Lightbulb guide.

[Toledo Man]

I thought I'd do a list of the various light bulbs that are fitted to our cars. They're standard bulbs some of which are still used in more modern cars and the list will be useful for those who wish to fit LED bulbs. In fact, this has stemmed from my ongoing LED conversion on my Astra.

Anyway, without any further ado...

Reverse/indicator/fog light - 382/BA15S/1156

Stop/tail - 380

Boot lamp, instrument illumination & the warning lights on the flat dash cars - 987/E10

Headlight (replacable bulb type) - 410/411/P45T

Bulbs for the halogen conversions - H4 (outer)/H1 (inner)

Sidelight - 989/233

Number plate (later type) - 233/BA9S

Hazard switch (later push/pull type), brake warning light, clock illumination & possibly the early type heated rear window switch illumination - 281

Interior light (42mm festoon) - 254
CrazyLEDS sell decent quality LED bulbs. I bought some for my Astra

Autobox selector illumination - 256

Number plate light (early type) - 207

Seatbelt warning light - 286/T5
CrazyLEDS sell these in LED

Number plate light (Toledo) - 501/T10
CrazyLEDs sell these in LED. I've got some for the sidelights on my Astra (they're the same bulbs)

Warning light cluster (curved dash cars) - 280/E5/502288

Fog lamp switch illumination - 283

Cig lighter illumination - 643

The list is incomplete so if anybody can fill in the gaps or there are any errors please feel free to reply and I'll amend the list. These bulbs should be still easily available in incandescant form from most decent motor factors.

[TrustNo1]

Most LEDs are not suitable for use in the stop tail lights on Dolomoites and many older cas due to the direction of light output the silver reflectors will not be effective and they are not legal for road use unless E marked.

[mach1rob]

The screw in dash illumination bulbs are E10 or 987 I believe (screw in type)

[Toledo Man]

Yes, some of the bulbs aren't suitable in LED. The use of SMDs in different directions can emulate the light ouput of an incandescant bulb. As the technology improves this will become less of a problem. I read somewhere that white reflectors are better suited to LED bulbs. E marked bulbs are a reason for buying decent quality ones. I bought some for my Astra from a UK based ebay seller (Aceparts) and the sidelights lasted 8 months before failing and the 42mm festoon bulbs failed even sooner. I ended up getting some decent quality bulbs from a UK supplier (CrazyLEDs) who were highly recommended and they've never given me any problems. I've noticed that Rimmer Bros sell some LED bulbs. I don't mind paying for decent quality but I feel that their prices are a bit steep.

I didn't want this to turn into another LED bulb thread. It is a guide to which type of bulbs you need for which lights. If it is useful enough maybe Ian or Alan can make this a sticky. Not all bulbs will be suitable in LED but it makes sense to fit them where possible.

[Toledo Man]

Any input will be appreciated. I'd like this to be the definitive guide and if it helps somebody to source the correct bulb then it has served it's intended purpose. I'd also like to add links to decent quality suppliers (no ebay links. I've had poor quality items from UK sellers) for the various types of bulb so please post your recommendations.

[Toledo Man]

I was up in the loft putting the Christmas stuff away so I decided to dig out my spare warning light cluster and see what bulbs it takes. They are similar to the 281 and the 286 but they have a screw thread. I also found out that each segment has its own separate removable filter which can give different options for coloured bulbs.

[Flyfisherman]

separate removable filter which can give different options for coloured bulbs.

Been there before - got the tee shirt.

Paul

[Toledo Man]

Paul, I only discovered the filters when I took the front off the cluster. This was the first time I'd taken the front off. I've always taken the back off before. I've finally found out what bulbs are used in the cluster so I've updated the list.

The warning lights on the flat dash cars look like they use 987/E10 bulbs. Can anyone confirm this?

[MIG Wielder]

The clock illumination looks to be different a GLB281; there is a bulb in the cigar lighter which is a " 543" .
The early number plate bulbs are GLB207.
HTH.
Tony.

[Toledo Man]

Tony, I've already covered the early number plate light (some countries used the 501/T10). I forgot about the clock illumination bulb and having just taken a look at my post-76 parts catalogue, I've found out that the cig lighter bulb is 643. I've updated the list. I'm also trying to list alternative part number as well as the type of fitting.

[MIG Wielder]

Bright rear fog lights: The RKC4128 one has a " 382 " ; there is an aftermarket one that has a large festoon bulb which I can't identify.
Tony.

[Toledo Man]

The list has been further updated. I wasn't sure of the bulb for the fog light so I deliberately omitted it in the hope that somebody would post the answer.

Tony, I wonder if the aftermarket fog lights use the 254 (42mm festoon) bulb.

I've got a question: Does the early type interior light use the same bulb as the later one? The parts catalogue for the early 1850 lists different part numbers for the bulbs for early and later ones but they're not necessarily different. They're the 6 digit part numbers rather than the GLB prefix numbers. Can anyone confirm this?

[Toledo Man]

I've since discovered that due to the different ways that an incandescent bulb and an LED bulb work, LEDs are not suitable for indicators. You can't just put an LED bulb in and expect it to work. It flashes too quickly so you need to fit a load resistor for each bulb. The effect of this is to imitate the way an incandescent bulb works (the slower warm up time) so it flashes at the same rate.

Sorry for straying back into LED territory but it is useful to know should anybody want to fit LED bulbs.

Also, do all the halogen conversion kits use H1 bulbs?

[TrustNo1]

I've since discovered that due to the different ways that an incandescent bulb and an LED bulb work, LEDs are not suitable for indicators. You can't just put an LED bulb in and expect it to work. It flashes too quickly so you need to fit a load resistor for each bulb. The effect of this is to imitate the way an incandescent bulb works (the slower warm up time) so it flashes at the same rate.

?

Or you could fit a flasher relay that is suitable for LED bulbs, its a lot easier to fit than resistors.

[Toledo Man]

I thought it might be possible to use a suitable flasher unit. I put an LED bulb in my Astra (just to test the bulb) in place of the indicator and it was flashing really quickly so I thought you'd have to fit load resistors regardless.