SMD LEDs for the Binnacle/Dash Lights

[DeLorean03]

Hey everyone:

As most veterans here know, I have done some very extensive LED trial and errors with all sorts of lights. Well, long story short, when LEDs were pretty new (2004ish), I installed them in my dash. Worked great, but the technology was still pretty new, and the LEDs burned out a lot. I went back to incads for a while, but I got irritated being in traffic and my dash lights being so dull that the street lamps provided me more light than the incads. So, as of today, I installed these guys:

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=3092&d=1312168404

These are called SMD LED lights. Each lil' square is an LED - 12 of them on each bulb - making a total of 60 LED squares in the dash (5 bulbs = 4 dash and 1 tripmeter --> 5 x 12 =60).

Here is what they look like when on:

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=3093&d=1312168405

I chose to go this route as the LEDs we have been using for a while all are clustered and point forward - some of the SMDs here these point DOWN - pointing light directly down to the gauges.

Enough chatty talk - I know what you guys want. Here you go - this is what my dash looks like in almost total darkness with no flash. I am telling you, these pictures look AWFUL compared to seeing them in real life. The amount of light these lights give off is simply stunning:

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=3088&d=1312168279

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=3089&d=1312168291

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=3090&d=1312168298

There's so much light - there's actually light shining through the hole at the bottom where the speedometer and the tachometer meet:

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=3091&d=1312168302

And I'll tell you, these pictures do NOT do the job justice. I could tell these were on in pure daylight. I mean they weren't giving the sun a run for its money, but I could tell they were on in daylight. At nighttime, it looked like my dash was hitting 88mph =p. I am beyond pleased with this, and I don't think I'll go any other setup after this. Very, very, very pleased.

They are $3.75 for a pair plus $2.00 shipping from http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/194-168-501-T10-Side-Marker-Wedge-White-12-LED-bulbs-x2-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZalgoQ3dLVIQ26ituQ3dUC IQ26otnQ3d3Q26poQ3dLVIQ26psQ3d63Q26clkidQ3d1744365 425497638973QQ_trksidZp5197Q2em7QQitemZ30056684351 6#ht_3402wt_783 on eBay. Ordered mine on Monday; they came in Firday or Saturday - same week.

They do have a certain polarity, so it can be a bit "hit and miss" when you install them. I did come up with a quick and simple way to install them nearly first time and they were all correct polarity. I will type it up if anyone's considering buying these and wants to save themselves A LOT of trial and error/headache. And just so you know, these bulbs do not fit in the door light bulb sockets. They have the clearance to put the door light lens back in place, but they are NOT the correct size bulb to hit in the socket. Just wanted to let everyone know before they go trying to install them in the door lights to get a "fully lit square" instead of just "dots in the middle." Beat you to it (: ....

For those of you who need a "how to" in getting to the binnacle lights, TTait did a very good writeup that can be found here: http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?980-Instrument-cluster-lamps-Instrument-cluster-removal&highlight=leds

Anyhoo - enjoy!

[WelmoedJ]

Very sorry to bother you, but.....
Where are the pics you seem to refer to in your message?

[ramblinmike]

Very sorry to bother you, but.....
Where are the pics you seem to refer to in your message?

Are you logged in? The pictures are embedded in the text.

[WelmoedJ]

Are you logged in? The pictures are embedded in the text.

Yes, I was logged in at the time I couldn't see the pics.
(I know I have to be logged in to see the pics.)
However now I can.
Not sure what caused this, however it's solved :)

[jawn101]

Yo J:

How do the indicator lights look with these new backlights burning? Do they get washed out by the sheer POWER? :)

[Farrar]

Thanks for this; I was intending to do the mod but didn't want to throw money away on LED bulbs that didn't fit or do the job properly -- you've just made it easier for the rest of us! Cheers!

