Installation of LED bulbs for the license plate.

[chadhgraves]

I saw were some of you guys had put in LED bulbs in different areas on the Vibe. I loved the look of them so I'm planning on doing the same. The LED bulbs I ordered on Amazon for my license plate lights came in today, so I snapped some pics to make my first picture tutorial. All the tips, tricks, and picture tutorials on this forum has saved me some cash on DIY repairs and caused me to spend even more to do little upgrades that I've never thought of before. So here it goes. http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ...tails Step 1. Take off the access panel located in the middle of the hatch with a flathead or other pry bar. Step 2. Reach in the panel on the passenger side bulb and turn the connector counter-clockwise. Step 3. Pull it out. Step 4. Pull out the old bulb and put in the LED bulb. Step 5. Turn on lights to make sure it's working. If not, flip the LED bulb around. Step 6. Insert LED bulb back in and rotate it clockwise. You can see how it fits in there. Step 7. The bulb on the driver's side is tight on space, so grab some pliers and gently turn it counter-clockwise to get it out. Step 8. Put the panel back on and check out your new LED lights. The ones I bought are almost like headlights on the back! That's it! I love the look of them. Very easy to do as well. Next up, dome and map lights.

[jkm311]

Excellent write up. If I do this, I have to remember the listing is for only one bulb, despite it saying BULBS plural. Order 2, people! Can anybody tell me if a simple "bulb" design like this can go in the map and dome lights? Different sizes, of course but the reason I ask is someone did a whole conversion over to LED about 2 or 3 months ago on here, and his bulbs had to have a separate conversion piece or board or something. He had to shove it all into each space, and it looked a little complicated to me. Maybe not complicated, but more frustrating and easier to break something with all the extra wiring hanging out.Sorry for not using the technical terms, but I am lost when it comes to the tech behind LEDs, HIDs, etc. Thanks for this post, Chad, and when you buy the other bulbs, can you edit the post to let us know what other Amazon links we need?

[BlueCrush]

Thanks for the write up! Just ordered (2) led bulbs. One of mine is out, so perfect time to do this!

[rAERRK]

nice, i've been waiting for someone to do this again. and holy moly that's bright

[chadhgraves]

Here's KITT222's post on changing out the dome lights and map lights you're talking about. http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=45760 I ordered 4 of the ones he used off that ebay link he has in his post. They're shipped out of China and will be here in a week and a half. I should of looked around first but I kind of did an impulse buy on that one. Amazon has some that have the LED board built in between the connector. I would probably of bought these if I hadn't already ordered the other ones. They look like they should be able to fit in the recessed well of the dome lights. http://www.amazon.com/31mm-Fes...to_11 They have some others with 6 LEDs that are not as wide. Not as cheap as the ebay ones but at least they would be centered up in the dome light. I'll see if I can center up the ones from ebay when they get here. The map lights on the rearview mirror are the wedge type bulbs just like the ones I installed on the license plate lights. I would probably of bought these instead of the ones I used on the license plate to ensure I had enough clearance to put the lens back on. http://www.amazon.com/Super-Wh...uto_4 With these you wouldn't have to worry about changing the connectors. Just plug them in and go. I still am researching an LED replacement bulb for my CHMSL to give me a bright third brake light. I'm not going to mess with the turn signals cause some have said the low power consumption of the LEDs makes the car think the bulbs are burned out and causes them to blink rapidly. You can mod them to not do that but screw it. Here's a great website to see what kind of options you have for all the Vibe light fixtures. http://www.superbrightleds.com...r.php I used this site and then went to amazon to search for the equivalents. Amazon usually has the cheapest prices and I trust their site, so I always go there.rAERRK - They are like mini headlights on the back. I love them. You could always go smaller but where's the fun in that. No cop could ever pull me over for no plate lights now. Living in Oklahoma you have to think about stupid things like that. We have some overzealous troopers.

[BlueCrush]

Sweet! Just ordered the map & dome leds also. Might as well to them all!

[tpollauf]

Very nice I'll have to see how much room the 09-10 Vibes have and do the same to mine as you did to yours. Now that you've succeeded at this LED mod, don't stop ...... keep on LED modding...........................

[chadhgraves]

Thanks tpollauf! I plan on doing the other interior lights too. I like the clean white light the LEDs put out. I'm surprised the newer Vibes don't already have LEDs in them already.

