This modification can be done even on the most limited budget, and will greatly improve the look of your interior at night. With my gray interior, and stock bulbs, the carpeting and seats looked yellow at night with the dome lights on. With the LED modification, it is MUCH brighter, and a nice white light, with just a slight bluish tint.
No splicing or cutting of any wires is necessary, as the LED panels come with an adapter to fit the stock Fiero light bulb sockets.
You can purchase the LED panels from the DealExtreme website, you your favorite LED retailer. If you purchase them from DealExtreme, shipping is free, but be prepared to wait! The orders come out of China, and can take a few weeks to arrive. (I think they take the proverbial "Slow boat from China"! )
These are the LED Panels that I used:
I chose these panels, as they are a perfect fit, and match the size of the Fiero Lenses nicely: Also, I find they are better, due to the fact that all 8 LED's face down, giving you much more light. The LED's fashioned into a bulb like round housing, will have just 2 of the lights facing down, and the remaining 8 facing up or to the sides.
Looking at this bulb, you see that only 2 of the LED's will face down when plugged in, the rest are pointed in every other direction, except where you want the light to go
First start by removing the 1st and last lens from the dome light assembly using a small screwdriver. You will see a small notch for the blade of the screwdriver in one end of the lens. Be careful, as the plastic is brittle from age. If you do break off one of the tabs that hold the lens in, you can glue the lens back in place. The LED bulbs will probably never burn out. Try to keep 2 of the good lenses in the 1st and last light, so in the future you can get to the screws to remove it, in case you do need to change out an LED, or work on the wiring.
Behind the 1st and 4th light, there are 2 small bolts that needs to be removed. There are also 2 screws where the end of where the sun visors click into the dome light assembly, remove those as well.
After removing the assembly, drop it down, and unplug it from the wiring harness, and take it somewhere to work on it.
Start by Removing the current bulbs, and plug in the sockets included with the LED's that fit the Fiero bulb sockets, and plug the other end of the adapter into the LED panel. Repeat this for the other 3 bulbs. Now it is important to test the lights. Either use a 12v bench tester, or just plug it back into the car. Chances are some of the LED panels will not be lit. LED's need the proper continuity for them to work. For the ones not working, simply remove the plug from the light socket, and insert it back in the other way around. Once you have all 4 lights working, you can unhook it from the 12v and go back to work on it.
I chose to put all the lenses back in at this point, and I used a little silicone to hold the LED panels in place attaching them right to the lenses. Make sure they are centered in the middle of the lenses. If you do not want to silicone them in place, you can tape them from the back, or devise another way to hold them in place.
Note: When replacing the lenses, look at the tab on the lens, and the notch in the assembly. One tab on the lens is larger than the one on the other end. The are meant to go back in, only one way.
That's about it! It is a simple 15 minute project, that will definitely make for a brighter, much nicer white light, and use far less energy when you leave the doors open for a long period of time.
Here is a dome light assembly with 2 stock bulbs, and 2 LED panels. It is quite easy to see the difference!
And again, it is a mod that can be done on even the most limited of budgets!
Here is Fiero after the LED conversion:
If you find the tutorial helpful, you are always welcome to +1 me
[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 05-11-2020).]
John, Nice write up! I too have been looking at the same LED's. $17 for all 4 is a hell of a deal! I have seen them for $9 ea. on ebay. I will have to get several sets for all my cars!!
This is a great write up; complete, concise and well written. I would imagine that this upgrade will go a long way to lighting those hard to see nooks and crannies, where keys can be miss-placed.
------------------ 1988 GT Manual Medium Red Metallic Gray Leather K Beck LEDs
As you are probably aware, I did this same conversion without the benefit of bulb adapters a couple of years ago. HUGE improvement in the light quality and level.
i bought the silvania silverstar 921 bulbs for all over in my car, HUGE improvement. although you get tons of plastic melting heat i need to swap to LEDs really soon... as soon as the car is back on the road lol.
You can actually use the same LED panels, as the ones above. They use the same plug. The LED panels have Peel-n-Stick tape on the back to stick them under the dash.
If you would rather use a standard bulb type LED, This one should work... I have not tried it yet, but it uses the same plug.
Again, I have not tried this one yet, so I am not sure how bright they would be, or even if it will fit the Fiero socket 100%. I just ordered a pair, and wait for a few weeks for them to get here, and let everyone know
@ ALEX: Do not order the LED panels, I ordered extra's, as you plan to powder coat my headlight buckets, and refused any payment. Thus I can at least give you something for the time and effort
[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 11-30-2011).]