Farrar

[DeLorean03]

Hey guys (:

To Jawn: Honestly, they are kinda "lost in the white light." I'll admit - the indicator lights are totally visible, but they don't "stand out" as much as they used to. The amount of light these things give up is just insane. It really is almost "too much." I know thee pictures don't really show it, but man, I am sure glad I went this route.

To Farrar: You're welcome, sir. I know a decent number of owners have gone the 6 cluster LED route, which I will admit, works well. I just wanted to see what these SMD lights were capable of, and they don't disappoint. Well worth it - especially being about the same price as the 6 cluster LEDs.

As stated earlier, these lights do have a certain polarity, which could make installation of these a real chore. To solve that problem, here's what I did:

I took the red door light lens out and removed the LED installed in there. While these lights will not fit the door light socket, the bulb wire terminals will touch the contact points, allowing the SMD light to at least come on. Once it came on, I removed the bulb and put a "+" on the bulb body. The bulb body, when put in contact with the bulb socket in the door faced two directions - the ground and the sky. I put a "+" on the side of the bulb facing the sky. I did this with all 5 of the SMD lights.

Ok, go through the process of removing the binnacle. Set the binnacle on a flat surface with the bulb sockets facing you. Do it in such a manner that the door ajar light is still on your left, even though you're facing the inside of the binnacle with the paper-thin circuit board facing you. So basically you're viewing your binnacle with the lights in their normal orientation, but you're facing the lights from behind instead of from the front like you would normally be doing if the binnacle was installed in your car. I know I've rehashed the same thing a couple times, but that step is vital to making installation nearly hassle-free.

Now, here's the crucial step: install the two dash lights CLOSEST to the door ajar light and the trip meter light to where the "+" you put on the bulbs is FACING you (pointing up to the sky, facing you, however you want to say it). The remaining two dash lights: install with the "+" facing away from you (or facing the surface the binnacle is resting on as you do the installation). Hook up BOTH ribbon connectors as they are both required for testing all the lights. Press the headlight switch and look into the binnacle - you should hopefully be able to tell that they are all on. If you can't tell, uninstall one at a time while the headlight switch is engaged, and hopefully you can see the light get brighter or darker. If you can tell they are all on, put your car back together and enjoy!

I know it's not the most "fool proof" method, but it worked for me, and hopefully it'll be the same for you too. This is how I did it with the lights I ordered, and it worked. If something was not clear, please say something, and I'll try to clarify. Take care everyone!

[jawn101]

Hey guys (:

To Jawn: Honestly, they are kinda "lost in the white light." I'll admit - the indicator lights are totally visible, but they don't "stand out" as much as they used to. The amount of light these things give up is just insane. It really is almost "too much." I know thee pictures don't really show it, but man, I am sure glad I went this route.

To Farrar: You're welcome, sir. I know a decent number of owners have gone the 6 cluster LED route, which I will admit, works well. I just wanted to see what these SMD lights were capable of, and they don't disappoint. Well worth it - especially being about the same price as the 6 cluster LEDs.

As stated earlier, these lights do have a certain polarity, which could make installation of these a real chore. To solve that problem, here's what I did:

I took the red door light lens out and removed the LED installed in there. While these lights will not fit the door light socket, the bulb wire terminals will touch the contact points, allowing the SMD light to at least come on. Once it came on, I removed the bulb and put a "+" on the bulb body. The bulb body, when put in contact with the bulb socket in the door faced two directions - the ground and the sky. I put a "+" on the side of the bulb facing the sky. I did this with all 5 of the SMD lights.

Ok, go through the process of removing the binnacle. Set the binnacle on a flat surface with the bulb sockets facing you. Do it in such a manner that the door ajar light is still on your left, even though you're facing the inside of the binnacle with the paper-thin circuit board facing you. So basically you're viewing your binnacle with the lights in their normal orientation, but you're facing the lights from behind instead of from the front like you would normally be doing if the binnacle was installed in your car. I know I've rehashed the same thing a couple times, but that step is vital to making installation nearly hassle-free.

