OEM data as I had siliconed the LED in place and didn't want to remove it.

So, there's my findings. These eBay LED's are only marginally better better and in some situations, worse than OEM's.

I recognize that the big advantages of LED's is that they last a lot longer and take up much less power. As for me, I'm going to keep the ghoul blue cast for awhile to see if I can get used to it. I'll use the 12 LED light for the front dome as it lights up the front interior better than the OEM or the Wedge LED during this time. I'll definitely be contacting Darell to get real cargo and dome LED's at least.

Hope this helps,
Cheers,

 

To add more to the comparisons that I made as shown in the post above, I purchased one of EVnut's custom made LED's for the cargo area and one of the imported lights for the rear dome. Here's the numbers for these:

EV's rear dome LED:
8" away: 11 fc
lap level: 1.5 fc

This light does have a bluish tinge but much less so than the lights jpwarden on eBay is selling.

EV's custom made cargo light:
8" away: 28 fc

Middle of cargo area: 4.5 fc

Far side of cargo area: 1.3 fc

This light is white versus blue.

EV's cargo light is significantly brighter and lights up much more of the cargo area than the eBay 12 LED light.

Cheers,