LED interior lighting is more popular today than ever. In the interior of any modern car, there are many different light sources. At a minimum, the cabin has a central light located on the ceiling, as well as a "navigator" light located in front of the ceiling, in front of the windshield. In addition, in the passenger compartment there may be lamps in lamps located in cosmetic mirrors, in the illumination of the glove box (glove box), in lighting the trunk, thresholds, leg area, etc.
For all these lighting fixtures, 95% of cars use two types of lamps:
- baseless lamps marked W5W (or, according to other classifiers, T10)
- soffit lamps marked C5W / C10W (or, according to other classifiers, festoon - festoon)
But even in the two most common types of lamps, it is not surprising to get confused, since our catalog of LED car lamps contains more than 20 models of each type. Let's try to figure out which models of LED lamps are suitable for the interior of your car.
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Plinth type
Choosing LED lamps for car interior lighting is not difficult. On the main page of our store, select the make and model of your car, then open the "interior lighting" subsection. If you did not find your car in the catalog, or the "interior lighting" subsection for the car model you are interested in is not filled out, then it will not be difficult to choose LED lamps for interior lighting on your own.
The most reliable way to find out the type of bulbs used in your car's lights is to open the shades and remove the stock bulbs. If you see that the lamp is entirely glass with a flat base about a centimeter wide with metal antennae, then you have a W5W baseless lamp:
This small incandescent lamp has a power of 5 watts and a luminous flux of about 50 lumens (incandescent lamp characteristics are taken from Osram's automotive lamp catalogue). To replace this obsolete incandescent lamp in all respects, you can choose a modern, brighter and more efficient LED lamp in the section.
If you see a lamp with two metal cones at the ends, then in front of you is a soffit (it is also a double-ended) lamp.
With this lamp, it is important to measure the distance between the extreme points of the socles. If the length of the lamp does not exceed 37 mm, then it is a lamp marked C5W, the power of such an incandescent lamp is 5 watts, and its luminous flux is approximately 45 lm. If the length of the lamp is more than 37 mm, then this is a C10W lamp, its power is 10 watts, and the luminous flux is about 100 lm. On our website, the length of C5W lamps is indicated by the last number in the name of the LED lamp. That is, for example, the F-4s50f31 lamp is 31 mm long, and the F-6s50f42 lamp is 42 mm long. You can select lamps of this type in the section.
If the lamp is a glass body with a cylindrical metal base, then this is a T4W lamp:
The power of such a lamp is 4 watts, the luminous flux is about 35 Lm, you can choose a replacement for it in the section.
The space inside the lamp
After the desired type of lamp is determined, it is necessary to inspect the interior lamp itself. When choosing soffit LED lamps C5W pay attention to the length of the lamp as well as the space inside the saloon lamp. If there is not much space around the standard lamp, as for example in this case:
then it makes sense to choose a narrow lamp.
If there is enough space and a wider LED lamp will fit in the passenger compartment or trunk lamp, then you can put wider and much brighter lamps.
Larger LED lamps provide uniform light over the entire area of the lamp, good illumination of the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe diffuser, that is, they solve the well-known "light point" problem.
The luminaire in which it is installed baseless LED lamp W5W may be of various shapes and sizes. The first thing you need to pay attention to is the location of the lamp inside the lamp. If the lamp inside the ceiling is parallel to the plane of the diffuser, i.e. in other words, sideways, as in these photos:
It is better to stay on LED side-glow lamps, for example:
In this case, the entire luminous flux of the lamp will be directed in the right direction, and not illuminate the walls of the interior lamp in vain, as in this photo ...
In addition, it is important here to evaluate the space inside the luminaire and, if possible, choose a larger LED lamp for better illumination of the entire diffuser. A good example of choosing bright LED lamps for interior lighting:
In the case when the lamp in the luminaire is located perpendicular to the surface of the diffuser, and the space inside it is very limited, as, for example, in this salon luminaire:
And if there is enough space in the interior lamp, then there is a choice: put small LED lamps of a more or less standard size, as shown above, or put larger, slightly unusual LED lamps like these:
with high brightness and giving a great effect of bright, diffused light.
Lamp brightness and color
In addition to the external shape and size of the LED lamp, it is necessary to take into account its purpose, that is, where exactly the LED lamp will be installed and what it should illuminate.
