carriljc

I just received the light strips(2) and controller today. I'll start tomorrow.

I see that Richard454 layed the strips inside the housing and it looks like it works well. Mine come with 2 sided tape but i'll probably add some more adhesive.

Anyway, here is what I got--- it is so inexpensive I could hardly believe it. I will need to buy and wire up a USB outlet and plug them in.

They are dimmable and you can have your choice of colors. I'll probably just use the white lights.

Member Tim 1973 had a great idea but a couple of years later you can now get 2 strips and a controller for 10 bucks! see this link:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kohree-RG...087#about-item

Here is a thread where member Tim 1973 fabricated his own:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...dometer-3.html

We'll see how it goes. I'm just tired of those incandescant lamps. If it works well, then I might even replace the lighting for the center console....

If I don't like it, then I'll just remove them. For 10-20 bucks worth of parts I can take the risk...... and I can't imagine it being worse than the dadgum incandescent lamps.

Started new thread for LED strip lights installation:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-and-tach.html

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KingpenM3

Where did you use the green led's? Which lights use the canister style bottoms, and which ones use the blade type bottoms? Thanks.

ronarndt

I changed all of the dash bulbs on my 68 convert to LED from superbrightleds.com, mainly because I never want to have to remove and replace the dash ever again....what a PITA job. Bulbs work fine. I got all of them in white. Like noted above, the under dash courtesy bulbs did not fit well, so I had to put the stock bulbs back in- but they are easy to get at to change, if needed.

7t9l82

I put leds from super bright they work well and are definitely brighter than.stock. they are dimmable but not to a significant degree. Still.worthwhile.

Maymyvetteliveforevr

Just wanted to see if there were any updates as I still need to order the Led bulbs?

I have to say that I'm still just as confused as I was when I started this thread as some say;

Use led strips instead of bulbs.
Don't use led's use SMD led's instead.
You can't dim led dash light bulbs.
Make sure to use the right color temperature.
Don't use blue bulbs as it's hard to see for some people.
Make sure you install the led's in the right polarity/way.
Purchase them from Superbrightled's.
Purchase them from Ebay.
Don't purchase them from Ebay as the quality will suffer.

Can anyone explain it more in simple terms.........please?

Antz81

Note my answers are in red. For some this can only be my opinion others will say something different.

Use led strips instead of bulbs. up to you, a simple bulb replacement is less work
Don't use led's use SMD led's instead. An SMD led is just the type, these are brighter than a normal led and are better for lighting
You can't dim led dash light bulbs. some can but most won't without additional parts
Make sure to use the right color temperature. most use either 4000k or 6100k a colour temp between these two would look fine also. To ensure consistency use the same brand and colour temp everywhere.
Don't use blue bulbs as it's hard to see for some people. just don't get blue LEDs
Make sure you install the led's in the right polarity/way. for some LEDs this won't matter, if it does you just need to turn the LEDs around if they don't work when you first try them
Purchase them from Superbrightleds just pick one noting the last statement
Purchase them from Ebay.
Don't purchase them from Ebay as the quality will suffer. they may be of lower quality depending on what you buy

MotorHead

It was very simple for me I bought 10 - 15 Blue Led's. They looked fantastic but they don't dim with OEM circuitry
that uses voltage via a rheostat to dim the dash lights.

The LED's respond to current ( amps ) and I found a cheap little box that converts the voltage to current so the lights can be dimmed as low or high as you want. I love driving at night with the tack and whole dash lit up with the blue lights.

It's pretty simple, do a search for C3 LED replacement lights. Then do a search for Autometer Cobalt C2 tachometer and find the part that dims that tach and it ca be used to dim all you our all dash lights.

Here I found one for you similar to mine:

http://www.autometer.com/led-lighting-dimmer.html

L82Dude

in the dark of garage, non smd, 5w led

Maymyvetteliveforevr

Note my answers are in blue.

