LED interior bulb replacement (W212 E550)
06-18-2018, 10:03 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
LED interior bulb replacement (W212 E550)
Just thought I'd share the interior light LED replacement I did on my '14 E550.
This required 18 type 194 wedge bulbs plus one 44mm festoon (where noted):
4 door
4 footwell
2 front vanity
2 front dome
1 glovebox
2 rear reading
1 rear dome (festoon)
2 trunk
1 trunk lid
I did not do the two map lights in the rearview mirror since that replacement looks too complicated/risky, and they already look like they are LED bulbs and have a natural white color temperature (my preference).
I chose superbrightleds.com part numbers:
194-NWHP5: 90 lm, 4100K, 70 mA@13.5 VDC
4410-NW8: 60 lm, 4300K, 110 mA
They are definitely way brighter than the stock incandescents and, true to the part description, a natural white ("NW") versus the yellowish tint of an old fashioned incandescent (~2700K?). They also emit very little waste heat and can be handled easily, unlike the incandescents which are untouchable once they have been on at least a few tens of seconds. It seems that if you open the doors and leave them open for 3,4,5 minutes, the interior lights will time out and turn off, which makes pulling the old incandescents easier on the fingers!
I adjusted the interior ambient lighting color to "neutral" to get a better color match and adjusted the intensity to the maximum of 5 to more closely match the new brightness.
It appears as if the door handles have separate, non-adjustable, very low-intensity lights in a sickly, jaundice-yellow/sodium-vapor color. Curiously, even after the main lights turn off, these remain on for a little longer before they finally turn off. I didn't notice these until I had the car in a dark garage at night. Now I can't unsee them...
And, to my surprise, it appears as if the car maintains a constant bias current through the footwell bulbs, so those are constantly lit while driving at night, i.e., once the doors are closed, they do not shut off as the door and dome lights do. They also do not change in intensity with the ambient lighting adjustment setting.
I never noticed the footwell lights being on before (even with my light grey interior), but given the higher lumens and the fact that they are LEDs, they are a little too bright IMHO. I may replace those with 30 lm bulbs in the future, but I'll see how much the ambient footwell lighting annoys me (most of my driving is sub/urban with high external light pollution anyway). I would think in a car with a black interior, the 90 lm bulbs would be just fine.
Pictures in this album.
This required 18 type 194 wedge bulbs plus one 44mm festoon (where noted):
4 door
4 footwell
2 front vanity
2 front dome
1 glovebox
2 rear reading
1 rear dome (festoon)
2 trunk
1 trunk lid
I did not do the two map lights in the rearview mirror since that replacement looks too complicated/risky, and they already look like they are LED bulbs and have a natural white color temperature (my preference).
I chose superbrightleds.com part numbers:
194-NWHP5: 90 lm, 4100K, 70 mA@13.5 VDC
4410-NW8: 60 lm, 4300K, 110 mA
They are definitely way brighter than the stock incandescents and, true to the part description, a natural white ("NW") versus the yellowish tint of an old fashioned incandescent (~2700K?). They also emit very little waste heat and can be handled easily, unlike the incandescents which are untouchable once they have been on at least a few tens of seconds. It seems that if you open the doors and leave them open for 3,4,5 minutes, the interior lights will time out and turn off, which makes pulling the old incandescents easier on the fingers!
I adjusted the interior ambient lighting color to "neutral" to get a better color match and adjusted the intensity to the maximum of 5 to more closely match the new brightness.
It appears as if the door handles have separate, non-adjustable, very low-intensity lights in a sickly, jaundice-yellow/sodium-vapor color. Curiously, even after the main lights turn off, these remain on for a little longer before they finally turn off. I didn't notice these until I had the car in a dark garage at night. Now I can't unsee them...
And, to my surprise, it appears as if the car maintains a constant bias current through the footwell bulbs, so those are constantly lit while driving at night, i.e., once the doors are closed, they do not shut off as the door and dome lights do. They also do not change in intensity with the ambient lighting adjustment setting.
I never noticed the footwell lights being on before (even with my light grey interior), but given the higher lumens and the fact that they are LEDs, they are a little too bright IMHO. I may replace those with 30 lm bulbs in the future, but I'll see how much the ambient footwell lighting annoys me (most of my driving is sub/urban with high external light pollution anyway). I would think in a car with a black interior, the 90 lm bulbs would be just fine.
Pictures in this album.
06-21-2018, 08:41 AM
#4
Junior Member
I have the same color combo as you, but my floor carpet and mats are black. I've done the same lighting upgrades you have, but there are six more that can be done on the outside which I did. The puddle lights in the mirrors are one (a PITA to do), the reverse lights (makes a HUGE difference), and the parking lights which takes away from the dull yellowish color if you have HID headlights retrofit. Regardless, your looks sharp. I'm also jealous of your floor color!
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08-21-2018, 09:45 AM
#9
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