hardtop

Hi all,
Been about five years since I have posted, and hope I don't get flamed for asking.

I did a search and can't find the answer, so here I am.

I need to replace the little bulbs in the DIC buttons and the HUD control buttons.

I keep seeing the LED bulbs, but I think they may not dim.

What it the best replacement bulbs to use?

Thank you,
Robert

knewblewkorvette

Hi,
I have the LEDs in mine. They are brighter than the stock bulbs but are dimmable.

hardtop

I like the look of the blue.
Which ones did you get? one of the companies FAQ's said theirs were not dim-able.
But, your's ARE dim-able.

[QUOTE=knewblewkorvette;1597139747]Hi,
I have the LEDs in mine. They are brighter than the stock bulbs but are dimmable.

Vetteman Jack

The LEDs in your car look great.

jjc508520

knewblewkorvette

[QUOTE=hardtop;1597139940]I like the look of the blue.
Which ones did you get? one of the companies FAQ's said theirs were not dim-able.
But, your's ARE dim-able.


Sorry, it's been so long since I purchased them I do not remember where I got them from.
I'm 100000000000000% sure mine ARE dim-able

jjc508520

[QUOTE=knewblewkorvette;1597145373]What I've seen with the LED's is that they are dim-able - but from being "full off" to the "first on position" there is a big jump - once they are on the dimming seems fairly linear...

chasboy

I've replaced these bulbs on 2 c5's and there's no problem with dimming. Some were from eBay and others from one of the LED specialty places like Superbright LED and Diode Dynamics.
They are called 'NEO WEDGE' bulbs and you need 2 different size bases. FWIW, that's the biggest problem. Some are made where the base is too thick for the circuit board it's supposed to fit. You can easily (careful) use the old base, pull out the old stock bulb and replace it with an LED that you just got. Toughest part of the job is getting to the buttons.

0Diode Dynamics

If you are looking for an LED replacement that can be dimmed-down, make sure they note that it's a "constant-current" design.

There are two major "wedge" style bulb sizes that fit about 95% of gauge cluster applications, 194 & 74-mini wedge.

Here are some dimensions to reference with our particular models:

74 mini-wedge:



194 wedge:



SuperBrightLEDs is right down the street from us. They do some in-house measuring as well, so if it's not something we offer, they are your second best bet!

Thank you,
Nick C.

chasboy

Nick, we’re referring to T4 bulbs.

0Diode Dynamics

That's a cross-reference number. There are cross reference numbers for 74s and 194s, but they are most commonly referred to as 74/194.

If the "base" is built into the bulb, SuperBright will be your best bet for that style bulb.

If you can remove the 74 itself, our 74-SMD1 is a reasonably priced, reliable model option.

Sorry, I know this can get super confusing. Lol, there are probably 20 cross-reference numbers for 194s!

Nick C.

chasboy

These bulbs:

FX VETTE

chasboy

Robert, if you have any questions about the bulbs I depicted, sing out. One thing you will notice is that I have a red mark on the base of the led one. That signifies the positive side. (Yes, they have to go in with he correct polarity). JWM provided a diagram on how to test them once they are in before reassembly with a 9V battery. I’ll find that too.

chasboy

Here is the link which will give you all the purchase info you need. As for testing them after they are in place, I have the info but when I printed my last one it was on orange paper and hard to copy. I’m wrestling with it now to make it more legible.
https://www.superbrightleds.com/more...panel-led/221/

chasboy

Took me too long to do this, but here is the updated DIC/HUD button test diagram.

0Diode Dynamics

Those are honestly your best bet. That's what I recommend if you are upgrading to LED.

Nick C.