Now, here's the crucial step: install the two dash lights CLOSEST to the door ajar light and the trip meter light to where the "+" you put on the bulbs is FACING you (pointing up to the sky, facing you, however you want to say it). The remaining two dash lights: install with the "+" facing away from you (or facing the surface the binnacle is resting on as you do the installation). Hook up BOTH ribbon connectors as they are both required for testing all the lights. Press the headlight switch and look into the binnacle - you should hopefully be able to tell that they are all on. If you can't tell, uninstall one at a time while the headlight switch is engaged, and hopefully you can see the light get brighter or darker. If you can tell they are all on, put your car back together and enjoy!

I know it's not the most "fool proof" method, but it worked for me, and hopefully it'll be the same for you too. This is how I did it with the lights I ordered, and it worked. If something was not clear, please say something, and I'll try to clarify. Take care everyone!

This is a *great* writeup but I think we could use some pics of what you mean by your orientation of the binnacle. Do you mean it's sitting on it's top (the part that, when installed, would be visible from outside through the windshield) with the circuit board facing you? This would mean the gauges are upside down if viewed from behind, right?

[DeLorean03]

This is a *great* writeup but I think we could use some pics of what you mean by your orientation of the binnacle. Do you mean it's sitting on it's top (the part that, when installed, would be visible from outside through the windshield) with the circuit board facing you? This would mean the gauges are upside down if viewed from behind, right?

That is exactly correct. Take the binnacle out of the car. Set it down on a flat surface to where the gauges are facing the surface the entire binnacle is resting on - so the gauges are on a flat surface and the paper circuit-board and bulb socket knobs are facing you.. Then rotate the whole thing clockwise or counter clockwise 180 degrees - the gauges should still be facing the flat surface that the binnacle is resting on and now everything should be upside down, and the door ajar light should now be on the left (lights are in their "same place" just everything is upside down).

I really do wish I had pictures but I was experimenting as I went, and I'm not taking al that junk apart again =p. Unless I have to .... :'(

[jawn101]

That is exactly correct. Take the binnacle out of the car. Set it down on a flat surface to where the gauges are facing the surface the entire binnacle is resting on. Then flip it upside down - the gauges will be upside down, and the door ajar light should be on the left (lights are in their "same place" just everything is upside down).

I really do wish I had pictures but I was experimenting as I went, and I'm not taking al that junk apart again =p. Unless I have to .... :'(

Got it. I may try this in the not too distant future, so I'll take pictures and if I'm the first to do so, will post them here. I just ordered a whole set of LEDs, to the tune of:

3x WLED-G-120 (binnacle: turn signals and headlamp indicator)
1x WLED-B-120 (binnacle: brights indicator)
5x WLED-R-120 (binnacle: door ajar, seatbelt, oil pressure, lambda, brake indicators)
1x WLED-A-120 (binnacle: fuel indicator)
5x WLED-W-120 (binnacle: backlighting)
6x BA7S-W (HVAC panel - got a few extra just in case)
1x 74-B (headlamp switch)
1x 74-R (hazard switch)
1x 74-G (cigar lighter)
4x BA9SF-W-12V (exterior parking lamps)

My thinking is I'll try these WLED-W-120's in the dash lighting and if they suck, it was only 7 bucks and I'll get these flashy SMD bulbs you got. My personal concern is that I don't want the dash to be mega-bright as I have bad night vision as it is, and without the ability to dim it I might get myself into trouble :)

[BigBenb84]

Need a pic? Looks like my odometer light was not in when I took this. All the green ones are the for gauge illumination.

3118

[jawn101]

Need a pic? Looks like my odometer light was not in when I took this. All the green ones are the for gauge illumination.

3118

Awesome, thanks! Now we just need one with polarity markings... :)

[sdg3205]

J,

Are these too bright at night? Say if you're out in the country in the pitch black...

