Help identifying this bulb

furgo

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 10, 2017
Messages
4
Hi,

I've been using this forum occasionally for reference in the past, but this is my first post (so, "hi!").

Owning a 1979 VW bus that was manufactured for the US market, but now being in Europe, I'm trying to find a replacement light bulb for an interior lamp.

Here's what it looks like:

1638878.jpg


1638879.jpg


And here are the specs:

- There is no indication of their wattage, but measured it was 12W ca. 10W
- The only inscription reads 211-2 PM
- They're 40 mm long, 8.5 mm diameter

Now it seems 211-2 seems to be a common term to identify a family of light bulbs in the US, yet I could not find any information that links "211-2" to any designation from a standards institution. Another common term that seems to be linked to them is "festoon" lamps, yet I couldn't work out where that comes from.

In particular, after doing some research, I've not come up with any info on the particular type of base caps that act as the terminals.

In any case, none of these terms seem to be used in Europe. I've found similar 12V 10W bulbs, but they all:

- have an SV8.5 cap, and
- the glass is wider than the cap

The clips that hold the two cap ends wrap them on the sides, and if the glass body is too long or too wide, the glass ends up either touching the back of the lamp or the clips. So I'm having a bit of a difficulty finding a replacement.

Would anyone have more info on this particular type of 211-2 bulbs, and what designation the base caps have?

Thanks!
 

-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
The bulb you need is a 211-2. There aren't different types of 211-2, there's just...the 211-2. Its cap designation is SF6. When they're new, they look like this.
 

furgo

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 10, 2017
Messages
4
Thanks for the reply. I had seen the cap being referred to as SF6 or SF6/6, but that cap style on the picture doesn't seem to match the SF6's "closed cap", which is why I got curious in the first place. I had not seen any other bulb like that before, so I was also curious about what it was called. I do understand that 211-2 bulbs with SF6 caps would be a direct fit, though (I assume they're also 8.5 mm diameter).

Also, after mentioning the car is in Europe, I should have probably added that 211-2 bulbs are not as easy to find here as in the US, hence me trying to find a suitable replacement.
 

-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
Interior bulbs are not regulated in Europe -- most European vehicles use bulbs of various types approved for use in regulated exterior lights, because those are the most common bulb types on the market in Europe. But there are plenty of examples of European vehicles with interior lamps that use bulbs without type approval so they couldn't be used in regulated lights. This is probably one of those occasions; the European-market equivalent of your 1979 bus probably uses the same 211-2 bulb in that location, unless the lamp was installed by a US upfitter or customizer.

In any event, there really isn't a European equivalent or approximation of that bulb; you'll probably have to send for them from the US.
 
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