Lamps "navigator" light designed for reading in the cabin, for example, a road map. This means that the light in them should be enough for reading, but at the same time, the light should not be excessive, so as not to blind the eyes. For reading, it is better to choose a white or natural white color of the glow. The optimal indicator of the luminous flux in this case is 100-150 Lm.
The central interior light creates general lighting inside the car. It is logical to put a white LED lamp in it with a maximum luminous flux so that there are no dark corners in the cabin. But if you are not a fan of classic solutions, then you can put colored LED lamps, for example, or and make yourself blue, red, green or even pink light in the cabin, which looks very unusual.
The light in the cosmetic mirrors located in the sun visors should not be too bright, because during the use of the mirror the lamp will shine directly into the eyes. Comfortable luminous flux in this case is 25-70 Lm. At the same time, the lamps should illuminate the face well, which means that the light should be pure white.
Lighting of the leg area, glove box and trunk should be such that not a single detail is lost in the depths of the car. Here you can not skimp on the light and put in these, usually small lamps, the brightest LED lamps:
The bright light of such LED lamps will be especially useful when searching for a dropped phone or lipstick in the glove compartment.
LED illumination of doors or thresholds performs two important functions. Firstly, it illuminates the space in front of you when you get out of the car, and secondly, it indicates an open door in the dark, making it more visible to other road users. In the lamps located in the doors, you can install LED lamps of any color and brightness, to your taste.
Ready-made lamp sets
As you can see, when choosing LED lamps for the salon on your own, it is necessary to take into account many nuances. If you don't want to be bogged down with lumen output, markings and lamp configurations, then choose one of our over 100 pre-made LED lamp kits, custom made for a specific vehicle model.
The lamps in this set exactly repeat the interior space of the interior and trunk lamps of this car, flood the lamp diffusers with light as evenly as possible, and in addition, they have light dimmers and a lifetime warranty! You can choose a set for lighting the interior of your car in the section.
Every driver who spends a lot of time behind the wheel will not refuse to improve the interior lighting of his car. However, there is not always time and desire to go to a car service for this. Moreover, beautiful light in the cabin is possible. A well-made interior lighting with your own hands will be no worse than a service one.
LED car interior lighting
First you need to decide on the location of the backlight. You should not overdo it here, aesthetics are above all. It is better to choose the classic version and highlight the floor under the front seats and under the dashboard.
You also need to determine what kind of light will be - monophonic or multi-colored, with the ability to change colors using the control panel. Consider the possible options separately.
Option number 1. Multi-color backlight, powered by a cigarette lighter.
The method of obtaining electricity from ordinary is the simplest. With this option, you do not have to interfere in the electrical circuit of your car.
The video shows what the car's LED backlight looks like:
What you need for this type of connection:
- RGB LED strip for 4 pins;
- the controller of such a tape with a control panel, it is with the help of these devices that you can;
- wire for 4 colors, stranded, about 5 meters long. It is better that the wiring in it have the same color as on the controller;
- 4 connectors (terminal clamps);
- soldering iron and soldering material, such as solder and rosin;
- silicone transparent sealant.
Before you purchase everything you need for installation, you need to carefully measure the places where the LED strip will be attached, as well as the entire perimeter along which the wires will pass. First, we measure the distance under the dashboard, from the passenger side, where the tape will be attached, then the distance under the front seats. After that, we measure the perimeter along which the stranded wire will pass, starting from the glove box, then through the right passenger seat to the driver's seat and, finally, to the car's pedals. We leave a little in reserve.
The result should be 4 pieces of tape and 7 pieces of wire. The lighting connection diagram, both on the left side and on the right, starting from the glove box, will look like this: tape - wire - connector - wire - connector - wire - tape. Such a circuit is connected to each other by a wire passing between the upper connectors. The top pair of terminal clips is located under the instrument panel, the bottom pair is under the seats.
The video shows the multi-colored LED interior lighting:
When buying a diode tape, you need to remember that you can cut it into pieces only in certain places, strictly along the line running between the metal flat contacts. You also need to remember that the controller can withstand no more than 12 watts, so you must first calculate the total power of all the light bulbs of the tape and, if necessary, reduce its length .