My only concern is not being able to dim them if I need to, otherwise I'd be all over it, like a.... well... you know!

[DeLorean03]

J,

Are these too bright at night? Say if you're out in the country in the pitch black...

My only concern is not being able to dim them if I need to, otherwise I'd be all over it, like a.... well... you know!

This is subjective. I'll admit, they are pretty darn bright. I'm considering making a video for this soon - maybe the video would get the light better than the camera. I'd say for city driving they are great. I would say - for out in the middle of nowhere driving - they would be a distraction. I love them so much I just don't care, but if the light might be a distraction or "too bright" - I'd consider the wedge bulbs that have been mentioned by Jawn.

Ben's picture is great. Just flip it 180 degrees, as in his picture all the "indicator" lamps are on the left - the door ajar needs to be on the left if you're using the writeup I posted.

[DeLorean03]

As promised:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI8cPNs3Usw

Even the video doesn't really get the full extent of the light given off by the LEDs. Hope it gives an idea of how it looks though!

[BigBenb84]

I have the older LEDs, and I don't like how they light up my knees at night. They also slightly flicker at low idle. Not being able to dim them sucks.

[jawn101]

Hey Jer and maybe Dave (fingers crossed) -

I started my LED install this afternoon and ran into a problem. I figured I'd start easy and do the HVAC panel, headlight/hazard switches and the lighter ring. The HVAC bubls worked and look great. Then I moved on to the headlamp switch (bulb was working) and the hazard (bulb was burned out). I put in the LEDs and turned the headlights on, but neither lit. So I flipped them. Still nothing. Then I noticed that the backlight bulbs in the binnacle weren't lighting either. I know they were before I started, because I took a 'before' picture.

I removed all the LEDs from the HVAC panel and put back all the original incandescent bulbs. So what I'm seeing now is that there's no illumination in either switch, the lighter ring, or the dash backlighting. But, the headlights work fine, as do the green/blue indicators in the dashboard. Turn signals, dash warning lamps are all fine as well. I checked the connections to the rheostat and they're fine. I checked the fuses for dash services and the lighter/clock and they are fine. I

What's going on? Everything in the binnacle is still incandescent, I didn't even touch that area of the car. All I did was pull off the HVAC panel and put in those 7 LEDs.

[Ozzie]

Yeah, this happens with the Type 85 (aka: "wedge") LEDS, there's a little trick involved to get them to work in our car's sockets.

Check the new LEDs, do they have the wire leads on both sides? If so, notice how each lead starts on one side of the LED, and wraps to the other side. If you leave them like that, the tiny little contacts on the Type 85 sockets used in this application, will then electrically contact both sides, and thus they will not light up. The incandescent bulb that you took out doesn't care about polarity so a wrap around lead was previously not an issue with the old bulb.

The solution is that you want to have the top and bottom contacts of the socket (they are very small), only contact the separate sides of the LEDs. Check out this picture of the socket (and of my fingerprints) on the Hazard Switch.
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=3219&d=1312516101
Notice that the top contacts are separate from the bottom contacts - so if you have an LED w/ wrap around leads and plug it here, you're actually both feeding them 12V and Ground on both sides. Not going to work that way.

The simple fix is to unwrap each of the LED's wires, and clip them so they do not wrap around. Once you do that, they'll match the socket's polarity requirement, but only in one direction (try one first, if not spin it).

You'll need to this for both light and hazard switch lights, and the cig lighter light.

[jawn101]

Yeah, this happens with the Type 85 (aka: "wedge") LEDS, there's a little trick involved to get them to work in our car's sockets.

Check the new LEDs, do they have the wire leads on both sides? If so, notice how each lead starts on one side of the LED, and wraps to the other side. If you leave them like that, the tiny little contacts on the Type 85 sockets used in this application, will then electrically contact both sides, and thus they will not light up. The incandescent bulb that you took out doesn't care about polarity so a wrap around lead was previously not an issue with the old bulb.

