Toyota RAV4 Forums banner

Interior LED Retrofit Complete!

50K views 73 replies 23 participants last post by  Robert70 
#1 ·
So, I spent an hour or so replacing all the interior incandescent lights with LEDs. I think they turned out great. No more ugly yellowish lights.

The rear dome light is a different color temperature, so not the pure white in the front seats. I put the same LED (dome light) in the cargo area. It's much brighter than the stock lights.

I also replaced the backup light with an LED. During this install, I dropped one of the stock bulbs in the jack area and had to do this to retrieve the bulb. This spent the most amount of time...
The license plate bulb is also an LED. It looks so euro, now, with all the LEDs.

Next up, replacing the turn signals and rear marker lights. The turn signals in all 4 corners are expensive, though, since the bulbs have a hyper-flash resistor built in.

Photo Album - Imgur

If you have any questions, let me know!
 
#2 ·
I did the same about a week ago but mine are not that bright (that's the way i wanted it), yours are a bit too bright for me. Anyways i think you did i great job, it's a big improvement from the regular bulbs. I tried putting led for the turn/park lights but those bulbs blew a fuse, i think they did not have that built in flasher resistor thing you were talking about. Are the bulbs for the reverse also special (built in flasher resistor thing) or are the just regular led?

Sent from my HTC One X
 
#3 ·
Yeah, I wanted my interior lights a bit brighter. Maybe they only appear brighter because they're white colored.

The reverse lights, which I wanted the brightest, since they're actually used in some sort of traffic/driving function, are just regular wedge-based LEDs, the same wedge size in the map lights and license plate, but a different bulb. The backup lights are more white, just the camera/lens introduce the purple fringing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Veliksam
#4 ·
Hi, Gbcue and Veliksam

Would both of you please share the part number(s) of the interior and backup lights they purchased and from where?

Also, for us ol'geezers, I am presuming this is a relatively easy change to make?? Pull out stock bulb, push in LED replacement?

While I would probably not want the entire interior as bright at Gbcue's, I would be interested in having my map/reading light be that bright.

Thank you!
 
#7 ·
They're not that cheap, but they are cooler looking and brighter. See post above.
 
#6 ·
For my lights, the vanity lights are really bright, brighter than the map lights, only because they're so directional. Don't get any bulbs that aren't SMD/Cree. "5050" bulbs are the best since they have the most surface area. "5050" is the size, 50mm x 50mm. The old-looking LEDs are not bright at all. I bought the biggest bulbs I thought could fit in the housings.

Anyway, here is my parts list:

Vanity/mirror lights: https://store.ijdmtoy.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=6SMD-T10-SKU297
Front map lights (would actually like this brighter, as said above, vanity is actually brighter): https://store.ijdmtoy.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=LED_HP_T10_SKU300
2nd row dome light & luggage light (had to jam/force it in since it's longer than the spec of 29mm: https://store.ijdmtoy.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=LED_6SMD_D31_SKU21
Reverse/backup lights: https://store.ijdmtoy.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=T15_SKU326
License plate: 5-SMD T10 168 194 LED Bulbs, Car Interior Lights, License Plate Lights

As you can see, I chose all either Cree or 5050 LEDs to provide the most light.
 
#44 ·
Thanks! I've been trying to find a really bright backup LED bulb. None of the ones I've looked at seemed very bright, and didn't want to spend lots of cash to keep experimenting. This was one of several I was debating.

I'm doing the map/dome lights with circuit boards and 5mm LEDs. Currently, the layout should be 36 LEDs each side (waiting on the LEDs to arrive). I was planning on red for both, but I might just make one side red and the other side blue just for fun.
 
#9 ·
No, I didn't do a power analysis. The brightest bulb is a 7.5W bulb for the reverse lights, and that's half of what the incandescent lights draw (~15-16W). The other LEDs probably draw way less than the old bulbs.
 
#11 ·
I thought they wouldn't, but they do, at least for the bulbs I used. Map and dome.
 
#13 ·
Mine fade as well. I bought my bulbs from eBay from USA sellers, all the bulbs in total cost me around $12, and they are much brighter than the stock bulbs. I suggest buying from eBay because they are the same quality as the expensive ones in the links provided in the above post, just no crazy mark up ;-)

Sent from my HTC One X
 
#14 ·
I did the same thing with my interior lights yesterday! The festoon type LED for the cargo light is much brighter, but it was longer than the stock bulb so I had to bend the contact with a pair of needle nose pliers to get it to fit. The other lamps were plug and play, but they are polarity sensitive so if they don't light, reverse them in the socket. I'll try to post some pictures tonight.

