I also fail to see what is so negative about this discussion.
LED bulb for dash lights
- Thread starter sportsuburbangt
- Start date
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
And all the tar and nicotine from cigarette smoke, I was surprised of the layers of that crap in my I.P. in my Barracuda from carefree youthful days of smoking.
I think the OP was looking for "wow that's great, thanks for spending your hard earned money on LEDs to find out the best and sharing it here with all of us old farts because we can't see so good and now we know how much below the speed limit we are going." That should make him happy or at least laugh.
Thank God no one smoked in either of my Formal's. No evidence of smoke or tar anywhere.
monaco75
Senior Member
I took the plunge and did the LED conversion on the Cordoba. I'm not usually one for modern updates, as I feel it takes away from the "feeling" of the car.. But I'm liking these!. I replaced all the old bulbs with new 168's... But was still disappointed. Couldn't see squat.
Ordered these off ebay. Got 10 of em for 7 bucks. They are 5 led wedge bulbs.
Compared to the original bulbs-
Going in-
Still think there should be an extra socket for a bulb behind the speedo. As mentioned, they don't dim completely with the dimmer switch, but do dim some. Fine with me, as I like a well lit dash. The cops go out to play at night around here, need to keep an eye on things lol.
P.S. As seen in pics, I'm missing one of the twist in sockets for the right side blinker, anyone got a spare??
Ordered these off ebay. Got 10 of em for 7 bucks. They are 5 led wedge bulbs.
Compared to the original bulbs-
Going in-
Still think there should be an extra socket for a bulb behind the speedo. As mentioned, they don't dim completely with the dimmer switch, but do dim some. Fine with me, as I like a well lit dash. The cops go out to play at night around here, need to keep an eye on things lol.
P.S. As seen in pics, I'm missing one of the twist in sockets for the right side blinker, anyone got a spare??
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Holy crap!
I'm finally sold!
I have to pull the dash soon anyway to R&R the radio.
Absolutely gonna do it.
Is it a no-wire circuit board socket or a socket with 1 or 2 wires?
I'm finally sold!
I have to pull the dash soon anyway to R&R the radio.
Absolutely gonna do it.
Zac, pm me your address.
Is it a no-wire circuit board socket or a socket with 1 or 2 wires?
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
Do they have different colors or do they just look blue in pics?
monaco75
Senior Member
If you do go for it, make sure to get the "super bright", or "ultra bright" bulbs, as there is a big difference. Also make sure to get the multiple LED wedge bulbs. The normal flat bulbs only shoot the ray of light in one direction.
Here are the ones I got for reference.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/171625713267?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
I do like em! Only now I need to get the correct bulbs to replace the temp control, and shift indicator bulbs to match.
PM on the way, thanks Stan!
They make virtually any color you want. There was a post over on moparstyle with this same cluster, with different colored led's for reference. The blues stand out, and looked the best IMO. I really like how the orange needles stick out against the blue.
White-
Heres blue LED's on the left, and original lamps on the right-
All blue (same as mine)
Red-
fury fan
Senior Member
Old thread, I know, but wanted to pile on as I have done a bit of work with LEDs, starting back in perhaps 2000 when they came out for the bigrigs, spanning up to a 'special project' just last year.
Yes, LEDs will typically not dim much via a rheostat, you need a PWM dimmer (pulse width modulation). This essentially cycles the voltage on/off/on at a high frequency, enough to alter the light but too fast for human eyes to detect. there are a bunch of them available on Amazon for cheap, but some of the sizes are not friendly.
As mentioned, LED choices vary a lot, and because an LED is directional, special attention must be paid to which direction the light must throw in the IP, sometimes a multi-chip LED bulb is mandatory. BAsed on my experience, you can buy a lot of LEDs until you get a particular combination to work well. Also, if using for warning lights, the LED must match the lens otherwise the color is altered. While it is obvious to not put a blue LED behind a red lens, what is not so obvious is to *not* but a white LED behind a red lens, as this will give a 'bright' coloration that doesn't look quite right.