Use led strips instead of bulbs. up to you, a simple bulb replacement is less workOk, so I'll do a bulb replacement. where is the best site to purchase them from?
Don't use led's use SMD led's instead. An SMD led is just the type, these are brighter than a normal led and are better for lightingI'll assume the bulb identification starts with "SMD"
You can't dim led dash light bulbs. some can but most won't without additional partsAnyone have a link to those that do dim and for those that don't do I use the module that Motorhead suggests?
Make sure to use the right color temperature. most use either 4000k or 6100k a colour temp between these two would look fine also. To ensure consistency use the same brand and colour temp everywhere.Hopefully if someone posts a link, the bulbs will be between that color temperature.
Don't use blue bulbs as it's hard to see for some people. just don't get blue LEDsI do like the look of the blue, but it seems to not be as bright.
Make sure you install the led's in the right polarity/way. for some LEDs this won't matter, if it does you just need to turn the LEDs around if they don't work when you first try themI'll assume there is no damage to the circuit or bulb if you accidently reverse the polarity?
Purchase them from Superbrightleds just pick one noting the last statement
Purchase them from Ebay.
Don't purchase them from Ebay as the quality will suffer. they may be of lower quality depending on what you buyI have no problems with Ebay purchases, but do want good quality.

There are hundreds of led bulbs and that's what's confusing as I don't know which ones will work best. Based on the amount of work to re & re the dash and center console, I only want to do the led swap once, therefore I want to purchase the smd led bulbs that have proven to work best by other members that have purchased and installed them.

Thanks for the link on the module, I'll check it out but would prefer the dimmable led's to save work.

Maymyvetteliveforevr

Update;

I just ordered the following led bulbs from BlowAMouse's post.

Question

I'll assume these bulbs can't be dimmed?
Do I need a special flasher since they're led's?


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

2PCS Ultra Blue T11 BA9S LED 5050 5-SMD Car Wedge Side Light Lamp Bulb 12V 64111

10 PCS Cool White T10 Wedge 5-SMD 5050 W5W 2825 158 192 168 194 LED Light bulbs

10 x LED Red BA9S 5 SMD 5050 LED Light bulbs 5-SMD T4W 1445 Q65B H6W 182 53 57

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

BlowAMouse

Interesting questions:
I do not remember if I ever tried to dim them, but I do not see why they would not. The light switch is just a small DC pot that regulates voltage.

No need for special flasher, they work great. Flasher just turns voltage on and off.

PLEASE let me know if you too like them....

Antz81

Many LED's will not dim due to a lower voltage, they will just switch off once it drops too low. If they won't dim with voltage then a PWM module will be needed. Others have posted links to some earlier in this thread.

Maymyvetteliveforevr

Thanks for the reply BlowAMouse and Antz81.


I was under the impression that a separate inline module maybe needed but I didn't want to purchase one until I knew for sure.

Anyone know how it gets wired up, or do I need to do some research? I thought maybe I could rough in the wiring, just in case.

Odenkurtiak

LEDs have pure white light, which has a positive effect on the perception of the area they illuminate. The fundamental difference between an LED is that the generation of light in it does not occur from heating, but with the direct passage of electricity through a semiconductor material. As a result, LED bulbs are more energy efficient. That's why I used these in my 1980 Chevrolet. I have been using them for over 3 years and they still work 100%. However, the main disadvantage is that the maintenance and repair of LED headlights is quite expensive - if one or two diodes fail, the entire unit has to be replaced.

STL Zombie Hunter

FYI This is a 5 year old thread so you may not get a response.

NewbVetteGuy

Wow. A REALLY old thread! I’ve since converted all my lights to LED.

Just lookup the oem codes for your stock light you want to replace with LEDs and use that as your search criteria for an LED replacement. Always replace white with white amber with amber, red with red. You want non-polar (so you can’t install them backwards) and dimmable LEDs and make sure you get the right color temp white leds and make sure they all match.

If you keep ONE regular incandescent bulb in the blinker circuit somewhere they’ll still work without a blinker module being needed; the load of a single incandescent bulb in the circuit will let the blinker work.

Many of the leds have very small wires instead of prongs so just use some dielectric grease to ensure a good connection.



Adam

STL Zombie Hunter

Out of curiosity, which bulb did you leave as incandescent in the front TS circuit?
I converted my headlights to LED yesterday. I have a thread on it in the forum also.

Bikespace

I saw the headlight thread. Thanks!

I've converted everything BUT the headlights. My LED lessons learned are here:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...s-learned.html

You should be able to do the front turn signals in the front grill, but if you convert the front side marker lights to LEDs, that will break everything unless you add a Blinker Genie. Description and wiring diagrams are in my thread.