EAST

Alright, finally got around to doing the front. I couldn't do festoons as I did in the rear because of how the light projects in (more on that in a bit). I ended up just swapping the LEDs used with other LEDs, and decreasing the resistor values used (to increase the current).

The whole front dome is a little easier to pull down. Pull done from the front (the side closes to the rear view mirror). There are four pressure clips that hold the overheard dome piece in place (two white, two blue in the picture below). Unplug the two white plugs (one on each side).

Remove the eight Philips screws you see, and unplug the three connectors (they are not unplugged in the below picture, but you get the idea).


Lift the circuit board carefully. You'll have to disconnect two ribbon cable connectors for the individual/map lights. Use a small flat head to slide under the black connector.


Once board is disconnected, you can start working on taking off the trip surrounding the dome light and map lights. Basically, start unclipping and pushing down. It should be relatively easy to figure out once it start coming off. Some of the clips are for the black trim, some are for the large dome light, and others are for the individual map lights. Remove the black trim.



Remove the dome light (I think you have to remove the clear lens first (seen in the bottom right) and then you'll have the dome light:


Remove the frosted cover of the dome light. The LED board just slides up. It basically shines light into the bottom part of the large, white refractor, which then bounces it down. This is what prevented using festoons.



If you need wiring info (scope yours to verify )
White wire is the "positive" for the bottom two LEDs, which then trace into the black wire. Blue wire is the positive for the next two LEDs, which then trace into the black wire. Grey is the positive for the next two LEDs, again going to the black wire. And red is the positive to the last/top two LEDs, going into black.
Back on the main board, the resistors I changed (from 160 ohm to 82 ohm
R10 goes to the Grey wire circuit
R11 goes to the Blue wire circuit
R12 goes to the White wire circuit
R13 goes to the Red wire circuit
Black wire goes to ground, which connects to pin 14 of Connector 1 (one of the big connectors)
You can "power" the lights via pin 19 of Connector 1.

To replace the LEDs, I used this part number:
GW QTLTS2.QM-H2H8-XX52-1-65-R33 -> QTY of 6, though I ordered 16 to retrofit the rear dome light as well. It's a 2835 SMD chip (the closest I could find that kind of matched the existing pads). It's 5700K color temp, though they have 6500K and others, if you want. It's a 90 CRI chip. Even without replacing the OEM resistor, this LED is more efficient than the stock one, so it would be an upgrade in terms of color and brightness.
LTR50UZPF82R0 -> The resistors are 2010 wide body resistors. I used 82 ohm, but if you are more worried about heat, you would probably do 100 or 120 ohm.

You'll definitely want some solder wick to clean the pads.
I used regular solder, but I'd probably try solder paste next time, as the LEDs don't have visible leads.

LEDs replaced. You can kind of see here how the back of the PCB is aluminum backed, which made soldering a pain:​​​​


Reverse steps to put it back together.


For the fronts, I did not mess with the map LEDs, as those seem to be some module with integrated optic.

For comparison (with car off):
OEM lights:
Closed door (when you first close the door, lights remain on): 0 lux (too dim for meter to read)
Open door - 2.7 lux from driver seat.
Full bright via dome light button: 8.1 lux

New LEDs and lower value resistors:
Closed door: 0.5 lux
Open door: 14.1
Full bright via dome light button: 41.1 lux

Overall I like the color better. 5700K is a touch warmer than most aftermarket dome lights, and hopefully the higher CRI is worth something. Brighter light is just a plus.