Maymyvetteliveforevr

1975 Vette

Last year I opened up the dash and replaced the lights as I found them too dim. I'm the original owner and although the car has been parked for 27 years, I don't remember the dash lights ever being so dim, despite my much older age.

I spent close to two hours doing a search and I'm more confused now since I've read mention on converting to led's and not being able to dim, inconsistence color temperature, converting the wiring and so on. I've read about swapping out the headlight switch would help, but it didn't

Question:

Is there a clear and easy to understand thread, or even site that will clearly state which led bulbs would be the best fit to get a consistent color temperature of around 4000k throughout the interior? If a retrofit is in order, can that be explained also, but I still want to be able to dim the dash lights with the headlight switch?

NewbVetteGuy

I haven't looked into LED lights for our C3s but I've converted every bulb in my house to LED and over multiple generations of LEDs I've learned a lot about them that could apply:

Consistency will only exist within the same brand, same color rating, and same generation -so buy a complete matched set all at one time- do not slowly replace individual bulbs over time if you want them all to have the same color and light output

Some LEDs have the included circuitry to support dimming, some do not; even some that do support dimming can put off horrible humming / buzzing when dimmed

Most have available color ratings

The hotter the light gets under use, the faster it's going to die (don't believe the INSANELY over-inflated life estimate #s- in general the newest generation lights have a good handle on this)

LED lights, IMHO, have more in common with iPhones than they do traditional incandescent lightbulbs - each generation is better in almost every way barring a major engineering flaw (better light output, lower power consumption, lower heat, longer life, more accurate color reproduction, dimming support-without humming---there are many branding agreements and it's not always easy to tell who's actually making the bulb, etc...



Adam

SwampeastMike

If you replace all of the bulbs with the proper incandescent replacements you will probably discover that the lighting is fine. 40 year-old incandescents have nowhere near their original light output.

Even though all the IP bulbs in my '79 were working nighttime illumination was crappy until I replaced the bulbs. After replacement everything is great except the HVAC control panel but such is an engineering flaw.

While I'm using LEDs more and more in home and car I've yet to see LED gauge/background illumination that can approach the nice gentle glow you get from fixtures designed for incandescents.

Maymyvetteliveforevr

Thanks for the reply NewbVetteGuy and SwampeastMike.

I swapped out the dash lights last year and noticed only a slight difference in brightness. It's now probably at 70% but I want it to be 100& brightness.

Cool bean

I'm in the process of converting my 1974 coupe to all leds inside and out. I went to superbrightleds and got the complete set, interior and exterior, except headlights. Here's where I am with my project and what I know so far.

• There are ways to dim leds. I understand that rheostat dimmers change current, where dimming leds require a change in frequency. I am proceeding under the assumption that i wont be able to dim my interior leds and am ok with that.
• Any led lights that are behind lenses need to be the same color as the lense. (Green for turn signals, blue for brights, red for seat belt warning, amber for front marker lights, etc) if white lights are behind colored lenses, they'll wash out the lense.
• Equally important to adding lights is adjusting the color of the reflective surfaces. To review, the green glow on our 40 year old dash & gauges comes from yellow incandescent light bulbs reflecting off painted light blue surfaces.
• I changed out my gauges to autometer gauges. In the process i saw that if i changed all bulbs, my gauges would have been white, the wiper, prnd21, and hvacwould have been 'blue', and the speedo would have been blue. Why? Because the white light reflected of blue surface behind gauges and the painted blue edges of the lenses.
• To make all the back-lit colors consistent, i changed all the reflective surfaces from blue to white. Testors for the lense edges, flat white spray paint for surfaces.
• When i changed the reflective surface of the hvac controls, and the edges of the lense, theback lighting was better, but I agree, its still a flawed 40 year design.

i dont have the dash complete yet, but i do have the gauges, wiper, shift plate completed and can post pictures of what i have so far. Hope this helps. Its one of my favorite upgrades. (Actually, all the upgrades are my favorite.)

Richard454

If you want bright...

I added strip lights inside the gauges to 'brighten' up a bit-


Also used the replacement bulbs from SuperbrightLED as they are consistent UNLIKE eBay- which is a crap shoot on what you'll get.



Yes- freshening up the reflective surfaces do help.




Worked out quite well-

Left has the strips- right doesn't- just a test fit and at the time the surfaces weren't freshened up-

It's a custom Gauge pod- but using the stock housings and OEM gauges-

With a flash pic it sort of dulls the difference.



added lights-





Fresh paint-



ready to SHINE!!!

