Upgrading interor LEDs, especially for the trunk...recommendations wanted

[sun_dance]

Hi guys,

So I'm biting the proverbial bullet while I have some time off and updating the interior lighting to LEDs, have a few questions:

1. Anyone have a great supplier for LEDs, that is reasonable $$?
2. The current light in the trunk is HORRID, I really like to replace it with a strip (i.e. 5050 LED), anyone done this? what connector?
3. any 'gotchas' during the install I should be aware of?

TIA

[maga4]

I have been happy with my interior LEDs from deAutoKey for my C6 and my last two cars. Map lights made me want to burn my car to the ground, but the rest were pretty easy. I feel like the single LED in the trunk provides enough light for me.

Good luck!

[Dutch_A6]

I recently purchased the ZIZA set from ECS on cyber Monday, took me about 20 min to put them all in and I had no previous experience doing this kind of replacement. Really happy with the result, nice and bright and no error codes. Though on cyber Monday they were 50% off which is why I picked them up.

[sun_dance]

wish I had taken advantage of the Ziza sale :( Looks like I'll need to pay retail or attempt to get something via ebay or Amazon.

Was considering these: http://www.amazon.com/Classy-Autos-L...nterior+led+a6

[skylinrcr01]

I've had good look with ebay lights, just make sure to get CANBUS ones that use SMD LEDs and preferably a good driver.

[maga4]

Here is the deAutoKey set I mentioned above that I'm happy with: http://deautokey.com/product/audi-c6...ite-error-free. $65 shipped without a sale, plus 10% off now. Reliable LEDs that fit kind of in the middle of the price range.

[D's Avant]

I have the ones from ECS for 2-3 years now. Still working great, very bright.

[sun_dance]

Here is the deAutoKey set I mentioned above that I'm happy with: http://deautokey.com/product/audi-c6...ite-error-free. $65 shipped without a sale, plus 10% off now. Reliable LEDs that fit kind of in the middle of the price range.

Thanks for that. I'll give it a try and will be doing a writeup on the install and some pre and post install pics to give folks an idea of the differences.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[deAutoLED.com]

thank you - cannot wait to see!

[sun_dance]

thank you - cannot wait to see!

For a while now I’ve been frustrated with the lack of lumens associated with the interior of my car, specifically the trunk.

So after some research I decided I wanted something better than the Chinese kits off of eBay and started investigating other options. I finally decided to take the plunge and order the following kit from an AW sponsor: Complete Interior LED Kit [Crisp White / Error Free] fits: Audi C6 A6 ? deAutoKey

The kit came in about 3 days after I placed my order and was very well packaged and furthermore, clearly labelled with the bulbs for each section.


I decided to try the sun visors first, I used my own trim tools, which I had from a recent install of a RVC in my dad’s Q5. But another really handy tool was a small flat head screw driver.

The visor light popped out with ease and was VERY easy to simply swap the bulb in, the LED comes with a heat sink on one side and the SMDs on the other, so it’s common sense how it’ll fit in and as you can see by the pics…WHAT A DIFFERENCE!

Before



After
dent,

Feeling confident, with how easy this was the glove box was next…and that came out just as easy as the previous lights.

Before


This light pops out from the right and just use your small screw driver to press down on the connector which releases the fixture from the cabling.


And after replacing the bulb…I can actually SEE everything in my glove box. Prior to that the light in there served little to no purpose, but what a difference the LED made.


I was on a roll now and up next PUDDLE LIGHTS…those little lights that turn on when you open the doors of the car and illuminate the floor. They’ve been ok in the past, but I never thought much of them.

The front 2 doors went in the same way. Whereby you pry the fixture out and then release, using a small screw driver from the wiring and change the bulb with the fixture out.

Before



The difference in the bulbs


After



I couldn’t believe the difference the lights made…it was as if the clouds had parted and there was LIGHT. I could see everything on the floor!

BTW, I must add at the point that the quality of the products being offered was far better than what I’ve personally used in the past, when it comes to LED lights. They not only were built better, but also didn’t feel as flimsy as the usual items you see on eBay.

