Colored LED Dome Lights
 

I've seen people in the past looking to replace their interior dome lights with colored units. While it is fairly easy to find replacements for the wedge bulbs used inside the glovebox and under the dash, colored dome light are hard to find. I replaced mine with a LED unit from Varad - AL211MP - RE (red) and it is great! The P stands for Professional, as they offer an AL211SP (Standard) unit with half as many LEDs. It's a direct replacement for the standard dome lamp, and will last much, much longer than the normal bulbs. The standard run about $10, while the pro units are about $14. They come in red, yellow, blue, green and white. I got mine through www.installer.com - they're located in Houston and are just now adding the Varad line of lighting so it isn't shown on their site currently. You can contact them direct at 713.626.7627 - ask for Chris Koonce, or email him at chris@installer.com. :sly:

How bright are the LEDs compared to the stock dome bulb? And why don't we have a xenon dome light like the car's promotional stuff says we do?

http://www.miniusa.com/crm/features_specs/

#6 under "interior seating & trim"

The model I got is probably as bright, if not brighter than the stock unit. It's hard to judge since you're dealing with two different colors. I don't know how bright the "standard" version would be since it has half as many LEDs, but the Pro model works very nicely. I can't answer the question as to what exists as far as the specs go - probably a good question to pose to MINIUSA for clarification.

I haven't checked very closely, but the dome lights are 192 size?


thanks. :) I think Im going to put in a superwhite bulb.

I believe the dome lights are #6461 - 10mm x 36mm. Varek does make these units with White LEDs as well, and I would definitely go with the Professional series if you're lookiing for maximum brightness. Good luck!:cool:

1RED,

Could you post the quantity and sizes of the MINI's interior lights, so that we could look aftermarket for colored bulbs to change our car's interior appearance?

Thanks for your effort.

MGC

Answer:

The OEM dome lights are Xenon. They are incandescent bulbs with xenon gas. Your Xenon headlights work on an arc of electricity between two electrodes in the presence of Xenon gas. Your dome light has a filament (same as any other light bulb) surrounded by xenon gas. If you were to put a light similar to your headlights in the dome of your car... 1. you would have a huge housing to bump your head on or poke out of the roof... 2. you would be totally blinded every time you opened the door of your car.

Question:

Could you post a picture of the LED array and a picture of them shining inside the car? Is any special wiring necessary or do they just pop in to the existing contacts?

MGCMAN - There is a 5W wedge bulb in each footwell - type #194 I believe, another in the glove box, and another in the "boot". The center dome light is a #6411, and there are 2 "map lights" (one on either side of the dome light) that according to the Owner's Manual are 6W bulbs - sorry I've never removed them as I didn't intend to change them out.

jebernauer - No special wiring is required - kind of looks like a white circuit board suspended between two ends that are identical to the original bulb. There is a distinct + and - end however, so you can install the bulb and it won't work. A simple test is to touch the ends to the contacts with a door open and if it lights push it into place. Because the center is flat you can swivel the lamp and "aim" the light to some degree if you choose.

I'll try and get photos in the next day or two and see about posting them. By the way, Varad makes LED lamps to replace the wedge type bulbs as well.:eek:

I just got a whole set of new lights for the MINI. They replace 9 lights with a more white / blue tint.
Bimmian Light Kits for MINI & BMW
$35 and it replaces:
3 dome lights
glove box
both foot wells
2 license plate lights
boot light

Install was quick and I love the look, matches the color temp of the Xenon headlamps.

The glovebox & boot ligts are also the "festoon" bulbs like the domelight.

Thanks for the info! I look forward to seeing photos of the LEDs in action.

I am considering the Bimmian site for fog/high beam replacement lights to achieve a more consistent color. I am really set on blue LEDs inside the car although their "xenon" lights are nice. I think the only difference between those and the stock interior lights is that Bimmian has coated them with a blue tint. I like the installation videos though... that is VERY cool!

Thanks all for the replies. Interior light mods, here I come.

I bought these and am EXTREMELY disappointed. The price is outrageous compared to the quality. I had recently purchased some from www.autolumination.com and was looking for something brighter. Not only were these not brighter, but they are over 3x the price. I will be contacting installer.com for a refund. If you want interior lights at the best price, check autolumination.

