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...