Incandescent bulbs!

[johnb80]

You can't put a price on the satisfaction you feel after replacing the dim watt filaments with lovely 2700K LEDs though.

And it's entertained a few of us for a couple of hours. I bet you never anticipated where this thread would go

 

[mg4mc]

9.8 years or if you're on intelligent @ 7.5p, 11.76 years

Yes, I know, get a life

And in 11.76 years you may have to replace one of the incandescents which reduces the 11.76 years, but which also reduces the chance of one of them blowing - argh!

 

[johnb80]

And in 11.76 years you may have to replace one of the incandescents which reduces the 11.76 years, but which also reduces the chance of one of them blowing - argh!

I did consider that but in view hadnt taken into account the weight saving of LED or the charging losses in the charging process I left them out

 

[Rolfe]

Are we seriously just talking about the two wee interior lights above the windscreen? As far as I know they're the only incandescent bulbs in the car.

I'd have liked a warmer white than the very cold effect of the 300 lumen ones recommended in the video, but at least I could see to fiddle with my phone the other night.

Pro tip. When expecting Android Auto to get you out of a long stay airport car park in the middle of a mess of unfamiliar roads at three in the morning, remember to cancel flight mode on the phone.

 

[johnb80]

Are we seriously just talking about the two wee interior lights above the windscreen? As far as I know they're the only incandescent bulbs in the car.

Correct, yes we are.

I'd have liked a warmer white than the very cold effect of the 300 lumen ones recommended in the video, but at least I could see to fiddle with my phone the other night.

You can get 3000k ones which are warm white

Pro tip. When expecting Android Auto to get you out of a long stay airport car park in the middle of a mess of unfamiliar roads at three in the morning, remember to cancel flight mode on the phone.

Not using the onboard Nav?

 

[Rolfe]

I might look for some warmer ones, I didn't see any option when I first followed the link. I haven't used the car much in the dark so far, so I don't know if I'll be happy with the cold effect.

My onboard navigation was sitting in the passenger seat and she wasn't entirely sure how to get out of the industrial estate and on to the motorway. We don't all have Trophies!

 

[Ian Key]

Are we seriously just talking about the two wee interior lights above the windscreen? As far as I know they're the only incandescent bulbs in the car.

Too right. What else are we going to talk about first thing on a Sunday before the world gets up?

 

[Rolfe]

 

[Kithmo]

I changed mine to LEDs for two reasons, 1) they are brighter so I can see if I've left them on and 2) they deplete the 12v less if I leave them on and still didn't notice.
As you can see from the above, I'm a bit prone to forgetting to switch them off after I've switched them on manually. ?

 

[DerekH]

9.8 years or if you're on intelligent @ 7.5p, 11.76 years

Yes, I know, get a life

Can you please include the labour cost to install in that spreadsheet and then provide us a pivot table ?

 

[SparkyDoo]

LED bulb replacements are technically legal inside the car but not outside, although there's no real mechanism for enforcing this outside headlight checks at MOTs.

What about if a car has non compliant LEDs in the external lights and the lights are the cause of the collision. There would be an investigation and Plod would discover the non-compliant LEDs. Might that in turn invalidate the MoT / roadworthiness of the car and one's insurance?

 

[johnb80]

Can you please include the labour cost to install in that spreadsheet and then provide us a pivot table ?

I'll see what time I wake up in the morning, if I'm suitably bored, maybe

 

[Tig170]

I doubt if it would add even add a mile over the lifetime of the car as they are only on when the front doors are open, as for the legality, I think it only applies to house light bulbs.
Quite a few owners have changed them for LEDs.

I do like Tom in his man shed, he has done a fair bit on the MG4, incl. V2L to house/shed, the pedestrian alert, interior bulbs, dash-cam install, spare (lack of) wheel et al.

 

[Rolfe]

It's not illegal to use incandescent bulbs in your house. It's merely illegal to sell any that were manufactured after a certain date. It's amazing how much old stock keeps being discovered by certain web sites.

I reckon modern low energy bulbs are good enough now, but I'll use up the ones in my garage loft first before changing over.

 

[DerekH]

Changed mine to LED and it does provide a much better level of lighting in the front. Not too hard getting the plastic cover off but not easy pushing new led globes into the very tight bulb sockets!! Be very careful. I pushed one of the holders back up inside that assembly as they are only held on by a couple if clips. You can pull the holder back down with some long nose pliers though.

 

[tsedge]

What about if a car has non compliant LEDs in the external lights and the lights are the cause of the collision. There would be an investigation and Plod would discover the non-compliant LEDs. Might that in turn invalidate the MoT / roadworthiness of the car and one's insurance?

In theory such things are possible given infinite time and resources etc... Anything might happen.

But it is highly unlikely - I have never heard of a case not involving headlights. Obviously if the LEDs were ridiculously and inappropriately bright they'd draw attention and that'd be different.

This is why there's so much emphasis on headlights, because this is where overbright replacements typically cause dazzle.

But assuming (for example) they are similar brightness indicator replacements, I can't see it ever happening.

 

[johnb80]

In theory such things are possible given infinite time and resources etc... Anything might happen.

But it is highly unlikely - I have never heard of a case not involving headlights. Obviously if the LEDs were ridiculously and inappropriately bright they'd draw attention and that'd be different.

This is why there's so much emphasis on headlights, because this is where overbright replacements typically cause dazzle.

But assuming (for example) they are similar brightness indicator replacements, I can't see it ever happening.

Part of the MOT check is number plate compliance - font, size, spacing, tint etc, every day I see loads of non compliant cars on the road, not once have I seen one stopped by the police. LED's in lights are unlikely to cause an accident or attract the attention of plod.

 

[YaR]

Changed mine to LED and it does provide a much better level of lighting in the front. Not too hard getting the plastic cover off but not easy pushing new led globes into the very tight bulb sockets!! Be very careful. I pushed one of the holders back up inside that assembly as they are only held on by a couple if clips. You can pull the holder back down with some long nose pliers though.

Yeah, without a doubt it's worth doing, especially as a bright, warm LEDs are a few quid each. I've seen a few comments say the holders are easy to push inside, but I didn't find that at all, mine didn't move in the slightest despite needing a fair bit of force to get the LEDs in. I wonder if this is a manufacturing issue?

 

[Rolfe]

I got very cold bulbs and I'm thinking of replacing them again. Do you have a link to a suitable warm bulb?

 

[YaR]

I got very cold bulbs and I'm thinking of replacing them again. Do you have a link to a suitable warm bulb?

I got the warm version of these ones from a link somewhere else on here.
Amazon product ASIN B01LYEZPFC