LED light swap (lots of pics! dial-up=bad) (1 Viewer)

[sl33py]

I did this on my previous FJ60 and liked it a lot (in blue).

Old FJ60 w/ Blue (at brightest):

and matching Heater controls:

I used the brightest at the time: (pic from superbrightleds.com)

I liked the blue but wasn't SUPER impressed w/ the amt of light for the tach especially. These pics don't do justice though - ALL of the guages are actually brighter in person.

I decided to do it again on the new truck - but red this time. Plus the new high output LED's for most of them. (a PITA to fit btw)

From my previous go at this, i realized that the blinkers, and 4wd should NOT be super bright LED's - unless you like blinding yourself or inducing seizures.
(Blinkers are the worst, but 4wd is too bright driving at night for any distance.)

I got the high output LED's from superbrightleds.com (a great site and pretty reasonable prices).

Here's the bulbs i used for the guages (pic from superbrightleds.com):

A word of caution - they fit, but barely. They are a longer "bulb" w/ a wider base, so they spread the socket a bit and needed filing to then fit back in.

Here are the guages with stock bulbs at brightest:

And here are the new Red LED's turned all the way down:

Turned all the way up:

(note that w/ LED's the adjustment is shorter, but they do adjust from dim to bright)

Now i just need to get the bulb for the Heater controls in red to match.

Hope that helps someone who is an LED geek like me!

rob

 

[GLTHFJ60]

6 of the pictures don't work, but excellent work! Get those pics fixed.

 

[umpqua]

I'm interested in this mod. Can't open the pic's though....probably me.

My heat and air controls are pitch black. Is there supposed to be a light that illuminates this area? I can't recall that mine has ever been lit......maybe the light has always been burned out? Sure would be nice to see this at night.

I'll do a search for the bulbs that are needed in the dash but if you have them handy.....

 

[sl33py]

I forgot to post how many of what:

Super Bright 1watt (in red) shown above (9.99 ea) Red x4 for the guages.

Low-watt (1.19 ea) Green x3 for blinkers and 4wd:

Used very bright (5$ ea) (not as bright as guages) Red x3 for warnings (brakes, volt, and belts), Blue x1 for High Beams, and Amber x1 for Choke.

All pics from SUPER BRIGHT LEDS home

so about 75$ for lights i hopefully won't have to mess with again! Maybe a bit steep, but look at SOR - the PIAA superbright bulbs are $15.20 pair ( so 7.60 ea).

Anyway - hope that helps if you are trying to do something similar.

rob

 

[sl33py]

I'm interested in this mod. Can't open the pic's though....probably me.

My heat and air controls are pitch black. Is there supposed to be a light that illuminates this area? I can't recall that mine has ever been lit......maybe the light has always been burned out? Sure would be nice to see this at night.

I'll do a search for the bulbs that are needed in the dash but if you have them handy.....

CRAP - i'll have to fix those...not you.

yes there is a small festoon bulb behind your heater control. SUPER easy - just grab and pull. small white diffusor you move and VOILA!

rob

 

[sl33py]

the pics work now for everyone? Thread is Pretty useless w/o pics!

 

[sl33py]

assuming the pics work.

one thing i forgot to mention - the WLED-xHP's need to be put in the correct way(polarity). So i had to swap 2 around to work. So don't button it up w/o checking!

rob

 

[GAS-A-LOT!]

wow! turned all the way down? isn't that too bright to begin with?

 

[sl33py]

wow! turned all the way down? isn't that too bright to begin with?

I haven't driven a bunch in dark, but did take a quick spin tonight after p/s and smog pump finally done. I don't think so really.

It's bright, but i chose red so it wouldn't affect night vision. It's tough to photograph something like this equally. (should've set manual...) anyway - the blue is much brighter (as in you can actually see tach), and red is more red so not so orange/bright.

hope that makes sense. I like it so far!

rob

 

[Spook50]

Good stuff, Rob. I run red 194 bulbs in my gauges now and love the difference in color. I'd like to find a color to paint the needles that'll make them more visible though. Having trouble finding a color/shade that'll look good in both daylight and the red light from the gauges.

I'm going to give these LEDs a shot when I get back to the States. Be sure to let us know when you find a red LED that'll work for the heater controls. I'm sick of constantly melting the bulb mount area in the indicator panel (yes, even with a stock festoon light). I'm up to my third heater control panel now because the s*** keeps warping so bad.

