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+--- Thread: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED (/showthread.php?tid=1293)
LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - capflya - 04-21-2010
I guess this is the best section for this thread... if not please move it...
I'm getting my 300D ready to go. Finally got the engine swapped in so now I have a "good" engine. Working on the misc. little things here and there and came up with this. The 240D dash lights are so damn weak I decided I would test something out on my 300D since I needed to pull the cluster anyways. I may not be the first to do this but it wasn't that difficult and I figured it may help someone else "brighten" up their dash...
I went down to "the shack" and picked up a few things.... here is my parts list by link to "the shack"
White "flat" LED's (I used two, one in place of each light bulb)
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3060973
Multipurpose PCB (Again only one is needed, just cut it in two pieces)
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102845
330ohm 1/4w Resistor (5 in a pack so only one pack)
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062341&filterName=Type&filterValue=1%26amp;%23047;4-watt+resistors
And then you will need some misc small wire.
What I did was solder the LED on the end of the "slice" of PC board and then hook up the needed + and - wires. Once you have the LED's wired and and test them to make sure you have it all wired properly you're ready to install.
What I did was pull out the stock "fiber optic" pieces (at least thats what I call them) and replace them with the PCB with the LED's wired. First pic is the fiber optic piece and the second is the LED wired and ready to go. This is the "prototype" so please excuse the sloppy soldering! I changed the config a couple times so there's extra solder on the PCB that doesn't need to be there...
![[Image: IMG00005-20100421-0221.jpg]](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_zJ81Z2mdzc4/S87gZCK6IYI/AAAAAAAAABo/K11r6gtkSP8/s640/IMG00005-20100421-0221.jpg)
![[Image: IMG00006-20100421-0222.jpg]](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_zJ81Z2mdzc4/S87gYkAwUfI/AAAAAAAAABk/hzc6jMlPSrg/s640/IMG00006-20100421-0222.jpg)
Once I had the LED's wired to the PCB I needed to wire them in some how. What I did was take the bulb holder out and pull the metal pieces that provide the contacts out of the brown holder. Then I soldered the wires from the PC board to the metal pieces inside the bulb holder and put the bulb holders back together. Since the LED will only provide light when the + and - are wired correctly, what I did was wire it up and plug it in and then figure out which side was + and -. All you have to do is spin the brown bulb holder 180 degrees if you don't get light and that should do it. I marked the back of the gauge cluster so if I ever need to take them out or anything I know which side is which so there's no guessing.
Now you just have to put it back together. Much better lights! I don't know how it looks in the car yet but I ran a 9v battery to it to see how bright it was in a "dark" room. Here's what it looks like when you're finished... sorry for the pretty crappy blackberry pictures...
Here's the lights ready to go into the cluster replacing the old plastic "fiber optic" piece...
![[Image: IMG00004-20100421-0220.jpg]](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_zJ81Z2mdzc4/S87gZauUxOI/AAAAAAAAABs/QG-ofs5RuT0/s640/IMG00004-20100421-0220.jpg)
From the top.... can't really tell anything is different... except on the left side where I broke the small plastic tab... no biggie though because you wont see it
![[Image: IMG00007-20100421-0222.jpg]](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_zJ81Z2mdzc4/S87gYbYl9jI/AAAAAAAAABg/hNCce0tmPlA/s640/IMG00007-20100421-0222.jpg)
Here's one from the bottom showing the LED peaking through...
![[Image: IMG00008-20100421-0223.jpg]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_zJ81Z2mdzc4/S87gYHnkqLI/AAAAAAAAABc/Fzu_UgOmeyM/s640/IMG00008-20100421-0223.jpg)
And the final pic... Lights on! They are much brighter than they seem in the picture... I wish I had a before and after but I wasn't thinking about it and I don't feel like taking it apart
![[Image: IMG00003-20100421-0219.jpg]](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_zJ81Z2mdzc4/S87hqU841DI/AAAAAAAAACE/SvjYSMMo1j8/s640/IMG00003-20100421-0219.jpg)
I need to work on a way to dim the lights... the stock rheostat wont dim the LED's because they work different than traditional light bulbs. That will be the next step once the car is running... I don't think they are too bright but they are WAY brighter than the stock lights.
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - JB3 - 04-26-2010
this is great, I have always wanted to do this. I have read where people repainted the sockets with white paint for some improvement.
Is it possible to wire in those LED's clusters that can switch from white to red to green?
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - Rudolf_Diesel - 04-26-2010
(04-26-2010, 03:32 PM)dropnosky this is great, I have always wanted to do this. I have read where people repainted the sockets with white paint for some improvement.
Is it possible to wire in those LED's clusters that can switch from white to red to green?
Red would be great, keeps your night vision.
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - capflya - 04-26-2010
I'm sure you could wire them that way... i would do it with a switch so you could change it to whatever color you want. But if you're using them at night and want red for night vision why not just put red LED's in instead? these aren't that bright at night and you could always get a different resistor to bring the brightness down a notch...
I was mistaken... the rheostat does dim the LED's but it's not very much. You can tell it dims them but it's not a huge difference in brightness...
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - stan - 08-19-2010
(04-26-2010, 10:47 PM)capflya I'm sure you could wire them that way... i would do it with a switch so you could change it to whatever color you want. But if you're using them at night and want red for night vision why not just put red LED's in instead? these aren't that bright at night and you could always get a different resistor to bring the brightness down a notch...
