Led replacements for dash cluster

[Nitis]

Anyone done this recently have links or pictures? Still scrolling through the search but lots of old posts

I am thinking of using yellow or amber lights and would love to see a picture of one all lit up.

Also where the best place to score them is

[davepl]

I replaced all my 194s with LEDs. Had a 'daylight' color which was quite bluish. Did not like it and returned back to factory lamps.

The tach always winds up being brighter than the outside ones, though I tried 168s to bring that down a little. Or vice versa, I don't recall.

I think green might be cool to accentuate the color of the gauges.

I have amber side-marker 194s that are monstrously bright, so you could get ones intended for that if you wanted really bright amber! Superbrightleds.com is where I got most of my stuff.

[TBONE1964]

The color of the tin work inside the cluster will also have an effect on how the LED's will look.

If you just use a plain clear (white) LED it will give the almost NEON look to the cluster. One thing to consider is the SMD's on the LED. They have different SMD numbers which represent how many diodes are on one bulb. A 5 SMD has 5 as opposed to a 9 SMD which has 9. The 9 SMD's will be more intense than the 5's.

Another thing to consider is these LED bulbs do not dim with the dimmer switch. They need 12V and have directional current flow which means they only work one way.

Do a Google search "194 LED bulb" and you will get a ton of links for vendors.

FYI, it is the 168 bulb that is a little brighter than the 194's.

Hope this helps.

Take care,
Tom

[TBONE1964]

Here are a couple of photos with the 5 SMD LED bulbs in a otherwise stock cluster.

Sorry the photos are blurry. All I have currently.

Take care,
Tom

[70STOVEBOLT]

Tom, what LEDs do you use in your clusters? I have not installed mine yet

[TBONE1964]

Originally Posted by 70STOVEBOLT

Tom, what LEDs do you use in your clusters? I have not installed mine yet

Hi Mark,

Here is a link to some I have used in the past. They are 5 SMD and I think they look OK. The 9 SMD's are too intense in my opinion. You have to remember that these will not dim down so if they are too bright, that is what you have.

Amazon.com: Jtech 10x 194 168 2825 T10 5-SMD...
Did I not install these in your cluster for you? Correct me if I am wrong, it has been a while and a lot of cluster builds since then. I only use them in the illumination locations as I think having them in the directional and bright light indicators is really over kill . They don't really look good in those locations either.

Hope all is well with you Mark,
Take care,
Tom

[Nitis]

Tbone are those just white? I like maybe I'm trying too hard with the yellow

[TBONE1964]

Originally Posted by Nitis

Tbone are those just white? I like maybe I'm trying too hard with the yellow

Yes, just white 5 smd bulbs in a stock cluster.

[davepl]

I love the Before and After picture on the Amazon ad. Who knew the OEMs used brown light bulbs?

[TBONE1964]

Originally Posted by davepl

I love the Before and After picture on the Amazon ad. Who knew the OEMs used brown light bulbs?

Yes the examples given are a little on the dramatic side.

[70STOVEBOLT]

Tom, yes you installed the LEDs in my cluster but I have not installed it yet. I will let you know how it looks when I do.

[TBONE1964]

Originally Posted by 70STOVEBOLT

Tom, yes you installed the LEDs in my cluster but I have not installed it yet. I will let you know how it looks when I do.

OK, I gotcha now Mark. Looking forward to seeing it done.

Take care,
Tom

[slowcpe]

I went with green LEDs. If I had it to do over again I might have went clear. They are definitely green. I like them though.

[Nitis]

Slow. Are those the 5 smd? Nice look

[slowcpe]

Yes. I got them from super bright LEDs. I've got the same bulbs in my boat but blue. Love them. They are bright and will not dim.

[88Ironduke]

Anyone installed these LEDs into a dash with an idiot light for the alternator? IE no amp/voltage gauge? If so what your solution? I don't think the LED provides the proper resistance in the circuit so will an alternator charge properly with one of these lights installed?

Thanks in advance.
88Ironduke

[rdgt67]

Are the green ones the 5smd's? I really like the look.

[slowcpe]

Yes. Here was my order:

4 WLED-GHP5 Green (dash)
1 BA9S-G-90-12V Green 90 Degree 12V (heater)
2 WLED-A-90 Amber 90 Degree (warning)
2 WLED-G-90 Green 90 Degree (turn signal)
1 WLED-R-90 Red 90 Degree (brights)

[Nitis]

Ok so I had my dash apart yesterday now I have no dash lights. Haven't got the led yet any ideas what I may have overlooked? I dis assembled the whole bezel to clean the lenses and paint the outer bezel

[TBONE1964]

Did you take the circuit board off of the rear tin? There are (2) small screws that ground the circuit board to the tin. If they are not there, no ground to the circuit board which means no lights.

Try to wiggle the connector in the circuit board a little. Try a separate known good ground to the rear tin. The cluster should get its ground from the connector at #7 location.

Have you checked the "illumination" fuse?

Number 8 location on the connector is for dash lights. It will be a grey 20 gauge wire. make sure it has 12V with the headlight switch pulled out.

[Nitis]

Thx Tbone I'll check that today I did take the tin apart so maybe just not hitting right

[TBONE1964]

Originally Posted by Nitis

Thx Tbone I'll check that today I did take the tin apart so maybe just not hitting right

Keep us posted. Also paint on ground locations can cause your problem.

[Nitis]

Yeah all I painted was the plastic bezel so that should be fine

[davepl]

I'm not a hardware guy but I would imagine you could run a resistor in line with LED in order to provide a "dummy" load.

But for the alternator light, doesn't it work if you just use a regular bulb for that itself?

[Nitis]

Duh should have checked fuses