1st Gen: Dome Light replacement/Alternative
 

I've been thinking more and more about this lately... I can't stand the dome light that we have. It doesn't light the cabin very well during the night, and the reading lights aren't that great. (Maybe something with adjustable reading lights? :D) Well, I was riding in my friends Cavalier (sp?), and I noticed the dome light. It had a flush, clean look to it. That, and I noticed that the light stayed on for like five or so seconds after you closed the doors, and the light then faded out. Snazy. I like that. I believe it was like a 97-99 Cav. I'm not sure if the light fading is controlled by some small device that can be swapped/put into the Pro or if it's controlled by a main box that would do a lot of things (seat belts, lights, etc..). I really haven't looked at any other dome lights. I think I'm going to go to a yard and look around a bit.

First off, yes, I'm well aware that something else is not going to just "pop" in. I'm more than prepared to do a bit of custom work for this kind of job on the car. Like I was commenting on the light fading, if it's a small control module, I can put that in the Pro (mounting it somewhere near most of the relays and what not) and do the wiring myself. As for the clean, smooth look of the Cavalier dome light, I'm sure there is either foam you can cut, or thick foam you can apply to the bare (or painted) metal of the roof and shape like icing on a cake. Then, you could put new head lining in. This would be an easy weekend job. One day to apply the foam and let set, and another day to put the head lining in and make sure everything is clean. Course, I'm not forgetting about the time it takes to make a custom mounting bracket for the light itself if need be.

Anyone have a dome light in mind that would be an ideal replacement? Some pics would be nice to visualize how it would look in the Pro.

Thanks in advance for any input.

yup..
 

Well as for the fading light effect...i dunno bout that...

But i do know that i hated the crap out of my domelight also, so what i did was i bought a set of PIAA domelights.They cost me like 14 bux :( ....but it did do the job :) instead of a sorry ass yellow glow...now it looks like the moon is in my car...lol...seriously its like a bright "moonlight" type of light.really nice looking. The bulb itself was also 2 times the size of the stock one that was in there and it was like a light blue.

Hey, Spenone. Where did you get the PIAA dome light bulb, and what is the right number for it? Because I would totally agree with you guys, our dome lights sucks lemons. I would spend $14 on that easy. As for the dimming light, it is the same thing on every GM model made today. I am not that big in electronics, but I think they wired in a relay to create a dimming effect. Though, please let me know on that PIAA dome light bulb. Thank you.

crap!
 

Man thats funny just yesterday i let my boy keep the case that it came in cause it was cool lookin'..lol..anyway i got it at a local speed shop we have here in S.florida called SPEED and TRUCK WORLD. But all i did was walk in with the stock bulb and the guy was just like here u go,some PIAA's!...and BAM instant brightness.

I did buy a set of blue dome lights, but they were way bigger than the OEM bulbs...........I tried shoving it in, but did not want to risk breaking it..........................is it possible to fit it in there ????

I guess I'll try and find the PIAA lights around here somewhere and see how they do. If it's brighter, I could live with that for a while. I would still like to swap in a nice, clean looking dome light piece. If I do swap a good one in, I'll be sure to take some pics and post it up.