The solution is that you want to have the top and bottom contacts of the socket (they are very small), only contact the separate sides of the LEDs. Check out this picture of the socket (and of my fingerprints) on the Hazard Switch.
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=3219&d=1312516101
Notice that the top contacts are separate from the bottom contacts - so if you have an LED w/ wrap around leads and plug it here, you're actually both feeding them 12V and Ground on both sides. Not going to work that way.

The simple fix is to unwrap each of the LED's wires, and clip them so they do not wrap around. Once you do that, they'll match the socket's polarity requirement, but only in one direction (try one first, if not spin it).

You'll need to this for both light and hazard switch lights, and the cig lighter light.

I noticed that and did clip one of the LEDs before I installed it - specifically the headlamp switch bulb. But, that doesn't explain why the dash lights went out or why things are still messed up even though I've put things back to incandescent. Also, even the LED whose leads I clipped didn't work in either orientation.

It does seem like everything is related to the headlamp switch - since the dash illumination only comes on when the headlights are on, as do the lamps in the headlight and hazard switches and cigar lighter. Could having the LED leads shorted or polarity reversed (even for just a moment) have damaged the switch somehow?

[Ozzie]

Check Fuse #6.

I kept blowing it and found that my Hazard Switch was loose internally and was creating a short. The faulty switch would also take out fuse #4 as well.

A reverse polarity insertion has yet to take out either a fuse or an LED for me.

[jawn101]

Check Fuse #6.

I kept blowing it and found that my Hazard Switch was loose internally and was creating a short. The faulty switch would also take out fuse #4 as well.

A reverse polarity insertion has yet to take out either a fuse or an LED for me.

I checked 5 and 6 (dash instruments and hazard/horn) - no issues. I don't think I checked 4 or 8 - and looking at some more schematics it looks like 8 could definitely be to blame. Will report back, thanks!


I checked 5 and 6 (dash instruments and hazard/horn) - no issues. I don't think I checked 4 or 8 - and looking at some more schematics it looks like 8 could definitely be to blame. Will report back, thanks!

Yep, fuse #8 was it. Not quite sure how I blew it, but with all the lamp swapping I can totally see how it could happen. Will keep an eye on the headlamp switch to see if it might be shorting internally, it's an original switch and I know they have a tendency to melt. Thanks!

[WelmoedJ]

Yep, fuse #8 was it. Not quite sure how I blew it, but with all the lamp swapping I can totally see how it could happen. Will keep an eye on the headlamp switch to see if it might be shorting internally, it's an original switch and I know they have a tendency to melt. Thanks!

I guess you blew the fuse because you didn't alter the connection wires of the wedge foot of the hazard and main light signal LEDs.
For some odd reason the socket's electrical connetion are different from the "ordinary" wedge sockets.
Each of the wires is folded around the foot.
You'll have to cut each wire just a bit before the fold (at the right side of course so the remaining part still connects to the LED unit).
Once that's done, insert the LED's wedge carefully into the switches socket, preventing the wires to bend.
When fully seated, your signal should light with pressing the switch and not blow a fuse.

[jawn101]

I guess you blew the fuse because you didn't alter the connection wires of the wedge foot of the hazard and main light signal LEDs.
For some odd reason the socket's electrical connetion are different from the "ordinary" wedge sockets.
Each of the wires is folded around the foot.
You'll have to cut each wire just a bit before the fold (at the right side of course so the remaining part still connects to the LED unit).
Once that's done, insert the LED's wedge carefully into the switches socket, preventing the wires to bend.
When fully seated, your signal should light with pressing the switch and not blow a fuse.

Yep, cleaning up those leads and replacing #8 got things working great. Looks fantastic, but I wasn't happy with how the white LEDs looked behind the red panels for the fan fail, rear defrost and door lock indicators - much too bright and pink. I just ordered some red ones (and an amber, just to try it out for the defogger) instead.

