Fj40 dash lights, bulb upgrade (1 Viewer)

[coxj22]

locklaw, thank you. Makes sense. I have ordered in the correct bulbs and will try again. Thank you.

 

[thatcabledude]

####!!! No go either

Is there any reason you haven’t tried these:

https://www.superbrightleds.com/led-light-bulbs-universal-finder/miniature-and-subminiature-bulbs/194-led-landscape-light-bulb-5-led-miniature-wedge-retrofit-30-lumens

I also would prefer a warm white in my cluster so I am going to give them a shot.

UV blacklight seems like it might be up @ToyotaMatt ‘s alley

 

[ToyotaMatt]

NO black UV rays for me


the FAA and USCG did a joint study on LED color spectrum and teh human eye and how it would adjust at night in the wheel house and cock pit too


this is the result and the ONLY way i roll now personally ...


this is my FJ62 for comparison

When I have time I will pull one of my FJ40 new OEM cluster meters that has had the light shade’s Modification also proformed and illuminate it with the new FAA / USCG light blue color lumen tone

I wear prescription glasses and I can’t tell you what a difference it makes over cool white or any shade of white or any other LED color for that matter

In addition this lumen color LED makes white paper such as a trail map or other thing like oarnge or yellow gauge needles POP out in a really killer kool way

Here Rocket Science truly exists …

 

[Ackcruisers]

Is there any reason you haven’t tried these:

https://www.superbrightleds.com/led-light-bulbs-universal-finder/miniature-and-subminiature-bulbs/194-led-landscape-light-bulb-5-led-miniature-wedge-retrofit-30-lumens

View attachment 3258995View attachment 3258996
View attachment 3258997
I also would prefer a warm white in my cluster so I am going to give them a shot.

UV blacklight seems like it might be up @ToyotaMatt ‘s alley

How did those work out for you?

I just installed these for primary cluster illumination as well as the high beam (blue) and turn signals (green).

 

[Ackcruisers]

As an alternative to the blinding super bright green turn signal LED, I’m recommending the lower lumen cool white bulb shown here.

Note: these will also fit the cluster main illumination socket but are too dim.

Here is a video comparing the two bulbs shown.

 

[ToyotaMatt]

i have updated and upgraded BOTH the Padded Dash Switch Panel LED Bulb amd the Heater Lever LED bulb too ,

Both are now in what's called the Color Temperature LUMEN Spectrum , or in other words Precisely matched with a NOS Green LENS specimen , this yields a way way warm rich uniform level playing field even GLOW

NOT a intense ones with areas of HOT-Spots and COLD-Spots ...

- a NEW , Different , and down right Exciting update and upgrade is only a bit further away from now being unveiled , that WILL in no uncertain terms take ALL Back Lit Knob Illuminated 40 and 55 HeadLamp & HeadLIght Switches 1973-1984 and WORM-HOLE them Light Years ahead into a New and Modern age of Discovery and absolute TEq OEM Inspired Pure BLISS ....



- my little sputnik moment coming up will include a specially Kustom made newly designed Heavy Duty UV rated ALL-Nylon Socket Bulb Socket , use a GREEN Color Temperature LED BULB , that has LUMEN ...

- my kit will include a special cue-tip type applied Cleaning and Refresh kit thingy to take 40+ years of age and time OFF both ends of the SOLID CORE Fiber-Optic shaft ends that transmit and flow the LUMENs from the back door to the front door more then a bit better to say the least .....

- lets just say the 84112-60010 and 84112-60011 's future is going to brighter then a Jedi Padawans Kyber Krystal on 4th of July ...

- THIS IS THE WAY ....


.

.

 

[rfitzpatrick]

These are the bulbs I ordered from Superbrightleds.com.
View attachment 1274927

They are all the right sizes for my 1973 FJ40, although I can't comment on if I got the brightness right, as I haven't tested them yet (truck is in pieces). Going down the list, this is where I will install them.
Blue one: High beam indicator
2 Green ones: turn signal indicator
2 Warm white: instrument panel housing lights
The three Festoon Base bulbs of varying brightnesses are for under the dash and the dome light, I got an extra so I can experiment with the brightnesses a bit.
The red one is for the parking brake indicator light.
The cool white is for the light in the headlight switch.

