Mercury Sable Dome Light Bulb Size

The Mercury Sable dome light utilizes bulb sizes 578, 579, 211-2, and 906 depending on the specific configuration. Available data for the lighting components covers the range from 1986 to 2009.

The year-by-year compatibility chart below provides a quick reference to verify the correct bulb size for your vehicle.

Bulb Size by Year Range

Years	Bulb Size
2008-2009	578
1998-1999	579
1996-1997	211-2
1986	906

Bulb Specifications

Description	Bulb Size
ANSI standard (US & Canada). Festoon bulb, 41mm length, end-cap contacts. 12V, 12W.	578
ANSI standard (US & Canada). Festoon bulb, 44mm length, end-cap contacts. 12V, 12W.	579
ANSI standard (US & Canada). Festoon bulb, 41mm length, SV8.5 base. 12V, 12W.	211-2
ANSI standard (US & Canada). Miniature wedge bulb (T10). 12V, 8W.	906

Other Locations

Additional Notes

The Mercury Sable dome light specifications cover model years 1986, 1996-1999, and 2008-2009, with four distinct bulb types appearing across those years: 578, 579, 211-2, and 906.
The festoon bulb type is the most prevalent across the listed years, appearing in three of the four bulb designations (578, 579, and 211-2) and covering the majority of the model years specified.
Festoon bulbs are cylindrical lamps that mount by pressing their end contacts into spring clips on either side of a light housing, rather than twisting or plugging into a socket.
The 578 and 211-2 bulbs share the same 41mm length and identical 12V, 12W electrical ratings, yet they are not interchangeable due to different base types: the 578 uses plain end-cap contacts, while the 211-2 uses an SV8.5 base.
The SV8.5 base on the 211-2 bulb features a plastic collar around the lamp body that locates and retains the bulb within a specific socket type, making it physically incompatible with housings designed for bare end-cap festoon bulbs.
The 579 bulb is 44mm in length, which is 3mm longer than both the 578 and 211-2 bulbs, and this difference in length means it cannot be substituted into a housing sized for 41mm festoon lamps.
For the Mercury Sable, the 1998-1999 model years use the 579 bulb, while the 2008-2009 model years use the 578 bulb; despite sharing the same 12V, 12W rating, the length difference between these two bulbs makes them non-interchangeable.
The 906 bulb, specified for the 1986 Mercury Sable, is a T10 miniature wedge type, which mounts by pressing a wedge-shaped base directly into a socket without any separate metal base or end caps.
At 8W, the 906 wedge bulb draws noticeably less power than the 12W festoon bulbs specified for all other listed model years, reflecting a different lamp technology rather than a variation within the same bulb family.
All four bulb types in these specifications conform to ANSI standards recognized in both the United States and Canada, indicating standardized electrical and physical tolerances across the listed part numbers.