[aludden]

How much room is there for the bulbs? I wanted to put in blue leds, but yours don't come in blue from that source. I found these (regular leds) but the heads seem kind of big. Is there room there? Do they need to go through a hole that might be too small?
6508

I know I will find out when I take the binnacle out, but want to order the bulbs first :-)
Thanks!
Alex

[jawn101]

How much room is there for the bulbs? I wanted to put in blue leds, but yours don't come in blue from that source. I found these (regular leds) but the heads seem kind of big. Is there room there? Do they need to go through a hole that might be too small?
6508

I know I will find out when I take the binnacle out, but want to order the bulbs first :-)
Thanks!
Alex

I don't know where specifically you want to put those, but I can almost guarantee that they won't fit... most of the bulb locations are rounded tubes that just won't accept a bulb like that, period. Not without modifications to the panels anyway.

I do think that SuperbrightLEDs had blue versions of just about every bulb you'd need for the dash - maybe not SMD, but definitely traditional LEDs.....

[aludden]

I don't know where specifically you want to put those, but I can almost guarantee that they won't fit... most of the bulb locations are rounded tubes that just won't accept a bulb like that, period. Not without modifications to the panels anyway.

I do think that SuperbrightLEDs had blue versions of just about every bulb you'd need for the dash - maybe not SMD, but definitely traditional LEDs.....

Thanks for the info. I want them for the dash illumination. I just ordered most of the other leds in the car from Superbright, but I wanted blue for the dash and the doors, and these are 1/3 the price of the ones from Superbright (and I need 11 of them). I will keep looking.

In the original post of this thread, it is mentioned that those bulbs won't fit the doors, yet on the lists I have seen from Superbright, the doors and dash have the same WLEDs. Are they really different? Would these bigger ones fit on the doors?

Thanks!
Alex

[john 05141]

I had blue Led's in my binacle 2 years ago, but I went back to white. It was just... too blue, it felt uncomfortable in my eyes.
But by putting them back to white, I forgot the day-counter. But afterwards, I kind of like it that way. I have blue lights in my doors, and in my console, it all blends in very nicely now. Especially with my new blue digital clock.

John

[aludden]

I had blue Led's in my binacle 2 years ago, but I went back to white. It was just... too blue, it felt uncomfortable in my eyes.
But by putting them back to white, I forgot the day-counter. But afterwards, I kind of like it that way. I have blue lights in my doors, and in my console, it all blends in very nicely now. Especially with my new blue digital clock.

John

Cool! Thank you for the pictures! I see that you put blue LEDs on the ac panel. I thought they wouldn't work because of the red bands on the dial, but I actually like it in your pictures. The white ones I ordered are on their way... :-(

One thing I am concerned on the dash is that generally I don't like the dash to be too bright, and the LEDs are not dimmable as I understand? (although I read one post where someone said they were) Which ones did you get? Superbright?

[WelmoedJ]

For instrument light you need 4x WLED-CW6 (cool white).
They have 6 LEDs and are not too bright for the dash.
Supplier SuperBrightLeds.com, USD 3.74 ea.

[thirdmanj]

I had blue Led's in my binacle 2 years ago, but I went back to white. It was just... too blue, it felt uncomfortable in my eyes.
But by putting them back to white, I forgot the day-counter. But afterwards, I kind of like it that way. I have blue lights in my doors, and in my console, it all blends in very nicely now. Especially with my new blue digital clock.

John

There is that kickass logo on the wheel again. I read your response to my query about but I didn't see it say what exactly it is made of and how you installed it. Thanks!

[1batt4u]

I had blue Led's in my binacle 2 years ago, but I went back to white. It was just... too blue, it felt uncomfortable in my eyes.
But by putting them back to white, I forgot the day-counter. But afterwards, I kind of like it that way. I have blue lights in my doors, and in my console, it all blends in very nicely now. Especially with my new blue digital clock.

