Interior bulbs..where? What?!

[Uncle_Clanger]

Having not yet had the opportunity to drive at night I never realised I had a light in the ashtray, cigarette lighter and heater/fan controls.

Any more I didn't know about? The bulb in the ashtray? Does it come out of its plastic collar? I'm currently changing my centre console I'd like to replace them. How many watts are these bulbs? I went into Halfords today and they have motorcycle bulbs that look similar but I'm not sure if the wattage is right, or is there a much better alternative? LEDs maybe? If so what's best?

I'm completely in the dark on these matters

 

[t-tony]

LED's always give a brighter, crisper and more modern look. They also use minimal power too. You can search on eBay for LED equivalent "bulbs"

Tony.

 

[Uncle_Clanger]

LED's always give a brighter, crisper and more modern look. They also use minimal power too. You can search on eBay for LED equivalent "bulbs"

Tony.

Don't know what I'm looking for tbh Tony..can I buy LED replacements for all these interior bulbs from Halfords or the like?

 

[t-tony]

Don't know what I'm looking for tbh Tony..can I buy LED replacements for all these interior bulbs from Halfords or the like?

Possibly from Halfords Stefan but eBay is better I think, much more choice. Just search, say, for Z3 interior light LED and see the different things it throws up.

Tony.

 

[Faheem]

I had to replace one of my bulbs for the heater control panel and like you decided that a good time to do that would be when I had my console out.

I think there was an article on here by someone which suggested that it's good practice to replace both bulbs for the heater control panel when you're attempting the task...

This was my plan but when I called BMW to ask for a price I was quoted £10?!!! - for one bulb that is!!


Unfortunately as my zed is currently my daily drive I had no option other than to pay the amount as I needed to get everything back together. Had I not been in a rush, I would have looked for an aftermarket replacement.

FYI when removing the old bulb you'll need to pull it out with a fair bit of force so don't be afraid to pull. I used a set of long needle noised pliers and a good tug to remove the old bulb.

 

[Althulas]

@Southernboy did a write up somewhere where you can use your old holders as in the pic above and replace with led I think it was a post on . Net though. Hopefully Barry's memory is better than mine.

 

[Cooper]

Consider not changing all the bulbs.

Mine are burned out in the heater controls and around the key area the place where the lights turn on. I am NOT going to replace them as all that extra light is bothersome [I drive a lot an night]. Plus, I hate the look of the heater controls when illuminated - having them in darkness with just the radio lights and the seat heaters blah blah looks really good.

 

[Southernboy]

Hi'ya Coop !! Difference between the UK drivers and you is they have street lighting everywhere. You probably drive on dark roads at night like I do, and I agree, the cockpit lights are a PITA under those circumstances. I turn the instrument panel lights right down at night, but not much to be done with the rest of them. I guess one could fit another dimmer switch and channel all the wiring through it to the console lights.
As far as fitting LED's to the console lights, it wasn't me who did a write up on "how to". It shouldn't be a problem though since they also have just 2 wires to connect like the OE bulbs. Problem may be the current (12v). might need to have a look into that aspect. I seem to recall there were LED's being sold on eBay as replacements for dash bulbs though, so perhaps it's a simple swap of light source into the OE plastic holder.

 

[Southernboy]

BTW .... What's happened to Aussie Rugby Coop ? Scotland vs Oz ??? that was a bit of a shocker ??

 

[Cooper]

BTW .... What's happened to Aussie Rugby Coop ? Scotland vs Oz ??? that was a bit of a shocker ??

Not sure about that! oh well lol

 

[Uncle_Clanger]

Will these work?

Look at this on eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162207846084

"error free" to me means changing to LED is not that straight forward? ... Bloody hell @Faheem over a tenner a bulb? Daylight robbery!

Like you mate I can't have my Z sat there with all its innards hanging out for long. Looking for a quick, cheapish solution.

It's only about 7 bulbs in total isn't it for the interior?

@Nodzed or @Low Rider @GazHyde can you shed any light?

 

[Cooper]

scroll down in here... https://zroadster.org/threads/guess-the-part.5689/

 

[Uncle_Clanger]

My first proper DIY job done... I never ever want to swap a centre console again

 

[Althulas]

Cheers cooper that's the post I was thinking of.

 

[CB1]

Gonna bump this as I've got a blown heater bulb and trying to figure out the power/current and fitment style of a bulb that will fit rather than buying the entire assembly. Can anyone shed any light (pun intended)?

 

[Mint]

I replaced mine with 12v 1.2W capless bulbs. Bit of a faff and depends how good you are with a soldering iron. These are the sort of bulbs I bought: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-x-286...h=item4166bdd077:g:IRwAAOSwoudW4rRh:rk:2:pf:0
You need to break the existing bulb off its holder and then solder the new one in. Bit tricky but doable.

 

[Southernboy]

I replaced mine with 12v 1.2W capless bulbs. Bit of a faff and depends how good you are with a soldering iron. These are the sort of bulbs I bought: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-x-286...h=item4166bdd077:g:IRwAAOSwoudW4rRh:rk:2:pf:0
You need to break the existing bulb off its holder and then solder the new one in. Bit tricky but doable.

Mint has it right.... and if you're really careful and can solder, you can channel 2 new pieces of copper wire to make contact with those eBay bulbs inside the OEM holder without soldering the eBay bulb wires. That way you can easily replace bulbs in future once the adaptation has been done. See my pics below..