[sonirohit]

Got bored of the stock interior lights on my Swift so decided to go ahead and change the lighting from Bulb to LEDs. This is how I did it.


1 - Take off the dome light from the roof trim for easier working.



2 - Open the plastic translucent cover off the housing - take care not to break the latches which hold this in place.



3 - Remove the bulb & cut the PCB pas per the interior dimensions of the vacant space inside the housing. Fabricate the PCB. I did this by trial & error ( anything lesser than 1.75 V would probably not light the LED & more than 4.5 V will blow it) hence decided that 4 LED s should be sufficient. I initially intended to put only 4 LED s for this purpose but as it progressed I was tempted to use additional LEDs until I could accommodate no more on the PCB I had





4 - connect this to the car and see if this works fine. Also test if it works fine if it runs off the battery and also on a running engine - when your car's engine is running a much higher voltage is put across the electrical components (tried over revving also to see if they hold out under high RPMs, if the circuit would have given away - would have used a resistance of ~ 100 ohms for this)



5 - Once satisfied with the results - tape the loose ends - Insulate the circuit side of the PCB with a tape (so that the circuits don't come into contact with the metal brushes of the housing. Put the plastic cover back on the housing.



6 - Get the Dome light assembly back onto the roof and enjoy the results






Items Used
Blank PCB (5 Rs)
White LED s 5 mm - 8 (16 Rs)
White LED s 10 mm - 8 (32 Rs)
Wire for Connecting the Terminals of LED s (8 Rs for a ribbon of 8 wires)
Cello tape
Soldering Iron/Flux/Solder Wire (22+5+5= Rs 32)
---------
Total Cost = Rs 88

* I had forgot to take pics as I was progressing on this - so at the end I tried retracing the steps followed & clicking pics of my DIY. The end results are nothing but fabulous. I tried clicking the night pics of the finished DIY, but the light was just too bright, hence an evening shot of the same has been used to give an indicative of the finished product

[getsurya]

Rohit, Have you not used any resistors?

[Fountainheader]

Nice stuff there Rohit. Can you please post a lil better pics ?

[greenhorn]

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...ds-ikon-5.html

[sonirohit]

Originally Posted by getsurya

Rohit, Have you not used any resistors?

No - since I've used 4 LEDs in series any resistors have not been used

[sonirohit]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...ds-ikon-5.html

Yeah - that was my inspiration for this DIY

[shreyasma]

@sonirohit,

I am no electronics guy. Can I buy 16 10mm LEDs and connect 4 in parallel and then 4 sets of parallel ones in series and just feed them with 12 v?

There was a ready made one in an accessory shop with 24 mobile phone kind of small leds. The dealer quoted 1200 for one light change.

[greenhorn]

I would recommend you add some resistors. they might start dying out soon. mine ( the first version) died out even with a 50 ohm resistor

[sonirohit]

Originally Posted by shreyasma

@sonirohit,

I am no electronics guy. Can I buy 16 10mm LEDs and connect 4 in parallel and then 4 sets of parallel ones in series and just feed them with 12 v?

Yes that should get you the same results initially - the voltage across each set of these 4 parallel LEDs would be approx 3-3.5 V.

Originally Posted by shreyasma

There was a ready made one in an accessory shop with 24 mobile phone kind of small leds. The dealer quoted 1200 for one light change.

This is ridiculous - it'd even work out cheaper by almost 1000 Rs if you have it made by a electronic repair shop...

[greenhorn]

rohit, if you feel more adventurous, you can try your hand with the rear numberplate light too. i swapped mine with LED's, but needed to take apart the light assembly for that ( bought another one instead)

[sonirohit]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

I would recommend you add some resistors. they might start dying out soon. mine ( the first version) died out even with a 50 ohm resistor

How many LEDs did you connect in series greenhorn?
Did they died all in one go or only 1 of the LEDs gave away?

Ideally if you use a 12 V power supply 1K resistor should be added with a LED. (Again that's from my experience during college days almost 9 years ago). I did not have the technical specifications for the LEDs I've used so this is trial & error.

[sonirohit]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

rohit, if you feel more adventurous, you can try your hand with the rear numberplate light too. i swapped mine with LED's, but needed to take apart the light assembly for that ( bought another one instead)

hmmmm.... Lemme open my Swift's workshop service/repair manual to see how to take off the number plate light...

[greenhorn]

its easy. uscrew it - the screws should be above the number plate. the tough job is in dismantling the light without breaking it. will post a howto this weekend

[theEnd]

any scope for putting together an LED fog light? Not really used for illumination but more as daytime/nightime running lights.

[Fountainheader]

Originally Posted by theEnd

any scope for putting together an LED fog light? Not really used for illumination but more as daytime/nightime running lights.

LED Fog lights are available on eBay.

eBay Motors: 2002-2008 Suzuki Swift LED Fog Lights lamps 04 05 06 07 (item 130286108010 end time Mar-07-09 12:50:49 PST)

Not sure if you can do a DIY there.