When everything you need is bought:
- cut the tape and wire into the segments we need;
- we clean the wire segments on both sides of the plastic by about 1 cm;
- the desired segment is soldered to the tape, each posting to a separate contact;
- then we isolate the soldering points with silicone glue so that the wires do not break and do not touch.
We fasten the tape with wires into place using double-sided tape or other material. We start in a place under the glove box. We pass the wires through the terminal clamp, attach the controller to it, make sure that each wire matches the color on the controller. Finishing the installation of lighting under the pedals of the car.
We try to hide all the wires under the skin,. It remains to connect the controller to the cigarette lighter. We use the usual car charger for a mobile phone. We disassemble it and run the wires along the way, bypassing the voltage regulator, this is necessary in order to raise the voltage in charging from 4 to 12 watts. We solder one of its wires to the fuse, the other to the leg of the right metal ear, bypassing the stabilizer, that is, to the "minus". and stick its plug into the controller, and the charger into the cigarette lighter. Having learned how to connect the LED, it remains only to master the control panel for it and enjoy the light and music.
Using this option for connecting the light in the cabin, you need to remember that the backlight will only light when the ignition key is turned or when the car is running.
Option number 2. Battery-powered LED backlight.
For installation you will need:
- LED strip for 2 contacts;
- a wire consisting of two cores, for example, red and black, about 5 meters long;
- soldering iron and soldering material;
- sealant;
- toggle switch with "on" and "off" positions.
We cut the tape and wires, as in the 1st version. We solder the wires to the contacts of the tape, each to its own pole, indicated near the contact. We solder the red wire to the positive contact of the tape, and the black wire to the negative contact. Terminal clamps can be used, or you can do without them. We already know how to use them. It’s better to install them anyway, since in the future it will be easier to replace failed sections, and not change the entire tape.
Then the black wire must be pulled up to, stretching it under the rug and trim of the car. We connect it to the battery. We connect the red wire to the toggle switch and then we pull it to the positive terminal of the battery and connect it to it. We place the toggle switch in a convenient place where it is easy to reach it by hand.
This backlight option will work as long as the toggle switch is in the “on” position.
Light in the cabin at night is the same necessary thing as, for example, air conditioning in hot and cold weather. Standard light, as a rule, is not enough for high-quality interior lighting. Quite often you need to find something, look at a map, etc. Yes, and driving in complete darkness is not very convenient. That is why many car owners are thinking about installing interior lighting in addition to standard lighting. In addition, installing additional interior lighting is also a way to distinguish your car from hundreds of thousands of others, to give it a unique, original style. However, you often do not really want to pay for the workshop. In addition, the installation is quite simple, and for the owner of the car there will be another reason to boast of his own tuning.
Lighting in the car interior is not only convenient in the dark, but also stylish
Backlight Options
Previously, neon lighting was used to tune the interior of a car. It is bright enough, thanks to which even a rather large space is illuminated from even a single lamp. However, neon is quite expensive, it is very afraid of mechanical damage, it often burns out when it is turned on and off, and it is also more difficult to install.
In recent years, LED lighting has become increasingly popular. It has a lot of advantages over the previous version. It is quite easy to install, small size. This makes it possible to illuminate interior handles, steering wheel, cigarette lighter and other small elements. In addition, she is less afraid of any mechanical damage, less likely to burn out. In addition, with the help of LEDs, you can achieve various lighting effects: from smoothly turning on the light in the cabin to the possibility of periodic color changes when using RGB LEDs.
Both options are available separately. Although it is possible to make a complex option, illuminate part of the interior with neon, part with LEDs.
Where is the best place to install?
The standard additional light in the passenger compartment is considered to be a place under the dashboard and glove box, car seats, doors, door handles. Although, in principle, you can highlight anything, it all depends on your imagination. For tuning door handles, the ignition switch and other small elements, single diodes are most often used, and it is more convenient to use diode tapes to illuminate everything else.
Preparing for installation
Before proceeding with the installation, you need to purchase everything you need. If you are going to tune small parts, then you will need single diodes. To create a backlight, instrument panel, etc., you can take an LED strip per footage.
