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Was going through the car the other day, and noticed the rear hatch light was not working. Bulb fell apart when inspected.
Normally I would not like LEDs, due to the harsh light, but they were cheaper than standard bulbs, and after inspecting the dome light up front, it had over the years over-heated, cracked, etc.
Received my LED bulbs today, for the Dome, Trunk and Glove Box, did red for the glove box as I like a dimmer light when that is opened at night that is not harsh on the eyes.
Quality of the lamps looks exactly the same, same thick plastic, same thickness of the metal. Only difference is they say Hella instead of ZKW with the VW Audi logo.
I also noticed the original trunk lamp was bent in the middle a little, I am not sure if this is from over heating and pressure, or intentional. Either way I had to trim off a MM of the trunk carpet for the lamp to fit in the trunk.
The bottom is the rear hatch light, notice the bend.
For the glove box I got a 28mm red LED festoon. Little big but fits perfect!
I like LED festoons because they draw 0.5 Watt versus 10 watts. If you accidentally leave a dome light on or the dumb underhood light while hood is unlatched between wrenching sessions, then you won't kill the battery so quickly -- especially a small racing battery.
One of the early things I do for any and all cars I have is pull the old festoons out and replace with LED's. Cheap and last forever..
I switched over to all LEDs on my SUV, but ended up switching back the dome and the reading lights, I do prefer the warmer light of the incandescent. The bright white is so bright, it does a great job lighting up the car, but it must be nostalgia and mood lighting I prefer.
I have not checked to see if there are warm LEDs for the car, like they do with home lighting.
You're right Touareg, the standard filiment festoon is a warmer light. Don't think, for festoon's at least, you can get the option of a warm white kelvin color temp (2.5k - 3.0k) LED's. Maybe in the future.
My efforts to replace the festoons for LED's are generally based on my older cars having enough battery leakage as it is when standing for days/weeks at a time. That, and kids never closing the rear doors fully on my moderns...
10-08-2016, 01:52 PM
Interior Bulbs and Lamps "Upgrade"
