LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

I have just completed the replacement of all the interior lights with LED's. I also did the engine-compartment lights, which means I can now leave the hood open for an extended period of time without worrying about the battery.

The main reasons I undertook this project were:
#1: Reduced heat in the fixtures should help to prolong the life of the plastic.
#2: Reduced amperage means less draw on the battery and perhaps fewer "rolling starts".
#3: Better / brighter light output.

One thing I was nervous about is the change in color temperature. That is, the car is of a certain age... I didn't want it to look like some 1990's rice-rocket that's been all blinged out. Honestly, if you walk into your local auto parts store and look for the LED interior lights, there's an obvious target demographic and to my taste, it's not appropriate for the ZR-1. In other words, I wanted the car to be classy and I was concerned that going from the quite yellow tone of the OEM bulbs to the LED's would look out of place.

After doing some searching around, I found an online seller that offers nearly all the bulbs you need to do a complete swap of the courtesy lights, minus the bulb that sits under the back bumper for tire changes. That one is itty-bitty and as yet unavailable. The part that really struck home for me was they offer the LEDs in various color temperatures such as "cool white" (the bluish white), "warm white" (more yellow) and "natural white" (somewhere in between). I chose to split the difference and go with "natural white" which to my eye is the "most white". It's all very subjective, so I'm sure everyone will have their own opinion here. The point is I found a selection so I could make the choice that I liked best for my car.

The job was pretty easy with the caveat of the flood lights in the mirror. The LEDs I got for there are 6-LED clusters and I had to do some whittling down of the outside edge to get them to fit into the housings. Not a big deal, just meant some time with a sharp knife. As best as I can tell, it was simply a matter of removing excess material, and no actual modification to the LEDs or their circuitry was made.

The only "odd" mod was in the engine compartment. For that application I went with a 30-LED panel measuring about 1.6"x1" that uses a festoon-base adapter. I installed the festoon adapter, the plugged the LED panel into it, then zip-tied the LED panel to the festoon. It all fits just fine, but sometimes it feels odd installing things with zip ties. You cannot tell once the glass cover is replaced, and the engine compartment lights are now FAR brighter.

Bottom line, I'm pleased with the results. Here is a comparison in the engine compartment of the LED (left) and the original bulb (right):
http://i1334.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9a8aad1a.jpg

And a couple of interior shots (I did NO cleaning, so these are not glamor shots!)
http://i1334.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6230d29e.jpg

http://i1334.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5768e63a.jpg

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

Do you have a complete list of the stuff you got and from where? If so - and you don't wish to publish it in public - could you please PM it to me?

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

I too would be interested in the "kit". After seeing some cars with the upgrades at the Gathering, I am also planning to upgrade the headlights and driving/fog lights. As far as I know, it's all still original.

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

I just ordered some LEDs for my interior.. I got them from Corvettemods..

waiting for them to show up..

I got my hood LEDs from Scottfab on the forum here

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

Be avised on the corvettemods kits some of their LEDs are universal fit. Meaning exactly that... you may have to modify your connector in order to get them to fit.

Whereas CorvetteHID.com. Yes you will pay more for the interior kit is AN EXACT fit that will replace your bulbs.

Just saying GC

ALSO ScottFab also made my underhood light kit and -=JEFF=- made my LED CHMSL !

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

I did this about 6 weeks ago using "bulbs" from CorvetteMods. I was one of his first ZR-1 customers and "assisted" them in coming up w the correct bulbs.
Also did their HID fog lamp conversion and most of the exterior lamps with the exception of the side backup lamps, and front/rear turn signals. I did red interior lights w white footwells.

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

Yes, I too would be interested in the list.
I'd like to find out what the current draw is on the hood lamps as well as the measured light output there is. (lumens)
There is a 90 led board assembly available that also has a flying lead adapter that would need to be tie-wrapped. I evaluated it. I found it wanting.

