Wing Mirror Puddle Lights

is200 Newbie · August 15, 2015

I have been into the guts of my mirrors today - I had the intention of changing the bulbs when I had the mirrors in bits but have not got round to getting any better bulbs !!

Below are pictures of the OEM bulb and the holder with the bulb info on it.

Can I fit brighter bulbs in here - maybe LED ones and will they fit and work ok?

Any recommendations?

marko369 · August 15, 2015

I fitted some I bought off eBay this week, they look blue'er in the pic than what they actually are(must be Iphone cam) I ordered white but they do have a blue tint.......

They ARE brighter too :)

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normski2 · August 16, 2015

Yep Noobie...you can put LED puddle lights in.

Did mine about a year or so ago.

You need to ensure the new LED is no longer than 25mm or it wont fit. I got led's with 5smd (1 on the end and 1 on each of the side faces).

The same ones would be used in the courtesy light above the windscreen and the bottom of the door.

But not over the rear seat....that requires 2 festoon bulbs at about 28mm long

is200 Newbie · August 16, 2015

Thanks guys

Ishaq · August 16, 2015

Yeap I did mine with LED but as Normski stated they need to be short legnth as the first ones I got had maximum LED on them hence were to long.

is200 Newbie · August 16, 2015

Done a quick search on eBay to see whats out there

These keep popping up from the USA - item number 130510386635 - these are 12 SMD and do state they are suitable for Lexus 250. They state size is 045" inches diameter (11.43 mm) and 0.922 inches long (23.41 mm)

NORMSKI - When you say the LED needs to be no longer than 25mm, is that the full length of the bulb including the connector or just the LED part

Picture below

toffee_pie · August 16, 2015

how hard is it to get access to these bulbs and did you fix the reverse motor mechanisim?

normski2 · August 16, 2015

Done a quick search on ebay to see whats out there

These keep popping up from the USA - item number 130510386635 - these are 12 SMD and do state they are suitable for Lexus 250. They state size is 045" inches diameter (11.43 mm) and 0.922 inches long (23.41 mm)

NORMSKI - When you say the LED needs to be no longer than 25mm, is that the full length of the bulb including the connector or just the LED part

Picture below

Good point there Noobie....sorry mate should have made that clearer.

That will fit...I should have said 25mm overall length, and the diameter is OK too. They will flicker a tad as they go out ...but all LED's do that. Its a bit of a minefield looking for LED's....they all make different claims. Yes they do have more smd's, but the smd's are a lot smaller than mine. Last time i looked mine were about £4 for 20 delivered. They drop in price all the time. The only ones that seem to hold up a bit are the Cree type that can be used for sidelight and reversing lights. They can be £14-18 a pair for high brightness type.

Eric...dead easy to get the mirror apart...just follow that Precision LED video. Shows exactly how to remove the mirror and dismantle the assembly.

toffee_pie · August 16, 2015

cheers, might give it a go next weekend.

toffee_pie · August 16, 2015

will these fit the puddle lights?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-x-Car-T10-W5W-White-5-5630-SMD-LED-Bulb-light-Lamp-DC-12V-/191630827148?hash=item2c9e165e8c

normski2 · August 16, 2015

They may do...at 27mm length.

I scribbled down 25mm in my notebook......but in fairness there were no 27's when I was looking ...it was 25 or 30.

marko369 · August 16, 2015

Yes they will fit, the ones I used are 27mm, cheaper than your link and UK too so arrive in a couple of days. Although are slightly blue'er than I originally thought.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=331348796146&globalID=EBAY-GB

Double up as sidelight and front interior light too

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is200 Newbie · August 16, 2015

MARC - That's cheap - 10 for under £5 ... are they reliable?

ERIC - Fixed the reverse tilt - works fine now and holds its memory - a good clean and two replaced plastic worm gears (one in each mirror), quite an easy job. To get to the bulbs you only need to take the mirror and the housing off (4 screws) the bulb housing should drop down then.

toffee_pie · August 16, 2015

where did you get the worm gears?

normski2 · August 17, 2015

Just a note of caution.

