Dome light replacement that's brighter? LED?

I have the '93 Corolla that takes a DE3175 dome light bulb.

But I'm doing night deliveries and going blind trying to write things down with it.

I'm looking for a much brighter replacement that hopefully won't draw as much current? LED? I heard they have some very bright LED's now called Luxeon? 1 watt? I heard that just one of them can replace 10 of the older lower powered LED's.

So has anyone made a replacement bulb with Luxeon LED's, with maybe 3-4 of them in series? Wouldn't that be great?

Reply to
Mama Bear
Loading thread data ...

Go to

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and search "3175 led bulb." You will see several possibilities.

Reply to
Ray O

Get a flashlight. There are 3175 LED bulbs but they aren't Luxeon LEDs which are quite expensive.

Reply to
SMS

Get a headlamp (Eveready, for example, for about $14) and a set of rechargeable NiMHs for it (another $20 or so). Probably cost a lot less than overhauling your dome light and refitting it with LEDs.

Reply to
dh

Get one of those plug-in hi-intensity lamps that plugs into a lighter socket. Higher output and much more efficient.

Reply to
Hachiroku

Do LEDs run hotter or cooler than the standard bulbs? I am thinking of replacing the backup lights in the 98 Sienna with brighter LEDs, which seem to be cheap enough (just a few dollars each). I just don't want to melt anything in there. Is this a bad idea for any other reason? Thanks, Tomes

Reply to
Tomes

They run much cooler, since they use a lower voltage and draw less current. Even a cluster of LEDs will run cooler than a bulb.

Put your finger on the LED on the front panel of your computer...

Reply to
Hachiroku

LED's run cooler - almost no heat, compared to an incandescent bulb with the same light output, and LED's have a much longer life span, are more resistant to bumps, and consume less power.

Reply to
Ray O

No, they make LED bulbs for it.

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'm just not sure how bright it is. Price aint bad.

Reply to
Mama Bear

Then you have to juggle it.

Reply to
Mama Bear

The 3175 is rated at 10CP, but that's non-directional. The better the reflector behind the lamp, the better it works - You might try making a better reflector out of heavy foil 'Duct Tape', making sure not to short out the lamp holders or any of the 'Rivets' on the backing plate that might be electrically hot.

If you replace the regular lamp with an LED lamp assembly, the focus of the emitter affects the output pattern.

Normally, LED's run much cooler than an equivalent incandescent. But that's for the 20ma indicator class, some of the Luxeons (esp. the

3-Watt) are pumping enough current through that they have to be on some sort of a heat sink, they can't handle the current for long without one.

The heat sinks are normally built into the retrofit lamps if the LED specs say they need them.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

I'd forrgotten about this gizmo. A friend has one. The one I've seen has a "base" that is also the cigarette lighter plug, a 9" or so gooseneck and a shaded lamp at the end. You plug it in to the cigarette lighter and adjust it to point wherever you like and just leave it plugged in all the time.

Unless you smoke. In which case, I recommend you just leave the lamp plugged in and stop smoking, anyway.

Or you can just buy the LEDs and see how they work.

Reply to
dh

For $7 you can get a socket adapter at Rad Shack, for $9, two.

You might have to drill a hole, but put it where you want it, and plug a lamp into it. In the Mazda I have one for the XM adapter and one for my cell charger. Runs New...

Reply to
Vash The Stampede

The advantage of the plug in map light is that you can use it in any vehicle you need to use (as long as it has a lighter socket).

There are two possible types you could get.

  1. Comes on a flexi shaft that can be aimed where you like
  2. Comes on a length of wire but you can clip it to your clipboard (or order book)
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Reply to
FantomFan

MUCH cooler.

Depends on the lens covering the lights. If it's clear, LED's can be much more vivid than incandescent bulbs, and much more intense. The people I see, who are using them for the red tail brake lights, seem to be increasing their safety by using them, they're so bright and vivid.

Reply to
Mama Bear

Yes, and in the traffic lights they're replacing incandescent bulbs that draw maybe 150 watts, with LED arrays that I understand draw about 14 watts. That's a BIG energy savings over an entire city area. Plus the LED's last longer and are MUCH more vivid and visible.

Reply to
Mama Bear

I was searching around and found this:

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AC Delco DC 12V Socket Multiplier

  • Plugs into the cigarette lighter socket or 12 volt power port. * Provides 3 12 volt power ports, one is insulated for use with your auto cigarette lighter. * Swiveling 12 volt socket plug for optimum positioning. * Maximum current tolerance 20 Amps

AC-244 AC Delco DC 12V Socket Multiplier $15.00

Sounds real sturdy and heavy duty, not like the cheap crummy one I bought on Ebay that I can't even get to work. BUT they want almost $10 to ship the darn thing and I can't find it anywhere else on the web for less shipping cost.

Reply to
Mama Bear

Here's an interesting looking one, but it seems to have no on-off switch.

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If I'm going to be using something like that 20 amp tripler that I posted about just now, I'd be running the air cleaner in the back seat from it, so a map light would need to have its own separate on-off switch.

Reply to
Mama Bear

Shipping costs on e-bay and almost everywhere else are so much bullshit, they are so inflated. More profit is made on falsely inflated so-called shipping costs than on the item itself, in many cases. That's why I refuse to buy on the net unless shipping costs are very low or waived.

Reply to
sharx35

Just wait for the anti-DRL idiots here to say that once MORE people start driving vehicles with LED tail/brake lights, that there will be NO safety advantage. To which, I say, BULLSHIT.

Reply to
sharx35

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