The 67-68 dash lights were done back in 2003. This project was tougher than one would think (factory lights are actually front-lighting the gauges from the upper dash), although modern strip lighting would make it much easier. If I were to do it again the results would be better (and cheaper).
The 300 lights started out as an experiment and I investigated a variety of COB chips, daisy-chained modules and strip lighting. It was a very complex balance of putting LEDs directly behind the lens fluting (to prevent hotspots), finding modules to fit the fluting (which is not consistent across the lens), finding modules to fit in the housing (which tapers shorter toward the side of the car). The lighting is a bit more impressive in person vs what the camera shows - not specifically brightness, but in how full it appears behind the lens, and how 'commanding' it is. I believe I have a good recipe for finishing the project, however it took way too much time to develop and fell low on the priority list. 80 watts of LED chips for backing lights have passed proof of concept also. One day I may get it done...
![IMG_1431[1].jpg](https://forcbodiesonly.com/mopar-forum/attachments/img_1431-1-jpg.82080/ "IMG_1431[1].jpg")
![IMG_1432[1].jpg](https://forcbodiesonly.com/mopar-forum/attachments/img_1432-1-jpg.82082/ "IMG_1432[1].jpg")
Yes, LEDs will typically not dim much via a rheostat, you need a PWM dimmer (pulse width modulation). This essentially cycles the voltage on/off/on at a high frequency, enough to alter the light but too fast for human eyes to detect. there are a bunch of them available on Amazon for cheap, but some of the sizes are not friendly.
As mentioned, LED choices vary a lot, and because an LED is directional, special attention must be paid to which direction the light must throw in the IP, sometimes a multi-chip LED bulb is mandatory. BAsed on my experience, you can buy a lot of LEDs until you get a particular combination to work well. Also, if using for warning lights, the LED must match the lens otherwise the color is altered. While it is obvious to not put a blue LED behind a red lens, what is not so obvious is to *not* but a white LED behind a red lens, as this will give a 'bright' coloration that doesn't look quite right.
The 67-68 dash lights were done back in 2003. This project was tougher than one would think (factory lights are actually front-lighting the gauges from the upper dash), although modern strip lighting would make it much easier. If I were to do it again the results would be better (and cheaper).
The 300 lights started out as an experiment and I investigated a variety of COB chips, daisy-chained modules and strip lighting. It was a very complex balance of putting LEDs directly behind the lens fluting (to prevent hotspots), finding modules to fit the fluting (which is not consistent across the lens), finding modules to fit in the housing (which tapers shorter toward the side of the car). The lighting is a bit more impressive in person vs what the camera shows - not specifically brightness, but in how full it appears behind the lens, and how 'commanding' it is. I believe I have a good recipe for finishing the project, however it took way too much time to develop and fell low on the priority list. 80 watts of LED chips for backing lights have passed proof of concept also. One day I may get it done...
Moparmat2000
Active Member
Led 5630 strip light.
fury fan
Senior Member
That looks like pretty good fill, and the hotspots aren't terribly noticeable, and tremendously more effective than the OEM bulbs. I wonder if you put a strip of thin clear reflectorized plastic in front of it if it would spread the light better? Like maybe cut a strip from a lens/cover from a fluorescent troffer light?
The use of strip lighting is very KISS in that housing. That wasn't available back when I did my 68 Fury dash lites, and it's likely the route I'd go now. Although now I think I'd probably use one of these color-selecting gizmos, to dial in close to the factory color - or whatever I wanted that day.
The use of strip lighting is very KISS in that housing. That wasn't available back when I did my 68 Fury dash lites, and it's likely the route I'd go now. Although now I think I'd probably use one of these color-selecting gizmos, to dial in close to the factory color - or whatever I wanted that day.
Moparmat2000
Active Member
LED strip lighting options. Lots of colors to choose from. I bought a roll of the water resistant coated warm white, a 12v transformer, and a remote control dimmer. I plan on putting those under the front edge of my wall hung kitchen cabinets for night lighting. Going to position them so you cant see them, but you get the illumination glow on the counter top from them. I recommend the 5630 strip LEDs as they are the brightest you can get, and they are dimmable.
Similar threads
