I know some of you have fitted LED bulbs to your P38s 'cos ive done a bit of a search but some of the Ebay etc links in the threads are out of date, has anyone got some new ones? I'm thinking of changing as many of the bulbs as possible (inside and out). I've had a look on Ebay etc but there are so many types I don't know which ones are better or worse than others, I guess they need to be the canbus type?

You won't need canbus for the internal lamps

Side lights will need to be though

Best to pay more and get the "cree" type LED.

It is the newer, better led type.

You find the cheap ones don't last 5 minutes

Inside can I suggest that you look at LED panels rather than bulbs. Better light and, if you wish, you can add some extras as you go. I found that the festoon type bulbs tended to vibrate round in the holders and, as they are uni-directional, you loose the light. I've replaced all the interiors with panels and soldered them in rather than using the nasty connectors that come with them. The extras that I fitted were a footwell light in the passenger side and a couple in the boot. Both are almost floodlit when the door/tailgate are opened.
Outside, apart from the high level brake light, you'll find that the lower power draw of the LEDs will trigger bulb failures. You'll have to fit resistors to each one to overcome this or you might try some of the 'so-called' canbus types but you definitely get what you pay for.
You might want to check with your MOT examiner before you change anything external. I once had a prat who tried to fail me because my sidelights were "too white". A quick visit to VOSA HQ (luckily in Bristol) dropped him in the sticky brown stuff.

PM Nikthegeek he's converted 99% of his and they look good too!!


it's on the list of things to do on mine, but other more pressing things are going on :-(

Anyone tryed the led headlights?

gfromleeds said:

Anyone tryed the led headlights?

Click to expand...

H4?? Don't bother!!

candle in a jam jar gives more light!

gfromleeds said:

Anyone tryed the led headlights?

Click to expand...

CREE or Epistar LED's can be got that are powerful enough for headlights, the are fitted to lots of new cars, but no good as after market so far as you need a magnifying lens as with HID's rather than a reflector. The ones sold on Ebay as headlamp replacement bulbs are, as Hippo said, useless.
A 20 watt CREE LED assembly gives over 150 watts of light equivalent

2.0_hippo said:

You won't need canbus for the internal lamps

Side lights will need to be though

Best to pay more and get the "cree" type LED.

It is the newer, better led type.

You find the cheap ones don't last 5 minutes

Click to expand...

thanks for the info hippo.
so would these be no good then?

2 Pcs 36mm 6 SMD 1210 3528 LED Car Festoon Dome Light Lamp Bulb DC 12V WHITE | eBay

this cree type? :

2 x 3W White CREE R2 LED Festoon Bulb Lamp Light Car Interior Dome 36mm | eBay

i want three for the ceiling interior lights. the lighting is useless, one may as well light a match!
i haven't checked for any footwell or door bulbs yet

Thank you

2.0_hippo said:

You won't need canbus for the internal lamps

Side lights will need to be though

Best to pay more and get the "cree" type LED.

It is the newer, better led type.

You find the cheap ones don't last 5 minutes

Click to expand...

+1 on wot hippo said

The ones in your second link will be better