The current highest intensity hood lamp that I know of right now is this one but it draws 5watts ea. At that draw the trade of is obvious. You're not going to leave the hood open too long. While that is about half of the stock draw it's still enough to kill the battery too quickly. And yet the 800 lumen output it has is fantastic. It can be found at:
http://store.ijdmtoy.com/5W-CREE-Hig...-p/sku-108.htm

I have not bought nor evaluated it but on paper it looks pretty good. No doubt it has a 120-180 deg pattern which is too bad. Much of the light is wasted out to the sides of the car an not the engine.

What I don't understand is why in the hell they wouldn't put the core LED (CREE Q5 XP-E LED) in a quad pattern. LEDs require ~3V junction voltage and if you put 4 of them them in series you get less heat loss across the dropping resister and 4x the light output. Theoretically that would be a 3200 lumen assembly at the cost of the same 5W.
I am watching this CREE company a lot. They are on the ball. I used one of there newest LEDs recently in the hood assembly and they keep innovating. I need to buy more of their stock :)

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

I need the underhood lights worse then anything else right now....
There is a local monthly show in the evenings I would like to leave the hood up for without killing my battery...

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

Here is the list of what I used in my car. I picked these up from superbrightleds.com and I selected "natural white" wherever possible.

Underhood / Engine compartment:
2x UPCB-xWHP30-FES

Door handle courtesy lights:
2x 4410-x9

Under-dash courtesy lights:
2x RL4410-xHP9

Cargo area lights:
2x WLED-x5

Center console light:
RL4410-xHP9

Rearview Mirror flood lights:
2x WLED-x6
(note: these will require some "whittling down" of the widest point just below the LEDs in order to fit. I used a knife. You may also consider a dremmel, grinder or belt sander, but the piece is very small so power tools would make it very easy to injure oneself or damage the bulb)

I didn't put an ammeter on the system before/after, so I'm not sure what the amperage draw actually is now. But it has to be a WHOLE LOT LESS.

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

How do the HID fog lites work out?
How about LED bulbs?
Stock fog lites are useless, even w/higher
wattage bulbs & fuses. I know, they're not intended
to be "driving" lites... But it would be nice to see they're on
from in the car! (other than that little green indicator lite)
The factory fog lites have only one
purpose, to look "cool" when they're on...

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

OK, I remember this one. As I look at the specs it specifies "Non Weatherproof"
The current draw is not bad at 115ma. That could go all night (1.4watt).
Output on it is spec'd at 155 lumen. It is in the "OK" range. It should be able to hit 240 lumen with that current. Did you take pics of how you mounted the tie wraps etc?
Or how you avoid shorting the components on the back side out?
With some hermetically sealing compound applied and a way of stabilizing/attaching the festoon to the LED substraight This is not a bad choice at all. Vibration issues and shorting due to moisture are then alleviated.

For truly supper bright the one I posted earlier is the hands down winner (800 lumen) of all I've seen but it draws a bit more than I'd want, but it's good to go for outdoor use.

The challenge under the hood is getting as bright as you can and not have to worry about the hood being open a long time. The UPCB-xWHP30-FES does that. Its only is lacking moisture resistance and the use of tie wraps for installation integrity.
And yet it may be just fine over time.
Good luck with it.

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

You can also get the LED CHMSL in black, chrome or smoke for a little over $100 here:

http://www.carid.com/1994-chevy-corvette-taillights/

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

Thank You! I will look into some of these! :cheers:

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

That is the bumper mounted one

I made/modded my own from an Uplander assembly

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-f...2/DSC_0062.JPG

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

I just ordered the whole set GTO listed. Come to find out the place (superbright leds) is 15 minutes from my house - so I don't have to pay shipping and I can pick em up today! Will look at options on the underhood lights to see about mounting them in a water proof and short proof way when I do it...

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

I am using the CorvetteHID products as well. Can't say enough good about the quality and fit. Great folks to deal with too!