[MrHatchWagon]

Nice write-up! You've inspired me, and I just picked up a set of T10 LED bulbs on eBay for 10$. I'll post pictures when they arrive and I get around to installing them.

[cptnsolo77]

I just did mine today. Looks GREAT with some LEDS I picked from Ebay. Nice & bright...no more yellow light !

[Persephone]

Doing this. Thank you for the tutorial.

[chadhgraves]

So I did the map and dome lights a while back as well. Here are the pics of that install and the results. It really lights up the interior. Just use KITT222 tutorial I posted in one of the earlier replies. If you want an easier "plug and play" bulb then I posted some options in the earlier reply as well. Like KITT222 says, the map light is a b**** to get out. But just use a little flathead to work it out. I modified the chinese LED light boards for the dome lights by splicing them together to use one connection. Anyways, here are the pictures.

[tpollauf]

Man does that really brighten up your interior You almost need sunglasses at night with how bright that looks Nice job

[Persephone]

What a great idea on splicing two together. I just stuck mine in the middle over the hole. The adhesive is really good, so it didn't mind not having much to grab onto.

[MrHatchWagon]

Here's mine: The installation was quite easy because I had a few broken clips in the wrong places, and the interior hatch trim was almost coming out by itself. Took advantage of the opportunity to remove the panel, replace those clips, and change the bulbs.

[rAERRK]

Quote, originally posted by MrHatchWagon »Here's mine: [img]http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/6329/img312u.jpg[img] The installation was quite easy because I had a few broken clips in the wrong places, and the interior hatch trim was almost coming out by itself. Took advantage of the opportunity to remove the panel, replace those clips, and change the bulbs. which bulbs did you use/from where?

[MrHatchWagon]

After about 15 minutes of research, I concluded that the bulb base type was one of the most important factors. Their using a T10 base, any off of ebay that were marked T10 (or 194) all basically meant the same thing, they're just equivalent ways of naming them. So I ordered T10/194 15SMD ones. Listing was named 2PCS T10 WEDGE 15SMD 3528 LED LIGHT BULBS HID XENON WHITE 158 194 W5W. Seller was "twinborn".http://www.ebay.ca/itm/1306282..._1185 hoping the link hasn't expired.

[MrHatchWagon]

chadhgraves, how did you go about splicing the connections? I'm curious because my lights just came in the mail, and I'm eager to get them installed lol.

[Vaggeto]

Hahaha... I also order more of the 36 SMD LEDs. I had done just the 6 SMD "dome light" ones but I like the idea of more light using the dome light adapter piece that chadhgraves showed.

[lance1472]

Hehe .. I did this conversion when I got my Vibe.. Was by far the best upgrade I have done yet .. My 24 LED dome lights in each light are so bright that they shine clear through my 5% tint. The light output is amazing for these bulbs. Just waiting for my LED Strip lights to come so I can do some of the Kitt mods that are posted. I am compiling my garage and will post pics soon...

[MrHatchWagon]

I just got the dome lights done today, figured the best way to splice the connectors together was just to stick the second LED board's connector into the back of the adapter's connector, so as to make one big line with the three. See garage thread for pics of the finished setup.

[Water boy]

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[lance1472]

Some of my interior 24 LEDs began flickering today... SMH, put my old 9 LED bulbs back in... still freakin bright!! Also, did switchback LED front turn signals (white when lights are on, amber when signals flash)..

[MrHatchWagon]

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Thanks for the heads-up, it should work now!

[Vaggeto]

Some of my interior 24 LEDs began flickering today... SMH, put my old 9 LED bulbs back in... still freakin bright!! Also, did switchback LED front turn signals (white when lights are on, amber when signals flash)..

Any pictures of this? Is it a noticeable difference?

[lance1472]

Some of my interior 24 LEDs began flickering today... SMH, put my old 9 LED bulbs back in... still freakin bright!! Also, did switchback LED front turn signals (white when lights are on, amber when signals flash)..

Any pictures of this? Is it a noticeable difference?

It is very noticeable, every LED makes a difference. I feel like im in the dark from going down almost 30LEDs less BUTTT everyone who gets into my car always like "WOW Its so bright in here" and thats with the 9LED bulbs in. I will post pics when I have some time, my iPhone camera does them no justice.

[Vaggeto]

Sorry I was actually wondering about the front turn signals you referenced.