Evaluation of an LED Car dome light

Hi Folks!
I had bought an interior dome light replacement from GeorgeS80, a fellow CPFer and I am pleased to report it is a winner.

It is a small circuit board with a 1 watt Luxeon mounted on the flip side and has contacts in just the right places so it can replace the stock bulb in my dome light.

It is clearly the bright white color we have come to treasure in LED lighting, and is just a bit dimmer than the stock incandescent power hungry bulb. I metered it at 120ma. I mostly wanted it because my kids tend to leave the light on when parked and I forget to turn it off. This is very unlikely to kill the battery even if I left it on for a few days.

It was very easy to put in and I thought it deserved a bit of good feedback. At $25 it seems like a pretty good deal.

Good Job, George!
Here is his webpage: web page

Glad you like it. You must have had a pretty good incandescent in there - in all the vehicles I've installed the Luxeon dome module the LED has been considerably brighter than the stock 10W incandescent.

Edit: Or, is your diffuser not clear? On the vehicles I've installed it in with clear diffusers the light output far exceeds the incandescent, but when the diffuser is opaque and yellowish then you lose a lot of the light from the LED.

Yep, you can leave the dome on for a whole 24 hours and you'll have used up a whopping 3 amp/hours. That was the driving force to develop the module - I have a couple of kids that drained the batteries in a few of our cars by turning on the dome modules. Also, when going camping I no longer have to turn domes off or run around closing doors all the time.

george.

You know, it could be that the diffuser, while clear, is absorbing a lot of the light. I tried it with the plastic off and it was much brighter. The lens might be made for maximum incandescent transmission.

What I would really like to see is your FlexiLED made into a module with the gooseneck I could stick in place of the map light. That would just be too cool.
Maybe one of these weekends...

I put the flexiLED I bought into a project box with a racing car nicd pack. I'm amazed at how useful this is.

Thanks
JoeyL

My truck uses three of George's Luxeon dome modules. They are great. Bright white light now found inside the cabin. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif Thanks George.

I have one in my '94 Corolla DX. It's nice. I would like to put one in my wife's '91 Accord LX, but the Accord uses a 'U' shaped holder to hold the ends of the bayonet bulbs, so it's not as readily adaptable for George's LED module. And, I haven't the time to work out something in it's place yet (Need to get plans drawn up so I can get a permit pulled and work on rough finishing the basement for the boys to have a play room.)

georges80 -- Will it fit on 96 Cherokee sport 4x4 jeep's dome lamp for luxeon?

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chr00t said:
georges80 -- Will it fit on 96 Cherokee sport 4x4 jeep's dome lamp for luxeon?

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Nah - only fits superior 4wd's like 80 series land cruisers /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Seriously, it can be made to fit, I have an older '89 XJ and it can fit. If your '96 has the same dome as my '89 you'll find it is quite a long bulb with a sort of rectangular wire connection at each end. I just made some longer pins for my module to slot into the XJ.

So, yes, it can fit - but you'll need to make the pins.

george.

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JoeyL said:
What I would really like to see is your FlexiLED made into a module with the gooseneck I could stick in place of the map light. That would just be too cool.

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Done. But... I just realized I haven't taken pictures yet. Will do later, and post here. In the meantime, here's the uFlex used for a standard dome: http://www.darelldd.com/ev/rav_dome2.htm

And this is V1.5 of the uFlex version of the front dome/map light. The aimable 9* has now been replaced with a luxeon running off a second uFlex. http://www.darelldd.com/ev/images/rav_maplight_build.jpg

Ok, so nobody got excited by those shots.

Here's what it looks like today, all complete and buttoned up. The two emitters behind the lens are controlled by one uFlex and the red button on the left. The aimable map light is controlled by a second uFlex and the black button behind the stalk. All stock lamp buttons function as well, though they just supply the power.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Darell: Deranged actually! Ever since I sent you that flux & solder with hallucinatory properties you seem to be maximizing the number of solder joints in your projects /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

george.

Darell, very nice work, that turned out great.

I am glad to see it turned out that nice, I wont to but a Flexilight in my Toyota Pickup.
Being dimmable, and aimable, thats just perfect. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Oh No...
Now I won't be able to rest until I do this.
Seriously, that is a great idea, Darell.
I don't know why they don't make these for a regular option.
It would be much safer to point a light in one spot rather thean blinding the driver.
Ok George, here comes another order!

The BEST part about the uFlex is that famous "autosleep" mode. The doors of my Rav are left open ALL the time, it seems. Before I installed these, I ran my battery down twice, and that just ticked me off. With the incandescents, the Aux battery could be killed overnight. Since installing these, I've left a door open for four days with no problem - seeing as how the lights are OFF after just a couple of hours... and the lights never drew much in the first place!

Highly recommended mod! The flood of the head makes for a great dome, actually. I have it set up so that the door switch just turns on the "map light." If I really want light flooded into my eyes, I can turn on the traditional dome - which is substantially brighter with two Q3 emitters than it was with the incandescents. And I'm only using about 1/8th the power.

Thanks for the nice words.

[ QUOTE ]
Oh No...
Now I won't be able to rest until I do this.
Seriously, that is a great idea, Darell.
I don't know why they don't make these for a regular option.
It would be much safer to point a light in one spot rather thean blinding the driver.
Ok George, here comes another order!

[/ QUOTE ]
Hey, I'm just trying to earn my keep. I'm George's marketing manager, if he hasn't told you already. Tell him Darell sent you.

I guess the reason that cars don't come stock like this is totally due to PRICE. The mass-produced car is all about the bottom line, unfortunately.

But I totally agree that an aimable light up front is just the bee's knees. The passenger can read a map with tons of light, and the driver is not effected at all. It is something you really need to experience to fully appreciate. The normal dome is so annoying, it defies words.

Do it. You'll love it.

Sorry for hijacking your thread!

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Darell: Deranged actually! Ever since I sent you that flux & solder with hallucinatory properties you seem to be maximizing the number of solder joints in your projects /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif


[/ QUOTE ]
Man, that "wired" picture was just the beginning. That was just the wires from the fixture with the three switches, the three emitters and the power. What isn't pictured is the six more wires from each of the two uFlexes which aren't soldered on yet in the shot! Yikes.

I definitely went overboard, but I thought it would be slick to maintain stock switch control over everything. Otherwise, it would have been much simpler to just use the uFlex switches only. NONE of the stock wiring from the light fixture exists - but from the front it looks just the same. Well, sort of.

Cool pics, Darell!
I still have to build up my George driver....do you remember what version I have? Is there an update that is needed?