Upgrade the dash
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 5,783
Likes: 400
From: Paoli, IN
St. Jude Donor '17, '19
Upgrade the dash
Hey guys,
I am considering changing the incandescent bulbs from my dash to LED. My dash is hardly visible at night. Plus one of my turn signal indicator bulbs are out too.
So my question are there places to buy kits that have all the parts needed?
If not, what do I need? (I have someone who has been restoring cars for years who said he would help, I just need to get everything.)
Will I have to replace my turn signals? (I was told that LEDs don't work with the current system.)
I want to get a yellow LED setup so that my gages glow yellow at night, like my exterior color.
Thanks.
I am considering changing the incandescent bulbs from my dash to LED. My dash is hardly visible at night. Plus one of my turn signal indicator bulbs are out too.
So my question are there places to buy kits that have all the parts needed?
If not, what do I need? (I have someone who has been restoring cars for years who said he would help, I just need to get everything.)
Will I have to replace my turn signals? (I was told that LEDs don't work with the current system.)
I want to get a yellow LED setup so that my gages glow yellow at night, like my exterior color.
Thanks.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 12,399
Likes: 247
From: San Jose CA
I got 194 replacements from super bright leds. (get the URL by doing a search)
They worked really well. However, I went for stock style lighting and picked a warm white bulb that was just a hair brighter than stock. I picked warm white because I want the car to retain the stock feel and because the buckets for the clusters are painted. The speedo/tach cluster is a green color and the center cluster is blue. You'll probably need to paint the clusters in order to achieve the light you're looking for.
78-82s will use 194s. The part # I ordered is WLED-WWHP6-AC .
They worked really well. However, I went for stock style lighting and picked a warm white bulb that was just a hair brighter than stock. I picked warm white because I want the car to retain the stock feel and because the buckets for the clusters are painted. The speedo/tach cluster is a green color and the center cluster is blue. You'll probably need to paint the clusters in order to achieve the light you're looking for.
78-82s will use 194s. The part # I ordered is WLED-WWHP6-AC .
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 5,783
Likes: 400
From: Paoli, IN
St. Jude Donor '17, '19
Does anyone have a picture of their dash apart so I can get a better idea of what needs to be replaced. The items mentioned above were not what I was expecting. But at the same time, I have never done this before.
How many of the units did you need to purchase? What are the buckets for the clusters?
How many of the units did you need to purchase? What are the buckets for the clusters?
Last edited by ~Stingray; Jun 6, 2013 at 05:03 PM.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,239
Likes: 74
From: Palatine, Peoples Republic of Illinois
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11-12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-‘18
NCM Sinkhole Donor
Well after you're done with the parts catalog the AIM will tell you what to do with them.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 12,399
Likes: 247
From: San Jose CA
I ordered 16. I believe I used 14. I had planned on using them for the turn signal flashers but chose not to. A change in resistance at any point in the system could cause the bulbs to flash erratically or stop working.
All blue sockets pictures should be converted to LED. I think the parking brake warning light and high beam light would be OK to change to LED but chose not to. Also the seat belt and gen light could probably switch to LED as well. I would not do it on the turn signals as mentioned above, or on the fuel module. (the fuel module MAY be OK, however.)
I chose not to do it on the indicators mostly because I was unsure of how they'd look. You need to remember that an LED illuminates in a far more directional nature than an incandescent element. I did not want the LED look to be evident in one of the lens applications.
BTW, switching to LEDs made the courtesy light dimmer act wonky. No surprise, but worth noting.
All blue sockets pictures should be converted to LED. I think the parking brake warning light and high beam light would be OK to change to LED but chose not to. Also the seat belt and gen light could probably switch to LED as well. I would not do it on the turn signals as mentioned above, or on the fuel module. (the fuel module MAY be OK, however.)
I chose not to do it on the indicators mostly because I was unsure of how they'd look. You need to remember that an LED illuminates in a far more directional nature than an incandescent element. I did not want the LED look to be evident in one of the lens applications.
BTW, switching to LEDs made the courtesy light dimmer act wonky. No surprise, but worth noting.
Racer
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 297
Likes: 3
From: Indianapolis
Lift up the bucket and you will find a plate with a slot to direct the light from the side:
Under this plate is the lens with the characters silk-screened on the back side. A beveled edge, also painted blue, reflects the light coming through the slot from vertical to horizontal.