I have found that the single led's like those (post above) are not very bright. They do have like 3 or 4 (on all 4 sides) that I use and oh baby, they are nice and bright!
Thanks for doing the homework for me... I just placed your identical order for me, I'll keep you posted as to when I receive them. Did you look into under dash replacement bulbs?
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[This message has been edited by JCircs (edited 01-08-2012).]
Got em about 3 weeks ago, popped right in... I shoulda ordered 7, 4 on the dome 2 under dash and 1 in the trunk. Im gonna put an order in for 4 more maybe throw the extra one under the hood. Thanks for doing the leg work and providing the info, Great deal......
I ordered 4 LEDs about 6 weeks ago. 3 weeks later I received the package, but only received 3. I sent a couple emails to them think they forgot 1 in my order. A week ago I received another package with the missing LED, they did not tell me it was backed ordered in the first shipment. I am also thinking of ordering 2 more for under the dash.
Just got the email from DealExtreme that my led panels have been shipped. I ordered the same four you used for the dome light but also ordered two of these http://www.dealextreme.com/...e-light-dc-12v-34604 for the convenience lights under the dash. I can't wait to install them. My goal is to replace all the light bulbs in my car with led's.
I'm confused. You mention they are blue, yet it says "super white" in the heading and "white" in the description. How does one determine the actual color of these bulbs? Is the listed color temperature of 5500k considered blue?
Along the same lines, how does one determine the relative brightness of these bulbs? If we want something the same brightness as the original incandescent bulb for example, how can we tell which LED replacement bulb is required?
I'm confused. You mention they are blue, yet it says "super white" in the heading and "white" in the description. How does one determine the actual color of these bulbs? Is the listed color temperature of 5500k considered blue?
Along the same lines, how does one determine the relative brightness of these bulbs? If we want something the same brightness as the original incandescent bulb for example, how can we tell which LED replacement bulb is required?
Just search for a blue one on ebay
I put those ones on there just because most people would not like blue in their interior. It works really well for me since if I want some real light inside my car, I just click on the other 2 lights in the dome that do not come on with the doors being open.
About the brightness, I have no idea much about the temperature and other specs of led's. I just bought them and liked them so I used them. This was the second type of bulb I bought, the first were crap lol
[This message has been edited by Riddick85 (edited 01-16-2012).]
I'm confused. You mention they are blue, yet it says "super white" in the heading and "white" in the description. How does one determine the actual color of these bulbs? Is the listed color temperature of 5500k considered blue?
Along the same lines, how does one determine the relative brightness of these bulbs? If we want something the same brightness as the original incandescent bulb for example, how can we tell which LED replacement bulb is required?
I find most led light looks blue, unless it is rated as more of a yellow, it could just be because we are used to yellowish incandescents.
Nice! was using search to see if maybe you did this for the side markers and found this https://www.fiero.nl/forum/A...120111-1-082820.html so did you ever get around and finish? Make them flash? If you did, can you post how you did it?
Just looked into this myself. FYI there is a coupon code if you buy 3 or more right now. Takes about a dollar off each one. Just follow the OPs link. Ordering mine tonight!
Edit: looks like using the bulk rate code will apply a shipping rate. So maybe not so great after all.
[This message has been edited by thedude557 (edited 01-23-2013).]
I have a Sebring Convertible, There is a forum just like this one for it and they have a pretty extensive how to topic. It makes it easy to find helpful topics or fixes. I know there is a search engine here but why not just add them to the how to topic? Just my $.02. Jim
------------------ He who dies with the most toys wins. 2004 White Sebring Convertible 1986 Black Fiero GT Kathryn's Welded Metal Artist
For those that have done this, how are they holding up? I've found that my led's are burning out and one has started to flicker. I'm guessing I need to add resistors in somewhere.
There's a reason they cost so little, besides the fact they probably come from China. They need to be lit up for an extended period of time and also "flap" them (bang them on a table top) to see if they survive. If they last several hours after being flapped and lit for 20 hours or so, they are most likely good.
Any source for USA made LEDs? I know they will cost a lot more, but I'm OK with that.
My Fiero is not a daily driver yet, so no idea how those LED's are for the duration. However, I put the same LED panels in my Kia in the front and rear dome lights, and they are also still like the day I installed them. It would be nice to find LED's made in the United States, but that's gonna be tough. Any LED's that I have found that are made in the USA are for office, business and home lighting.
i need to swap to LEDs really soon... as soon as the car is back on the road lol.