 

[Richmond]

Next mod!!! For someone with a daily driver rig even with my good eyesight it is near impossible to read those gauges at night. I'd like to see new green ones put in, LED green is very different than rubber cap green.

 

[sl33py]

Good stuff, Rob. I run red 194 bulbs in my gauges now and love the difference in color. I'd like to find a color to paint the needles that'll make them more visible though. Having trouble finding a color/shade that'll look good in both daylight and the red light from the gauges.

I'm going to give these LEDs a shot when I get back to the States. Be sure to let us know when you find a red LED that'll work for the heater controls. I'm sick of constantly melting the bulb mount area in the indicator panel (yes, even with a stock festoon light). I'm up to my third heater control panel now because the s*** keeps warping so bad.

Spook - i've had the blue in my old truck for 3+ yrs w/o issue. I am going to try a new one in red or do white w/ the white diffusor painted red - not sure yet. If you take out the diffusor and use this bulb from superbrightleds.com it should work (like i said it's worked so far for me):

i used the 9 bulb (square brick looking one) in blue previously. It wouldn't fit w/o removing diffusor though.

HTH - GL!

rob

 

[GLTHFJ60]

The gauges look excellent, but I can't decide if they're too bright or not. I like the idea of having a red cluster though.

How much brighter are the warning lights ( brake, charge, etc ) than the gauges?

 

[sl33py]

Neat upgrade. You mention that the LEDs you used barely fit, how about the LEDs that are one step down from the ones you used? Do those fit better? If so, how much dimmer are they than the ones you used? (I mean how much dimmer in red--I can see the blue)

Thanks.

Not sure. i don't have any of the lower wattage LED's anywhere except for warning lights, 4wd, etc - so not the same. I imagine similar brightness as blue.

I think if i were to take tach apart and remove the shield that restricts light it would be brighter w/ the less $ bulbs.

And they do fit a LOT better. They are way shorter - probably my biggest concern w/ the super bright ones. The brigher ones have a lot of heavy material sticking out of socket (ie-leverage) - so it's kind of good they fit so snug. I really don't want to tear into it again to reseat one! I also pulled a small bit of heat shrink (clear) at bottom of them to make sure the socket gripped the bulb firmly.

HTH
rob

 

[sl33py]

The gauges look excellent, but I can't decide if they're too bright or not. I like the idea of having a red cluster though.

How much brighter are the warning lights ( brake, charge, etc ) than the gauges?

Good question - i'll have to check when i get home and see if i can post you a pic. I imagine they will be a bit brighter than the stock bulb. I used the xHP ones which should be pointing right at lens - so should be noticeable!

I know the 6bulb LED's i used for my blinkers would blind me, and these xHP ones are supposed to be quite a bit brighter (and now just in warning spots (volt, Belt, etc)).

I'll get a pic or two for you.

rob

 

[mot]

The gauges look excellent, but I can't decide if they're too bright or not. I like the idea of having a red cluster though.

x 2!

I usually like to dim/adjust the lights depending on where I'm driving. If I'm driving in town I like to have them bright, but if I'm driving out in the sticks I like to dim them quite a bit (making it easier to see the road better when I switch from looking at the cluster, etc...)

I hope you can still dim it well enough though!

Nice work!!

 

[sl33py]

x 2!

I usually like to dim/adjust the lights depending on where I'm driving. If I'm driving in town I like to have them bright, but if I'm driving out in the sticks I like to dim them quite a bit (making it easier to see the road better when I switch from looking at the cluster, etc...)

I hope you can still dim it well enough though!

Nice work!!

Thanks mot! I'm the same way. I tried to find some dark roads the other night to see how they did at dimmest and i think they will be ok. One reason i got red instead of green (almost did green), was for night vision.

Time will tell though. Honestly they don't seem as orange and bright as in pics, but they light up really well. Maybe i'll have to try a quick video to show you guys... I'll mess with that tonight.

Thx!

rob

 

[Mikesta]

tagging this thread... I like. After the 62 door upgrade.

 

[stash12]

nice

bright light, bright light!!! they look good. you can also find this lights at your local pep-boys.

 

[Belize Off Road Team]

is there a thread that shows how to take the dash apart so one can change the bulbs? cause i still have some LEDs left over from when i swapped my 4runner dash lights to LEDs. Its good to know they use the same base.