Collection: Car (12V) > Interior, Trunk & License Plate

Interior and License Plate Lighting

Interior bulbs are often overlooked—yet they ensure visual comfort and legal compliance (license plate must be illuminated in white). A faulty dome light, a poorly lit license plate, or a trunk without light are all minor inconveniences that are easy to resolve.

W5W and T10: two names for one bulb

This is the most frequent confusion in this catalog section: W5W and T10 refer to exactly the same bulb. You can buy either interchangeably.

• T10 refers to the physical format: Tubular, 10 mm diameter.
• W5W is the CEE electrical designation: Wedge (wedge base), 5W, tungsten filament.

Widest vehicle use: front parking light, license plate, trunk light, glove compartment, side marker lights. Some 590 monthly searches for "led plates" attest to the strong LED demand for this item.

License Plate Bulb

The lighting of the rear license plate is legally mandatory and must be white (any other color will result in a re-inspection). Most commonly used bases: W5W / T10 (most common), sometimes BA9s or T4W on older vehicles.

Switching to pure white LED for the license plate provides a much more modern and uniform appearance—with no legal impact as the color remains white.

Dome Light and Interior Bulbs

Two families of bases equip dome lights:

• Festoon (C5W / SV8.5) – oblong shape, in 3 standard lengths: 31, 36 or 42 mm. Measure your old bulb to choose the correct length.
• BA9s (T4W) – 9 mm bayonet base for traditional round dome lights.

On recent vehicles, W5W and T10 can also be found directly in the dome light—also available in LED as a direct replacement.

Switching to LED for the Interior: No Legal Constraints

Switching to LED for a vehicle's interior lighting is not subject to any homologation—it is the simplest and most visible modification. Advantages:

• Pure white light (4,000–6,500 K) that modernizes the cabin ambiance
• 10× longer lifespan (5,000 hours vs 500 for a halogen)
• Negligible consumption—no risk of discharging the battery even with the door open

On vehicles with CAN-Bus management (recent Audi, BMW, Mercedes), choose a CANbus LED to avoid the "lighting anomaly" error light.