I decided to move onto the passenger puddle lights next, but as soon as I pryed the fixture out I noticed that the wiring behind the fixture was so short it prevented the fixture from being removed from the door panel. I realized this AFTER I forced one of the fixtures out and realized that I can’t get it back into the wiring  So, I’m planning on removing the door panel in the next week and addressing it that way. If the Audi engineers had simply added another 2” of wire I would have been home-free, but alas it is what it is.

Up next, the REAR DOME fixture.
It came out easy enough and requires you to disconnect the wiring and once it’s out it gets “interesting”.




You need to push the silver holders out, I used my trust small flat head screw driver, and when they pop-out the bulb being held in place will also be released.

You then insert the replacement LED and push the silver holder back in. Be SURE TO SEAT THE BULB CORRECTLY, since it need to wedged into the quasi-socket for it.



And here was the difference between the lights.

Before


After


Now I was set to try my hand at the FRONT DOME LIGHTS and this was both the hardest, but once you knew what to do, could be done in seconds.

Removal was easy enough and there’s no need to disconnect the entire fixture and can be changed while it’s in the car.


I decided to change the small bulbs first, since the big ones were super easy, but the small ones were identical to the ones in the rear dome. Therefore the same process is required to remove these – by pushing up on the silver color bulb holder and pushing it out through the black backing.




Getting the bulb out was easy enough but getting the new LED was a PITA. It’s no fault of the bulb but it was just hard getting the little bulb into the fixture socket and the ‘trick’ that worked for me was once I had the bulb seated I kept pressure on it from the top and no matter did not release that pressure until was firmly moving forward in the guides for the silver colored bracket…once you are there…you are gold! Mind you the first one took my 20 mins, the second took me about 45 seconds ;)

FWIW, the larger bulbs are very easy to simply pop-out with your fingers and replace with the new LED ones. The LEDS have the same heat sinks on the back and fit perfectly!




After


The pictures don’t do this justice, but the difference is quite pronounced and you can see everything in the car. PLUS, the lights transition very elegantly from on to off vs. a harsh binary on / off. There’s a subtle fade in and out which looks just like OEM.

Well I finally made my way to one thing I’ve wanted to address from day 1. The TRUNK light.
It’s the exact same way to remove as the puddle lights and they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll just let them do the talking.

The lights


Before


After


HUGE difference! The one drawback is that I now know how dirty my trunk is! 

I’ll do the foot well light write-up later, but for now all I can say is 5 stars for this product.

These folks have put together a great package and with the AW discount it’s a no brainer to get these if you want high-quality LEDs to light up the interior of your C6. Just thought I’d share my thoughts with you all.
Complete Interior LED Kit [Crisp White / Error Free] fits: Audi C6 A6 ? deAutoKey

[SinCityA6]

Great write up, @sun_dance. Those rear passenger puddle lights are a b@#$%. I couldn't believe how short those wires were when I did mine.

[sun_dance]

Great write up, @sun_dance. Those rear passenger puddle lights are a b@#$%. I couldn't believe how short those wires were when I did mine.

Thanks for the feedback Sincity...yeah I still haven't taken off the door to get access to the rear puddle lights. It'll need to wait a couple of weeks till I can have a couple of hours free to do it. But it so frustrating to know that the business leaders saved a couple of cents to save 2" of wire. I know that no engineer in his right-mind would design it as such.

[Dutch_A6]

I didn't even bother with the rear puddle lights for that reason, that was more work than I was willing to do for those lights on the rear doors.

[maga4]

Great write up sun_dance! I've been happy with the deAutokey LEDs for a while, although the C6 packet I got had the wrong bulb for the glove box. Completely forgot to contact them about that until now.

[sun_dance]

Hi folks, so I wanted to provide all of you an update and get your feedback on which footwell lighting to go with:

White, Red, or Blue?

I decided to change the existing LED lighting in the footwells and the process is identical to removing the module from the puddle lights. Simply insert a flat head on one end and pry and the entire module will come out, then you push into the connector to release it.

Once the light is out it will look like this:



The difference between the deAuto LED and the factory one is enormous...as you can see by the picture below...more SMDs and hence more lumens for illumination.
FWIW, the factory one is the Green module on the left.


