How to guide: Upgrade interior bulbs to LED
#1
How to guide: Upgrade interior bulbs to LED
My LED lights came in today so I decided I might as well do a write up. When I first looked at the 2015 Fit I was surprised Honda still used so many incandescent bulbs. After I upgraded my Subaru to all LED interior bulbs I can never go back! No more dead batteries when a door is accidentally left open and no more yellowish interior light.
Disclaimer: I am just a DIY'r who loves to tinker and not a professional mechanic. I am not affiliated with Honda or endorsed by any products shown what-so-ever. Of course if somebody wants to endorse me with free stuff please do. I won't say no .
LED Bulbs from Amazon. For the price these were not bad. Color wasn't too "blue" for my taste and has a good brightness level for interior lights. Not dim, and not blinding. Maybe 10% brighter than stock bulbs that comes with the Fit.
**3/5/2016 update**
-Agreed. I'm the OP on this one and I've had the exact same issue. Its been a little over a year and I've replaced half of them due to the flickering. Currently replacing with the extra's I had from the original install but want to find a good replacement.
Anybody have recommendations? I'll update the original post with your guys recommended brands. Links would be great.
Pry tool. This is what I used which was just okay as it marred the plastic housing a little bit. I Tried a flathead screwdriver first which was much worse. The plastic housing is VERY SOFT so be gentle. I think a good suction cup would work best for the map and dome light so if you have one, try that first.
Left bulb LED, Right bulb stock:
I used my hook tool to reach in and pull out from far right corner, then the center. The clear lens clips onto a round thing inside. Doesn't take too much pressure to pop the lenses off.
The LED bulbs are slightly longer than the stock bulbs but fit just fine
Dome Light: The casing is held to the housing with 4 little numbs. I just had to pry at one corner and it popped right off.
Cargo Light: This is one area that needs a brighter bulb. If I find a good deal for a brighter LED I'll pick one up.
***Update 8/2/14*** Go here for my followup post on a much brighter LED: https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/3rd-...provement.html
You'll want to pry from this corner. It hinges out.
Completed Project:
Disclaimer: I am just a DIY'r who loves to tinker and not a professional mechanic. I am not affiliated with Honda or endorsed by any products shown what-so-ever. Of course if somebody wants to endorse me with free stuff please do. I won't say no .
LED Bulbs from Amazon. For the price these were not bad. Color wasn't too "blue" for my taste and has a good brightness level for interior lights. Not dim, and not blinding. Maybe 10% brighter than stock bulbs that comes with the Fit.
**3/5/2016 update**
Anybody have recommendations? I'll update the original post with your guys recommended brands. Links would be great.
Pry tool. This is what I used which was just okay as it marred the plastic housing a little bit. I Tried a flathead screwdriver first which was much worse. The plastic housing is VERY SOFT so be gentle. I think a good suction cup would work best for the map and dome light so if you have one, try that first.
Left bulb LED, Right bulb stock:
I used my hook tool to reach in and pull out from far right corner, then the center. The clear lens clips onto a round thing inside. Doesn't take too much pressure to pop the lenses off.
The LED bulbs are slightly longer than the stock bulbs but fit just fine
Dome Light: The casing is held to the housing with 4 little numbs. I just had to pry at one corner and it popped right off.
Cargo Light: This is one area that needs a brighter bulb. If I find a good deal for a brighter LED I'll pick one up.
***Update 8/2/14*** Go here for my followup post on a much brighter LED: https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/3rd-...provement.html
You'll want to pry from this corner. It hinges out.
Completed Project:
Last edited by ADVphotography; 03-05-2016 at 02:43 PM.
#3
Just upgraded all of my interiors and license plate bulbs with the same LEDs on my 1st Gen. Has to be easiest and best value upgrade you can do to really any car. At night the single LED map light bulb lights up my entire interior.
Nice writeup!
Nice writeup!
#5
I bought an overpriced kit from College Hills Honda. It came with three bulbs like the ones above plus a fourth bulb that was a flat disc with 6 LEDs all on one side. It looked like this one available on Amazon:
That's the one I used for the cargo area.