Again, these are the right sizes for me, but I'm not sure if they're the right brightness yet. But it's a good starting point.

Forgive me as I haven't pulled my old non-functioning instrument cluster bulbs, but are these BA9 bulbs the right ones for my '72?

 

[70 FJ40]

I bought some LEDs to put in the gauge cluster in anticipation of the coming darker months of the year. What is the best way to remove the gauge cluster. I did it several years ago in a different cruiser but I have forgotten.

 

[Green Bean]

I believe that on a 1970 model, the speedometer cable screws into the back of the instrument cluster. I thought that the most difficult part was reaching in back to unscrew the cable. It helps to get as much slack as you possibly can towards the cluster. Once the cable is disconnected, I found it helpful to label all of the wires before disconnecting them.

 

[70 FJ40]

I now have '77 Cruiser. When I remove the screws, the cluster only comes out about a 1/2 inch. Maybe less.

 

[Green Bean]

You will push the cluster upwards so that the tabs clear the lower dash. Then tilt the bottom as far forward as possible. Then reach from underneath and disconnect the speedometer cable.

 

[pb4ugo]

Be sure to disconnect the battery 1st. If the ammeter connections ground you will probably be looking for, or making a new wiring harness.

 

[MatthewMcD]

I am getting ready to start this work. Everything is working, and I just finished fixing the rheostat/dimmer on the headlight switch. One thing I noticed is that the light above the heater controls is on the same dimmer circuit as the dash cluster. Is this correct? I ask because that light is brighter than the cluster, so cranking up the intensity makes the knee well glow.

 

[pb4ugo]

I think all the lights on or in the dash are effected by the dimmer rheostat, except for the cabin light.

 

[NotFromFrace]

I upgraded the bulbs both in my gauge cluster, dash pad and heater control knob this past weekend on my 1976 40.

I did however, use a slight variation for the turn signals- I bought a pair of 194 5 SMD LED tower bulbs in green. (Went with the 5 model as it's one less diode than the 6, so it's not as bright as the 6). These bulbs put out a nice, rich green amount of light. Granted, they're bright at night, but that's ok...it helps a lot during the day. I tried the cool white bulb, but the light output had a faded, aged appearance to it.

For the high beam indicator, the cool white bulb is perfect.

**JULY 2021 UPDATE BELOW**

Here's what I installed in my '76 40 (These should be the same for '73 - '84 FJ40s):

From SuperBrightLEDs.:

Cluster illumination (Qty 2):
194 LED Bulb - 6 SMD LED Tower - Miniature Wedge Retrofit (comes in Cool White)

Turn signals (Qty 2):
194 LED Bulb - 5 SMD LED Tower - Miniature Wedge Base - Green

High beam indicator (Qty 1):
194 LED Bulb - 5 SMD LED Tower - Miniature Wedge Base - Cool White

Dash Pad (Qty 1):
DE3175 LED Light Bulb - (4) 3mm LED Festoon Bulb - 3022 Base - 30mm - Cool White

From Amazon:

Heater Knob (Qty 1):
LED 27mm Festoon Light Bulb (comes in Cool White)


Another Option for the Dash Pad Bulb and the Heater Control Knob Bulb:

Dash Pad

Heater Control Knob

I tried this using two of the green 5 SMD bulbs for the turn signals and the same bulbs in warm white for the cluster illumination and the high beam indicator. The bulbs work in the turn signal slots (both green and warm white) but they don't work at all in the other three positions. The bright indicator doesn't work at all regardless of the bulb type, so I guess I'll have to figure that out, but the cluster illumination (barely) works with the original bulbs, the LEDs don't come on at all though.

Does anyone have any ideas why this may be? They have the same base as the one recommended in this post.

BTW, if these bulbs are too bright for you, you can simply snap one of the LED modules off to make them dimmer. I will probably do this with the green turn signal bulbs, as they are way too bright at night.

 

[Shark56]

They are usually Polar specific. Try pulling a bulb, rotating 180⁰ amd see if that helps.

 

[Paul_A]

I think those bulbs require a certain minimum voltage to fire up and if your voltage is weak due to dirty connections or a bleed they may not work at all. I don't think they dim like a conventional bulb browns out--I think it's just lit or no lit. Check the connections and the grounds.