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Would recommend do a search. There are a lot posts about this.
Yes but dont post in those old threads or you will be told to start a new thread...
I used cheap leds like these from ebay 7 years ago... they dont dim but otherwise work fine. You can find them in multiple color temps. I am not going to try and tell you all led bulbs are created equal because they are not, But this is one industry where their are a lot of middlemen and vendors rebranding these generic bulbs and selling them at ridiculous markups. https://www.ebay.com/itm/20x-White-T...Cclp%3A2334524
Last edited by augiedoggy; Mar 6, 2021 at 01:08 PM.
I have used both, and for me, the LED bulbs work the same,,[ they both work great. ]. if you are having issues with original bulbs, LED alone will not correct it,, the wires, grounds, cleanliness of the inside of what your illuminating,, (exterior lights or interior lights and gauges),, all need to be in A1 condition,, So, consider the whole job before you start throwing in new bulbs,, ,,,,,,,,,teddy,,
Wall, agree with 60 shark on the wiring aspect... I installed my leds when I first gutted my interior after buying the car. And fought with some loose connections/wires and the leds made them harder to troubleshoot if anything. Also if the wiring has been messed with and someone reversed the polarity, while it won't effect a bulb, It can cause an led bulb not to work at all.
And don't make the mistake of swapping your alternator/batt bulb to led. It can cause the charging system not to work correctly.
Superbright LEDs are more expensive, but believe me you don’t ever want to remove the drivers dash more than once! First make sure get LED’s that are NOT Polarity Sensitive. Second if you are sure by using their cross reference chart Call Tech Support. Third make sure to used Colored LEDs when replacing bulbs used for turn signals, green, brake, red, brights blue, and etc. also they run sales on occasion.
If you really are just changing the bulbs in the dash like mentioned... you can save a bundle going with the cheaper bulbs and as long as your cars wiring hasnt been butchered and the bulb sockets arent wired backwards. theres no need to by leds that arent polarity sensitive...
Honestly I I would think extra electronics involved to make a polarity sensitive led diode non polarity sensitive, would actually reduce relability. Ive been using led bulbs for many years and when they fail its very often the electronics involved that regulates or converts voltage to the leds and not the LEDS themselves... The only exception to that is the extremely high led failure on newer led tvs if you leave the tv in "sports" mode or leave the backlighting setting turned all the way up (I repair tvs as a hobby)
I would think that logically, the most reliable led bulbs would be those that are simply 12v leds. When it comes to your marker lights I believe things get more complicated but I never bothers changing those out. Only my headlights and dash lights. The cheap leds like I linked that I used in my dash 7 years ago are much brighter than stock. Even though they state they are not dimmable there is "some " dimming control.
heres a document about polarity that may help https://www.rockauto.com/genImages/6...-%202015-1.pdf
Last edited by augiedoggy; Mar 7, 2021 at 02:52 PM.
Headlightrevolution.com has the best videos explaining LED’s I’ve seen. When I drove my ‘78 home after purchase the things that annoyed me most were 1) seat back would not adjust to upright sitting position. 2) dash was too dim to even see the speedo. 3) headlights too dim
Tried LED’s in the dash, but the bulbs available 10 years ago melted the bulb sockets. Today’s have thermal resistors and heat sinks. Replaced all the dash lights with new incandescent bulbs(GE or Sylvania) and got more than enough light to see everything in the dash. Making the dash very bright compromises your night vision. To see the road best at night the dash lights should be just bright enough to see what you need to see.
LED back-up lights make a huge difference. If you like the double brake light conversion you can a strip of LED’s to the bottom of the license plate area as a back-up light.
Yes but dont post in those old threads or you will be told to start a new thread...
