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Easy LED conversion for Spline case w/o an AC -> DC conversion ($17 total)

Jestered

Oakley Expert
Premium Member
619
843
Austin, Texas
Hi everyone. I searched all over the forum to see if this was talked about before, but didn't find anything, so I apologize if this is already widely known. Since I couldn't find anything I thought I'd try and give a little something back to the forum and help out anyone else who may want to accomplish the same thing easily and for only $17. So, anyway...

***Imporant***- There are a lot of LED bulbs that look just like the ones I used on Amazon. A lot of them are only rated 12volts and you should NOT use those bulbs because they will likely burn up. The bulbs I linked to are rated up to 28volts, so if you're not going to purchase the ones I linked to, make sure you get some that are rated at the very least 18volts.

I picked up a Spline case last weekend and wanted to convert it to LED lighting for a couple of reasons:

1. It gets really hot inside the case with the standard bulbs. I didn't like this.
2. I really wanted a cooler temp lighting (color of the light) for the case.

The only thing I could find about converting the case to LED lighting was to rewire and add an AC to DC converter to drive the LEDs (LEDs don't like AC). I was fully prepared to do this, but went looking for an easier way. It's actually much easier and doesn't require any rewiring at all. It's a simple swap of bulbs. Well, the correct bulbs anyway.

I found on Amazon that there are some LED bulbs that should fit the OEM connector. That's fine, but doesn't fix the AC to DC conversion. They do have some LED bulbs that do the conversion in the bulb though! I was excited to see this, so I ordered the bulbs. I got them today and put them in the case and they work perfectly and fit nicely into the circuler bulb receptacle. They light up the case better than the standard bulbs, have a much better color temp, and don't cause the heat inside the case while they're on. And more importantly, it required no modification to the case.

From what I found there were two different bulbs you could get. One was a warm temp, which will have a yellowish tint like the standard bulbs, and the cooler temp, which is a true white light. I got the cool/white bulbs:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VL9ISKI/?tag=oakleyforum04-20

The following shows what the bulbs look like. You can see that one side has all the LEDs and the other has what I believe is the AC to DC converter stuff.

Screen Shot 2015-11-06 at 6.14.51 PM.png


Here you can see how well they fit in the bulb receptacle in the Spline case (from my actual case):

IMG_3264.PNG


So, I'm really happy with it and it didn't require any modification to the case. I thought I'd put this out there in case it helps someone else that may want to do the same thing.
 
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Hi everyone. I searched all over the forum to see if this was talked about before, but didn't find anything, so I apologize if this is already widely known. Since I couldn't find anything I thought I'd try and give a little something back to the forum and help out anyone else who may want to accomplish the same thing easily and for only $17. So, anyway...

I picked up a Spline case last weekend and wanted to convert it to LED lighting for a couple of reasons:

1. It gets really hot inside the case with the standard bulbs. I didn't like this.
2. I really wanted a cooler temp lighting for the case.

The only thing I could find about converting the case to LED lighting was to rewire and add an AC to DC converter to drive the LEDs (LEDs don't like AC). I was fully prepared to do this, but went looking for an easier way. It's actually much easier and doesn't require any rewiring at all. It's a simple swap of bulbs. Well, the correct bulbs anyway.

I found on Amazon that there are some LED bulbs that should fit the OEM connector. That's fine, but doesn't fix the AC to DC conversion. They do have some LED bulbs that do the conversion in the bulb though! I was excited to see this, so I ordered the bulbs. I got them today and put them in the case and they work perfectly and fit nicely into the circuler bulb receptacle. They light up the case better than the standard bulbs, have a much better color temp, and don't cause the heat inside the case while they're on. And more importantly, it required no modification to the case.

From what I found there were two different bulbs you could get. One was a warm temp, which will have a yellowish tint like the standard bulbs, and the cooler temp, which is a true white light. I got the cool/white bulbs:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VL9ISKI/?tag=oakleyforum04-20

The following shows what the bulbs look like. You can see that one side has all the LEDs and the other has what I believe is the AC to DC converter stuff.

View attachment 195717

Here you can see how well they fit in the bulb receptacle in the Spline case (from my actual case):

View attachment 195719

So, I'm really happy with it and it didn't require any modification to the case. I thought I'd put this out there in case it helps someone else that may want to do the same thing.

great info. I was thinking of this as well.
 
Great info! Just placed an order for these

Great! A couple of tips:

1. The LED bulbs fit a little more snug into the OEM connector, but they do fit. You may end up bending the LED board a little bit from the LED bulb connector because it takes a little bit of force to get them plugged in. You would really have to bend the board from the bulb connector a lot to actually break it though, so don't worry about that. The kit you're ordering also comes with 6 bulbs and you only need 5, so you have an extra if you end up breaking one, but you won't run into that problem.

2. The reason the board can bend from the connector is because the two connection wires are soldered to the board, but the connector itself is simply held to the board by some fairly flexible epoxy or glue. I learned when installing the bulbs that this is actually good. The OEM connector in the case is angled downwards slightly, so if the bulb connector could not be bent at all, the LED bulbs/board would also be angled down slightly, which would work, but probably not look as good. Once you get the bulb in, push the LED board upwards so that it fits in the receptacle flat and not angled downward.

Let us know how it works out for you!
 
Great! A couple of tips:

1. The LED bulbs fit a little more snug into the OEM connector, but they do fit. You may end up bending the LED board a little bit from the LED bulb connector because it takes a little bit of force to get them plugged in. You would really have to bend the board from the bulb connector a lot to actually break it though, so don't worry about that. The kit you're ordering also comes with 6 bulbs and you only need 5, so you have an extra if you end up breaking one, but you won't run into that problem.

2. The reason the board can bend from the connector is because the two connection wires are soldered to the board, but the connector itself is simply held to the board by some fairly flexible epoxy or glue. I learned when installing the bulbs that this is actually good. The OEM connector in the case is angled downwards slightly, so if the bulb connector could not be bent at all, the LED bulbs/board would also be angled down slightly, which would work, but probably not look as good. Once you get the bulb in, push the LED board upwards so that it fits in the receptacle flat and not angled downward.

Let us know how it works out for you!
Lol, thanks for the info. I ordered these for a spline case I just bought for my parents in Florida. I'm actually in Hawaii... I'll make sure to pass on the instructions. Ha ha
 
I used those before and the LED bulbs caught on fire. My single spine works fine with the regular bulbs. However, it does not work with these LEDs from Amazon. On the other hand, these LED bulbs seems fine with my double spine.
Picture below shows a very faint smoke emerging from the LED bulbs. (Before it caught on fire)
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1446942930.413152.jpg
 
I used those before and the LED bulbs caught on fire. My single spine works fine with the regular bulbs. However, it does not work with these LEDs from Amazon. On the other hand, these LED bulbs seems fine with my double spine.
Picture below shows a very faint smoke emerging from the LED bulbs. (Before it caught on fire) View attachment 195930

Are you certain you used the exact bulbs I linked to? The reason I ask is because there are a lot of other bulbs on Amazon that look exactly like these but they are only rated up to 12volts. If you were to use those in the case they would produce some warmth in the cabinet and would surely burn up if left on too long. The bulbs I linked to are rated up to 28volts, so they can easily handle what's being thrown at them (the standard bulbs would burn up before these will). They also are very cool in the cabinet. I can't feel any warmth from them unless I literally put my hand right up to them and I've had them on for about 30 hours straight.

I also just added to the original post so that others are aware not to get the 12volt bulbs.
 
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