Help finding LEDs?

So i was thinking about blacking out the taillights on my 626 (which i think would look really good with my black paint). However, i live in a town where nothing happens, and there are so many police that they only work three days a week. As a result, if i tinted my taillights i'd get pulled over at night faster than you can say Dunkin Donuts. So, i decided that maybe if i were to put in LED back up, blinkers, and regular tail lights, the lights would be much brighter, easier to see, and therefore i would not get pulled over (not to mention i would like never have to replace them again).

Here is where the problem arises. Where would i find LED lights? I stopped at an autozone to see if they had any, but the guy gave me a "wtf" face and said they had none.

I checked online a little bit, but google can only be so helpful, and i had no luck. If anyone knows of where i could get myself some LEDs, that would be cool. Also, would the LEDs be model specific, with a socket that fits, or will i have to 'make' them fit?

By the way, i have a 2001 Mazda 626.

They make LED clusters that are plug & play for certain bulbs. I believe 626s use 1156s and/or 1157s. from personal experience though, these ones aren't too bright (try to get a cluster that has the most LEDs, 19 vs 12 LEDs). IMO your best bet is to create your own LED tail set up, but it takes some electrical knowledge and some work to do. also, my bro installed LED 1157s for his front turn signals and it made them blink fast like when a bulb is out.

check wal-mart and pep boys, i've seen them there. i can't believe autozone doesn't have 'em (WTF). if you absolutely can't find them locally, check out http://superbrightleds.com/1157.htm

Thanks, i'll try Pep-Boys and walmart, and maybe i'll check out another auto zone. I have all the bulb numbers written down on a piece of paper (which i don't have on me at the moment). I want them to be as "legal" as possible, you know, just bright enough to negate the tint at night.

Also, i was thinking about tinting the front blinkers and maybe the headlights. Do you think that is tacky, or do you think it would look good?

for the front blinkers, you might want to get as large of a cluster as you can. im not too sure on the headlights though, do u mean DRLs ? i think LED headlight bulbs are illegal

Nah i'm asking whether you think it would look good or just tacky to TINT the headlights and front blinkers as well. I already have bright headlights that would negate the tint, and might upgrade to HID's if need be.

IMO a light "smoke" tint would look nice since u have a black car. also, u can never go wrong with HID's

True that. If/when the current bulb(s) go out, i'll upgrade to HID's. I'll think about a mild tint on the front, we'll see what happens. There's a Pep boys on Rt. 22 near me, so i'll be checking there soon for LEDs. Thanks for all the help!

yep, no problemo--always happy to help a fellow 6er

Heh, i just found a website that sells LED bulbs. They don't have a system to match their bulbs to a car model, so you have to figure out the size yourself. But they do sell them.

www.superbrightleds.com

LOL check my first post

haha..... wow. i definitely found that site through your link, then bookmarked it, and forgot where i found it. Lol, have i been out of it lately.

Update, Need help please!

Okay, so i have (for the most part) figured out the cross-reference guide on the website, and i know what bulbs to purchase. But before i go through with that, i want to make sure i can remove the old ones. I would like to replace all of the interior lights with LEDs, along with the reverse lights, the license plate lights, and the trunk light. As for the tail lights, my friend will be "building" me an entirely new tail light set up that uses LEDs. Can't wait to see how that comes out

For the lights that i will be replacing myself, i have only figured out how to remove the reverse lights and the trunk light. That's it. I cannot remove the covers from the roof light, the map lights, the license plate lights, or the courtesy lights. Can somebody help me out with them? there seems to be a screwdriver sized notch to remove some of these covers, but i don't want to break anything. Can i just pry them open with a screwdriver? How do i go about that? And yes, i checked the manual, which was less than helpful. Any assistance would be peachy!

The dome light cover just pops off, I'm not sure about the map lights are they in the same cluster with the dome or between the visors?

By courtesy lights do you mean the ones in the footwells? Sry I'm not real familiar with the 626.

Yeah, haha that's pretty confusing for you. I should have taken pictures.

The map lights are on the ceiling, but in the front near the windshield, while the dome light is separate in the center of the roof. And yes, the courtesy lights are the ones on the doors. I'll take pictures and post them to clear everything up.

Okay, here are the images of the covers i would like to remove. The courtesy lights and the license plate lights have no notches to use to remove them. I am lost as to how to get them off safely.



And i can't remove the glovebox light. i can't even see it because it's in an awkward spot at the top of the glovebox.

i don't have a GF 626 but from what it looks like...

check inside the trunk lid for the license plate lights there may be 2 screws holding each housing in. as for the map lights, it looks like it just pops off from the notch on the front side of it. MX6 map and dome light housings pop right off, i've replaced mine twice already, it looks very similar. courtesy lights also look similar to the MX6 and i know mine popped off as well. just be real careful with those because on mine i broke the small tabs that held them in. the dome light definitely looks like it pops off though...

Oh, i never thought about looking in the trunk for a screw holding in the license plate lights. The only ones i'm worried about now are the courtesy lights, because there is no notch on them. i'll just have to be extra careful i guess. I also would like to do the glovebox light, but it is hard to reach, or even to see.

Edit: Great Success!!! High Five!!! I got all of the bulbs out successfully. The map lights, dome light, and trunk lights were the most difficult.

I used a handheld mirror to see the glovebox light and ended up removing the whole little device that includes the switch that tells the bulb when the glovebox is open.

The trunk was difficult mainly because it was always on if the trunk is open, and the button to shut it off (which needs to be held down) is on the left side of the trunk. incidentally, i am left handed, so in order to remove the bulb i had to lay on my back with my head in the trunk, hold the button down to keep the light off and cool with my right hand, and pull the bulb out with my left hand.

The dome light cover just would not come off. i had to use a flathead screwdriver and a knife together to pry the thing off. then the bulb itself is a very odd shape and was difficult to remove.

As for the map lights, i checked the book, which said "contact an authorized mazda dealer to replace the map lights." I said "**** that." i remove the cover, and it turns out that the bulbs are locked in place behind the whole contraption (see picture above). So i had to unscrew the whole thing and pull it out, remove the bulbs from the back, and then screw it all back in. that was all well and good, but one of the screws won't screw back in straight. pain in the ass, i'll deal with it when i put the new bulbs in.

Courtesy lights came right out, no problem there.

Good tip that i figured out during this procedure for removing/replacing small bulbs: are your fingers slipping? Use a small but wide rubber band to remove them. Wrap it around the bulb, and use the rubber as a 'grip' to pull the bulb out. worked wonders for me

Problem: So, I have all the lights in little labeled baggies. I have to figure out the correct numbers and such, do LEDs have their own bulb number system? For instance, if i have a bulb that is #168, do i look for an LED that is #168 as well? that cross reference sheet confused the hell out of me.

The LEDs will probably have their own numbers but will say "replaces #168, 170, 171" so on and so forth.

http://superbrightleds.com/bulb_cross.htm

If this is the sheet that confused you just find your bulb on the right and the one on the left replaces it.

ok. i get that. but, for instance, the dome light is a uniquely shaped bulb, and the number is DE3175. It has metal loops on either side of it, where it attatches to the two contacts like a battery. The site says that the LED bulb 3022 will replace it, but this is a "festoon bulb." While it has a similar shape, it doesn't have the metal loops on each end.

As for the rest, they are all the same bulb, except for the glovebox light which is #194 (it is an extremely small bulb).