Lakeside49

You are obviously getting several opinions. Here is mine based on a good deal of research and experience:
1. Replace your dash and instrument bulbs with LEDs. You will be thrilled, trust me. I bought mine on eBay - a total of 10 or so bulbs, I believe.
2. Choose only a "soft white" option - search eBay and make sure it specifically says "soft white". It is far closer to the pleasant, original light tone/color than the default, 'cool white'
3. Give no thought to replacing the warning/indicator lights with LEDs. But, definitely replace them.
4. No, they will only dim about 50% of your original bulbs. But, you will not care - you wouldn't dim the today would you? After you are done you will probably call your wife out to show her the visibility improvement which is nearly equal to a modern car. A 100% improvement, at least and looks natural in the C3 as Zora would have likely intended.
5. The polarity is important - be prepared to turn the bulbs around if they are not turning on in their sockets before you screw things back together. Only takes a second and this is expected.
6. Use the opportunity to wonder your clear bezels while they are out - they shine light through like new again,

Good luck!

Maymyvetteliveforevr

Cool bean

Thank you for the explanation.

So you recommend painting the inside metal surface?
You were unable to dim?
Do you have a link to the web site where you purchased your led's?

Richard454

Thanks Richard. I thought about using led strips and figured you could even use rgb which I didn't really want. I couldn't figure out how to dim via the headlight switch and didn't know how to retrofit the turn signal, high beam etc areas?

Lakeside49

Thanks Lakeside, Do you have a link to the Ebay site to aid in my research?
I'm ok with dimming 50%.
Not sure what you mean by polarity, can the bulb be damaged is the polarity is wrong upon first install?



I'm going to assume that this retrofit is about a 10 hour, (if not more) job, not including painting inside the gauges?

wrwillcox

Last year I replaced all of the interior lights in my 75, including all dash lights with LEDS from superbrightleds. The only exceptions were the turn signal bulbs, because of the flasher issue. All of the bulbs in the gauges were rated as cool white and they throw a nice bright light. I used red LED bulbs for the red headlight and seatbelt warning lights.

All of the LED bulbs dim through the headlight switch and did not require any modifications for that functionality and They dim completely down.

The only problem I ran into was with the under dash courtesy lights. The LED bulbs for this application are larger than the gauge bulbs and have a lip that would not allow the bulb to seat properly in the socket. While you may be reluctant to do this, I trimmed off a small amount of plastic from the socket so that the bulb could seat properly.

Hope this is helpful.

Shark Racer

FWIW, I did the "boring" LED conversion using LEDs that were meant to mirror the original color temperature of the incandescent lights. They work very well. Not sure they're significantly brighter than stock, but I also know they draw less current, generate less heat and will last a LONG time.

Lakeside49

well, it's a satisfying and discrete upgrade, but you probably won't get 10 hrs. of relaxation out of it. Probably half or so of that if you've ever removed those components before. Then again, no rush, especially for a worthy Winter project.

Regarding the polarity, if your '75 uses the conventional plug-in bulbs with the two wires, believe it or not there is actually a polarity. If a bulb doesn't light up you hust pull it back out, turn it 90 degrees and push it back into the receptacle. I bought mine on eBay. Enter "1975 Corvette soft white led lights - x10" on the search bar. The more little led squares that the install on the low profile surfaces of the bulb the brighter and better off you will be, with negligible additional cost. Again, they are not necessary for the hazard/warning/directional lights. So far I've been extremely pleased with the natural but brighter shade of light while driving at night. It's also a good chance to clean and paint as you mentioned. And, they should last a lifetime, run cooler, and use less power.

BLUE1972

I tried LED bulbs on my Chevy truck 1980 I had 2 settings on/ off. Anything but high / bright and the bulbs turned off - yes they were dimmable.

I redid the bulbs on my 71 vette and they were dim, I replaced the headlight switch - they are super bright now.

I just replaced the OE bulbs on my 72 and they are super bright also - they are regular bulbs also.

Just remember you buy the regular bulbs remember that the number is as important as the socket. All bulbs come in different "wattages". I stepped up the wattage in my truck and they are fine.

Antz81

I changed all of the Bulbs in my 81 over to LED. The ones I got won't dim using the headlight switch, but I haven't felt the need to dim them. I painted the internal surfaces red at the same time.
Photos show the difference on the small gauges. I don't have one of Speedo and tach before. The LEDs I used were a 2xSMD Led (2watt)

BlowAMouse

One more option:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/vehi...=607&year=1975

I pick my bulbs for my 73 off this site and actually found them on Ebay cheaper. Real happy with them

Maymyvetteliveforevr

wrwillcox.

Thanks for the reply. Did you use these led bulbs?

https://www.superbrightleds.com/vehi...=607&year=1975

Shark Racer

Thanks for the reply, could you tell me where you bought them so I can do some research?

Lakeside

Thanks for the reply, I already have to remove the dash for other reasons so this is a "while I'm at it". At present I have the stock dash and I can't remember if it's two prong. I've checked Ebay and there are too many options available and since I don't want to keep taking the interior apart I want to make sure I only do it once.

BLUE1972

Thanks for the reply, replacing the headlight switch didn't make much of an improvement hence the request for led's. Unless I get what others have purchased and recommend, there are too many options that I just don't have the time to do the research so I'm hoping I can get recommendations.