Ordered 4 of these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290738132072

And 2 each of these festoon types:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/150848698412

http://www.ebay.com/itm/150847181219
 
#15 ·
JB, i can't see your photos? Btw, are you happy with the results? I know i am.

Sent from my HTC One X
 
#16 ·
JB, i can't see your photos? Btw, are you happy with the results? I know i am.
Well, I haven't taken the photos yet! Figured I'd wait until it gets dark outside!
 
#23 ·
Gbcue and JuneBug - did you upgrade your "footwell" lights (the two lights on the lower dash area)?

If so what bulb and how does one access these?

Thanks.
No, I'm leaving the footwell lights as they are already LED's from the factory. You can access the one on the passenger side by dropping down the glove box as if changing the cabin filter. You can reach in there and turn the light 90 degrees and it will come out. On the driver's side, you have to go in underneath/behind the console to reach it.
 
#21 ·
A small word of warning. I installed a similar LED in my cargo light that was a bit too long and had to bend the tabs to make it fit. When I did they didn't make good solid contact and ended up setting up a high resistance in the circuit that manifested itself at the door switch. Ended up with a bit of smoke and some melted insulation. Learn from my mistake!

Rick
 
#22 ·
Thank you for the heads up. I made sure it was making good contact on mine because i don't want to open it up again.

Sent from my HTC One X
 
#24 ·
nice. this is a must due since those halogen bulbs look bad.
 
#25 ·
The difference is amazing! The LED's look like mini HID headlights while the old bulbs look yellow like Grandma's flashlight. :thumbs_up:
 
#26 · (Edited)
#30 ·
Any ideas on what type of pressure switch i could use to power on/off an led strip in the center console? I also want to add led strips to the upper and lower glove boxes but i don't know what type of switch to use for on/off when they are opened. I know it would be something like the door switches for the center console but I'm not sure on how to do it.

Sent from my HTC One X
 
  • Like
Reactions: uttman
#31 ·
#33 ·
thats a good mod. its helpful. pressure switches make everything soo oem ish
 
#34 · (Edited)
My LED retrofit is almost complete. I got the LED replacements for the backup lights today, but have to wait for the rain to stop so I can install them. I got all the lamps from Ebay--5 of the 5-LED wedge 168 types for the vanity lights, map lights, and license plate light at $1.27 each. I used 1 of the 4-LED festoon types for the dome light above the back seat at $2.98. For the cargo light in the back door I used a 6-LED festoon type ($3.95), and the backup lights are going to be replaced with the 30-LED wedge type 921 ($5.97 each). Total cost for all of these was $25.23--pretty cheap. The difference is amazing--they remind me of fluorescent lights. Here are some pictures of the LED lamps on my desk:



 
#35 ·
My LED retrofit is almost complete. I got the LED replacements for the backup lights today, but have to wait for the rain to stop so I can install them. I got all the lamps from Ebay--5 of the 5-LED wedge 168 types for the vanity lights, map lights, and license plate light at $1.27 each. I used 1 of the 4-LED festoon types for the dome light above the back seat at $2.98. For the cargo light in the back door I used a 6-LED festoon type ($3.95), and the backup lights are going to be replaced with the 30-LED wedge type 921 ($5.97 each). Total cost for all of these was $25.23--pretty cheap. The difference is amazing--they remind me of fluorescent lights. Here are some pictures of the LED lamps on my desk:
What size are the festoon types you are using? (The 4 LEDand 6 LED) Are they 31mm? Is the cargo light even the same size festoon as the dome lights?
 
#36 ·
FYI, the cargo festoon is 29mm, the dome light is 31mm. Those 2mm do make a difference, but I just forced my 31mm into the 29mm of the cargo bay.
 
#39 ·
The more light on the reflector, the more light it will reflect, that's the point imo.

Sent from my HTC One X
 
#41 ·
Sherlock Holmes said it first!
 
#42 ·
A bit disappointed...

Finally got around to installing the LED backup lights and I'm disappointed that they aren't as bright as I thought they would be:

Before:



After:

 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top