Replacing OEM interior lighting with aftermarket Xenons?

Plastic_Fork · #1 08-08-2003, 04:55 AM

Greets,

My interior dome light is pretty weak and I'd like to replace it with something brighter. I've seen Xenon aftermarket bulbs for things like the dome light and was considering that, but I'm not sure if it's safe -- if it's gonna short anything out or melt something. Has anyone used them? If so, what's your opinion on them? Do they work better or is it even worth buying them?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

buymeabmwm3 · #2 08-08-2003, 12:49 PM

My roommate replaced his headlights with those aftermarket Xenon bulbs (not a full conversion, just the bulbs). Bascially, the only change was that they were white instead of slightly yellow. No change in brightness.
My take these aftermarket "Xenon" bulbs is that they don't really do anything. I think the light circuitry may actually be what controls the brightness of the bulb, so changing the bulb would do nothing. They are just more expensive bulbs. I'd say stick to the OEM bulb and you'll be fine.

00accord44 · #3 08-08-2003, 02:50 PM

I think hes talking about the interior dome light, but Ive never seen a "Xenon" dome light before. It would be rather pointless IMO to put real Xenon technology into a light intended to illuminate such a small area. If youve seen it its probably just some BS advertising to make you think its that shizzle

Just like how those cheap ass Pep Boys headlight bulbs all say "HID" and "Xenon" all over em.

I have seen colored replacement bulbs for interior. (I have so-called "hyperwhite" dome light, vanity mirror lights, door lights, map lights. I guess they might be a tad bit brighter than the OEM bulbs, but nothing major. Just adds a lil color when i open the doors. Thats all.

SilverY2KCivic · #4 08-08-2003, 03:12 PM

I put a Polarg hyperwhite bulb in my dome light, and it's maybe like 5-10% brighter than the stock bulb, not that much, but I like the look of it much better. If you exceed the rating of the bulb to be used there (5w for mine) then you can run the risk of burning up something, or getting a short of some sort.

Plastic_Fork · #5 08-08-2003, 08:20 PM

Well, I'm just trying to get a little more light out of the interior lights without blowing anything up.

As for Xenon interior:

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...=1&cc=01&avf=Y

It was blue though and it's not a show car -- just looking for better illumination. I think I'd be interested in checking out the Polarg hyperwhite bulbs or another brand to see how it goes. Does anyone have a brand preference for these things? Know where I can find some for sale?

Thanks for the help guys.

00accord44 · #6 08-11-2003, 09:53 AM

You can find lights like em at any Rice/Burger shop near you. Just follow the fart cans

But seriously, you can find em at any performance shop pretty much or anywhere that you can buy "xenon" headlights/ turn signals/ etc. Cost about $10 or less. Mine were $7 but generic brand. They seem to work just as well. It only a dome light. Mine will probably burn out sooner though

Plastic_Fork · #7 08-11-2003, 06:54 PM

'Preciate it, man. I'm giving a Raybrig bulb and a Polarg bulb a shot and see how they work out. My dome light is a 5w bulb, so I had to dig to find 'em. Most were 10w bulbs and I don't want to exceed factory spec on it. Maybe now I can see what I'm doing. Believe it or not, it's pretty damn dark in a Del Sol at night with poor lighting and my dome light just doesn't cut it.

Plastic_Fork · #8 08-20-2003, 04:21 PM

Well, got the 5w Raybrig bulb in and it's definately better. The Polarg bulbs I was sent were the 10w though, and not the 5w I ordered. Think it would be okay to use the 10w bulbs on the dome light, even though it's supposed to use a 5w? Anyone here use bulbs with higher wattage than the factory bulbs use? Do they work alright? Anything explode?

I hate when companies mess up an order. If I don't use these, that means an exchange. Gr...

krichardson · #9 08-28-2003, 05:28 PM

The only thing I'll say is that the Eurolite bluewhite 168/194 by Toucan is NOT something I'd recommend for the door lights. I tried that, and it got blazingly hot, so much so that I think it'd melt the lens if left on for more than a minute.

I ended up replacing the door lights with superwhite 168/194 base LEDs, which run totally cool and since they're aimed straight out of the socket, the 'led spread' effect doesn't cause a problem. They look cool.

www.superbrightleds.com has some triple-led tube bulbs that'll fit the dome lights, but I haven't tried them yet...anyone else have?

sniperscrubb · #10 09-24-2003, 06:36 PM

How about domelight in LED? That should be super bright

http://store.autotoys.com/cgi-bin/wf...roduct/13966-1

00jimmyd00 · #11 09-29-2003, 08:21 PM

the thing i've been doing for a while is spray painting the inside plastic where the light bulb mounts with a metallic silver paint so it reflects better (sounds cheesy but you'd be surprised who much brighter the light is after).....one other thing i do is paint a very light coat of the high heat engine paint on the bulb i use ford blue....like i said before if you try it you'll be surprised about the brightness of the stock bulb......also when you do it make sure you tape off the ends of the bulbs and the bulb connectors so to keep a good connection......Jimmy

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