Bongo compact florescent tube

[Bongo Fil]

The U shaped florescent tube in my Bongo Aero is on it's way out. I removed the tube for inspection however there is nothing printed on the tube to identify the manufacturer. The white plastic 4 pin base has the letters S K and that's it. Does anyone know the part number or has anyone come up with an LED alternative bypassing the ballast circuit.

[Gasy]

Someone said this one fits
But do check it out before buying
Eblay 400509439377

[Simon Jones]

That is the conventional strip light style tube which will not fit the later U-shape fitting.

Some reading: http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... nt#p615212

Available in club shop but it's £55: http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/mercha ... m#Lighting

You may be able to find an alternative supply if you are prepared to shop around or get one from China etc.

[mikexgough]

if they are 145mm long then you can get them in Warm White or Cool White.... as for plug in LED alternative...for the U tubed version...I'm still looking..

[winchman]

I might have a spare I will look in the garage later

[Bongo Fil]

Someone said this one fits
But do check it out before buying
Eblay 400509439377

I had a look but that's an LED replacement for the straight T5 tube in the pre facelift Bongo's but for some reason they decided to put a U shaped tube in the new model. Mazda used to be a manufacturer of florescent lamps but I couldn't find any details on the web for this particular item. I like to keep things original but £55 seems an obscene amount to pay for a florescent bulb. I will probably take the light fitting down and see how easy it is to disconnect the starter circuit and rewire it for a straight 12v d.c feed via the existing switch to an LED lamp which I already have a few of in the garage.

[Bongo Fil]

I might have a spare I will look in the garage later

Thanks

[Bongo Fil]

That is the conventional strip light style tube which will not fit the later U-shape fitting.

Some reading: http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... nt#p615212

Available in club shop but it's £55: http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/mercha ... m#Lighting

You may be able to find an alternative supply if you are prepared to shop around or get one from China etc.

Interesting link, thanks.

[cmm303]

There is also a problem with the light fitting developing cracks in the solder. Think it applies to the U-Shaped ones as well as the straight ones. Costs nothing to take a look and, if you have a soldering iron, nothing to fix. Saved me replacing a tube unnecessarily.
See the Internal Lights factsheet

[Bongo Fil]

There is also a problem with the light fitting developing cracks in the solder. Think it applies to the U-Shaped ones as well as the straight ones. Costs nothing to take a look and, if you have a soldering iron, nothing to fix. Saved me replacing a tube unnecessarily.
See the Internal Lights factsheet

Thanks for the info, my light has different internals to the one in the fact sheet. I stripped it down today and the PCB looks ok no dry joints but the tube has lost most of its coating and is blackened along a third of it's length. I decided to have a go and convert it to LED. I removed the base from the florescent tube and cleaned out the glue exposing the pin connectors. I then soldered wires to the pins and soldered the other ends to a 12 volt corn cobb style LED lamp and filled the base with glue from a hot melt glue gun. Next step was to press the base of the lamp onto the glue and let it cool. I repeated this on the other side with the end result a being an acceptable looking 4 pin LED bulb. Next I photographed all connections to the PCB in case I ever want to go back to a florescent tube. I then de-soldered all the connections to the PCB and removed it. I paralleled up the pos and negs to both LED lamps at the rear of the 4 pin socket and connected them via the switch to the permanent pos and switched neg of the plug attached to the light fitting. This plug has three wires red, black and grey. Red is pos, black is ground and grey is switched neg via the sliding door. However the socket in the ceiling has blue as positive which connects to the red wire of the light fitting when the plug and socket are connected together. End result the light works perfect with the plug in LED double barreled lamp and can be restored to its original configuration with a tube if needed. I will post some photo's on here when I figure out how too. Please note anyone thinking of attempting this the wiring colours described in this post are specific to my vehicle only, do not take it that yours will be the same. Only competent people with the correct tools and test equipment should work on vehicle electrical systems.