I'd like to replace the driver's side map light only with a bright red LED light. Doesn't hurt night vision, but I'm not looking to change lighting, just the one I might use while driving at night. Any suggestions for this?

Yeah, get the 194Wedge from Autolumination. It will fit. And they're only a few bucks.

Does anyone have photos of these mods in action? I am going to try and get some of my blue LEDs I just put in the foot wells tonight. Anyone else?

don't buy from installer.com
 

I posted a little on this earlier, but this is to warn everyone of a poor vendor. I purchased some LED lights for my car from www.autolumination.com. I was then told by someone on NAM about installer.com (no url link intentionally) who sold "professional" grade LED's. I purchased 2 reluctantly as I hadn't seen them lit and they were quite expensive. I was extremely unhappy with the quality. They are not anywhere near as bright as the ones from autolumination, and the "white" was yellow! I emailed the vendor at installer.com for a possible refund. He replied stating that his refund policy is on their website.

This was at the bottom of his website page in 6pt font in itallics mixed in with a bunch of other stuff. Obviously I don't want store credit if they don't sell anything that is quality. I emailed him telling him that I am a member of several MINI communities and would have to tell everyone from those communities that his products are not quality and he will not back them. His reply was very beligerant

So, here's my warning. Don't buy from installer.com. You'll be ripped off. autolumination.com has much higher quality at less than half the price.

/soapbox

Oh yeah, and autolumination will let you pay via paypal!

I want to see some pictures of your LED light installations. Im about to order some, but I dont know what I want yet. Please help!!!

What are you thinking about?

I am wanting to go all out. As far as the interior goes; center dome light, 2 smaller dome lights, 2 step lights, 2 footwell lights, 2 map lights, 2 license plate lights, and the boot light. I think those are all of the interior lights. I dont know yet if I want the super bright white look, or the bluish look.
Then the exterior; 2 LED fog lights, 2 LED parking lights, and some new high beams. Not sure yet on those...thats why I'm wanting some pictures...

cooper99-
I have the full blue LED set in my MCS. Everyone who rides in it loves the lighting and says how cool Mini's are for doing this. I sheepishly tell them I did the mod and then they ask how they can do it to there Ponitac Sunfire, Olds Bravada etc...

I will also second autoluminations It is a great company selling true LED lights in multiple colors. Living in AZ is a bonus for me as they are in Phoenix and I get my orders within 2 days. But speaks to how quickly they respond to orders. The paypal thing is a bonus too.

I have attached some thumbnail links(tried to at least) to my gallery where I added a few pictures. Unfortunately my hands aren't too steady, and I wanted to show the color without any other lighting, so they are somewhat blurry, but give the general idea.

As far as bulbs go: 194's for the dome lights, map lights, footwells, and under the doors/entry lights, as well as glove box. The boot light is a 194 as well, but I recommend an impedence jumper for this one, as otherwise it blinks continuously at night when your lights are on. The middle dome light is a 39mm festoon I think (or a 36mm) as are the liscense plate bulbs. I also replace the front parking/running lights with 194 matrix bulbs and the wheel arch lights with bright white 194 spots. All in all it was about $70 worth of lighting, but they will last way longer than the standard halogens, and get the biggest response of any of my mods (even my $1500 OZ wheels!!!)

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...or_2-thumb.jpg https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...or_1-thumb.jpg https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...well-thumb.jpghttps://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ntry-thumb.jpg

That looks so great man! Ill post some pics once I order some and install them. Thanks a lot for the response. $70 dollars for all of those LEDs? That seems like a steal!

Maybe it was a bit more. I kinda ordered 'em over a couple of weeks 'cause I kept finding more to do (like the steplights) plus that way my wife didn't see a debit card charge for $120 for "stupid lights" :lol:

Maybe that number is closer to the truth. The matrix 194's are pricey as are the festoons.

Joel

I would love to replace my white interior lights with blue. Can you give me rundown on how many to order for a complete changeover (for the interior only)? I know that I will need at least one 6418 bulb for the dome but that website says that for the step lighting it should be a 2825. Is this false and should they be the 194s?

Also, did you order the impedence jumper from them too?