Be a little careful with these plastic bodied LED's in the main light cluster,ie using them for sidelights. If the main bulb is illuminated for a time the enclosure can get really quite hot. I checked some LED's I put in after 3 months and found they were showing signs of melting. I then switched to the metal type upper body led's and they are fine.

For anyone who may not realise... the bulbs are polarity sensitive, so if the LED bulb does not work, take it out, turn it through 180 degrees at the input end and it will then work. Put bulbs in with switch 'off' and try once in position. If its live and you touch the body with the LED you'll pop a fuse which can be irritating if don't have any mini fuse spares.

is200 Newbie · August 17, 2015

Good advice

I don't like using eBay for this type of thing but its sometimes the only or best place to compare items like this from.

I am only planning on doing the puddle lights as I don't think there's a lot of light from the OEM bulbs. I quite fancy doing the door lights but placing the logo ones on just for a bit of bling - don't know how good they are but cheap enough to give it a go.

is200 Newbie · August 17, 2015

Worm gear

I have given the spares I had of these away now. I found them from a supplier who cold called the company I work for looking for business. The ones I had from him were samples from his boot stock. he never left a card and he was going to send me his catalogue .... still waiting !

The originals are made by a company called ASMO which I believe is a division of Denso. They may be a standard off the shelf item if you want to do a search - the dimensions are below shown in the picture

BillNick · August 18, 2015

I notice the OEM puddle lights fade in and out.....will LEDs do this? I know you can get 'dimable' ones but probably not worth the extra cost right?

normski2 · August 18, 2015

Yes.....the just flicker a little bit going off.

I don't even notice anymore.

is200 Newbie · August 18, 2015

Got some on order - should manage to do at the weekend if weather is ok

Cracksta · August 20, 2015

Took me about 10mins to do each puddle light, think mine was parked near the sea as all these white stuff was stuck on the metal.

Looks so much better now with white LED. The side lights are a right pain to do but should be easier the 2nd time round if i ever need to replace them.

JamieG4454 · August 21, 2015

I find cree bulbs are good. Tis what i have in mine they are normally brighter than normal leds and whiter. You can buy specific puddle ones from somewhere also

is200 Newbie · August 21, 2015

I bought the LED's below. they arrived today and I fitted them this evening (took about 10 mins tops to fit which I thought was not bad going)

Just over £5 for 10 of them - don't know how long they will last but there's plenty spare. The ad says they are energy saving, long service life... ?! ... will wait and see. I am quite surprised, compared to the ones that I took out, at how much light they throw out but I guess the others had dimmed considerably over the years. They put a nice pool of light down each side of the car.

They are sized at 27mm x 10mm and fit fine but I would not go any bigger.

Normski - these fit in the cabin lights like you said but just the front. Any ideas on how I can remove the housing to get to the old bulb to replace it?

I have also found some festoon bulbs at 42mm that match the bulb colour I have bought so should be good to see if these can be fitted also - 42mm? Does that size sound ok? I guess I could remove the bulbs to measure. Any advice on removing the rear housing also?

I will post a picture tomorrow showing the light from them when its dark.

toffee_pie · August 21, 2015

newbie

will these fit in the boot?!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/White-16-SMD-DE3175-DE3022-Lights/dp/B00BG9KVS0

mine are terrible, cant see shag all with them, they need to go asap.

normski2 · August 21, 2015

Crikey 10 mins.. You were a man on a mission.

Right so you had 10 bulbs. 2 in the puddle lights.

2 in the overhead lights behind the sun shade on each side.

3 in the centre overhead courtesy light unit. Look for the little indentations in the grey plastic lens. This can be removed to reveal the bulbs.

2 in the base of each front door...that's 9 gone.

The festoons in the rear can be no more than 30mm from memory. 42mm will be way too big...don't go there!!!!!Again look for the two little indentations in the grey plastic lens...lever gently and the lens will pop off to reveal the 2 festoon bulbs.

There is 1 the same size in the boot too if you want to do that one too.