[SmartCat]

Picked up Osram "wireless" LED Ambient Lighting kit from Amazon.com (USA site, not .in) for $165.



Check youtube video (from 1:00) to see what it is all about -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3VKZ7P5aeA

Pros:

+ Absolutely no wires means it is ideal for newbies.
+ You charge the lighting modules with USB and place it anywhere in the car with a double sided tape!
+ Comes with a couple of neon tubes if you prefer more pizzazz.
+ Seven color options to match your car's dashboard/instrumentation cluster light
+ Comes with a remote to switch ON/OFF, increase or decrease brightness and change color.

Cons:

- Expensive at $165. Same results can be achieved for lot less if you look around at Aliexpress.com
- Only three spotlights (out of which two can be connected to neon tubes)
- Neon tubes are too small (length-wise)
- Needs charging and needs to be manually switched ON (as against others that are connected to car battery).
- One of the light modules is not working (but seller is responsive, and we are back and forth on emails on what to do to get it to work)


The LED Ambient kit is Made in Romania, and was shipped to me in 2 weeks by a reseller in Estonia. This is what you will see when you open up the package -




The first disappointment was when I saw only 3 light modules. For some reason, I got an impression that I will be getting more than 3 when I saw the Youtube video! The first step is to charge all 3 light modules with USB power source. Takes 4 hours if charged from a 230V power source and 8 hours if charged with the help of a laptop.



After charging, you need to "synchronize" all 3 light modules and then hit the ON button on the remote. As mentioned before, you can change both brightness and color -





Then its left to your imagination and requirements as to what you can do with this. I had a clear requirement - to light up the gear-lever (which is not backlit) so that it is easy for my wife to drive at night. I also wanted the power window console to be visible at night (so that I can operate window lock button or individual power window buttons). The next step then is to find some strategic positions to stick the light modules inside the car -





Switching the lights ON -





I have not used the neon tubes inside the car, since I'm only interested in practical (not decorative) aspects of ambient lighting for now.

Verdict: Somewhat cool but too expensive for what it offers

[silverado]

I am sure that youtube video must have inspired you to buy one.
Agreed its expensive, but its the safest way to have interior ambient lighting without voiding warranty.

Also since its wireless, you are free to change its location once you get bored which is a big plus.( good for folks having more than one car )

[SmartCat]

The same unit is available at Amazon UK for GBP 70 - now that is more like it. But the seller does not ship to India

https://www.amazon.co.uk/OSRAM-LEDIN...ient+light+kit

[NiInJa]

Nice buy, but a little expensive.
I settled for a small hand held eveready torch and applied velcro strip to its back to light up the cavern called boot of the Brio It sticks to the seat back cover and is pretty useful.

Also, you can use the strip to light up the engine bay. I do a lot of fiddling on my own (in our dark parking area) so I sorely miss that engine bay lamp in new cars (Maruti 800 used to have one ). Of course, you can use mobile phone's flashlight but its pretty tricky to place it in a proper way.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by NiInJa

I settled for a small hand held eveready torch and applied velcro strip to its back to light up the cavern called boot of the Brio It sticks to the seat back cover and is pretty useful.

Also, you can use the strip to light up the engine bay. I do a lot of fiddling on my own (in our dark parking area) so I sorely miss that engine bay lamp in new cars (Maruti 800 used to have one ). Of course, you can use mobile phone's flashlight but its pretty tricky to place it in a proper way.

I guess you could use motion sensing battery powered LEDs.

These things are supposed to be for a closet/wardrobe, and is designed to light up when the door is opened. So I guess they can be placed in such a way that it would light up when the boot or bonnet is opened.

[createrkid]

I think the highlight of this is the tube lighting. You should utilize that for really cool looking interiors. Is there something like this available locally?

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by createrkid

I think the highlight of this is the tube lighting. You should utilize that for really cool looking interiors. Is there something like this available locally?

