8G Dome Light Breakdown and Cleaning

[Jeffylou87]

This tutorial will show you how to effectively take apart and clean your overhead dome light in your 8G. Also this is great if you want to change over from your bulbs to LEDs. Disclaimer: Don't blame me if you fuck your shit up. =)

We start by removing the dome light from the car. In order to remove it we need to just pull it out of the headliner. It is not attached by screws. However, you do need to unplug it. Just push the tab in on the plug and you should be able to pull it out.

This is what you need in order to get this dome light taken apart.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/1.jpg

Yes, just a philips head screwdriver. You need to flip the dome light over to show the bulbs, those need to be removed first.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/2.jpg

In order to remove them you must apply pressure to outer tab so that the bulb can unhook from it.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/3.jpg

Once it is unhooked from the one side, it should just slide off of the inner tab.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/4.jpg

Once the bulb is out, this is what you should have.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/5.jpg

Please repeat same exact steps for the opposite side. This is what you should end up with.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/6.jpg

Once the bulbs are out you can stick your finer into where the bulb used to be to push down on the lenses so that they can pop off.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/7.jpg

You should get something like this when you push your finger through.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/8.jpg

Remove the plastic lens by pulling inwards towards the switch on the dome light because it does have a tab.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/10.jpg

You should end up with this.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/9.jpg

Repeat for opposite lens. You should end up with this.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/11.jpg

Here we are removing the buttons that control each bulb. These are very easy to remove. Just grab them and slide outwards.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/12.jpg

You should end up with this.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/13.jpg

Do the same exact thing on the other side of the dome light. You should end up with this.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/14.jpg

Once those are gone, we can worry about the big selector button. You want to start by removing the philips screw.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/15.jpg

Be careful when you are removing the screw because there is a small metal ball and a spring that will come off with the button. This is what you should get after removing the screw. *Notice* the metal piece has a cut out for a tab so that you put it back on the right way!
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/16.jpg

Now before we flip the dome light over you want to sneak your thumb underneath it and hold that button in place so that you don't lose the ball or spring. They are greased so the spring might stick to the switch and the ball might stick to the dome light. Mine did.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/17.jpg

Flip it over and pull the switch off. You can see the small spring still inside the button.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/18.jpg

Here you can see the ball on the dome light.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/19.jpg

This is what you should get when you have taken everything out.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/20.jpg

The only pieces you would want to clean is the button, lenses, and the actual dome light. Nothing else will be seen. Jeez, look at how dirty this thing is.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/DSCN2174.jpg

Then would you would want to do is just run it under some soap and water and clean the lenses and button with your hands. Do the same for the dome light, but you might want to use a tooth brush to get into the letters on the light. You might get some gunk in there. Here is an after shot.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/DSCN2176.jpg

Comparison. NOTE* Before you tell me I'm a dirty fuck, this came from a parts car.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/Dome%20Light%20Breakdown/DSCN2175.jpg

To put it back together just follow these instructions backwards. Make sure you dry the parts well, especially the pins where it gets plugged in BEFORE you plug it back into your car.

Thanks for looking, and yes I do have too much time on my hands.

Here's some LED information.
Best bet is to get a pair of these and solder them in. Might have to modify the dome light housing so that these will fit. Best to measure first then order. Most of these LED boards have measurements on the page. eBay is your best bet. Pic is just for reference.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/ux_a09100700ux0067_ux_c.jpg
Just cut it at the wires and solder em in. No need for that bulb adapter..
Its what I did..
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/DSC09333.jpg
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/DSC09102.jpg
This is my interior at night with the dome light on, no flash on the cam. *OLD PICTURE*
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/jeffylou87/TGC/get-attachmentaspx.jpg

[E_Emerson88]

nice tut. if i wasnt too lazy to take out my head liner i would deff do this

[Jeffylou87]

You don't have to take out your headliner, you just have to take the dome light out of the headliner.. Lol, it pops right out..

[E_Emerson88]

hahaha, i misread!! ill try this on my next day off then lol

[Galantes2001]

hey do they make an led bulb for the dome light neone know??

[johnygezony]

man that lense is nasty...mine are still perfect, but this is a good write up for people wanting to put LED dome bulbs in :)

[Jeffylou87]

Updated first post with LED information.

[dimushor]

Updated first post with LED information.

which was my idea :-))))))

[AmericanJambo]

How did you secure the led boards inside the housing so they don't flop around?

[johnygezony]

how are you illuminating your rear ?

[9G]

thats effing bright.

[Jeffylou87]

How did you secure the led boards inside the housing so they don't flop around?

They just sit in there really.. They don't flop around at all.


how are you illuminating your rear ?

I'm using two 18'' LED light strips that are 3M'd to the top of the rear window.



thats effing bright.

Yes it is. Just the way I like it.

[Mike_ODell]

ohh man. I didnt believe your pic of the inside being that bright until I turned my dome lights on lastnight. It is amazing how bright it is. THANKS

[G-code88]

i have the same ones but dont understand how to put them in

[jknow120]

I'm using two 18'' LED light strips that are 3M'd to the top of the rear window.






