Finally an end to the bad interior lighting! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

crhenkel · #1 09-21-2007, 08:07 PM

Anyone ever notice how dim and poor the interior lighting is inside our W201 190E and W124 300E and w126 cars? I have loved the car and hated the fact that at night in a dark parking lot you cant find a thing in the dark interior even with both front and rear interior lights on!

Well, I finally found a fix! After trying all sorts of different incandescent and LED festoon bulbs, I have finally found a bulb that is so very much brighter, not gaudy or hotter! The LED festoon bulb is awsome! You can get it in the 39 or 42 mm size and it is soooo much nicer now! I can see inside the car at night!

The bulbs are expensive $16-19 each, but they are LED, very bright, put off very little heat at all, less than the OEM bulb, and are the nice cool white color of the new Mercedes interior bulbs.

I got mine from a company online in St louis called superbrightleds.
www.superbrightleds.com but www.ledlight.com also has them. I would recommend anyone who is tired of teh dark interior check them out. I also found the most perfect instrument cluster lighting bulbs there too! Yes, i know all the dangers and I have worked on clusters for years, these bulbs are not too hot and they are a lot brighter! A lot! Very low heat. No melting the light paths.
PS: I wish I did, but I get nothing from either company and am not affiliated with either. I wish I was but I am not. The bulbs are pricey, but I have found them well worth in in both my MB cars.

aTOMic · #2 09-21-2007, 11:44 PM

42 Draft designs has them for $8. Ungodly bright LEDs and great service, too. Their 194 style superbright LEDs are scary bright.

(Link is fixed, thanks)

http://www.42draftdesigns.com/leds_hi.htm

crhenkel · #3 09-22-2007, 12:17 AM

Couldnt get the web link to work

250 Coupe · #4 09-22-2007, 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crhenkel

Couldnt get the web link to work

Too many https,

http://www.42draftdesigns.com/leds_hi.htm

Michael

crhenkel · #5 09-22-2007, 10:32 PM

42 draft designs has a nice line of LEDs and the festoon style interior led bulbs look as if they would provide the same type of lighting, but they so not seem to have the "magic" instrument cluster gauge bulb like ledlights does. they have a super hi intensity 194 style bulb that is a direct fit for the illunimation bulbs that has one led that fires forward and 4 leds that fire to the sides, placing one super hi output LED directly at the light path in our instrument cluster providing a crazy amount of white light on the gauges. They can even be bought in blue, red, and amber; if you want... I think I still like them better. Thanks for the link to a similar and less expensive festoon interior bulb though. I think I will try their interior bulbs to compare.

mbzr4ever · #6 09-25-2007, 11:03 PM

I'm putting an order in for the festoon replacement for my w123. Sure could use more light in the instrument panel - supposed to replace with 194 but there are so many different styles:

http://www.ledlight.com/detail.aspx?ID=132

Does it matter which one as long as it is a 194?

mbzr4ever · #7 09-26-2007, 10:13 PM

bump

Chad300tdt · #8 09-27-2007, 03:57 PM

I odered the LED festoons (4410) in cool white and 74 Wedge base bulbs.
I am returning them today. They are HALF as bright as the stock bulbs.

I called them and they said they don't have the brighter festoons available in the 44mm size and don't know if they ever will.

In my opinion if you have the 44mm 6411 festoons and 2721 instrument bulbs, stick with the normal bulbs, the LEDs are NOT worth it.

crhenkel · #9 09-27-2007, 08:46 PM

Chad,
Not sure which bulbs you got or which of the two web sites you ordered from but you DEFINITELY didnt get the bulbs that they sent me. The ones I got are so very much brighter than the incandescent festoon blubs. Sorry you didnt get the same ones I have sent.

I see you ordered the standard led festoon bulbs. they are not very bright as you mentioned. The hi power ones are way way better than the OEM bulbs and no hotter , if not a bit less in temperature.
I see you wanted the 44 mm festoon and as you noted, they only have the hi power festoon led bulbs in the 42 mm size. 2 mm will not make one bit of difference in the installation since the thin flexible flat metal connections that are used to hold the bulb will fit any bulb that is even close to the right size and a 42mm bulb will fit fine. I made the mistake of buying one 39mm and one 42 mm since I was lazy to go check the actual correct size, which turned out to be 42mm. BUT, the 39 fit the front or the rear light assembly with no issues and it is 3mm smaller.
I did happen to notice that the 4410 bulb low power led you bought cost $2.49 each and the 4210 hi power led bulbs I bought from them cost $15 each. trust me, they are brighter.