I was mistaken... the rheostat does dim the LED's but it's not very much. You can tell it dims them but it's not a huge difference in brightness...
to effectively control brightness on these you need to make a pulse width modulation circuit. i'm planning on doing this mod (albeit in my own way) for the gauge cluster, glovebox, and dome lights. if anyone needs help on the dimmer circuits i'd be happy to write something up.
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - capflya - 01-22-2012
Bumping this thread
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - Serial Crusher - 01-22-2012
Awesome. I'm going to have to do something like this. How bright are they without the resistors?
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - capflya - 01-23-2012
See 1st post last pic lol...
But seriously... they're friggin bright. I get a little glare on the windshield at night because they're so bright. It doesn't bother me enough to mess with them, and I've gotten used to them. But I have to say, it's NICE to be able to see my gauges without having to take focus off the road to figure out what I'm looking at.
I'll see if I can get a picture of them now that they're actually in the car (have been for over a year just never updated the thread).
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - Serial Crusher - 01-23-2012
Maybe I'll try it with 4 or 6 smaller LEDs. It might be a more diffuse lighting. If they are too intense maybe you could try softening the light by lightly sanding the lens. The size and shape of the actual diode you used looks similar to the ones I've seen in smaller flashlights
I really like the idea of this mod not only because it's cheap but because it maintains the stock look. I had thought about replacing the bulbs with LEDs in their normal location, but it doesn't seem like that would yield nearly as much improvement.
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - sassparilla_kid - 01-23-2012
I had an extreme increase in dash light by simply changing the bulbs and fixing the dimmer pot haha
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - Serial Crusher - 01-23-2012
I jammed a wire into the rivet on the back of each terminal and heaped a gob of solder on it. Mine was in pretty bad shape though. No interior lights, when I got a look at it the spring was all mangled. Still not the blinding.
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - capflya - 01-24-2012
Yeah... the stock lights supposedly work good when you replace the fiber optic pieces... but that still isn't good enough for me so I had to go LED.
Sorry I still don't have pics... doing suspension work on the car so I spent my day pulling parts and pressing in my new balljoints
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - sassparilla_kid - 01-24-2012
I also had to solder a jumper across the ports on the pot
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - dieselsmoke300d - 08-14-2012
I have to do this... Mine are useless. I was actually thinking about replacing most of the dash/console lights with deep red LEDs or something. Maybe even tricolor. lol
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - Simpler=Better - 08-14-2012
Looks good, I used to run amber LEDs....they were amazing. Kept your nightvision and cast a glow around the cabin....it felt like I was ACTUALLY driving a tank at night.
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - sassparilla_kid - 08-14-2012
(08-14-2012, 08:15 AM)Simpler=Better Looks good, I used to run amber LEDs....they were amazing. Kept your nightvision and cast a glow around the cabin....it felt like I was ACTUALLY driving a tank at night.
That sounds sweeeeet. I might have to try it now haha. Did you have any problems with them turning those clear light "tunnels" or whatever hazy or anything?
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - Simpler=Better - 08-15-2012
I ripped out the old tunnels and put 3-4 leds in place of each. I bought 100, I've still got them leftover I'll mail you a couple.
My one regret is that I forgot to pull the dash (with LEDs in ALL bulbs sockets) and my switch panel that repalced the climate control
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - sassparilla_kid - 08-15-2012
Whoa, thanks man!
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - Simpler=Better - 08-15-2012
Yeah I'm retarded I mailed 6 LEDs to purplecomputer.....PM me your address sasparasila and I'll get you some too
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - sassparilla_kid - 08-20-2012
Got the LEDs in the mail today, I'll see about maybe trying to install them sometime this week, after I figure out how juggle school and working 84 hour weeks hahaa
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - dieselsmoke300d - 10-05-2012
So long story of my short employment at Advance Auto Parts, but I'll tell it later. Anyway one time when I was putting stock away on the sales floor, I came across a new product. It was this little black box (about an inch long, 3/4 inch wide, and 1/4 inch thick). I looked at it and apparently it was a little LED dimmer switch. I think it was like $5. I'm thinking when I get around to installing LEDs all through my interior I can use this. The cool thing about it was that it's low profile. It's got a contact sensitive surface that you tap to change the brightness. So you could embed/hide it somewhere around the dash. I can't find it on the website but I'll try to find out for everybody.
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - bt1211 - 10-11-2012
Pilot makes LED dimmers. I just saw them in Pepboys for $14. They were in the section where the sell the LED bulbs
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - JustPassinThru - 10-11-2012
Well...this is pretty cool...I just now (7:15 PM, a little after dark) got my "replacement" 300D, the silver one, started (for the first time in 14 months). And discovered (this is the first time I've had it running at night) that the PO replaced the stock lighting...with blue. Dunno yet if they're LED's or blue lamps or blue cellophane over the lamps. Sure a lot brighter than the stock lamps on my "deer departed" dark blue 300D:
RE: LED Instrument Panel Lights INSTALLED - capflya - 10-12-2012
(10-11-2012, 09:18 PM)JustPassinThru Well...this is pretty cool...I just now (7:15 PM, a little after dark) got my "replacement" 300D, the silver one, started (for the first time in 14 months). And discovered (this is the first time I've had it running at night) that the PO replaced the stock lighting...with blue. Dunno yet if they're LED's or blue lamps or blue cellophane over the lamps. Sure a lot brighter than the stock lamps on my "deer departed" dark blue 300D:
That looks like they might have modded the cluster similar to the way I did it... Either that or they replace the plastic "fiber optic" piece with a new one that hasn't faded and then put in blue bulbs. Even if they did replace the plastic lenses I doubt it would be that bright. At least you can see the gauges at night though!