Both my Dad and I were very impressed by the improvement in the amount and quality of light. I was shocked at the difference really. And it made him want to install some in his Ford Escape.
I recommend a plastic knife or some other straight edge plastic to reduce the likelihood of scratches.
Amazon.com: LEDwholesalers Side Plug T10 194 wedge Base 12V 6 5050 SMD LED Warm White, 1427WW: Automotive
That's the one I used for the cargo area.
Both my Dad and I were very impressed by the improvement in the amount and quality of light. I was shocked at the difference really. And it made him want to install some in his Ford Escape.
I recommend a plastic knife or some other straight edge plastic to reduce the likelihood of scratches.
#6
Rear license plate bulbs
Am I correct in assuming that you used the same bulbs for the rear license plate LEDs and the interior? I ordered the College Hills kit as well and was really impressed with the results. First time modifying a car so the fact that the kit gave me the right bulbs was worth it to me, even if it was a little overpriced. I also got their LED fog bulbs which I am hoping to get put on this weekend.
#7
License plate
Am I correct in assuming that you used the same bulbs for the rear license plate LEDs and the interior? I ordered the College Hills kit as well and was really impressed with the results. First time modifying a car so the fact that the kit gave me the right bulbs was worth it to me, even if it was a little overpriced. I also got their LED fog bulbs which I am hoping to get put on this weekend.
Here's a couple photos from when I did the license plate:
The brightness is perfect. Not too bright, not too dark. Just kinda "glows"
#10
Thanks for sharing DMcFit. I couldn't explain it any better than that guy did. That's exactly what I did to change out my license plate bulbs. Took more force than I expected though when pushing the housing sideways.
#12
Yep! I bought the same LED pack as OP and just installed them in the map lights, dome light, hatch, and license plate. All of it took maybe 10 minutes. One tip for doing the license plate lights: when you marry the grey piece that holds the bulb back up with the clear part that protects it, really push in hard to make sure both locking tabs are seated well. On both of mine, the right tab would seat easily, but the left side took a good push. You'll be able to tell if it isn't seated well, because the tab will be at a different angle than the other one.
#13
Yep! I bought the same LED pack as OP and just installed them in the map lights, dome light, hatch, and license plate. All of it took maybe 10 minutes. One tip for doing the license plate lights: when you marry the grey piece that holds the bulb back up with the clear part that protects it, really push in hard to make sure both locking tabs are seated well. On both of mine, the right tab would seat easily, but the left side took a good push. You'll be able to tell if it isn't seated well, because the tab will be at a different angle than the other one.
#14
Again thanks for all for the input ... only took me about 10 minutes armed with all this info.
NOTE: if the bulbs don't work turn them 180 degrees - they are polarized ... someone probably already posted that!
Robot Check
#19
I noticed the Jtech and similar brands on Amazon don't seem to have consistent LED bulbs in their packaging.
I ordered the "white" and noticed maybe two of ten bulbs were really white while the rest had a blue hue to it.
I ordered the "warm white" and I like that it is white with a slight yellowish hue. However, that was only one of the bulbs. The other 6 had a stronger yellow hue, not so much like amber, but enough to look like a regular bulb. And the other three to my surprise, looked pinkish/purple which oddly enough matches well with my passion berry pearl, so I ended up using those three.
You guys might want to check the rest of the bulbs to see their colors match. Maybe there's one that's to your liking.
I ordered the "white" and noticed maybe two of ten bulbs were really white while the rest had a blue hue to it.
I ordered the "warm white" and I like that it is white with a slight yellowish hue. However, that was only one of the bulbs. The other 6 had a stronger yellow hue, not so much like amber, but enough to look like a regular bulb. And the other three to my surprise, looked pinkish/purple which oddly enough matches well with my passion berry pearl, so I ended up using those three.
You guys might want to check the rest of the bulbs to see their colors match. Maybe there's one that's to your liking.