Author: mike2209

Retired Chartered Mechanical Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Aston Martin DB9 enthusiast and owner.

Let there be light !

On By mike2209In How To, Uncategorized2 Comments

Since buying Aston 2209, my DB9, in April of 2017 I have always thought that the interior cabin lighting was a little dark. My wife Barbara despite having Satnav in the DB9 and Google Maps on her phone still likes to use a paper map so she also agreed with me that the reading light could do with some improvement.

With the arrival of LED technology options are now available for us to replace existing lamps (bulbs) with LEDs. The good thing is that LEDs are a win win technology using less current and providing a brighter light.

I set out to investigate what was available to me searching Ebay and Amazon under “W3W LED Bright White Car Bulbs” and found that there are many manufacturers available making any number of LED lamps to suit our Astons, however the search only came back with W5W fitting. I not saying the W3W fitting bulbs are not available but my search at the time kept coming back with only W5W and that is what I bought.

In the video the lamp is installed from the back and you must make sure the
angular offset of the mount is pointed to the centre.  
However if you install without removing the rear view mirror or the centre roof lining as I did in the video, the slot arrowed in the head lining ensures the correct orientation of the lamp so the offset is towards the centre. The orientation slot is not there for other lamps.

I also settled on what I considered to be an excellent manufacturer, “Osram”, since most of the items on offer did not give clear indication of the manufacturer. [They’re all made in China anyway!]

As you can see they offer a 6 year guarantee, not that they cost much, I paid £13.83 (approx USD17.00) for two lamps in the pack, however if they give a 6 year guarantee it should be a while before I have replace them.

Power consumption is stated as being 1 Watt each, which is less than the original lamps that are rated at 3 Watts each.  I must admit I was a little concerned when I ordered the lamps particularly in respect of the fittings. However they fit perfectly and I’ll now buy more for the rear cabin lights, the footwells and the boot (trunk).

I wanted to have a “white” light as I believe it gives a modern look – other light colours are available such as Warm Light and colours !!!

Here is a video of the installation of the bulbs for your information.

See: https://youtu.be/oPL2AzBiSns

Mike Aston 2209

Aston Martin DB9 Dashcam – Keeping an eye on things!

On By mike2209In How ToLeave a comment

Last summer we went away for a long weekend staying in Northumberland at a hotel/country club that incorporated a Spa. When we arrived a hen party of young women, there for a Spa day, showed particular interest in the Aston as we checked in. After unloading our bags, I moved the Aston to the car park from reception and thought no more about it.

The next day we visited Bamburgh Castle and as I was locking the car I happened to look along the bonnet (hood) towards the Aston Martin badge only to see an indentation in the bonnet just behind the badge where someone had presumably sat on the bonnet for a photograph. I can’t say for sure that it was one of the young women but it was a heck of a coincidence!!!! It’s not desperate and most people don’t see it until it’s pointed out to them but I know its there and that’s enough for me to have to do something about it, I have a good body shop guy so I’ll get round to talking about it with him at some time.

On checking with the hotel it turned out that their CCTV didn’t cover the area of the car park where we were parked …. typical !!!

As a result, I decided that the only way to make sure I can see what is going on with the Aston when I leave it is to install my own dashcam. Continue reading “Aston Martin DB9 Dashcam – Keeping an eye on things!” →