MB Sprinter - LED conversion

Reading time 2 minutes

In the cab of the MB Sprinter, converting to LED lighting is not only a more efficient form of lighting, it is also very quick.

Tools and materials required

Tool

• Voltage tester (for removing the light from the roof cladding)
• Side cutters
• Multimeter (for measuring polarization and checking for short circuits / solder bridges)
• Metal saw or flex with cutting disk (for cutting the circuit board to size)
• File (for deburring and fine work)

Material

• Perforated grid board, Euro format
• two cables approx. 10 cm (red and black)
• Soldering station
• solder

Removing the bulb holder

Use a voltage tester to lever the lamp cover, which also contains the socket and switchover for time-controlled and manual lighting, from the narrow side of the transparent cover from the driver's side out of the recess in the ceiling panel.

The three-wire plug connection is disconnected by pressing in the release on the right-hand side of the plug. You now have the complete lamp in your hand and can remove the Sofiten bulb.

Production of the LED carrier

The first step is to cut a breadboard to the right size to fill the outlined part of the transparent lamp cover.
The recesses are used to accommodate the brackets provided by the customer.

Conventional, self-adhesive LED strips have a marking after every three LEDs, as shown here, for example, after which the strip can be cut off and soldering points obtained at the same time in order to subsequently create the contacting.

Here, four strips of six LEDs each were cut to size and glued to the center of the circuit board. Double-sided adhesive tape was applied to the right and left of the LED strips to stick the circuit board to the transparent lamp cover from the inside and thus prevent it from slipping.

On the right-hand side, the contacts were soldered to the copper cladding on the back of the PCB holes using thin wire. Wire jumpers connect all the positive and negative leads of the LED strip.

Plus is connected to the center contact (the large copper contact bracket) and minus to the short copper tab of the lamp holder.
The copper brackets are often oxidized and the oxide layer must therefore be removed with sandpaper before soldering. Otherwise, the soldered connection between the cable and the copper bracket will not make good contact.

As before, the black knurled wheel switches the time-controlled or permanent lighting on or off.

Installing the lamp socket

After connecting the plug, the LED lighting can now be checked for function. If everything is in order, the bulb holder is first inserted into the cut-out in the roof panel on the passenger side and then snapped into place on the driver's side with light pressure.