DIY: License Plate LED Replacement & Trunk Light LED Replacement

[Jgams]

Alright ... So I've answered a few questions about the License plate/trunk LED light replacement in other treads and decided to make a dedicated DIY for them. Hopefully this can help a few of you out.

License Plate LED Replacement

The License plate bulb is a 194/168 bulb. I used the "WLED-WHP LED Wedge Base Bulbs" for my License Pate and ordered it from superbrightleds.com (http://www.superbrightleds.com/mini-wedge.html)

1. I'm sitting in my trunk looking out and up. There are two blubs that you will need to replace and they reside in these two grey housings. Each bulb receives it's power from the white connectors.



2. Each housing is held in place by 2 clips (found on the left and right side of the white connector).



3. You need to pinch these 2 clips inwards to release the housing.



4. Once you have pinched the clips in far enough, the housing should easily slide out. If the housing isn't coming out, it's because you haven't fully disengaged the clips ... Pinch harder!!



5. And ... the housing is out.



6. Now you need to release the housing from the power connection. The white connector has a little wedge thing that you need to hold down with your thumb (Im pressing the wedge thing with my thumb in the picture below). The two should separate easily.



7. Action Shot.



8. Now you have your housing and light bulb. (My garage is an oven, so i'm sweating like a beast)



9. i've already replaced my oem light bulb with an led (seen here).



10. To remove the bulb, all you really have to do is pull the bulb straight out. Easier said than done. It took me A LOT of effort to remove the actual bulbs from the housing. Some ppl have said its easy, but with mine, I broke a sweat and thought my fingers were going to bleed.



11. I used my thumb as leverage as seen in the picture below and just wiggled the bulb back and fourth until finally it poped out. Once you have the OEM bulb out, throw your replacement LED in. Mine were a b*tch to get in. But again, just keep at it and bit by bit you'll get er done.



12. With your new LED installed, Connect the power supply back to the housing and replace the housing back into the trunk. You will hear two small clicks which means the housing is fully secured. If you don't feel the clicks, it means your housing isn't fully secured. Repeat the above steps for the other bulb.



13. Voila. It looks bluish here, but trust me, the bulbs are white.

[Jgams]

Trunk Light LED Replacement

The Trunk light bulb is a 194/168 wedge bulb as well. I used a "WLED-x5 LED Wedge Base Bulb" for my trunk light and orderd it from superbrightleds.com (http://www.superbrightleds.com/mini-wedge.html) I personally don't think this 5xLED bulb is very bright. If you want to have sufficient lighting in your trunk, i'd recommend getting a brighter bulb.

1. Im lying down in my trunk, so the left side of the pictures are the driver side of the car. Stick your flat head screwdriver into far edge of the light


2. Begin to pry the light out, it should fall out real easy.


3. Close up.


4. Action shot.


5. Flip the cover over to reveal the light bulb and connector.


6. Now you need to disconnect bulb from the connector. There is a little wedge thingy that you press down on, and then just pull the connector off.


7. Now you have easy access to the bulb, pull it out and replace with your new LED.


8. Voila. As I said before, i really don't think the 5-LED is sufficient lighting. I couldn't even get a decent picture because i couldn't find the right light to take one in. But anyways, here is a pic of the light reflecting off my hand.

[av911]

Good job man!!! REPPED!!!

I've heard people putting reflectors for the trunk lights, like a small peice of Coke can.

[truflip]

Yea I used a small piece of aluminum foil on my trunk light. Doesn't help much. Maybe can is better. Good job on the DIY. Id like to say don't squeeze too hard on the license plate bulb housing. It MAY snap/brake.

[Wakeboarder11]

damn nice diy dude. Im definatly gonna do this. I was just gonna order some led festoon lights to match my courtesy lighting in my car tomorrow. Thanks! +1

1 question though... what kind of car is this? The bulbs might not be universal for every model, fg, fa, ect.

[Jgams]

Originally Posted by Wakeboarder11

1 question though... what kind of car is this? The bulbs might not be universal for every model, fg, fa, ect.

Thanks for the rep guys. My civic is an '07 2dr.


2007 Civic 2Dr models bulb replacement guide can be found here:
BULB/Lamp Replacement Guide =)

2007 Civic 4Dr Models bulb replacement guide can be found within the same thread, page 5:
BULB/Lamp Replacement Guide =)

According to the superbrightleds.com cross reference table, both models have the same replacement bulbs for Trunk/License Plate:
http://www.superbrightleds.com/bulb_cross.htm

[Jgams]

Originally Posted by truflip

Yea I used a small piece of aluminum foil on my trunk light. Doesn't help much. Maybe can is better. Good job on the DIY. Id like to say don't squeeze too hard on the license plate bulb housing. It MAY snap/brake.

edit:
Could a MOD move this thread to the lighting sub-forum?!? Thanks.

[Wakeboarder11]

cool thanks bro. I just ordered the 9 led festoon lights to match my courtesy lighting and those high power wide angle leds for the license plate. Oh btw, the sedan looks like it has the same bulbs as the coupe does. Ill post pics when i recieve them

[televascular]

Nice DIY!

