Fj40 dash lights, bulb upgrade (1 Viewer)

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fyton2v said:
Used those 194-whp6 bulbs for my cluster and the change isn’t nearly as dramatic. The cluster is only a tad brighter. The LED bulbs in the turn signal indicators are crazy bright, however.

Any clue what would make my cluster readable at night? I hear that removing the shields around the bulb will do the trick, but the passenger can see a bit of glare. Did you dudes with the shiny clusters remove those light shields?
Click to expand...
i also facing the same issue, it is a pain to see clearly at night
 
If you follow the bulb list with part numbers posted earlier in the thread, it'll fix the dimness issue. I incorrectly installed the 2 main cluster bulbs. If you do it right, it works really well.

BOBC25060 said:
i also facing the same issue, it is a pain to see clearly at night
Click to expand...
 
Posted this in my build thread awhile ago. But figured it was better to keep it here too.

chrome_2020-12-10_14-36-14.png



I originally had the suggested brighter 4 LEDs version in my turn signals and 4WD slots and they were just too bright. Distractingly bright. I swapped them out for the single LED version and they are much much better. Nice color and brighter than stock, but not in your face like the single 4 LED version. Save yourself the $1 and get the lower output.

A also went "warm white" for the backlight in the cluster as it feels more orginal to me. Cool white just screams LED. But this is a personal preference.

I also went with the bright 4 led blue for high beams. Even then it's still dim, but that could be how scuffed my lens is.

IMG_0376.jpg
 
I'm swapping out my bulbs for the ones in post #40. Definitely an improvement, but not really great yet... will look for grounding issues. FYI, the heater knob bulb (from #40) is a bit thicker than the bulb in my truck (1/80) and caused it to ground out against the side of the fixture and blow the fuse. Not sure how everyone else is getting away with using it, but will look for a smaller option. Need to find one that fits the dome light as well.
 
That heater LED bulb has a specific polarity. Try reversing it.
 
fyton2v said:
That heater LED bulb has a specific polarity. Try reversing it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's not about the polarity... the LED bulb is thicker, causing the ears in the fixture to make contact with the metal walls and shorting it out. Since I made the above post, I found another couple of threads where folks used electrical tape inside the fixture to deal with it. Not my cup of tea, so found and ordered a couple of different sized bulbs to try.
 
mrldcty said:
Yeah, it's not about the polarity... the LED bulb is thicker, causing the ears in the fixture to make contact with the metal walls and shorting it out. Since I made the above post, I found another couple of threads where folks used electrical tape inside the fixture to deal with it. Not my cup of tea, so found and ordered a couple of different sized bulbs to try.
Click to expand...
Oh ya. I also used electrical tape :). Seems to be holding up fine.
 
mrldcty said:
I'm swapping out my bulbs for the ones in post #40. Definitely an improvement, but not really great yet... will look for grounding issues. FYI, the heater knob bulb (from #40) is a bit thicker than the bulb in my truck (1/80) and caused it to ground out against the side of the fixture and blow the fuse. Not sure how everyone else is getting away with using it, but will look for a smaller option. Need to find one that fits the dome light as well.
Click to expand...
I think I fashioned some kind of insulator for that bulb to prevent shorting or just used a smaller bulb as you mentioned.
 
EmanC said:
Posted this in my build thread awhile ago. But figured it was better to keep it here too.

View attachment 2910337


I originally had the suggested brighter 4 LEDs version in my turn signals and 4WD slots and they were just too bright. Distractingly bright. I swapped them out for the single LED version and they are much much better. Nice color and brighter than stock, but not in your face like the single 4 LED version. Save yourself the $1 and get the lower output.

A also went "warm white" for the backlight in the cluster as it feels more orginal to me. Cool white just screams LED. But this is a personal preference.

I also went with the bright 4 led blue for high beams. Even then it's still dim, but that could be how scuffed my lens is.

View attachment 2910340
Click to expand...
Would like to also go with the warm white for the cluster bulbs, but having difficulty locating that option from the link on post #40. Do you recall the product #? Thanks
 
rex in bama said:
Uhhh…..would this involve cutting those off as I have heard described? If so, I will not be going down this path.
Click to expand...
yes they need removed.
the only leds, that i have seen so far, that fit without removing them are the cool whites.
 
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