L.E.D.'s for my Speedometer Options

[Shocker]

Ok well i ve search but im still not sure...

Whaat is the best led bulb for my guages..im wanting blue ones to match my autometer cobalt gauges?

also ive read that i can use a 5 watt 195 bulb.. what about a 5 watt led?

i need help and i want it bright...


Thank for any info...

pics are welcome...

This post has been edited by Shocker: Sep 27, 2006 - 11:25 PM

[Bitter]

www.superbrightleds.com

[Shocker]

www.superbrightleds.com

i know where to get them but im wondering from personal experience..which type is the best.

[Bitter]

generally the wider the angle and the brigther the better. you can cut and polish the lense to alter the light pattern sometimes, but that gets tedious.

[Zimluura]

i've had lots of luck with the 194 5-led matrix bulbs.

http://superlumination.com/194.htm

i've had some burn on me. which almost certainly means there was a wiring defect and the led got over-juiced. but the ones i've had in there now have been going strong since last november.

but i've also wanted to try the superstar leds as well for some time now.

typically leds draw like 20 milli-amps of current so you're probably not going to see an auto led pull 5 watts. but if you meant watts as in "visible light" remember that watts really measures power (watts = volts * amps), and leds produce much more visible light than incandesent bulbs of a similar power.

uh, so anyways, check the dash pic in my profile, it was done with the 5-led matrix things.

[WannabeGT4]

Stick with the 5 LED Matrix style. I've used both and the superstars just aren't worht the extra money.

BTW, you can find them cheaper on eBay.

[xelan]

I have the Matrix bulbs and I really like them. They seem to light very evenly. I have the 3 main bulbs replaced and love it. Mine are red by the way.

[Akira_g4]

yea id go with matrix. ive got 3 white ones in mine and they look perfect with my reverse indigo gauges.

This post has been edited by Akira_g4: Sep 28, 2006 - 1:25 PM

[My2Celi]

im working on putting 3mm led in each number and cutting the tiny numbers with an exacto knife and replacing it with something that could make it look like a lexus gauge.

[Shocker]

im working on putting 3mm led in each number and cutting the tiny numbers with an exacto knife and replacing it with something that could make it look like a lexus gauge.

will definatly hav to see pics of that when you get that done...
thanks guys for all the info..

[trdproven]

I got non LED amber Raybrig bulbs, nice clean light.

[P5ycho]

u can use 5w sidelight/parking light bulbs. in the dash, the result is much better than the leds, and the bulbs are cheaper too. i have used led's in the past but they tend to leave dark patches on the dash, and your needles light up the same colour as the led's too, however if u use bulbs u can paint the needles to any colour that takes your fancy. heres a pic of my dash as proof...

[KB-2]

thats hott

[P5ycho]

thankyou, all done using 5w bulbs. even glow and bright as daylight, and i painted the needles red to match my apexi gauges, the dials are custom made...

[Predator]

i've used matrix's but all four i first ordered broke one after another, and according to autolumination their superstars were even more picky than the matrix, however their current matrix's now comes with an upgraded circuitry and i havent had any more problems since

[Zimluura]

ahh, predator that might explain why mine have been lasting this time.

i'm a big fan of leds, they use miniscule amounts of current. and if you ever see a side-by-side between electroluminescent (indiglo), incandescent (regular), & led the leds will always have the most saturated color (led blue is *way* blue-er than indiglo).

[Shocker]

What do you guys think of tis kind of led?

Pick me oh oh pick me

[DomGT]

What do you guys think of tis kind of led?

Pick me oh oh pick me

Looks cheap because it's only 1 LED. But at least it's behind a wide-angle lens. I agree with the other guys that say incandescent bulbs are better for gauges. I have used LEDs in past, they are only good for certain applications.

The only spot where I really liked superwhite LEDs is for the rear license plate lights. 194 style.

[Zimluura]

i've tried the inverted lens led, it's ok. not as bright as the matrix, but i remember the light dispersing pretty evenly with them, then again is was like a year ago.

[QuintinGT]

Ive got superstar LEDs I love them, but from what everyone else is saying maybe you should go with the matrix LED?



Sorry for the blury photo

[SveNRG]

Fitted my gauge cluster with three LEDs just last week. Bought some 4-LED bulbs from eBay. Superwhite. Looks a lot better now, but I'm not totally satisfied. You see, they're pretty good and bright, but I can still see greenish blur here and there. It's not a nice clean white like the SLM gauges in my pillar. Is there some sort of transparent plastic in the gauges that I should remove or something?

I also would like red needles but am afraid to paint them, should the result disappoint. Are 5W sidemarker bulbs really better? They should spread a more even lightm I'm sure... but they can't give the truly white light that I want.

I'll post a picture here soon of my gauges.

[tomazws]

Greenish is unavoidable. It's part of the plastic. :\

[My2Celi]

I would have a pic of my cluster with my superstar i bought but my cam got stolen.

[SveNRG]

Pics!

Before...


After!






This post has been edited by SveNRG: Oct 4, 2006 - 4:22 PM

[WannabeGT4]

^^^^^^^^^^^ That, my friends, is why you have to buy the "matrix" LEDs

These are brighter in person but you can see that the light is spread just as evenly as with incandescent bulbs.

[SveNRG]

I diasgree, yours appear to have a similar spread. Only it doesn't show as much because of the blue color LED you are using. Did some more research into this and found some other people on MR2OC forum also working on DEFI/TRD style gauges. It seems that what you have to do is sand the back of the gauge faces to get rid of the greenish material. Light will then travel through much easier for brighter color of the LEDs you're using. Problem remains hotspots in places where the LEDs are positioned, but this is a minor problem. Also, I'm going to get some red paint for the needles.

