SO just a primer on the parts that are available there are two type of lamp holders we have in our cars. One is a glove compartment light and one is a trunk light. They are the same size and fit into the same size cut out but they just accept different size and wattage bulbs. Further searching revealed that these are very similar to lights MBZ has been using for years. Which means there is lots of aftermarket products that are a little cheaper than the GM stuff.
Trunk Light - Clear lens - GM part 12787007 - Takes 42mm 10 Watt Festoon Bulb
Glove Box Light - Gray Lens - GM Part Numbers:
92109218 - Part Notes: 2011-13, TO VIN BL524421
92258153 - Part Notes: 2011-13, FROM VIN BL524422
(not sure of the parts difference in those two numbers my VIN is BL525857)
If you want a clear lens you can go with the GM part 90047484
Or search Ebay or other sites for the clear lens MBZ Part - 126 820 13 01
All Take 35mm 5 Watt Festoon Bulb
Here is a photo from someone at the G8 board of the two types of lights:
Here is my factory light next tot he MBZ replacement:
On LED bulbs I cannot give much direction to whats good or bad. Just get the correct 34,35,36mm bulb all those will fit pretty good. But if you are replacing the trunk light with a LED get a very slim 42MM festoon because the way they sit in the holder there is not a lot of extra room for outcroppings of LED boards.
SO on to the install.
Remove the glove compartment:
2 screws along the bottom
2 hiding under the pop out screw covers on the right and left front
3 screws along the top under the gray trip applique
Cutting the hole for light:
On the top of the glove box you will see two lines that run the length of the box and the factory light is right in the middle of them. That is our guide to install the other one on the other side. May have to cut back some gray sound insulation to clear the space. Measure the distance to the hole on the left and repeat that measurement to layout your cut on the right. Use a utility knife to plunge into the plastic. It's pretty soft so cutting is not difficult. Copy the measurements from the left hole and lay them out on the right. Make it a bit smaller lengthwise, you can always go back and cut more but make it too big and you stuffed it up.
Wiring the light:
Wiring the light is simple enough. You could use some terminal doublers similar to the ones I used to add trunk lights seen in these two pictures:
Then just use two wires with female push on connectors on each end to hook the lights together.
In this case though I used some butt connectors at the back of the glove box to tap into the wires going up to the factory bulb. Then wrapped the connectors in friction tape and used some shrink tube (unshrunk) as a wiring loom for the two added wires:
Results:
Before with factory bulb and gray lens:
After with two clear lenses and LED bulbs:
BOOOYA!!!!
