'91 NA gauge cluster LED upgrade

[Pyr0monk3y]

Me and my dad restored an old camaro and retro fitted the guage cluster with leds. We had four left over and they happened to be white wedge 194's. Not unlike these (http://www.ebay.com/itm/10x-T10-Car-Bulbs-194-168-W5W-White-LED-Light-Lamp-Wedge-Inverted-Side-/131001734923?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1e804fd70b).

I pulled the instrument hood off for the second time. The first time removed it, about a week ago, it came off cleanly. This time two of the clips snapped. Oh well.

Anyway I just swapped the 4 bulbs with LED's and put everything back together. Took 10 minutes.

Bad Pics (sorry):


Before

http://i.imgur.com/mDDGJOc.jpg

After

http://i.imgur.com/EQIZsUZ.jpg

[tsingson]

Cool. How do they look at night?

[Pyr0monk3y]

I don't know yet, I did them this morning. In my dimly lit garage I can already tell they are much brighter. The biggest difference though is the shade of light. The faces are green now instead of a pale greenish yellow and the needles are white instead of yellow.

[tsingson]

Cool. I have been interested in doing this for a while. I am just scared to take the gauge hood off and break stuff.

[Pyr0monk3y]

Yea, I regret not doing this at the same time I did my speedometer cable. I just didn't have time.

[Pyr0monk3y]

Slightly better picture, the top of the speedometer is a little dim, I might try a different type of LED in that socket.

http://i.imgur.com/1v78k5L.jpg

[tsingson]

Cool. When I get some balls, I will have to try this.

[twiztog43]

9896You need to get the 120 deg. Wide angle 194 bulbs to get an even light output.

[psulja]

so light. much bright. wow

[Pyr0monk3y]

9896You need to get the 120 deg. Wide angle 194 bulbs to get an even light output.

Link? That looks amazing!

[Phatmiata]

looks great!! that 120 deg does look like a more even light output! nice work guys!!

[revlimiter]

http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/miniature-wedge-base/194-led-bulb-5-smd-led-wide-angle-wedge-base/206/

These are the bulbs you need. Very bright, but very even. I recommend them to all my customers who want LEDs.

[Driftdevil]

I don't remember, how many of those do we need? Was it 3 or 4?

[revlimiter]

Four. And you don't need to spend an extra buck on the base (which is somewhere on the superbright site), you can just pull the OEM bulbs out of the base and insert these.

BE WARNED! LED bulbs have a polarity. That means they can be inserted "backwards" and not light up. Super easy to fix, just spin the bulb around and put it in the board 180* different. But it's annoying if you button everything up, try the lights, and find 1-4 of them not working.

[johnfett]

wow this is really just what I need to brighten up my interior!!

Thanks!!

[maharaj]

Now that it is getting 'cold' in NorCal this gives me something to do in the garage! Thanks for the info Adam! :bow:

[Pyr0monk3y]

Four. And you don't need to spend an extra buck on the base (which is somewhere on the superbright site), you can just pull the OEM bulbs out of the base and insert these.

BE WARNED! LED bulbs have a polarity. That means they can be inserted "backwards" and not light up. Super easy to fix, just spin the bulb around and put it in the board 180* different. But it's annoying if you button everything up, try the lights, and find 1-4 of them not working.

I meant to mention that in my first post. I installed them and plugged the cluster in, took note of which ones were not lighting up, flipped them, and all is well.

[twiztog43]

I actually found them on ebay. But it's a hit or miss with quality, but for the price, I couldn't argue.

[Rogue]

I recommend them to all my customers who want LEDs.

Adam, are they dimmable?

[twiztog43]

They should be. Every led I have tried in the miata and mr2 clusters were dimmable

[revlimiter]

Yup. Brightness is adjustable like a regular bulb. At least the ones I've received from superbright in the past have this feature.

That's one thing - the brightness. At full dim, the LEDs are about as bright as the original bulbs at full bright. They're really really bright.

[Martin]

I don't even have my OEM bulbs at full brightness. I don't like being blinded by my dash lights. Of course, YMMV :shrug:

[Chops]

I've been thinking of switching over to LED as well since all of my exterior lighting is LED. If I do, I'll be going with the green ones for the gauges. Also be replacing the smaller ones for the indicator lights.

[Pyr0monk3y]

I bought some higher quality LEDs. These (http://www.ebay.com/itm/251370483066?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649)

They are much better.

Old LED:

http://i.imgur.com/zhKLb7g.jpg

New LED:

http://i.imgur.com/2s6N2cM.jpg

[tsingson]

Andy, where did you get the leds?

[Pyr0monk3y]

Here (http://www.ebay.com/itm/251370483066?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649)

[BlitzWing]

I always worry when I see cheap LED's as I wonder what the failure rate is.