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the install is done. replaced 2 small turn signal bulbs and 6 other back lit bulbs. left all the seat belt, cruise control, 4x4, abs, door open, etc, etc, etc... alone. they are their original colors.
the blue turn signals show up very well. the fuel and temp gauges show up well also. speedometer is cyan colored, and is usable. tach is usable but dim. alternator gauge and oil gauge are almost un-readable. not sure what is up on this part of the cluster. the 80 km mark on the speedo is extra bright. the leds are longer than the bulbs, so that is probably why it glows brighter. odometer and computer info is a little dimmer...
the install is done. replaced 2 small turn signal bulbs and 6 other back lit bulbs. left all the seat belt, cruise control, 4x4, abs, door open, etc, etc, etc... alone. they are their original colors.
the blue turn signals show up very well. the fuel and temp gauges show up well also. speedometer is cyan colored, and is usable. tach is usable but dim. alternator gauge and oil gauge are almost un-readable. not sure what is up on this part of the cluster. the 80 km mark on the speedo is extra bright. the leds are longer than the bulbs, so that is probably why it glows brighter. odometer and computer info is a little dimmer...
have a video uploading, coming up soon...
I think it may be the bulbs. It seems they are throwing all of the light forward and not to the sides at all.
I went through a few types of LEDs before I was happy. The ones I have pictured in this how-to have 1 chip facing forward and 1 chip on each side facing sidways, so they throw the light in all directions.
I think it may be the bulbs. It seems they are throwing all of the light forward and not to the sides at all.
I went through a few types of LEDs before I was happy. The ones I have pictured in this how-to have 1 chip facing forward and 1 chip on each side facing sidways, so they throw the light in all directions.
actually the leds have 2 on top, and 2 on each side for a totals of 6 leds per socket.
the video will take a while to upload but it is much brighter and gives a better representation than the picture...
I was wrong about the bulbs im using. The initial ones that I tried are the ones on the right below. They have one forward and to side facing chips. Those were not bright enough and produced hot spots.
The one on the left is what I currently have. They're brighter and have three forward facing LEDs that do not produce hotspots. The led is also shorter, placing the light further back from the cluster screen, which I think also helps spread the light. I have the led pictured left in every part of my cluster except the odometer, high beam indicator and turn signals. The left led was much too bright for those applications, so I'm using the led on the right for those. The high beam indicator and odomiter was like having someone hiding a flashlight to your eyes while driving at night, haha!
Do you have a stock bulb still in the middle? Or is the green how it shows with the blue led?
I think your best bet may be to either try some brighter bulbs, or, remove the green film so the blue shows up better.
I was wrong about the bulbs im using. The initial ones that I tried are the ones on the right below. They have one forward and to side facing chips. Those were not bright enough and produced hot spots.
The one on the left is what I currently have. They're brighter and have three forward facing LEDs that do not produce hotspots. The led is also shorter, placing the light further back from the cluster screen, which I think also helps spread the light.
Do you have a stock bulb still in the middle? Or is the green how it shows with the blue led?
I think your best bet may be to either try some brighter bulbs, or, remove the green film so the blue shows up better.
What are your thoughts?
my bulbs are long like the one on the right and i am sort of afraid of hot spot damage.
i replaced 8 of the 10 bulbs. i thought the other two were for idiot lights. maybe i should have replaced those also.
i do not have a light bulb in in the middle, that is the green film showing with blue light. sort of turquoise.
i bought some of the brightest blue leds i could find, will have to search for shorter/brighter ones.
not sure i will be successful however. lets call it a work in progress
By hotspots, I don't mean as in heat that'll damage anything, I just meant they're brighter in certain spots. Look at the "80 km/h" on your speedometer in the second photo you posted. That's what I mean by hotspot. Your current bulbs just aren't spreading the light. No need to give up yet, I'd return those and try another bulb. I went though a couple different LEDs before I was happy, too.
And yeah, you'd need to remove the needles. While it wasn't too fun getting them back to where they need to be, it's definitely doable. It just takes a few tries.
Also, the warning indicators are already LEDs and are not easily replaceable. Any bulb that has a twist out gray or black socket can be replaced. They're either back lights, odomiter, turn signals, high beam, or cruise.
By hotspots, I don't mean as in heat that'll damage anything, I just meant they're brighter in certain spots. Look at the "80 km/h" on your speedometer in the second photo you posted. That's what I mean by hotspot. Your current bulbs just aren't spreading the light. No need to give up yet, I'd return those and try another bulb. I went though a couple different LEDs before I was happy, too.
And yeah, you'd need to remove the needles. While it wasn't too fun getting them back to where they need to be, it's definitely doable. It just takes a few tries.
Also, the warning indicators are already LEDs and are not easily replaceable. Any bulb that has a twist out gray or black socket can be replaced. They're either back lights, odomiter, turn signals, high beam, or cruise.
i'm gonna order those and see how they look.
i left two of them unchanged, so maybe that will change the look a little.
btw, i bought from superbrightbulbs, not superbrightleds...
i left two of them unchanged, so maybe that will change the look a little.
btw, i bought from superbrightbulbs, not superbrightleds...
anyway, thanks for the link...
work in progress...
You're welcome!
Try replacing those other two. They could be for the backlights.
I've never heard of superbrightbulbs. I used to order from superbrightleds, but they're way too expensive and seem to have the same stuff you can get on eBay.