Where did yo get the 18'' LED light strips and howdid you wire them for when you open your doors?

[SleekGTZ]

Awesome tutorial! My dome lights wiring contacts is probably dirty, sometimes they work, sometimes the don't, LOL. Haven't had time to fix it, maybe one of these days I will.

[ALCALA]

How do you take it off from the roof of the car?

[99galantES]

Just pull it till it pops off

[mrg7243]

stick a credit car inbetween it and the headliner and pry

[oakrdrs187]

You can just grab it and pull it. Won't break.

[oakrdrs187]

^I can't believe I said that. LOL!!

[wetamup2k3g]

You can just grab it and pull it. Won't break.

I was gonna say, "that's what I told her..." lol!

[txgalant8]

this will be next on my list of things to do,

[keith6110]

Awesome Jeff! I hate how dark the lights are and can't see crap inside + Painting options!

[Exhaust power]

Its easier to buy a rigid loop bulb and cut the light housing to fit it in. No need to solder anything.

[ALCALA]

Took mine apart and it looked like a sand storm went through lol

[BayAreaGalant]

I didn't like the yellowish color from the bulbs so I put leds in it but was too bright for me.
So I used night shade to dim them.
I couldn't be happier with the outcome.

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn54/photosforme_bucket/StarLights.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn54/photosforme_bucket/BlackLights.jpg

[99galantES]

You get more lighting if you install the 3g eclipse mirror

[antraw]

What type of bulb did u use for led?

Sent from my Dell Streak 7 using Tapatalk

[JDyal]

I was also wondering how you wired the led strips to illuminate the rear. I ordered some that are on the way and wanted to do the same thing but just didn't know how to wire them up and what switches to use. I'm thinking if you have to strips you just wire it up the the dome light of that side with no problems

[Jeffylou87]

And you're exactly right.

[8thLS6]

Just wanna add, if you have a factory rear dome light the bulb is a 31mm fetsoon bulb. I think only 8gs with sunroofs have a rear if read correctly. But when you replace it go ahead and disconnect the battery. I tried putting in my led replacement last night, and blew the top (facing front of car) fuse in the yellow holder. Its in the fuse box under the hood. Needle nose pliers are your friend for pulling it. Somehow I might've made contact with one bulb end and metal from the roof, and got a small spark. Its a small space to work the bulb in, so its easy to do. But all systems go today got fuse and bulb installed.

I'll give the link later on to another thread I made on getting the bulb out, only thing that's not mentioned in it is, you push the bulb in on the left contact and slide out from the right contact..you'll see

Edit..Link:
https://www.thegalantcenter.org/showthread.php?t=49020

[JDyal]

And you're exactly right.

Oh shit I'm smart lol. Well I'm guessing you fed the wires through the headliner. Am I right? If so how exactly did you do that? I really don't wanna take it off so I was thinking like cutting little holes and putting like a little weight at the end so it could be pulled down. So am I close?

Also bro we should meet up sometime, you're only like 10 min away lol

[JDyal]

This might sound retarded but I like your avatar of TGC NJ I was wondering if anyone had or can make that as a decal. I'd love to put it in my rear window

[89bri]

Alright people do this if you haven't done it. I took mine out about a month ago to clean them this way and wow. I thought they looked great before but you can't even imagine how great they will look after. Thank you for this tutorial!

[Jeffylou87]

Damn this is old.. I ran the wire to feed the rear LED strips through the plastic moldings on the sides of the headliner. Each rear LED strip is connected to the correlating front LED. So if I click on the passengers side light, the rear passengers light turns on. etc etc.

[Techn0Nut1996]

Damn this is old.. I ran the wire to feed the rear LED strips through the plastic moldings on the sides of the headliner. Each rear LED strip is connected to the correlating front LED. So if I click on the passengers side light, the rear passengers light turns on. etc etc.

Got any pictures of how it turned out?? I am very curious of what it looks like

[JDyal]

You know what's funny is that I posted here over 3 years ago and I just did the rear lights like last week

[trougtyr]

I wanna replace my dome lights with LEDs what kind of bulbs do i buy? (size)

[Techn0Nut1996]

I wanna replace my dome lights with LEDs what kind of bulbs do i buy? (size)

Dome Light Bulb Size: DE3175

[trougtyr]

Thank you techno

[justin13]

For anyone who's looking at doing this still here's mine
Old
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170406/82e3913cc9815d094704ca174179747e.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170406/bb5f6361a50b4bed9cc1db8fb3f80d5d.jpg
New
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170406/27cbba948df9b7ca6acb8f16845b1c4d.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170406/3570cf9745036754a7171a460d7a5364.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170406/19830524ee3c7a464999ffb95f83543d.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170406/a0c35069c98cfbf625ae4b5c6eb754d0.jpg
That's with 20% window tint https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170406/1fc460f620196b2a9a4838ff42ebd870.jpg



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