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

And its AWESOME :cheers:

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

Well I got mine all "LED'd" out...(interior and under hood) And we LOVE it. Wife took a brush and some black Fusion paint to the cracked paint in the door courtesy lamps while we had them loose as well. I even ordered the type 74 /37 bulbs and changed the ones in the visors, and the small bulb on the map light in the mirror (the small one with the slot on the right side of the mirror that I don't know what its for) Changed out the glove box light to LED too. For the underhood ones I cut electrical tape to size and taped one piece to the other to cover the glue, put that between the board and the festoon, and used two small wire ties to hold it together. Not sure what the heat will do to it but I guess I will find out... They are a LOT brighter though - so I will figure out another way to make em work if this doesnt..
Total cost for all the bulbs I got from superbrightleds.com was about $90. And I picked em up from their local warehouse so no shipping....:)

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

I replaced the map/Courtesy lights, doors, Console Lid, cargo and have the foot wells yet to install. I used the Corvettemods LEDs.. the White is taking some getting use to.. I will leave the rest in the interior as they are for now..

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

Yeah, that was my big concern. I didn't want things to look silly or out-of-place. LED rocket-ship technology in a 1990 car? There's a fine line between "that's cool" and "what was that guy thinking?" So I went with the "natural white" color. It's substantially "whiter" than the old bulbs, but not ridiculously blue. And, to my tastes, it looks good in the black interior.

You might consider going with "warm white" if you prefer to replicate the color tone of the old bulbs but enjoy the benefits of the technology.

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

It's an amazing little upgrade to have those suckers cleaned up, isn't it? The little details go so far!

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

I've been slowly converting and selectively using brighter and whiter in places but NOT all places. Some places (like in the dash inticatores pointing back at you) you just don't want supper bright. One place you absolutely do is in the console lid. What a difference being able to see what you're after makes. And being the brighter white (6000k) light makes no difference into a black console. However onto a red carpet not so good. The thing about LEDs so far is that they are not wide spectrum so you cat get some unexpected and ugly results if you aren't careful. I have seen some wide spectrum LED for the home but those achieve it through the use of a combination of LED colors.

Like any new technology the costs are still steep. Look for much more reasonable product prices in 2 - 3 yrs.
$12 units will be $3 etc.
It'll follow the same curve as big flat screen TVs.
What was $1400 is now $500.

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

Yeah those 30 light boards with festoon bases were like $17 apiece for under the hood. They are really bright though. Just the difference in current draw is huge I would think (I'm not real electrically inclined so don't know specifics) I accidently touched one of the old bulbs with my thumb while removing it and burnt a flat spot on it... hot hot hot. LED = coooolll...
I also went with the "natural white" when I had that option. Pretty sure I did warm white on the underhood. Those 30 lamp boards also fit the map lights on my wife's 300C - we put LED in her car a long time ago and the 20's we had in there were going bad. So I got two of the 30s to fix those.. Next buy will probably be the 26 lamp hi intensity tower bulbs for the backup lights - but those are $25 apiece so waiting on that for a bit...

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

I am not unhappy with the LEDs, but after 20 years of bulbs it more of a whoa that is different. but I do like..

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

I found out the 30 LED ones are not for outdoor use by checking the specs. What that what got to the 20 LED ones? Moisture, corrosion, vibration???

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

Those are in the "clickable" map lights in the overhead console in her 300C.. No water or dust, and I doubt there is much vibration. We got those probably 5 years ago - and we had some problems with them shortly after install. They were cheapo lights in the first place. These 30 light boards are made much better then those were. Remains to be seen how they put up with the heat and vibration under the hood. If not - it won't be the first $35 I've blown on an experiment...lol....

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

Anybody have the LED spec for the rear reverse corner lamps. I have all my exterior lamps converted now except for those, front/rear signal lamps and brakes. CHMSL was converted last year.

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

Concur no pun intended the difference is night and day

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

Dom for the rest of the exterior did you have to mod anything or were they ALL direct fit? GC

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

:sign5:

also where did you get them from?

I will do the exterior lights at some point..

Re: LED replacement for courtesy lights
 

Front/rear lamps? Is this it?

http://www.superbrightleds.com/morei...edge-base/229/