BigBluePile

iTrader: (3)

I just realized that the wifes '06 has amber in the gauge cluster...I knew I liked it from some where!

yotaman90

Looking good Philbert. I also switched out the bulbs in my dash cluster, but I went with red instead of amber

iamsuperbleeder

well 168's are stock, so obviously those would be preferred, but I'm not sure if they're as easily gotten as the 194's in amber, or any other colors for that matter

yeah turning the brightness down would be just as good to keep them running cooler


LED's would work good for brightness, low power, and NO heat from them. But do some research, and you'll quickly find mixed results on them. A lot of the times after installing LED's, people have the problem where the light is "blotchy", since most LED's are focused bulbs, meaning the shine 90% of their light straight forward from the bulb; the light from them doesn't fill the entire gauge cluster; there's light and dark spots all over the gauge faces. BUT, if the right LED's are used, that have the right bulb setup, I hear they can look better than stock

mountaingoat

Did mine tonight...thanks for the inspiration! On my '90 SR5 there's a couple of the really small bulbs used for illumination too...I couldn't find any in amber, so I took off the little green condoms and got creative with an orange magic marker. Holding up so far, we'll see long-term how it does. Hey, if the marker thing works this could turn it into a $1 mod!

I was talking to a dude at the parts store, and he mentioned that he'd used model paint for his bulbs (as in the stuff you paint model cars with). Apparently, it's fairly heat-tolerant and works well...I'll give it a whirl if the marker fails.

I'll try to shoot a pic tomorrow, so far I'm really digging the new look.

irab88

iTrader: (4)

A NOTE ABOUT LEDs:

normal leds are cold when lit. they draw very little current and can be bright. ideal for this application

high power leds are hot when lit. some even burn hotter than a larger incandescent bulb, while producing more light. most require some sort of constant current driver to operate effectively. they are easily identified due to their wattage rating, which normal leds lack

also, just a heads up: make sure of [+] polarity [-] before reinstalling the entire dash (experience means doing it wrong at least once. i am experienced )

my 2¢

edit: also, a cheap way to diffuse spotty leds is to use some hot glue. just smear it over the lens. or, scuff it with some sandpaper or scotch-brite. both methods have worked well for me

now i'm up to 3¢

helidriver

......SOooo. the stock dash lights are INCANDESANT 168's??? and the 194 LED's will fit the socket in the stock dash?? Which length 194 LED (out of the just shy of a million autoillumination offers) will fit without being too long?? I didn't miss that one did I? Which style 194 LED is everyone using I guess is what I'm asking....? (it's late here lol)

irab88

iTrader: (4)

first off, haha- that was post #168 for you. like the bulb number, get it..... (crickets)

anyway

i don't think anyone here has used (or posted what they use) led bulb replacements. i took my dash apart and it looks like there's plenty of room for their biggest "bulb"

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

Curious what the brightest, widest spectrum bulb for my Dome would be, still???? lol. Don't mean to highjack... just thought someone was going to throw that out on here... NO? lol.

YES, Heli... DANG that Autoilluminati Co. has lots of bulbs, hahah. I kept scrolling and scrolling.... GEESH! lol. They supposedly have several kit's or bulbs that ONLY THEY make, ....from what I've read. Looking forward to getting a BRIGHT Dome!

iamsuperbleeder

I did before my SR5 cluster swap, and didn't like the results


although I used some cheap green LED's off eBay... they were crap... not bright at all... and the low power consumption of the LED's made the dimmer not function like it should; they were either on or off

irab88

iTrader: (4)

if anyone is willing to go the diy route for extreme brightness:
the cree xp-g is one of the brightest and smallest led boards around, with a huge viewing angle (not spotty)
the led can be driven up to 1 amp by a steady on or dim-able (by external potentiometer) driver. oh, and these are all high power, so heat sinking is required. but there's enough light there to blind you from a few dozen feet away. i might be doing something like this for tail lights and turn signals, etc.

the site also has an assortment of 5mm leds which might be better for use in a dash. but you can still use the same dim-able driver to run them

i think i'm up to $0.04 now

dhall50

My contribution to the post would be that my 1986 non SR5 cluster takes only two bulbs. Also, the stock bulbs said 158 on them. Thanks for the idea. The yellow matches the rest of the lights in the truck. Why they used green is beyond me.

irab88

iTrader: (4)

i got some 'auto illumination' silicon caps. seem to work well. around $5 shipped

Zelephant

When I was buying 5mm LEDs for another project, the bulbs came in "clear" and "diffused", and "diffused" didn't cost any more than "clear". Don't know how that applies to potential dash LEDs, but I thought I'd throw that out there.

Dash looks good Phil, not a big fan of the orange, though. I'd probably have gone with clear. Whatever you like, though, man. Thanks for the write-up!

irab88

iTrader: (4)

true. and when given the option, i'd much rather have factory diffused than home-made diffused. but if you happen to get the clear lenses on the direct-fit bulbs, like those from auto-illum, you now have the option to make them diffused. in a lot of cases, diffused leds are cheaper, too

HighLux

Ran across this thread right before I was going to buy led's. Glad I did.
Ran up to Autozone and grabbed some bulbs. Amber of course to go with
my color. Now I have to wait for it to get dark!!! GRRRRRR!

Easy 5 min swap. Thanks mang!

irab88

iTrader: (4)

i know. that's the worst part. i used a jacket draped over me and the dash. it worked.... meh, ok. but i need to go the led route soon. i do so much night driving that my dash is actually hot when i get home

HighLux

My bulbs said 168 or something not 194.....funny thing is they were out of amber 194's.....I brought a light socket with me to test fit bulbs just in case...


Still not dark enough for a pic yet. I did the jacket trick...meh...better than nothing....but not the orange coolness that only night can bring.....lol.

We will see if they are bright enough....I dont really want super freaking bright...prolly hurt my eyes.....

I dont even know what else lights up at night....but when it gets dark...Im sure ill know...lol. Then Ill go get some more bulbs.

HighLux

Not too bright with the 168's Just what I wanted.

Bask in the amber energy!!!

Thanks again. I needed to do something this evening...lol

thook

I love amber dash bulbs. My '89 Peugeot has them. Can these bulbs (the 168's) be had at an O'Reilly or such?

Edit: I see you (HiLux) went to AutoZone.

skoti89

I like. Very nice. How much.