C3 Stroker

A few of my dash lights are out, so I'm considering changing all of them to LEDs. Those who have done so, is any particular brand preferred? Or OK to get what's on the shelf at Pep Boy's? I've seen ads for Superbrightleds.com and they look very good, and are dimmable. Prices are all over the map, so are any really better? Experiences? Thanks in advance.

ronarndt

You will get a better price if you get them in bulk. I used superbrightleds.com and ordered 20 BA9S-CWHP5 cool white @ $4.95 each, 3 1156-CW18-T cool white @ 14.95 each and 2 WLED-WHP5 cool white @ $5.95 each. They are dim-able and work well. I hope to never have to replace them......working behind the dash is a PIA.

stingraymaniac

I went all out and replaced it with led RGB strips and remote control, works great but was alot of work, now I can change the color and brightness the way I want though

Mooser

I also used superbrightLED and had no issues.

Whatever you buy, buy spares as the supplier (not the re-sellers) keep changing and what was available now may not be available in 6 months so new ones might be a slightly different brightness/color/whatever.

M

carriljc

If you are going to tear apart that dash, and you are willing to modify, then you may wish to consider LED Strip Lighting. I did and I like it....mostly because no matter what I did those lamps would fall off, fall in, or just plain fail...and this minimizes the number of leads also.

Here is my story about installing LED stip lighting:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-and-tach.html

C3 Stroker

Thanks , all for your replies. I think I'll go with Superbrightleds bulbs. Taking the dash apart is not fun, but new lights are needed. I found this YouTube video to be helpful.

mrvette

White faced gauges, painted housings white on tach/speedo changed the gauges to white, and plugged in suber bright LED's in GREEN, they full brill all the time, no dimming....which is fine by me....there is a shot of my interior down below.....

ENCSDOUG

I also used superbrite but light green to match the body color. I had to slightly modify one of the gauges on the center bezel and can't remember which one. I didn't have to pull the dash completely out and was able to get my hand far enough from the top. The steering column has to be dropped. The bottom lights we're accessed from the bottom of the dash. Good luck.

C3 Stroker

BTW, where can you get extra sockets for the bulbs?......it would be good to have some on hand.......

carriljc

Dorman 85805.... I've bought them before at Autozone. It's the lamp assembly and a pigtail.

https://www.dormanproducts.com/p-4123-85805.aspx

Just cut the old one off and solder a new one on.....I usually leave them long so I don't have to stretch wires later.
I always solder connections if I am at all able to....and then heat shrink over it...

---FYI: I replaced several of these over the years. While you're there replace all the loose units... otherwise you'll have to go back in. This is another reason I'm glad I went to strip lighting.

Grant Hollier

carriljc

I bought one of those cigarette lighter-to-USB adapters. Disassembled the 12 VDC side and wired it in to 2 of the gray lighting supply leads for the dash lighting (I suppose I could have used just one since it is such low amperage, but I had many available).
I then just plug in the USB supply to LED strip lighting into the adapter. It's actually a Dual-USB adapter so I plugged both LED strips (Speedo & Tach combo strips and the Center Gauges strip) into it.

The lighting controller remote is in the glove box. The little "box" that the LED leads and the USB leads plug into is attached to the passenger side of the tach. The "box" for the center gauges is attached to the back of the center gauge panel (actually to the top of the D1N radio cage attached to the center gauge panel).

I'm working on my Rad Fan controls so I'll try to take some pictures tomorrow (hope I remember).

Grant Hollier

Bergerboy

I also went the LED route for my center bezel gauges. Originally used the existing grounding sockets, and this resulted in some intermittent flickering with a sensitivity to the bright headlight switch being on or off.
Then I bought 5 new replacement grounding sockets for those LEDs, but still had flickering of several.
Suspecting a touchy ground somewhere in the gauge back plate area, I then changed over all 5 sockets to the 2-wire version, by-passing the ground to the gauge case. All 5 were then wired to a single "hot" Gray wire, and a single good ground to the dash beam.
Now I've got good, consistent gauge lights, and hopefully have pulled that center bezel off for the last time (at least for the foreseeable future).
The bulbs I used were the ones that look like bulbs (not the flat faced LEDs - those were real crap quality units). Mine don't dim, but that's fine with me. I don't see a situation where I would want them dimmer than max anyway.

Street Rat

I purchased mine on Fleabay. They work just as well as the expensive ones imo.

Adam Boca

I bought these LEDs for my 1969. My father in law used them on his Chevelle and they worked like a charm.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/20X-BA9S-1-...72.m2749.l2649

Peterbuilt

Very helpful Youtube but if you don't remove the nuts and just pull the center bezel you will break it.

carriljc

Attached are pictures of the locations for the 12vdc/usb boxes (Each box feeds 2 LED lighting strips).
1. One is attached to the passenger side of the tach (kinda hard to see--it's for the Speedo and Tach, 1 strip each).
2 Second one is attached to "cage" for D1N radio on center inst panel (it's for the center instrumentation, 2 strips placed therein for appropriate lighting coverage overlap).

The13Bats

Yep, ive been playing with leds longer than most and i have seen nothing that proves to me paying more actually makes them better or last longer,
I get them super cheap from Asia