LED everything

So I'm going to begin posting in this thread about the path of installing LEDs in place of the factory incandescent bulbs in our 07 package 1. Scroll to the bottom for TL;DR version.

So I started by buying a "vehicle specific kit" from Fyre Flys and pair of bulbs from superbrightleds.com. From now on we will call these the FF kit and super bulbs for short.

I bought the super bulbs hoping that they would fit the license plate sockets. I didn't give it too much effort as it was too late so they were re-purposed as you will read below.

The FF kit was both good and bad. The SMD panels put out a lot of light. The two smaller "plus sign" bulbs were junk. Lets go part by part.

The rear hatch was first. The festoon type adapter was difficult to place as it was replacing the smallest type of festoon bulb. The sprung load action fought me as I tried to place the bulb. The added tension does make the switch function quite wonky and possibly inoperable. Since we NEVER turn the switch off no big deal. I was able to cram the LED panel between the adapter/switch equipment. Final result was very nice so long as you don't use the switch.

The dome light was next. I had the same difficulty with the festoon adapter. I used the adhesive backing here as a flat spot on the rearward side of the housing made for perfect placement. Results here were very nice as well.

The map lights went in SUPER easy. Problem here is I wanted them over the section of the plastic that is textured differently than the rest. I will probably use a few dabs of hot glue (instead of more permanent clear epoxy) to hold them where I want them. There is NO BULB provided in this kit for the center dome up front.

The door LEDs were fairly worthless. The light was directed into the side of the housing so the did nothing more than make the housing glow slightly. I ended up using the bulbs from super LEDs here.

I tried to use the super LEDs in the license plate position. After the fiasco that the rear hatch plastic is I only tried slightly before giving up and deciding to use them on the doors.

WORD OF WARNING. The door bulb housings have this crazy metal bar setup. I had to bend them all up to get the bulbs to fit ... probably spent 10 mins on each side just forcing them to fit. I had to force the inner plastic cover back on as I had -2mm of clearance Yes negative. the bottom of the socket cut into the bulb's plastic connector. I wasn't pleased with the color as they are bluer than the rest of the bulbs which are very close to pure white. But I kind of expected this. I might replace them for SMD panels in the future.

Next on my list is license plate LEDs, front center dome light, , the vanity lights I forgot about, affixing the front map lights correctly, and getting started on the rest of the exterior lights (turn signal front and back, rear tail lights, and reverse lamps). Thus far I'm considering these for the license plate, these for the vanity lights, and this for the front center dome. I'll take my calipers to the other exterior bulbs and make buy decisions on those soon.

I've attached pictures of the results and will take more pictures of the inside of each housing during daylight soon. I also attached pictures of the hatch trim I removed. I slightly fractured one mounting point and completely broke of another. Time for some epoxy!

EDIT: The picture of the door light is with the super led's installed. I did not take a picture of the super dim plus sign bulbs from fyer flys.

TL;DR- Fyer Flys kit - Hatch was wonky but works if you don't use switch. Festoon adapter hard to deal with. Dome came out great but again with the festoon adapter. Front map lights great but you may want to hot glue them in place as using 3M sticker might not work too well. Door bulbs SUCK unless you just want a dim glow. The super LEDs didn't fit on my first try in the license plate position but I gave up pretty darn quick. I used them in the doors but don't recommend it as I had to bend up the metal leads and brackets quite a bit.

 

Hate to disappoint but I'm trying to stick with Fyre Flys to keep the coloration the same .. except when it comes to amber/red bulbs.

 

Probably overkill but 48 LED panel is on the way for the front dome from Fyre Flys. I also picked up a couple of vanity light bulbs from them. I'm trying a pair of bulbs from superbrightLEDs.com for another go at the license plate bulbs.

If these work out then I just need to hot glue the front panels into place. I need to buy a low temp hot glue gun as I'm concerned about melting the plastic 'lens'. However I am worried about hot summer temps getting the 'low temp' hot glue into the triple digit temps. Being a white car maybe it wont be bad enough to soften the glue to the point of allowing the panels to move.