I used cheap leds like these from ebay 7 years ago... they dont dim but otherwise work fine. You can find them in multiple color temps. I am not going to try and tell you all led bulbs are created equal because they are not, But this is one industry where their are a lot of middlemen and vendors rebranding these generic bulbs and selling them at ridiculous markups. https://www.ebay.com/itm/20x-White-T...Cclp%3A2334524
do you have to make any changes when using these or are they just plug and play?
do you have to make any changes when using these or are they just plug and play?
no they just plugged in. no other modifications. way brighter than bulbs. and they have a blue hue to them. if you want the dash to have a greenish hue get "warm white" or green. Its the outside turn signal lights that require of changes like digital flashers.
Last edited by augiedoggy; Mar 11, 2021 at 07:36 AM.
I replaced the dash lights with LEDs and I had trouble with the battery light. My alternator would not charge because the battery LED does not draw enough current to excite the alternator. Without the current draw from an incandescent, you will get a battery light until you rev the engine above 2500. I wrote a separate thread on this that you will find in the forum.
You will need to add a resistor to the battery light line to draw enough current to get the alternator working on initial start. In my case, I went back and changed all the red lenses back to incandescents so that all my red lenses are the same color. As mentioned in this thread, LEDs can produce a cooler color than incandescents so you will find that if you leave just the battery light incandescent,the color shade of the lens will be slightly different. SuperBrightLEDs.com has a 2700k which is pretty warm and should be close to incandescent color if you want to go that route instead.
I have a 1980 C3 and I have a battery light that is attached to the alternator. When the alternator is not charging, the battery light illuminates. I am not sure if the 69 has a battery light or not.
I replaced the dash lights with LEDs and I had trouble with the battery light. My alternator would not charge because the battery LED does not draw enough current to excite the alternator. Without the current draw from an incandescent, you will get a battery light until you rev the engine above 2500. I wrote a separate thread on this that you will find in the forum.
You will need to add a resistor to the battery light line to draw enough current to get the alternator working on initial start. In my case, I went back and changed all the red lenses back to incandescents so that all my red lenses are the same color. As mentioned in this thread, LEDs can produce a cooler color than incandescents so you will find that if you leave just the battery light incandescent,the color shade of the lens will be slightly different. SuperBrightLEDs.com has a 2700k which is pretty warm and should be close to incandescent color if you want to go that route instead.
I read your thread and mentioned the battery bulb issue above as well
What is this battery light? Without going out and looking, I can't think that I have one in my 69, and everything is an LED in my dash.
It wasn't till the 77 that had the alternator light- prior to that the wire off the alternator was a resistance wire.
LEDs are great- but just like a LS engine-Going with new technology in something that was designed 50 years ago often has some challenges.
Here's a great read on the subject-The alternator warning lamp is connected in series between a switched ignition source (the field current supply) and the voltage regulator. The voltage regulator is also connected to ground.
When the ignition switch is closed (the ignition key is turned on), current flows from the battery, through the alternator warning lamp, through the voltage regulator to ground. As such, the alternator warning lamp glows.
When the alternator is not running, the battery provides the field current supply and the lamp is grounded and therefore glows.
As we know, after the engine is started, and the alternator is generating electricity the diode trio feeds the alternator output back to the regulator to serve as the field current supply. This equalizes the voltage across the alternator warning lamp (there is no longer a path to ground for the lamp), current stops flowing through the lamp, and therefore the lamp goes out. Remember from Part 1 - in order for the lamp to glow, there must be current flow through it - and in order for current to flow - there must be a voltage difference (pressure difference) across the lamp. In effect, the alternator output equalizes the pressure coming from the ignition switch and stops the current flow.
In the following simplified block diagram (not a real electrical schematic), when the alternator is running, the diode trio feeds alternator output back as the field current supply (blue arrows) which equalizes voltage across the lamp and therefore it does not glow.
One thing I would look at when taking apart your dash...if its the first time...it probably won't be the last- just sayin.
I'd look at what fellow member "Greg" did - works on pre 77 years.. A great idea as the ground connection isn't left to a spring loaded connector where the surface can corrode.
C3 Corvette Dash Bulb Conversion
,,,,,,,,,teddy,,