Before buying a tape, you must decide for yourself where you will install the lighting, take measurements, and only then calculate the required amount of material. If you decide to buy LED strips per meter, then in addition you will need to buy wires (3–5 meters), heat shrink tubing, or at least ordinary electrical tape, glue and a dimmer. There are also ready-made tapes for tuning the interior with wires soldered at the edges for connection. Then you won’t have to suffer with measurements, solder wires and isolate. Here you just need to fix the finished tape in the right place and connect it to the power supply.
Installation on small parts
For tuning small parts, it is more convenient to use single diodes.
We prepare the diode for installation and connection. We take a diode, solder a resistor to one of its legs, then solder the wires and isolate the open wiring with ordinary electrical tape. Somewhere at a distance of about 20 cm, you need to make a terminal connection. So, the LEDs are ready for installation. Next, prepare the installation site. Consider, for example, how the interior handle lighting is installed. To do this, and near the handle in the place where you want to install the diode, make holes. They must be small so that the diode enters it tightly. You can additionally fix it with glue. Next, stretch the wiring under the trim into the cabin, so that later it can be connected. In the same way, single diodes are installed anywhere in the cabin.
Installation of diode tape
Do-it-yourself car interior lighting with LED strip is also quite simple. Decide on the installation site, make the necessary measurements, cut off a piece of the desired length from the tape. Please note that you can only cut off where soldering points are indicated. You can see them on the tape. And yet, it is better to cut a slightly smaller piece than vice versa, otherwise there may be sagging and the tape will not fix well. After everything is cut to the edges of the tape, solder the wires. You check the performance of the diodes by connecting them to the power supply, and after that you can make the installation. If you have an LED strip with a sticky edge, then remove the protective film and stick everything in the right place. If not, then here you need glue. Thus, it is possible to install lighting only on straight sections.
If you need to highlight areas with folds, then everything is done a little differently. After all, bending the tape even at an angle of 90 degrees is undesirable. Then, for starters, you also take measurements, cut off pieces of the desired length, clean the edges and solder them at the folds. After that, isolate the place of soldering with a heat shrink tube (for this, put it on the desired area and heat it up). To the edges through which the LED strip will be connected to the power, solder the wires, insulate and then install everything in the right place.
Setting the combined backlight
For those who really like the glow of neon, you can make a complex lighting option. For example, to illuminate the legs of the driver and passengers, you can use neon lamps instead of LEDs. There is less risk of mechanical damage.
For installation you will need: neon lamps, self-tapping screws, nylon clamps for fastening, aluminum corner.
Often, many neon lamps have a connector for connecting to the cigarette lighter. You won't need it. Cut it off and clean the contacts. Next, take an aluminum corner and saw off a piece the same length as the lamp. Screw the corner under the torpedo, neon with clamps. Do the same under the glove compartment and under the rear seats to illuminate the space under the passengers' feet.
All wiring must be hidden and stretched to the dashboard.
Backlight connection
There are several connection options. Most often, LED lighting is connected to the cigarette lighter or to the interior light.
To connect to the interior lighting, it will be necessary to remove the cover and connect the wires: a plus is connected to white, a minus to red. If the connection is made through the cigarette lighter, then for this you will need to connect the plus to the plus of the cigarette lighter, and the minus to any place on the car body.
If you want to make the effect of smooth ignition and turning off the LEDs, then you must additionally connect a dimmer.
Neon lighting is connected a little differently. As a rule, it is powered by a battery through a specially installed transformer.
conclusions
Thus, installing interior lighting with your own hands does not require special knowledge and skills. In order to do everything, you will need quite a bit: materials, tools and a little patience.
According to the requirements of the traffic rules, any changes in the configuration of the external lighting devices of the car are a direct violation and entail fines or administrative sanctions (clause 3.1). However, additional interior lighting is not expressly prohibited by the rules, which makes it possible to decorate a car, increase comfort, make it possible to view a map or read the text in a guide without stress. The most popular type of luminaires are LED lamps, which are durable and do not drain the battery even with prolonged use. There are several options for mounting the backlight in the cabin, which should be considered in more detail.
By default, W5W halogen lamps are installed in the ceiling lights of most passenger cars. To increase the brightness of the glow, LED lamps are usually installed. RGB panels have appeared on the market that allow you to change the color of the backlight using the control panel. Installation of such panels is simple - you need to do the following operations:
- remove the transparent cap from the ceiling;
- remove the stock halogen lamp from the sockets;
- insert a special adapter with a plug instead;
- attach LED panel;
- attach the panel to the bottom of the ceiling using double-sided tape;
- close the plafond.
