I don't know if my van has standard dome lights in it or not, but my dome lights are a 906 bulb.

Those are rated for 9 watts; Can I put a 921 in it's place? the 921 is rated for 18 watts, will 2x the wattage fry anything, or will it be fine?

 

I'd go LED. Then you don't have to worry about it getting hot enough to melt something.

 

I would like to do that, and I know the 921 led wouldn't be any issue, but I just want to see about the 921 @ 18w first......

 

You would be doubling the wattage. Doubling the heat as well. Sure it will work but you will sacrifice longevity of the lens and housing.

 

those bulbs can get pretty hot even with the standard wattage
I would bet you would melt the lens.

LED is the way to go. I did mine with a flat panel LED and it lights the interior well. I did it so long ago I cannot tell you the type, but as I recall you can buy LED flat panel bulbs with universal socket fittings of various sizes. Measure your lens fitting and purchase the correct size as the panel just lays on the lens. Most LED bulbs measure less than a watt so is efficient on the battery. I also ran power wires from that socket and installed side LED fittings just behind the front seats, and another pair at the back door. These light up the area just fine if I am trying to read at night or trying to find something.

 

Go with led!!! They use less power and don't melt plastic or overload the circuit. It's a no brainer! look on superbrightleds.com and select the configuration that will fit in the dome light. Look at the lumen output, That's the amount of light it puts out.

 

I agree 100%.

 

I've been playing around with LEDs lately and for the interior I found these to be the best, so far. http://www.ebay.com/itm/281593705350
My one gripe is the color is too blue for my tastes, but they are brighter than all other direct replacement LEDs I've tried.

 

maybe our dome lights are different? but those are nothing like what mine uses....

Just an update, I found a killer deal on some LEDS, they are 194 sized, but should still outperform the 906 bulbs I currently have....

I got 20 bulbs for $3.95 shipped off ebay

here are the stock 906, rated for 9W@12V:

and here is the size of the 194:




just did a google search, I definitely don't have the stock dome light, mine are rectangular housings, with 2 light pods and switches per housing. I also have about 10 of them throughout the van. They actually don't have a lens, the bulb sits in it's own reflector, but the pod is actually open, just has a crossbar over the opening


and here are the bulbs I got:




I will post comparison pics once I get them and I get a chance

 

my lights are in, I just haven't gone to get them yet.... long story.....

I have a total of 5 dome lights, the 4 in the back are single units, and they don't have a lens, the front unit is between the front seats on the roof, and is the same look to it, but houses 2 bulbs... still 6 bulbs total..... they are definitely not the stock housings


maybe I will put some of those bulbs in the gauge cluster too