Yeah, I initially thought about wrapping those tubes around the gear lever and on the doorpad, like in the Youtube video. But when you do that, the glowing tube is not bright enough to throw light on the gear lever markings & all the switches on the driver's door.

Go to www.aliexpress.com and type "car neon tubes". You should be able to connect them to the a car battery directly or use AA batteries or use 12V car charger.

[BlueEyes]

Thanks for sharing. I have been mulling over this Osram set for more than year now. Expensive no doubt but it would definitely change the face of car interior what with 7 different colors to choose from. You could have gone for the LED door strips as well. This UK portal has listed these with huge discount if you are still interested. powerbulbs.com had entire set with 25% discount last year, I delayed my purchase and now they don't have stock anymore

Originally Posted by createrkid

I think the highlight of this is the tube lighting. You should utilize that for really cool looking interiors. Is there something like this available locally?

As mentioned here there are many cheaper solutions available for interior ambient light but none as sophisticated as this one. I have checked with Osram India and with some big dealers for this kit, they don't sell this here in India.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by createrkid

Is there something like this available locally?

Originally Posted by smartcat

You should be able to connect them to the a car battery directly or use AA batteries or use 12V car charger.

Found this similar but is not near to the premium quality that Osram gives for the price charged which is on the higher side.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/LED-C...ddresstype=600

This one connects to the 12V socket where the lighting is controlled using Bluetooth on the smartphone. Looks simple, straightforward and interesting.

[SmartCat]

Something unique about Osram's tubes is that it takes the color of the light source. One single tube gives 7 different lights. Meanwhile, all the neon tubes available on the Chinese site are single colored ones. Example: If you want red, you choose red.

Any idea how Osram tubes take the color of the light source?

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Found this similar but is not near to the premium quality that Osram gives for the price charged which is on the higher side.

That is for the footwells only. Place it anywhere else and it will be too bright.

Originally Posted by BlueEyes

You could have gone for the LED door strips as well. This UK portal has listed these with huge discount if you are still interested. powerbulbs.com had entire set with 25% discount last year, I delayed my purchase and now they don't have stock anymore

These days, those door strips as available as official accessory for almost all models. But yeah, the Osram door strip is a "wireless" unit, and it can be setup to light up as soon as the door is opened.

The same UK website is offering the Osram ambient lighting kit for GBP 135
http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/osram-l...led-7-colours/

[Racer911]

well its kinda off topic, but just an unasked advice. I've always noticed, that stuff is almost always cheaper to buy from UK or EU websites. Shipping is also cheaper. You can check shipping for same product from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. The UK website has always turned out cheaper for me. Moreover, for many items I never had a cheaper and relatively expensive shipping option to choose from on the Amazon US website while I've always had the Amazon Standard or Global Priority option on the UK website. Moreover, with the priority option, the stuff reaches me within 5 days. In the standard option too, it has generally never taken more than 10 to 12 days for stuff to reach me.

[mzone]

This looks very interesting and can give you that 'Mercedes Benz' feeling but I wonder how this would look in a beige interior car (Fluidic Verna)

[SmartCat]

As I mentioned in the first post, one of the light modules was not working. But Osram Germany sent across a replacement when I emailed them via 'contact us' page. All I had to do was forward my Amazon.com invoice as proof of purchase. I have put two light modules on driver and passenger door arm-rests while the 3rd one is placed next to the gear lever.

Here are some ambient color options - apologies for poor image quality.





















I checked the manual: One full charge (takes 4 hrs) gives 50 hours of lighting.

[BlueEyes]

Excellent
I finally made the jump and placed an order for this ambient kit. Not on amazon but on ebey.com. I was skeptical whether or not to buy from ebay but this is the same seller from Estonia from whom you bought who is selling on ebay for $140 including free shipping to India!! There were 2 units but now it looks like it's out of stock, will post some pics once I receive the kit.

[Akib Khan]

Hi friends. I have Hyundai i20 (old gen 2012). Recently I went for a test drive of Innova Crysta and I fell in love with the ambient lighting on the headliner. Is it possible to source and fit it on my i20 headliner?