This post has been edited by SveNRG: Oct 5, 2006 - 7:50 AM

[WannabeGT4]

Are we looking at the same pictures?, your's look like shtt. I've seen the same "matrix" LEDs in white that look 10 times better than what you have. Sorry, it's the truth. Sanding the back of the gauges is a good idea though... I can see how it would help get rid of the green.

[SveNRG]

Are we looking at the same pictures?, your's look like shtt. I've seen the same "matrix" LEDs in white that look 10 times better than what you have. Sorry, it's the truth. Sanding the back of the gauges is a good idea though... I can see how it would help get rid of the green.

You're right, the sanding has helped loads and I can really see the white now in the spots where the leds are actually positioned. However, the spread is not good enough. I've ordered some chinese replicas of those matrixx leds, they're called 'refractor' leds. $5 for 2pcs. Let's see if that will be better

[P5ycho]

before i fit my custom dials and bulbs i was using the matrix type led's in my dash, here's a pic of what they looked like.....

[Predator]

seems to me that the greenish look is just due to improper illumination and not a plasic film

[P5ycho]

if u look at the refracter/matrix type led bulbs they are designed ith 1 led on top and 4 around the sides, now when u put those in the holders and into the dash the light spread sometimes is uneven due to the direction the bulbs might be pointing in,
i found i had to switch the bulbs around from one holder to the next to get the spread of light i was happy with, the end result is above for all to see, and my bulbs worked for over a year without failure. i just replced them when i fit my new dials,

[nixxx]

Man.....this tread should have been written earlier, ive just bought blue leds for my gauges and im not really happy with them. As some says, light is not spread everywhere.....

[celiracer]

Well My new idea with my guages are gonna be just get a plain bright white bulb. Paint all my numbers with a translusent red paint. And i'm going to keep my needles white. So the numbers are going to be bright red, and the needle white. I've been trying to get mine perfect. But what i was trying before wasn't working so i came up with a new idea. The best bet would be to get regular bulbs not LED's They don't spread very good.

[SveNRG]

Work in progress!



The sanding really paid off. I'm putting in the refractor leds next week and painting the needles red

[chacha]

sanded? how do you do that? sand the dials with sand paper?

[celiracer]

yea thats how you get the green off the back i guess. If i go to paint the numbers red. What kind of paint do i use to make it glow when the lights turn on?

SvenRG when you sanded them. Did you take all the needles off? if so i know how to reset the spadometer and the RPM but how would you reset the gas and heat needles? Let me know thanks.


This post has been edited by celiracer: Oct 9, 2006 - 5:13 PM

[SveNRG]

yea thats how you get the green off the back i guess. If i go to paint the numbers red. What kind of paint do i use to make it glow when the lights turn on?

SvenRG when you sanded them. Did you take all the needles off? if so i know how to reset the spadometer and the RPM but how would you reset the gas and heat needles? Let me know thanks.

I'm thinking of using deep red, mixed with clear finishing paint for more transarancy. When I sanded the back of the dials, I did not take them off.. but bended them slightly. Slowly working around it. You will hear the glue pop off now and then, but that's ok. Just be careful not to bend too far. I've had no problems there, and the faces did not stay bended or anything when i finished.

[celiracer]

Thanks what is the paint called? And how are you going to paint it with it still on there with the needles?

[tomazws]

yea thats how you get the green off the back i guess. If i go to paint the numbers red. What kind of paint do i use to make it glow when the lights turn on?

SvenRG when you sanded them. Did you take all the needles off? if so i know how to reset the spadometer and the RPM but how would you reset the gas and heat needles? Let me know thanks.

I'm thinking of using deep red, mixed with clear finishing paint for more transarancy. When I sanded the back of the dials, I did not take them off.. but bended them slightly. Slowly working around it. You will hear the glue pop off now and then, but that's ok. Just be careful not to bend too far. I've had no problems there, and the faces did not stay bended or anything when i finished.

Nice! You got the solution to our concerns!

[SveNRG]

Fitted some refractor leds to fix the hotspots. It sure helps!
I was hoping on some more overall brightness, but this is still pretty damn cool!

[WannabeGT4]

You might wanna try swapping a couple of them around, like P5ycho said, to get the light spread a little more evenly.

[Magic]

Few photos from my speedometer...





Sorry for the bad quality..

[SveNRG]

Damn, my xenon white refractor leds (cheap chines ones form ebay) have developed a problem. The middle one in the gauge cluster keeps breaking down. It worked fine for a month or so, then started flashing like a broken light in a highway restroom I replaced the LED bulb... broken from the start! Replaced with another (yeah i got some spares) and it worked again. But not for long. After a week, the same flashing problem. What do you guys think? Electrical problem or just crappy leds? The outer ones are the same kind and work fine.

By the way, a friend of mine took apart a spare cluster gauge unit he had lying around from his ST205. We looked at the inner workings of the lighting. It's actually a solid clear plastic disc what's behind the gauges, that has a little curved extension to it. And that is where the light bulbs are placed. The light then spreads through the whole disc and illuminates evenly. I think the problem with the LEDs is that they are just too bright for the disc too spread evenly. That's why the multi-direction 5-LED bulbs that I have make no better illumination than single direction ones.

I think I'm gonna try some 5W parking light bulbs - like mentioned on the first page of this topic - before I shell out to get Matrix leds.

This post has been edited by SveNRG: Jan 5, 2007 - 3:57 AM

[kCed]

Few photos from my speedometer...





Sorry for the bad quality..

nice wut kinda bulbs are those in there.....

any link to where i can get them...my car is dark green and i want to change all my lights to that color green in your pic....

hook me upp