Audi A3 LED Light Conversion – DIY
Finally got around to upgrading my interior lighting in my Audi A3(8p) to LED Superwhite bulbs and I have never been happier. I considered using xenon gas super whites however I made the choice to go with LEDs. After doing hours of research, I couldnt really find anything comprehensive about Audi owners doing this upgrade. What I got were bits and pieces of information from various forums so I decided to do my own RnD and overcome the challenges of this project.
THE CHALLENGES:
The interior lighting is computer controlled. This made for some challenges due to the cars computer either freaking out or reporting bulb failures.
The next challenge was finding bulbs that would be perfect for the job. I saw many companies offering ton’s different products. ESC Tunning sold LED Bulbs that were ridiculously priced and it was only for the rear license plate lights.
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BULB INVENTORY
Front Dome Cluster
2 – Map Lights (BA9S) note: Sylvania list these as 64111
2 – Dome Lights (6411)
Rear Dome Cluster
2 – Map Lights (BA9S) note: Sylvania list these as 64111
Sun Visor Lighting
2 – Vanity Lights (6418) note: Sylvania doesnt list them on their website
Glovebox Lighting
1 – Glove Box Light (194 Wedge) note: Sylvania list these as 2825
Trunk / Cargo Lighting
1 – Trunk Light (194 Wedge) note: Sylvania list these as 2825
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| NEW LED LIGHTS The new LED lights were purchased from 2 different places.-TunerDomes (http://www.tunerdomes.com)-LEDLight.com (http://www.ledlight.com) |
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| 2 – DOME 6411 41mm – Hyperwhite – 2WATTÂ (Usage: Main Dome Light)Purchased from TunnerDomes.com |
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| 4 – DOME 6418 37mm – Hyperwhite – 1WATTÂ (Usage: Vanity, Rear License Plate Lights)Purchased fromTunnerDomes.com |
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| 2 – DOME 194 (T10) – HyperWhite – Hight Power (Usage: Glovebox , Trunk/Cargo Light)Purchased from TunerDomes.com |  |
| 4 – LED Side Firing BA9S -90 Degree Offset – 1WATT Color: SuperWhite (Usage: Front and Rear Map Lights)Purchased from LEDLight.com |
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LED Replacement – Do It Yourself Guide
| Main Front Dome | |
| Use a plastic trim panel tool to remove the Dome light cover and Map Light cover. Remove the 2 map lights (BA9S) by twisting them til they disconnect and put out. Remove the 2 dome lights by spreading the clips a little why pulling the bulb downward. Remove the 2map lights (BA9S) by twisting them til they disconnect and put out. Replace with the new LED bulbs. | |
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| Dome Light Cover Removal | Map Light Cover Removal |
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| Stock Dome Bulbs | Stock Dome Bulbs |
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| LED Dome Bulbs | LED Dome Bulbs |
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| Sun Visor / Vanity Light | |
| Use a plastic trim panel tool to pry out the light housing from the head liner. Remove the back metal retainer and slide the bulb (6418) out. Replace with the new LED bulb. | |
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| Removal | Light Removed |
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| Front View | Rear View |
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| Stock Bulb | LED Bulb Installed |
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| Rear Dome / Map Lights | |
| Use a plastic trim panel tool to pry the dome module out from the head liner. Twist and remove the stock (BA9S) bulbs. Replace with the new LED bulbs. | |
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| Removal | Light Module Removed |
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| Stock Bulb | LED Bulb Installed |
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| Trunk / Cargo Lights | |
| Use a plastic trim panel tool to pry out the light housing from the left trunk panel. Remove the black plastic rear cover and slide out the stock (194) bulb. Replace with the new LED bulb. | |
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| Removal | Light Housing Removed |
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| Light Housing | Stock Bulb with Cover Removed |
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| LED Bulb Installed | Â |
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| Glovebox Light | |
| Use a plastic trim panel tool to pry out the light housing from inside the glovebox. Its a small space to work in but just take our time. Remove the black plastic rear cover and slide out the stock (194) bulb. Replace with the new LED bulb. | |
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| Removal | Light Housing |
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| Stock Bulb with Cover Removed | LED Bulb Installed |
| Rear License Plate Light | |
| Use a philips screwdriver to remove the the light housing. Remove stock bulb (6418) and replace with the new LED bulb. Do the same on the other light housing. |
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| Removal | Bottom of Light |
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| Stock Bulb | LED Bulb Installed |
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PROBLEMS AND RESOLUTIONS
| Front Dome Light ProblemAfter replacing the front dome and maps lights, the two driver side LEDs glowed very dimly when it should have been off. Only if I manually turned the dome light switch to off did it turn off completely. I believe the dimming circuit was very sensitive to the amount of resistance of the new bulbs.To resove this issue I went to Radio shack and bought a couple of 100 ohm 1watt resistors. I filed the side of the bulb so that the solder had a place to grab and soldered a single resistor in parallel to help reduce the resistance of the bulb. I only had to do this one the driver side dome light bulb since this was the side that had issues. |
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| Driver side Glowing light problem | Close up of Installed 100 Ohm 1 Watt Resistor |
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| Close up of Installed Resistor in Dome Light |
Temp of Stock Dome Bulb |
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| Temp of LED Bulb without Resistor | Temp of LED Bulb w/ Resistor |
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| Trunk / Cargo ProblemAfter plugging in the new LED bulb, the light did not turn on. I learned that in order for this light to turn on you will need to close your trunk and open it again. When you press the electronic trunk latch release from the outside of your car, the computer sends current to the light. The new LED bulb had a much higher impedance than the stock bulb and the computer thinks the bulb is out. The LED light blinks 5 times then turns off. I think the computer is tries 5 times to fire up the bulb and gives up. In order to fix this, you must lower the impedance of the bulb. I used a ceramic 100 Ohm 10watt resistor. |
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| Â | Ceramic 100 Ohm 10 Watt Resistor |
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BEFORE AND AFTER SHOTS
| Before and After Shots | |
| Before and After Shots Before and After Shots Before and After Shots Before and After Shots Before and |
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Enjoy!
Filed under: Audi A3 (8P) | 7 Comments
Tags: 2006, 8p, A3, Audi, Bright, Bulb, DIY, Guide, LED, Light, Resistors, Super, Superwhite, Superwhites, White
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Hey,
Great write-up and you’re right, there isn’t much out there about this mod. I was wondering, though, it your interior lights still fade off and on or if they are instantly off and on now. My understanding is that the fading of the lights is controlled by the computer sensing the resistance of the bulb. Hope to hear from you and congrats on your DIY.
I just got an A5 and am trying to do the same—what kind of light did you purchase and what colors did they have—I am trying to do red/blue.
Regards,
Hieu
Great job putting together this information. I’ve recently purchased a 2006 A3 3.2 and have been looking all over for some mods just like this.
Nice post about the LEDS. I am having the same problem that you had with the LEDs staying on (dimly lit). Was going to try what you mentioned about adding the resistor. I was curious since I am no electrician and never dealt with this before. You mentioned you welded it in parallel? Is it clear on the resistor which side to goes where or doesn’t matter?
Also my wedge lights are also staying on? (DOME 194 (T10) – HyperWhite – Hight Power) probably no way to get a resistor on those?
Thanks, and again nice post. I haven’t done my license plate lights yet but after seeing yours about to try to get that tackled also.
~Iggy
This is awesome … i’m going to start working on my S5 now! Thanks a million.