Antz81

Thanks for the reply, I've found hundreds of 2xSMD Led (2watt), so it's hard to find the ones that work best.

BlowAMouse

Thanks for the link, that helps narrow down the search. Any chance you still have the Ebay link?

Cool bean

For my tastes, yes, I recommend painting the surfaces. At a minimum, I painted the wiper/gauges/hvac/shifter lense so they'd all be white. I haven't done gauge cluster yet, but I'll bench test the lights first to check out color. If the match is not to my liking, i'll paint the reflective surfaces white (mine are blue)

I went with Cool White 6100k because i wanted brighter lighting. Please note, i don't have everything in the car yet. But I'm going with what I got.

I see someone else said they were able to dim, so I might get lucky and find out these lights actually dim. I bought them this year, so i'm assuming I have the latest tech/batches. (It they don't dim, I'm still happy.) I bought them all at once so they're from the same batch. I also got flahsers that work with leds. When you go to the website, use the auto > project . interior/ dash / instrument tool, and see the complete listing of all the lights for your car.

Here's the link: superbrightleds dot com

In fact, here's my whole order list (everything 'cept headlights.)

PRODUCT(S)
Qty Product/Options Price/Ea
2 CF12ANL-01: 2 Pin Black American Flasher $12.95
2 BA9S-RHP5: Red $4.95
3 BA9S-CWHP5: Cool White $4.95
1 BA9S-BHP5: Blue $4.95
2 WLED-AHP5: Amber $5.95
7 WLED-CWHP5: Cool White $5.95
2 WLED-RHP5: Red $5.95
2 1156-CW18-T: Cool White $9.95
6 1157-R27-T: Red $14.95
4 1157-A27-T: Amber $14.95
PRODUCT(S) ON BACKORDER
Qty Product/Options
2 1156-CW18-T: Cool White

BlowAMouse

no link but here is the invoice: they all worked perfect


PAID : $39.91 with PayPal


View order details
20 X BA9S Cool White 7000K T4W 3886X H6W 363 T11 5050 5-SMD LED Light Lamps US ...
20 X BA9S Cool White 7000K T4W 3886X H6W 363 T11 5050 5-SMD LED Light Lamps US

Estimated delivery: Wed. Feb. 10

Item Id: 251591251320
Transaction Id 1795206564015
2PCS Ultra Blue T11 BA9S LED 5050 5-SMD Car Wedge Side Light Lamp Bulb 12V 64111...
2PCS Ultra Blue T11 BA9S LED 5050 5-SMD Car Wedge Side Light Lamp Bulb 12V 64111

Estimated delivery: Wed. Feb. 10

Item Id: 281295600767
Transaction Id 1484266375018
10 PCS Cool White T10 Wedge 5-SMD 5050 W5W 2825 158 192 168 194 LED Light bulbs ...
10 PCS Cool White T10 Wedge 5-SMD 5050 W5W 2825 158 192 168 194 LED Light bulbs

Estimated delivery: Wed. Feb. 10

Item Id: 281321669172
Transaction Id 1484266374018
10 x LED Red BA9S 5 SMD 5050 LED Light bulbs 5-SMD T4W 1445 Q65B H6W 182 53 57...
10 x LED Red BA9S 5 SMD 5050 LED Light bulbs 5-SMD T4W 1445 Q65B H6W 182 53 57

Estimated delivery: Tue. Feb. 9

Item Id: 360945123567
Transaction Id 738989668023
Seller: philipsxenon -



4 x Green T11 BA9S T4W H6W 1985 363 5-SMD LED Car Wedge Side Light Bulb Lamp...
4 x Green T11 BA9S T4W H6W 1985 363 5-SMD LED Car Wedge Side Light Bulb Lamp

Estimated delivery: Wed. Feb. 10

Item Id: 371457029251
Transaction Id 803607535024
Have a question about this purchase? Click here.

Maymyvetteliveforevr

Cool bean

Thanks for the reply and details, that's helpful, sure would be nice if you had a photo but if' it's not complete I understand. I hope you're able to dim them.

BlowAMouse

Thanks for the reply and information, I checked a couple of the transaction and am able to see what you used. Any chance you have the installed photo? Any problems with the turn signal flasher or diming.

buns

If anyone has installed LED's and find they are not dimmable and are too bright, I found an excellent solution. I have LED strip lights on all the machinery in my shop (I'm getting old and I need lots of light). They were cheap lights and not very bright, so I bought some new ones that are actually too bright.

I found a remote control Pulse Width Modulator (PWM) on Fleebay for $1.75 (that included shipping!). It's been working 6 hours a day for three months and hasn't failed yet. It's also quite small so easily hidden.

If you're interested, just try this search:

12V RF Wireless Remote Switch Controller Dimmer for Mini LED Strip Light

wrwillcox

Yes, I followed the recommendations in the bulb selector guide on the super bright led web site. Pricier than eBay but they work fine. No polarity issues.