The trick for removing the housing of the footwell module is by pushing on the black area I've shown in the arrows and then pulling up. Also, you can pry the opposite site up as well, but imho it put excessive force on the other side.



Inserting the new LED is rather straight-forward, however you may need to push the prongs up a bit with a flat head, once you snap shut the module.



Once you have the new LED in the module, you simply reattach the wiring harness and push it back in. Now perhaps you all can help me decide as to which looks the best.

Although I initially liked the white, I'm actually digging the blue as well ;)

Red


Blue


White
As you can see, the difference between the factory and the deAuto LEDs is quite obvious.

Furthermore, the deAuto LEDs come on and off very nicely and just like factory have a soft transition.



And here's the final all-white setup, for now. I'm going to try it for a couple of days and then switch it. So lmk what you all think...

[SinCityA6]

If it were my car, I would stick with white. The red looks pretty cool too as it picks up the red of the dash, etc. Not a fan of the blue.

Quick question, do you run ambient light at night? I wounder if these being so bright would cause an issue of make the inside of the car too bright while driving.

[maga4]

I would second the white. Although, red would be a lot better for your night vision as bright as they all are...

[sun_dance]

I would second the white. Although, red would be a lot better for your night vision as bright as they all are...

Thanks for that. BTW, having used the whites for a week now, I initially thought they would be too bright, however they have been just fine. I've not experienced any glare or issues with the footwell lights being too bright which have distracted or caused any issues. But I see stuff on the floor a HECK of a lot better ;)

[deAutoLED.com]

Thank you everyone who suggested our company and posted here!

This DIY is amazing by the way - we really appreciate you trusting our company and creating this DIY/review

It took us a few months to get around to it but we added this in our DIY section of our listing:
http://deautokey.com/product/audi-c6...ite-error-free

And if you really want to light up your trunk you can try our universal LED trunk strip 48 bright white LEDs with all adapters required for a simply plug and play install:
http://deautokey.com/product/univers...all-car-models

[hilmar2k]

I'm perfectly happy with my interior lights as-is, but I would love to upgrade the trunk light to LED. I looked on the deAuto site for just the trunk light, but didn't see it (don't want the crazy light strip).

[deAutoLED.com]

I'm perfectly happy with my interior lights as-is, but I would love to upgrade the trunk light to LED. I looked on the deAuto site for just the trunk light, but didn't see it (don't want the crazy light strip).

Ok, do you have the 194 or 42mm? They vary from car to car. And how many bulbs do you have?

We can set you up with bright LEDs that are right for your car.

Thank you

[hilmar2k]

Ok, do you have the 194 or 42mm? They vary from car to car. And how many bulbs do you have?

We can set you up with bright LEDs that are right for your car.

Thank you

Just one 194 bulb.

[deAutoLED.com]

Just one 194 bulb.

Ok the universal listing is going up later today as it is a popular upgrade.

We sent you a PM.

Thank you

[deAutoLED.com]

Ok, the universal trunk listing is up and ready to go - these are VERY bright 194 wedges - you will be shocked how a small bulb can give so much light - these are the latest and newest LED Diode technology available:
http://deautokey.com/product/1pc-hyp...ight-trunk-led

All stage 3 LEDs within the listing:

[deAutoLED.com]

new items added - reverse / DRLS / Turn signals - let us know if you have any questions:
www.deAutoLED.com

[deAutoLED.com]

Thanks again for the DIY, we just want to update that we changed the look of our Stage 2 LEDs. They are now brighter!

[JPJ2007]

Has anyone looked at the arm rest lights and considered upgrading those?

DeAuto, I'd love to upgrade to your stuff hopefully this fall.

[deAutoLED.com]

Has anyone looked at the arm rest lights and considered upgrading those?

DeAuto, I'd love to upgrade to your stuff hopefully this fall.

Thanks for the support, we appreciate it.

What is the bulb type, if you can let us know or show us photos of the bulb here we can get you a set for free with purchase of the interior LED kit.

Thanks

[christianb5s4]

These don't replace the factory ambient/extended lighting in the footwells correct? I like how the factory extended lighting isn't overly bright at night so that's why I ask.

[deAutoLED.com]

christianb5s4 - you can pick and choose what you'd like to change out.