Interesting! The option with the RGB panel is convenient in that no soldering or other connection is required, all the work consists in disassembling and assembling the shades themselves. The cost of the kit is low, and the decorative effect is very expressive and varied - some models are able to create 12 color and brightness options.
Footwell lights in the car
Illumination of the lower tier of the car's interior was first produced only on premium cars. However, pretty soon this option began to be used on simpler models, and some motorists began to install footlights with their own hands. On sale there are special kits that simplify the installation of this type of lighting design to a minimum. They are a set of 4 lamps and a control panel. For power, a cigarette lighter plug is used, and the elements are fixed using pieces of double-sided tape. The wires are placed under the edges of the floor mats so that no one accidentally rips them off. There are less complex kits, consisting only of lamps of a simpler design, without a remote control. They give less effect, but are much cheaper. Of the most complex models, we can distinguish sets with the ability to control via a Wi-Fi module.
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Contour illumination of the machine
Contour lighting is one of the most expensive options when buying a new car. Lighting of this type pursues an exclusively decorative effect. The appearance of the front panel, dashboard and other interior elements, illuminated along the lines of ribs and plane transitions, is very attractive, favorably emphasizes the interior trim. Luminous lines divide the interior into zones, separate sections of the dashboard, door trim, gearshift unit and other departments.
There are kits that can be installed in a car of any brand. They are produced in the countries of Southeast Asia, so the price for them is available to any car owner. The standard kit consists of the following components:
- powerful LED;
- power driver;
- set of connecting wires;
- light guide.
The LED is inserted into the end of the light guide, which fits into the junction lines of the dashboard panels or other elements of the interior lining. The power supply of the driver is connected to the parking lights. Installation is not particularly difficult. In addition, you can choose the most preferred color of the LEDs, there are about 10 options in total. The cost of the kit depends on the length of the light guide (2-5 m), the presence of a wireless remote control and other design features. In any case, independent tuning will cost several times cheaper than the standard option with which the car is equipped at the factory.
Instrument panel lighting
The instrument panel is equipped with a backlight, but for those who like to install additional light elements in the car interior, this is not enough. Owners increase the brightness of the backlight, change the color of each gauge, make the area of the speedometer red in the zone of high values, etc. In this matter, there is a lot of room for imagination, especially since the installation of lamps is no problem. You just need to purchase a set of 40 multi-colored LED-lamps that have the same base as stock bulbs. The user is only required to replace the "native" devices with diode lamps, choosing a color for each element to his liking. The procedure is extremely simple and does not require the use of a soldering iron or other tools. It is only necessary to check the performance of the LEDs before installation.
Car interior lighting is an integral part of LED tuning. To make the interior of the car brighter, to highlight your car, every driver wishes.
Motorists put cool wheels, low profile tires, interior lighting, dashboard lighting, underbody lighting and so on.
Standard incandescent bulbs are gone, just like neon tubes, at the moment LED lighting dominates, since LEDs have a lifespan of more than 50 thousand hours, they do not drain the battery and shine brighter than conventional lamps.
The kits presented in our store are sold ready for installation and do not require installation in the service, it is enough to stick the tapes on double-sided tape (included in the kit) and connect to the cigarette lighter.
Choice of interior lighting.
Typically, motorists choose the color of future lighting to match the color of their car. As the most versatile option - white and blue. White is often supplied with business class cars and above. Blue is often seen in sports cars.
Interior lighting available:
- white,
- blue,
- red,
- green,
- multicolor
LED car lighting is rapidly gaining immense popularity in any country. High-quality, LED interior lighting of the car can make a favorable environment for the driver and passengers. However, do not overdo it, do not forget that a glut of cars with bright colors can distract drivers on the road.
There are 2 main places for installation, under the feet of the driver and passengers from the side of the torpedo, or under the feet from the side of the seats.
It is easy to buy lighting for your car interior, just call our store, or order through the website, sending the goods to the basket, delivery in Moscow is carried out on the day of the order, or the next day. Sending to the regions of Russia is carried out by mail or a transport company.
