The dome bulbs have the same base as a brighter 921 bulb. Go to any auto parts store and buy the 921 LL bulbs/2 pack for 1.99-2.99. Its a 19w bulb to replace the 5w bulbs that are installed at the factory. There are 3 bulbs in the overhead. I pulled out the old bulbs and stuck the new 921's in. Wow the car is bright inside now. You can also replace the middle overhead and back bulbs too with double bright wattage bulbs for another couple bucks. They are a different base but are easy to locate it you have the bulbs in hand. The wattage is on the base of the bulb. No expensive LED mods needed. You go from a combined 15 watts to a whopping 57 watts which is the same as a car headlight. It is very bright now. I no longer need a flashlight to find things in my car when it gets dark.
how long have you had the brighter 921 bulb? i might try that. the only word of caution is you do not want to blow the dome light fuse, it runs other systems, and a lot of rebooting a prius is just reinserting the dome light fuse the dome light fuse is good for 15a, and it runs the audio system, interior lights, smart keys, gauge and meters, turn signal lights, luggage room light, and part of the clock
further research also states that part of the theft deterrent system and power door locks is also dependent on the dome light fuse oh yeah the garage door opener too
also, i am not sure about this, and i am not saying it will do it, but running higher wattage bulbs might actually burn / melt / scorch the plastic lenses
A 921 equivalent LED bulb would be a good choice. I don't think there would be a current draw problem but there is a very good chance of melting something over time with the 921.
I left them on for 15 minutes (far excedding any amount of time you might have the doors open) and all 3 bulbs were on. The cover got warm but not hot. No fuses were blown. It works great.
Hi,all, I'm not sure of the exact bulb # I used to have in my Ford Escort high mount brake light housing. The 921 does sound like the right one to me (whatever it was, it was the one specified in the ownwer's manual). You can't always believe the owner's manual because in one of my other Ford Escorts that I had, the manual specified for the tail/brake light bulb to be a 3157 (with a black plastic wedge style base, which I went out & bought). But the bulbs that were in the bulb sockets in that location in the car were the 1157's (with the round brass bayonet base with the little retainer pins on the side), so I had to go back & exchange them. But anyway, every time I took out a burned out bulb from that high mount housing, the bulb had a big, blackened, blister bubble on the side of it (kind of like the old photo flashbulbs of days gone by). The bulb glass had actually melted & deformed from the bulb's own heat (with the additional heat from being enclosed in a small non-ventilated enclosure) & the brakes had never been applied for anywhere close to the 15 minutes that problemchild just said his dome lights were on for. Given my own experience, I would opt for the LED equivalent of the 921 if you want that much more light. Ken (in Bolton,Ct)
try 8-24 hours please i am basing that on my real world experience of coming back to my car and finding out i left the map lights on!
If you really want to be everyone's hero, you'd find a way to get the dim stearingwheel lights brighter. Every other light on the Prius has already been modded and talk about, ad infinitum.
Steering wheel lights are fine for me. No one has done a 2.00 light mod, only expensive LED mods. My mod was a 2 dollar mod.
cool stuff. Think I will go pick some up. sounds a bit to bright imo. I wonder if there is a bulb in the middle say 12w thanks for the post
One thing you might want to consider with a brighter bulb is the heat factor. That is to say if you leave the dome light on accidently for an extended period of time, you not only will kill the battery but you might also melt the plastic around the bulb. By increasing the illumination 4-times, you are also increasing the heat by the same amount - and since the bulb is in an enclosed space, the heat buildup bay cause you grief.
