Interior light upgrade

[dazbooker]

Hi am I able to upgrade interior light bulbs on my 850 estate
I heard polarity is wrong for leds

[ASt85]

Originally Posted by dazbooker

Hi am I able to upgrade interior light bulbs on my 850 estate
I heard polarity is wrong for leds

It won't make a lot of difference, if the LED doesn't light first time fit it the other way around i.e.remove the lamp, rotate the lamp through 180° and then re-fit it, this reverses the polarity for any wedge style or festoon type lamp {the only time it won't work is for things like brake lights/ indicator lamps/dipped beam & etc. which have either offsets or specific locating lands (flat locating pins or pegs) which will only allow the lamp to be fitted in one predetermined orientation or position for which you must buy specific LED lamps, you will also need to fit ballast resistors for brake, indicator, main and dipped beam lamps in order to balance the can-bus value - LEDs give an open circuit Can-Bus value for the non-open circuit state. The value gives the failed lamp response even though the LED is working as the current is too low to give the correct can-bus response i.e. a blown incandescent bulb has the same current parameter (limit)/ signature as an functioning LED - it is possible to adjust the the value of the shunts located in the rear cargo area, but I have yet to find a data sheet to work from. (In any event the Volvo user manual bulb/lamp guide will tell you which bulb type you need in each specific location) + (NB depending upon the year of your 850 you will get a different response if yours is an OBDI rather than the post 97 OBDII compliant model) i.e do you have to interpret flashes from the unit under the bonnet or do you get a readout in your dash?

None of the internal lamps are on the can-bus system, so you shouldn't get any issue messages if you are only going to change internal lights. If you do swop over external lighting for LEDs, side markers will not be shown on the can-bus BUT as the front markers are located within the dipped beam reflector relatively few wedge LEDs will cope with the heat generated by the dipped beam lamps.
Marker lamp LED failure will occur fairly rapidly due to the heat generated by the dipped mains in my experience.

[rogerb]

I have changed several of the interior lights on my 1998 V70R, which is similar to the 850.
Starting at the back the boot light , is a tube shaped lamp and you can just reverse it if it doesn't work first time.
The reading lights are a bit trickier, as direct fit ones will not work as they need the central pin to be positive. What I found was flat plate panal ones (say 20*50MM) with separate adapter leads with a reversible plug.
Such as eBay number 122185606842.
There are lots of different sizes so Measure what space you have and get the appropriate size.
I used clear hot glue to mount them , spaced back from the original light lens , as it brakes up there shape.
The same for the lights around the mirror.
I tryed changing the dash lights, but the led ones gave uneaven lighting.
The front side lights I changed , used "fizzmo" 501 replacement. They seam to be quite good.
The number plate lights were more even and looked better with normal bulbs.
I have not changed the tail lights or brake lights on my car , but on a friends car we found cheep ones looked dim and also more of a point of light , not an even spread of light.
Also get "can bus" ones , even though you car doesn't have a can bus , it has a bulb failure unit that can play up.
If you get some good quality brake lights they are better and come on faster than normal bulbs and are easer to notice. So may be a bit safer , well that what Volvo say about the later cars with Led lights.
I have never tried fitted LED headlights, looking at it you may have to modify the rear covers on the lights, again don't go for cheap ones , look for ones with the lights in the same position as the filliment in a conventional bulb.
Roger.

[dazbooker]

I've done the interior lights now a dam site better than the original ones

[ASt85]

Just out of interest, did you use "warm lights" or "bright white" LEDs?

When I changed some in my old 850, I found the slight bluishness of the "bright white" a little watery. i.e. bright but didn't illuminate that well.

[dazbooker]

Think they were the warm white