I would offer to you to try the 42 mm hi power led bulb if you were interested in better lighting, the ones you bought are definitely less output, but the ones I bought are so very much more light with no more heat.
I would bet you they would be more than accomodating to swap the bulbs for the hi power ones since you are interested anyhow.

#4210 42mm hp LED festoon bulbs from www.superbrightleds.com

crhenkel · #10 09-27-2007, 09:04 PM

[QUOTE=mbzr4ever;1629717]I'm putting an order in for the festoon replacement for my w123. Sure could use more light in the instrument panel - supposed to replace with 194 but there are so many different styles:

http://www.ledlight.com/detail.aspx?ID=132

This is the bulb I bought for the instrument cluster..expensive yes, worth it YES!
194 super flux led 5 leds side firing and one top #45689

Very bright, better then even a new clean OEM bulb by FAR.
Low heat output, no melting, no burnig light paths with 5w blue bulbs, been there, done that...no good.

I was skeptical since I have been trying LED bulbs for some time no and have never found one until now that I have been happy with.

The 194 socket led bulb is from www.LEDLight.com

The 4210 42mm festoon hi power LED bulb is from www.superbrightleds.com

Also, I noticed that LEDLights.com has a similar festoon bulb,
#54565 and #48756 I know the 48756 will fit , It is a true 44mm bulb also. It has 9 hi flux leds instead of 6 and looks even brighter but it is a bit more expensive, the 54565 needs to be checked to see if it fits both the light housings in your cars.

crhenkel · #11 09-27-2007, 10:14 PM

Chad,
No problem, i am sorry if I led you astray with the info, i tried to clear it up with my last post. They are expensive, but they will be what you are wanting I am sure, They are very very bright and look very modern compared to the old yellow bulbs.
I am pleased that you took my response the way I intended and were not defensive, I never know how someone will react to my responses, you were very professional, good for you.
Good luck with the bulbs, I am sure you will like them better. My 16v with a black leather interior was very very dark, but now it is great! The 42mm will work fine

Chad300tdt · #12 09-27-2007, 10:24 PM

I don't know what happened to my previous post. I was scrolling back and deleted it somehow by accident. I was going to say that I just placed the order with LEDLIGHT.com and ordered the 194 bulbs for my cluster as well.

Thanks again for the info. I'm anxious to be able to see properly.

Chad300tdt · #13 10-01-2007, 12:08 PM

Christopher,

I got the LED bulbs from ledlight.com today! I put them in and they are AMAZING. The festoon bulbs are brighter than the stock bulbs and a clean white color. The 194 bulbs are what really blew me away. Even with just one of them in the cluster, it was brighter than stock. With both of them in, the cluster looks like as bright as a newer car. There were no problems with fit for either style bulb I ordered. I noticed even brighter light when I used dielectric grease on the contacts.

Thanks again for the heads up!

crhenkel · #14 10-01-2007, 05:48 PM

Chad,
I am glad that it all worked out for you. I was concerned when you were so disappointed in the led bulbs because what I got was so awsome. I am glad you got them sorted out and they sent you the same type bulbs I have. You are right, THEY ARE REALLY WONDERFUL! I wish either they were less expensive, or I owned that company, because I think anyone who has ever complained about the MB night lighting should have these bulbs in their car. maybe I can get them to give me a finders fee? Not likely huh!

Those inst cluster bulbs ROCK!

mbzr4ever · #15 10-02-2007, 09:54 PM

Thanks for the stock number clarification. I need 2 bulbs (#45689) for the instrument panel, correct?

While I am improving the dome light (front interior light) with a new #48756, has anyone found a good source for the (clear plastic) light assembly ? I keep replacing it, only to have it crack a few years later. Or it that the normal expected life of these fragile lights?