LED Question...

[Phatfantom68]

I got my new gauge cluster today, and so now I have some extra 194 wedge bulbs to play around with, so I was thinking of getting some of those "hyper-white" led bulbs for my gauge cluster, but I have a few questions:

1) I am thinking of getting a few single inverted led wedges. I know they won't be as bright as the 5-led ones, but should I be concerned about the light distribution, and do you think they might be too dim?

2) I have all the 194 twist bases, and I pulled off the retaining pieces so the old bulbs are out. When I do get my new bulbs, how should I install them into the base? My friend told me that you can just bend the little wires to make contact, but should I be concerned about my bulbs flying out of the base?

3) Other than what's on ebay, do you know where I can buy some cheap and decent quality led's?

Oh, and while i'm asking a question, I had another electrical question: Why does my camry have a wire harness thing going up into the driver's seat even though my car doesnt have power seats, and as far as i know, gen 2 camry's didn't have seatbelt sensors, or at least not on camry's equipped with automatic seat belts.

[88 LE]

Originally Posted by Phatfantom68

1) I am thinking of getting a few single inverted led wedges. I know they won't be as bright as the 5-led ones, but should I be concerned about the light distribution, and do you think they might be too dim?

LEDs have a narrow viewing angle. So light distribution would be a concern.

You'd be better off with ones that have multiple LEDs, instead of a single LED.

2) I have all the 194 twist bases, and I pulled off the retaining pieces so the old bulbs are out. When I do get my new bulbs, how should I install them into the base? My friend told me that you can just bend the little wires to make contact, but should I be concerned about my bulbs flying out of the base?

The bulbs just pull out and plug right back in. Unless you have the bulb sockets where the wires go through the bottom.

No, the bulbs won't fly out of the base.

[drunken_panda]

You can sand down the face of the LED a little to get better light dispersion. We have a Previa that keeps shooting bulds out of its base. In the instrument cluster, the blubs will pop out and you can hear them ratteling around in there. Dont know what causes it, but it pretty much has happened to all of them.