John

When you say blue leds, you mean actual blue, or the cool white, that kinda look blue??

[john 05141]

Logo on the wheel?
The one in the picture is my old one. (SS) just glued on the wheel.
I have a new one in leather.... way better. I got it via Welmoed!
When the fresh leather center pad was installed, the steering wheel looked too "old" so I got it recovered, not it is top notch. The first picture shows the new pad before the wheel was recovered.



John

[thirdmanj]

Logo on the wheel?
The one in the picture is my old one. (SS) just glued on the wheel.
I have a new one in leather.... way better. I got it via Welmoed!
When the fresh leather center pad was installed, the steering wheel looked too "old" so I got it recovered, not it is top notch. The first picture shows the new pad before the wheel was recovered.



John

Well, well, that does look good! Great looking job!

[aludden]

When you say blue leds, you mean actual blue, or the cool white, that kinda look blue??

I'm looking to put actual blue, not cool white.

[aludden]

5x WLED-W-120 (binnacle: backlighting)

My thinking is I'll try these WLED-W-120's in the dash lighting and if they suck, it was only 7 bucks and I'll get these flashy SMD bulbs you got. My personal concern is that I don't want the dash to be mega-bright as I have bad night vision as it is, and without the ability to dim it I might get myself into trouble :)

Hello jawn,
How did the WLED-W-120 work out for you on the backlighting? These are the single-LED, right? I also don't want a super-bright dash (but I do want to try blue, so I would get the WLED-B-120). Was the brightness "just right" for you?

[jawn101]

Hello jawn,
How did the WLED-W-120 work out for you on the backlighting? These are the single-LED, right? I also don't want a super-bright dash (but I do want to try blue, so I would get the WLED-B-120). Was the brightness "just right" for you?

Yes, very pleased overall. Brighter and cleaner/clearer than stock but not so bright as to cause me vision problems at night. I can see the gauges clearly at a glance but ignore them when I want to be watching the road. Exactly what I wanted :)

[aludden]

Yes, very pleased overall. Brighter and cleaner/clearer than stock but not so bright as to cause me vision problems at night. I can see the gauges clearly at a glance but ignore them when I want to be watching the road. Exactly what I wanted :)

Cool! I'll give these a try. I usually have my dash dimmed.
This whole project is taking longer than I thought! I am finding some of my external light sockets are corroded, so I need to replace them as well as the lights.

[john 05141]

Darn, I forgot to answer the cool white question.

My first leds were actually blue. On the pictures you see cool-white LED's.
Word of advice dough, put the LED's in, connect the binacle, turn lights on in the dark and see if you like it. I had to take the whole binacle out to replace them again. I do not know about you, but I do not like to lay on my back in the footawells to remove the binacle.

So give yourself the option to change it again. I like the blue light tones in a Delorean, but too blue... is just too much. (my opinion)


John

[jawn101]

Darn, I forgot to answer the cool white question.

My first leds were actually blue. On the pictures you see cool-white LED's.
Word of advice dough, put the LED's in, connect the binacle, turn lights on in the dark and see if you like it. I had to take the whole binacle out to replace them again. I do not know about you, but I do not like to lay on my back in the footawells to remove the binacle.

So give yourself the option to change it again. I like the blue light tones in a Delorean, but too blue... is just too much. (my opinion)


John

+1 on putting the lamps in and testing carefully before reinstalling the binnacle. The LED bulbs for this application (at least the ones I got from SuperBrightLEDs) are polarized and it is completely not indicated by the binnacle which direction you should install them, since the incandescent bulbs are not polarized. You may get lucky or you may need to reverse a few of them. Test all your warning lights as well, you want to be sure you can rely on them. Don't replace the battery lamp with LED, keep it with the correct incandescent bulb.

[john 05141]

+1 again.
I only replaced the lights. All warning lights are still original in my case.

John

[1batt4u]

Anyone have updated pictures of their cluster with LEDs?