Information on LED bulb specs - replace interior car bulbs with Zevo LEDs?

Mission: As interior bulbs are burning out in my 2006 Volvo V70, I am wanting to replace them with LEDs.
It looks like I need 6x 42mm festoon bulbs for the dome/reading lights, and 2x 37mm festoons for the footwells (Volvo calls the footwell lights "C5W SV8.5", no listing for the dome bulbs, but "C5W" comes in various lengths, no?).

Issue: I find lots of cross-references for these bulbs, but my google-fu is weak and I can't find a page listing the specs for them, not even on Sylvania/Osram's page.


This is what I found:

I surmise that the "LL" bulbs are incandescent and can be ruled out. That still leaves a lot of choices and none that I can seem to get specs for.

I've successfully used the Sylvania LEDriving 194 bulbs in the past, and it looks like they're now called "Zevo". Unless there are better options, I'd like to stay with them.



Questions:

1. Is there a page where I can look up the specs, where size and wattage are listed?
2. If there's no such easily accessible page, is there a way to discern which bulb number I should search for?
3. Are there better bulbs than the Zevos? If so, why are they better?
4. Some festoons have an exposed LED and some have them covered in an translucent diffuser - any preference? I suppose there is less light from the one with the diffuser all else being equal?
   (and seeing how the interior bulbs are all behind "lenses" in the car, no need for diffusers on the bulbs for esthetic reasons, correct?)

Any other recommendations or considerations?

EDIT: DOH! I meant *translucent*, not opaque. Thanks, Alaric!

ameli0rate said:

(various festoon bulb numbers listed)

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For the various festoon bulbs with slightly different electrical & optical specifications, the LED versions aren't going to closely match them but are more of a 'universal' replacement. This shouldn't be too surprising-- the goal is that there is a bulb that fits and they can claim "more light than incandescent" and most people will be just fine with that.

Most of the white bulbs are going to have a 5000-6000 K CCT, so they might not be that visually pleasing.

Question:
Some festoons have an exposed LED and some have them covered in an opaque diffuser - any preference? I suppose there is less light from the one with the diffuser all else being equal?

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One with an opaque cover would be useless-- opaque means no light is transmitted. You meant "translucent". Such a diffuser helps to smooth the light output so there are fewer hot/dark spots. Most of these bulbs will be behind some sort of diffusing lens already but still helps with 'floodiness'.

Thanks, for both correcting my English and the answer.

So interior LED bulbs are mostly "as long as it fits, it's okay" if one can accept the color temperature?

If that's the case, I wonder if the Zevo bulbs are mostly about packaging. Translucent cover, uniform appearance. Just that alone probably takes more QC than the cheap import stuff that usually breaks in short order.

There's a company with "super bright" in its name that has a very good reputation, but looking at their bulbs, they look much like the cheap import bulbs I've seen in the past. I suppose all these bulbs generally look the same - and that's where the Zevo bulbs set themselves apart with a cleaner look, if you will.


Am I correct in assuming that you don't see any point in paying the Zevo prices for these bulbs if there are reputable but cheaper alternatives? We're talking $13/bulb vs. about half that.

ameli0rate said:

Thanks, for both correcting my English and the answer.

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"Words mean things" I just couldn't let it slip by.

So interior LED bulbs are mostly "as long as it fits, it's okay" if one can accept the color temperature?

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Mostly, but some of the stuff is rather cheap and underperforming. The festoon bulbs with a sort of corncob appearance means a lot of light is lost to shadowing by the body of the unit itself (and the semi-reflective cavity behind the bulb doesn't quite make up for it); the Zevo ones concentrate the emitters on one side so it doesn't have that problem. That makes them a little more directional, but more of the lumens can be delivered than with the corncob ones.

If that's the case, I wonder if the Zevo bulbs are mostly about packaging. Translucent cover, uniform appearance. Just that alone probably takes more QC than the cheap import stuff that usually breaks in short order.

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There will be (slightly) more engineering in the Zevo line than many of the other 'brands'.

There's a company with "super bright" in its name that has a very good reputation

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They sell a wide range of non-performing 'replacements' for regulated motor vehicle lighting, which turns me off of them. For discrete parts they might be good for the hobbyist, but I'm loath to legitimize their automotive parts, even if it is for interior use.

Am I correct in assuming that you don't see any point in paying the Zevo prices for these bulbs if there are reputable but cheaper alternatives? We're talking $13/bulb vs. about half that.

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I'd stick to Phillips or the Sylvania Zevo products. They'll probably last longer, be more heat and voltage-transient resistant, and just work better.

Special hint for map lights, like certain Toyota products' rear-view mirrors have-- use an amber bulb instead of white to reduce damage to night vision.

Alaric Darconville said:

"Words mean things" I just couldn't let it slip by.

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Indeed. While I am not a 1930's level European National Socialist when it comes to grammar and spelling, I do take pride in getting it right (particularly "farther/further" and the difference between a first person possessive pronoun and a contraction). That makes it a little more embarrassing when I get it wrong.

Alaric Darconville said:

I'd stick to Phillips or the Sylvania Zevo products. They'll probably last longer, be more heat and voltage-transient resistant, and just work better.

Special hint for map lights, like certain Toyota products' rear-view mirrors have-- use an amber bulb instead of white to reduce damage to night vision.