 

So latest shipment came in.

48 LED panel is great. Super bright ... LED panels are the way to go anywhere you can fit them.

License plate bulbs from superbrightLEDs.com work quite well. Maybe not as bright as I would like but for a plug in solution it works great.

Vanity bulbs ... um yea. Both didn't work to start with so when I replaced the driver side and it still didn't work. Need to track down the problem.

 

Those look like high power single LED lens'd bulbs whereas most everything I've been working with is multi SMD type. I have not really done any exterior lights aside from the license plate bulbs.

However I have considered the exterior bulbs. These appear to be a very bright option from superbrightleds.com. Problem is they are $25 a piece . So that's $100 for all four turn signals and $150 if you include the back up lights! I don't think they will fit for the tail lamps as those have a shroud inside the housing. From the user pics they seem good enough to used as brake lamps.

A less expensive alternative would be these bulbs at $18 each. $7 cheaper could save you $28 on four and $42 on six! I'm wondering if the reflected light would be sufficient with these as they only have 3 SMD leds facing rearwards while the rest are pointed to the side.

I won't be buying these anytime soon as it's a bit spendy for me at the moment. Need to save for my back to back family vacations!

 

These LED bulbs are actually a slightly complicated to produce. It isn't a 2D PCB here. They probably assemble multiple small PCBs with the SMD's affixed then epoxy'd together. They are then wired up and the base affixed. Being that there is not a huge market for this (OEMs develop their own LEDs rather than use retrofit like these) they don't benefit much from economies of scale.

Yes LEDs are a diode (Light Emitting Diode). From what I know they always run off DC. A rectifier (and usually a transformer as well) are needed to convert AC sources (like house mains) to run a LED.

LEDs themselves, as a component, are usually pretty cheap. Less than a dollar each and from the right source very cheap. Specialty and high power single LEDs can cost more.

The reasons people put LEDs in their Prius, or any car, vary but generally follow a few points.
-LEDs generally last longer
-LEDs consume less power (less battery drain if the car is 'off', less consumption in a BEV/PHEV/HEV, and less strain on the 12v wiring system overall)
-LEDs come in a variety of colors. This styling choice can allow people to do themed color schemes as well as simply match the kind of non-incandescent look of HIDs (not warm white but true or cool white or even slightly blue)
-LEDs generate less heat - this can extend the life of whatever they are inserted to.
-Depending on the application, LEDs can be much brighter. I have found this particularly true when replacing interior bulbs with SMD LED panels.

There are some cons though.
-Automotive LED retrofitting isn't generally cheap. In some cases it's down right expensive (espically units designed to be bright enough/large enough to be used in exterior uses like turn signals)
-Fitment is an issue. Rarely does anyone make LEDs for a specific model. Sometimes you might find a vendor that sells a kit of components known to fit but still not specifically for a certain model. It's difficult to measure an 'inserted' bulb's clearence. A micrometer with a depth gauge helps but it's still wonky work.
-EBAY is a big source for cheap LED retrofits ... returns/warranty/quality might be iffy. You'll pay more to deal with a US vendor.
-Color matching can be very hard in the near white range. LEDs from different manufacturers are bound to be somewhat different and even LEDs from the same source can vary.


Bottom line. LEDs can indeed be expensive and a pain to get right. But people do what they want.

 

If I were you I would NOT try to assemble my own LED bulbs. Unless you understand things like how to calculate the resistor needed in series with your bulbs to achieve the correct current as a function of the forward voltages of your LEDs, you don't have the required knowledge to successfully even set up LEDs to work.

Screwing up 12v electronics in your car at minimum damages your ego and at worst fries your electrical system.

If you feel like you still want to DIY some bulbs the please DO NOT cannibilize cheap LED flashlights. Instead, buy individual LEDs that you know all of the specs on.