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.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/atta...ine=1457206984

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.
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/atta...ine=1457206984

Left bulb LED, Right bulb stock:
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/atta...ine=1457206984

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.
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/atta...ine=1457206984

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/atta...ine=1457206984

The LED bulbs are slightly longer than the stock bulbs but fit just fine
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/atta...ine=1457206984

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.
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/atta...ine=1457206984

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/atta...ine=1457206984

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/atta...ine=1457206984

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.
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/atta...ine=1457206984

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/atta...ine=1457206984

Completed Project:

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/atta...ine=1457206984

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/atta...ine=1457206984

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/atta...ine=1457206984

Great write up! If you find a brighter LED that would be well suited for the cargo area, please let us know. I can't wait to order some of these and try this.

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!

Well done! All the details and great photographs are very much appreciated. Hope you pick up that endorsement!!!!!

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.

Rear license plate bulbs
 

Am I correct in assuming that you used the same bulbs for the rear license plate LEDs and the interior? :confused: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.

License plate
 

Yes, the license plate bulbs are the same "Wedge" style bulb. The bulbs I used from the license plate are from the same 10-pack I used for the interior. I'll post a How-to here in the next couple days on the process. Its easy.

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"
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2923/...65e25a62_z.jpg


https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5570/...df3ab927_z.jpg

Do they make those LED replacement bulbs with all the LEDs pointing in the same direction? Seems a pity to have all that directional light shining the wrong way.

I saw this video on YouTube and thought others would be interested.

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.

did the license plate LED use the same one as the interior ones?

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.

Awesome, thanks. Going to pick this up as well. The stock lights are a bit dim.

JTech does make a directional lamp (link below). I tried both and the one with the LEDs facing the same direction doesn't seem any brighter ... maybe try a different manufacturer?

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

Just did this today. Really easy DIY. Thanks ADVphotography and DMcFit for the help.

Nice write up!

Great write up with the photos. I ordered some bulbs from ebay and changed mine out yesterday. Easy, and the difference was incredible. I haven't done the license plate bulbs yet, that may be next.

Side Markers
 

Bulbs introduced by OP (ADVphotography) also work in yellow side-markers.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/pict...pictureid=9279

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.

nice good job! great writeup!

Got led's on ebay, but I picked blue. Nice change from the factory bulbs. Cheap too.

Any chance you can post a link to the ones you bought? I'm looking for white ones, but don't know which type/size/etc. and it seems the ones linked to in the other lighting thread are sold out, so I have no clue what I need to be looking for.

Ok I updated my interior lights, tag lights and front side marker lights. Now I need to do the Turn signals and revers lights. Anyone know what part #s are needed for the LEDs.

Hey uhmm, how do you change the front side marker light? Like how do I remove it?

JTech LED Power Usage
 

Just installed the JTech LEDs that were recommended in the front of this thread:

Jtech 10x 194 168 2825 T10 5-SMD White LED Car Lights Bulb


What a difference. I love the white look vs the yellow. Installation was a easy following the instructions. Thanks ADVphotography.

Here are pictures of the map lights with the LED on the left and the Incandescent on the right.

With Camera Flash on: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8m...it?usp=sharing

With Camera Flash off: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8m...it?usp=sharing

For those who want to know the power consumption.

The Incandescent bulbs is 8 watts at 12 volts.

This chart:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8m...it?usp=sharing

shows the JTech LED as using 0.54 watts at 12 volts (engine off) and 0.98 watts at 14 volts (engine running).

So replacing the two map lights and the ceiling light with these JTech's reduces the power from 24 watts to 1.62 watts with the engine off.

That power reduction of 93% is why you should never have a dead battery if for some reason these three lights are left on all night.

Thanks so much! I like the before and after pics. The white color is much better! Now, I just have to figure out which "pancake" light to buy for the cargo light in the back. Apparently, there are different ends (angles). Any help with a link here would be appreciated. The discussion threads got a little confusing and some of them were sold out or real expensive. Thanks.

I used the same jtech bulbs in two of my cars and they all look and work well. I would recommend them.

Just did this in my fit - awesome upgrade for very little $$ and time. Would highly recommend it.

While we're on recommendations, I got this cheap interior trim toolkit off amazon and it made the job very easy.

I just did this today, too, using the JTech bulbs that CIOWN posted. A few of my bulbs arrived DOA, but installation was quick and easy, even for somebody like me who has no experience with doing even simple things like replacing interior lights. They do look a little bit more blue rather than being pure white, but I did them in the bright midday sun, so I'll look again this evening once it's darker out.

I did notice that the light output isn't quite as bright as I was anticipating, and am now thinking about buying bulbs with more SMDs. I'm thinking of for the dome light, and for the cargo area. They have considerably more SMDs than the ones that everyone else seems to be using, though I don't know whether or not they might be too bright (not as much of a consideration for the cargo area, which could always use more illumination).

What do you guys think?

Try using LED strips (Ebay) with 36 LEDs. Not only bright but not a shade of blue. They come with double-sided tape. Go to the thread "What Mods........"
and scroll back for pics of the item and a view of how they perform. Used them for all the interior lights. Additionally, although very bright, they seem softer than the other LED's out there.

Hope this helps. IMO, any LED is actually way better than the stock bulbs. They're so dim and lame!!!!:D:D:D

I took a look at those, and can't figure out how they'd plug into the current housing. They look to have 2 prongs that are unattached to anything, whereas the current bulbs slide in so that the metal makes contact inside (I'm assuming).

Definitely agree that any LED is going to be better than that crappy incandescent. I burned my fingers taking the bulbs out after they'd been on for about 15 seconds, but the new LEDs are running nice and cool. :thumbups:

Forgot to mention that when ordering, the sellers will give you adaptors which connect to the 2 prongs. You'll be able to plug them into various connectors. For our GK's its the T10 socket.:D

Be careful and don't burn your fingers anymore.:) Must mention that these LED strips do get warm but not as intense as a regular bulb.

The front side markers are accessed by opening the hood and reaching into the fender where the lens is ... hard to take a picture of. Reach in and feel around. The socket turns counter-clock-wise to remove and visa versa. It is keyed so can only be replace one way: you have to line it up properly.

NOT rocket surgery!

Good luck

I just ordered the T10 20 SMDs to try in the Dome light as well as the Parking lights. I expect to get them on Monday or Tuesday so I can let you know how those bulbs work out as far as brightness...

Awesome! I just ordered the T10 24 SMD pancake lights for the cargo area, so when those come in, I'll report back too. My biggest concern was that the 20 SMDs might be a tad too long, although it sounds like there are workarounds for that (cutting away the plastic). Do you have the 5 SMD lights installed currently?

I got these bulbs in today and they really aren't much different in brightness than the 5-SMD.... plus they are a little bit taller - so they won't work for the front seat map lights at all... really not worth it .... oh well live and learn...

Good to know - thanks for the update! I was expecting them to be far brighter based of the number of lights on them. I have high hopes for the pancake/disk lights for the cargo area, since they're unidirectional instead of the multi-directional like the 5 SMDs I currently have in there. I'll be bummed if the polarity is wrong, and they have to be installed facing the wrong way. :rotfl:

If the pancakes are like most of the products you can always straighten the pins slide the lamp out rotate it and re-bend the pins to get the right direction - usually the bulb section is not glued to the bottom housing. The big problem with the 20 SMDs other than the height is the fact that the LEDs are smaller - so even though you have more of them they don't generate the same amount of light... Good Luck...

Anyone got any links for recommended LED interior lighting for the foot wells, And that would turn on when the dome light is on.
Maybe even cup holder LED's