LED Lighting




	The lighting on Santosha was all G4 halogen bulbs between 10w and 20w. I ordered 2 batches of 10 LED replacements from a China supplier on ebay with an individual bulb cost of about $7 USD. The 6 SMD are 1.5w and fit in the small round overhead fixtures nicely. The 8 SMD are 1.8w. All are 2700k color temperature which is warm white. Care needs to be taken not to break the leads loose from their printed circuit boards, this happened to several that I was a little rough with but I was able to super glue them back in place with no problem. I used some dielectric grease on the leads to prevent corrosion. I am very pleased with the new lights and the color they produce. They do not get hot and save about 35AH per day in normal use.


	The 6 SMD replacements fit nicely.


	To fit the 8 SMD replacements you need to modify the light socket’s chrome insert by removing material near the socket. The replacement bulb itself need the leads shortened and some filing on the edges. I am not sure yet this effort is worth a little extra light.


	All other bulbs are easy to replace with the exception of the reading lights in the forward cabin. These will require a different lead configuration. I may not worry about it unless we start using them a lot. I believe you can make this change once and never touch them again as these bulbs should not burn out.

You can see the color of the lighting in the shot below. Compare it to the daylight around the shades. Your choice in LED’s is either warm at 2700k or cool at 6400k. Daylight is about 4500k. I prefer warmth over cool which can be blueish.

The 3 overhead lights on the right are 8 SMD with the one over the nav station is 6 SMD. The double over the nav also has 8 SMD bulbs.

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