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Much obliged. I just placed an order for a bunch of Zevo bulbs. As I couldn't find any Zevo festoonage in amber for the two map lights, I had to buy some off-brand stuff to try.

I have the pre-Zevo LEDriving 194 bulbs in the license plate light and city-lights in the headlamps and they are still alive and kicking despite the hot and cold temps of Texas (20s in the winter, 100s in the summer). I"m impressed.
The city-light bulbs also impressed on me the difference between "visible" and "visibility".

I can't see squad at night with the city-lights illuminated, but I can be SEEN from quite a distance with them on.

ameli0rate said:

It looks like I need 6x 42mm festoon bulbs for the dome/reading lights

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I really like these (in the warm white), for lamps that have enough room to accept them.

Volvo calls the footwell lights "C5W SV8.5", no listing for the dome bulbs, but "C5W" comes in various lengths, no?

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No. C5W is a standardized bulb type (like any of the others...P21W, H4, etc). It comes in one size, that is 35mm x 11mm (don't worry about "37mm" or "38mm" or "34mm" versus "35mm"; with the pointy ends there can be a little bit of variance depending on who's measuring and how they choose to do so). The Osram LEDriving C5W replacement comes in warm white, too, that is this one. The warm whites are a whole lot more pleasant to live with in the vehicle interior than cool/cold whites. "Zevo" is the American-market Osram Sylvania marketing name for a sub-set of the bulbs sold elsewhere by Osram as LEDriving.

This is what I found:

Festoon 42mm
4210, 6451, DE3425, DE3423, DE3425LL, DE3423LL, 211, 212, 212-2, 214-2, 6413, 6429​

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-Virgil- said:

I really like these (in the warm white), for lamps that have enough room to accept them.

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Neat. I don't think they'd fit in my car.

(don't worry about "37mm" or "38mm" or "34mm" versus "35mm"; with the pointy ends there can be a little bit of variance depending on who's measuring and how they choose to do so). The Osram LEDriving C5W replacement comes in warm white, too, that is this one. The warm whites are a whole lot more pleasant to live with in the vehicle interior than cool/cold whites. "Zevo" is the American-market Osram Sylvania marketing name for a sub-set of the bulbs sold elsewhere by Osram as LEDriving.

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Thanks for clearing up the length of them, I was a little curious why there are some variances there. The Zevo/LEDriving bulbs around 6000K don't look so bad in my car (I briefly tried a few Chinesium bulbs in the car interior), assuming the bulbs were truly that color temp. If they're too cold-looking on their own, it might be that my lenses in the car soften the light enough to look ok to my eyes.
Interesting that that the bulb you linked shows 4000K as "warm". I realize there's probably no hard definition there, but for in-home bulbs, it seems people call the <3500K bulbs "warm".

Yeah...no. These aren't cross-references, they're an almost random list of bulbs, thrown together by a merchant of toys and junk, that are not all the same size and not interchangeable.

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I was surprised I couldn't (easily) find a spec sheet on Sylvania/Osram's site. I did find a site (jacksonelectricsupply dot com, for those interested) that listed actual specs for the bulbs.

I had hoped to find a site where I would find a bulb cross reference where I'd find "Bulb 64xx is this bright, these dimensions and that base, and it interchanges with bulb # XYZ, with the difference that XYZ bulb has this wattage and these lumens" etc.

Well, if the bulbs I ordered work out well (fitment/light), I might at least whip something up for the Volvo nerds.

I had hoped to find a site where I would find a bulb cross reference where I'd find "Bulb 64xx is this bright, these dimensions and that base, and it interchanges with bulb # XYZ, with the difference that XYZ bulb has this wattage and these lumens" etc.

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That site used to exist. It was called donsbulbs.com . The owner decided to call it quits, and took down the site permanently. A real loss! :-(

Having gone through the cycle of cheap LED interior bulbs in the past, I'd suggest finding some other than low-end buys off the 'zon and the 'bay.

Alright, to follow up to my LED replacement. The Zevos feel great in the hand. They feel solid and they all feel the same. Not at all like the cheapo no-name stuff I've handled in the past that's uneven in size and feels very fragile.

Now, I forgot that LED bulbs in the interior of my 2006 Volvo V70 will have a slight glow to them until the car is 'asleep'. Regular bulbs have a bit of resistance to them which is enough to turn off whatever Deus ex Machina lives in the car.

To eliminate that glow, would it be as simple as ohming out the original incandescent bulbs and adding a resistor of the same value in parallel with the LEDs?

ameli0rate said:

[the Zevos] feel solid and they all feel the same.

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That's the heatsinking, mostly. Lots of those cheapo bulbs don't dissipate the heat very well at all.

Now, I forgot that LED bulbs in the interior of my 2006 Volvo V70 will have a slight glow to them until the car is 'asleep'.
To eliminate that glow, would it be as simple as ohming out the original incandescent bulbs and adding a resistor of the same value in parallel with the LEDs?

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If you really want to, but then you lose your energy savings. Probably better to live with that glow from the 'theatre lighting' and such. As far as "a resistor", you'd want one that's purposely built (like those load resistors designed to prevent hyperflash or bulb out detection alerts) with plenty of heatsinking, for when you have the lights on quite a while.