The bucket and lens edge will reflect only blue light. To change the color of the shift indicator you will need to repaint the bucket, and strip and paint the lens edge (note that painting over the top of the lens will not change the reflective surface.)
Last edited by indydoug; Jun 6, 2013 at 11:15 PM.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 5,783
Likes: 400
From: Paoli, IN
St. Jude Donor '17, '19
Indydoug,
In your example, could you paint the bucket white and buy yellow LEDs for the desired effect? If I wanted my instrument panel to be close the same color as my exterior, yellow, how would I do that?
In your example, could you paint the bucket white and buy yellow LEDs for the desired effect? If I wanted my instrument panel to be close the same color as my exterior, yellow, how would I do that?
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 5,783
Likes: 400
From: Paoli, IN
St. Jude Donor '17, '19
I chose not to do it on the indicators mostly because I was unsure of how they'd look. You need to remember that an LED illuminates in a far more directional nature than an incandescent element. I did not want the LED look to be evident in one of the lens applications.
BTW, switching to LEDs made the courtesy light dimmer act wonky. No surprise, but worth noting.
My left turn signal indicator and my brights indicator light are both out. So those are two bulbs I need to replace anyway. How do those work? Is there just a green and blue lens in front of a bulb so buying a couple white LEDs would be a good replacement?
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 5,783
Likes: 400
From: Paoli, IN
St. Jude Donor '17, '19
3rd post....sorry, I kept thinking of other things.
If I need to replace one of my speakers in the front, would this be a good time to do it? Could I replace a speaker in the future without taking apart the whole dash or should this be all done at once? I am also considering putting in a hidden stereo so would this also be a good time to run the wiring while I have it all out?
If I need to replace one of my speakers in the front, would this be a good time to do it? Could I replace a speaker in the future without taking apart the whole dash or should this be all done at once? I am also considering putting in a hidden stereo so would this also be a good time to run the wiring while I have it all out?
Racer
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 297
Likes: 3
From: Indianapolis
I have been considering yellow gages as well, but have not found anything simple. So far my favorite look is customized gages - check this out: http://www.bobsspeedometer.com/1/120/custom_work.asp. I'm sure it's not cheap, so I'll leave my dash stock for now. I'll sooner spend on engine and transmission upgrades than custom gages. Maybe some day...
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,239
Likes: 74
From: Palatine, Peoples Republic of Illinois
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11-12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-‘18
NCM Sinkhole Donor
You should paint the inside of the housing white to get the maximum reflection. Any other color will absorb part of the spectrum and change color you see. When I did my conversion I first painted the housings blue to match the blue LED's I was using but they were too dim. Repainted to white and they were much brighter but still too hard to read (blue on black) so I switched to bright white LED's.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 12,399
Likes: 247
From: San Jose CA
I really don't mind about the dimmer. I leave mine up all the way on my other cars. But a resister placed in the path could fix that right?
My left turn signal indicator and my brights indicator light are both out. So those are two bulbs I need to replace anyway. How do those work? Is there just a green and blue lens in front of a bulb so buying a couple white LEDs would be a good replacement?
My left turn signal indicator and my brights indicator light are both out. So those are two bulbs I need to replace anyway. How do those work? Is there just a green and blue lens in front of a bulb so buying a couple white LEDs would be a good replacement?
I wouldn't do the turn signals for two reasons:
1. They are part of the signal circuit, so not sure how the flashing would work. (probably not a big deal, but a concern.)
2. The directionality concern, this applies to all the indicator bulbs.
Take a look at the LED I picked:
The way the bulb sits in the dash, it will not point directly at the lens. It may work all right, but I didn't feel like tearing everything apart to test it and putting it all back together. These bulbs are not lit very much.
3rd post....sorry, I kept thinking of other things.
If I need to replace one of my speakers in the front, would this be a good time to do it? Could I replace a speaker in the future without taking apart the whole dash or should this be all done at once? I am also considering putting in a hidden stereo so would this also be a good time to run the wiring while I have it all out?
If I need to replace one of my speakers in the front, would this be a good time to do it? Could I replace a speaker in the future without taking apart the whole dash or should this be all done at once? I am also considering putting in a hidden stereo so would this also be a good time to run the wiring while I have it all out?