I've read countless threads regarding LED replacement bulbs, but none of these things seem to be of good quality. There are many posts where people complain about short lived bulbs, which destroys the purpose of installing LEDs (except for the 'bling' factor). I really wanna do this, but not if I have to replace the bulbs a few times a year.

I wish someone would manufacture quality LED bulbs!

[av911]

Originally Posted by televascular

Nice DIY!

I've read countless threads regarding LED replacement bulbs, but none of these things seem to be of good quality. There are many posts where people complain about short lived bulbs, which destroys the purpose of installing LEDs (except for the 'bling' factor). I really wanna do this, but not if I have to replace the bulbs a few times a year.

I wish someone would manufacture quality LED bulbs!

DIY superbrightleds.com festoon bulb fix

[Wakeboarder11]

cool i got mine yesterday and installed them. They look great! The new ones were a bitch to get in there but i used my finger nails and pulled down on the top plastic ring of the new leds. They are so much whiter and brighter!

[Jgams]

Originally Posted by Wakeboarder11

cool i got mine yesterday and installed them. They look great! The new ones were a bitch to get in there but i used my finger nails and pulled down on the top plastic ring of the new leds. They are so much whiter and brighter!

You have any pictures you could post up?

[Kid Red]

Yea, I did mine two weeks ago. The wife liked it soo much I had to her her car up with the LED plate bulbs as well.

[AznSupastar]

WOW! what a helpful DIY! hey Jgams, u should come out to our Canada East meets. i'm dying to see how bright those license LED looks like.

btw, how was shipping from superbrightled? i'm thinking of doing the exact same thing as u.

[Jgams]

Yea man, when i get a chance i'll hit one of these events up ... as for the shipping, I got dinged with the brokerage fees at the border. Ended up that i paid an extra $21. I was kind of pissed about that. Make sure you order a bunch of crap to make it worth while! lol.

[Gonzo]

Careful with the license plate clips. One of mine shattered when I pinched it.

I am sure it will be a trip to get a new one...

I got my bulbs on ebay from someone in China. It was like $3 shipped if that.

[AznSupastar]

Originally Posted by Jgams

Yea man, when i get a chance i'll hit one of these events up ... as for the shipping, I got dinged with the brokerage fees at the border. Ended up that i paid an extra $21. I was kind of pissed about that. Make sure you order a bunch of crap to make it worth while! lol.

brokerage fee? u mean customs taxed u or the method of shipping itself from superbrightled charged u?

[Jgams]

Originally Posted by AznSupastar

brokerage fee? u mean customs taxed u or the method of shipping itself from superbrightled charged u?

Superbrightled shipped it via UPS. I had to pay UPS $21 COD to get my package. The $21 was for a 'brokerage fee', which i see as customs charged UPS to bring the package into the Canada and then that charge gets passed on to me as a brokerage fee. This was the first time i have ever been charged extra for a package coming from the US, so it was a surprise to me. I'm not to sure how it all works out behind the scenes ... maybe someone can correct me here.

When i had to pay for my package i contacted superbrightled and was like wtf? They sent me this response:

"As you can see on your invoice that you received with your
package the subtotal for the order was $25.62 and we charged you $14.00
for UPS Standard shipping. Making a grand total of $39.62. This is
what we charged you. We cannot help it if you are charged any custom
fees. That is out of our hands. But as you can see, we only charged
you $39.62."

So they had nothing to do with the brokerage fee, but i paid $14 for shipping and then another $21 ontop of that to actually get my gear ... Meaning i paid $35 to receive ~$25 worth of goods. Am I pleased with the product i got? Yes - without a doubt. But I will not order from them again considering the costs. Just my 0.02.

[MENRIQUE]

[AznSupastar]

Originally Posted by Jgams

Superbrightled shipped it via UPS. I had to pay UPS $21 COD to get my package. The $21 was for a 'brokerage fee', which i see as customs charged UPS to bring the package into the Canada and then that charge gets passed on to me as a brokerage fee. This was the first time i have ever been charged extra for a package coming from the US, so it was a surprise to me. I'm not to sure how it all works out behind the scenes ... maybe someone can correct me here.

When i had to pay for my package i contacted superbrightled and was like wtf? They sent me this response:

"As you can see on your invoice that you received with your
package the subtotal for the order was $25.62 and we charged you $14.00
for UPS Standard shipping. Making a grand total of $39.62. This is
what we charged you. We cannot help it if you are charged any custom
fees. That is out of our hands. But as you can see, we only charged
you $39.62."

So they had nothing to do with the brokerage fee, but i paid $14 for shipping and then another $21 ontop of that to actually get my gear ... Meaning i paid $35 to receive ~$25 worth of goods. Am I pleased with the product i got? Yes - without a doubt. But I will not order from them again considering the costs. Just my 0.02.

ahhhh, last time i checked it was $5 shipping. so i guess they make it $14 if u r canadian. $25 of goods? damn u must have bought TONS of leds, cuz ain't they like $1 each or less?