did you upgrade the wiring at all for the LEDs?
looks great BTW. cant wait to see it finished!
Cam
looks great BTW. cant wait to see it finished!
Cam
LED in Dash n Licence plate
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Here are some pics of my yota with the LED light in the speedo n climate control n License plate! hope you guys like. I've also been color sanding my truck. I started on my tailgate today, so far so good! Thanks obc_dave_obc for introducing me to color sanding. Ill get better pics once my interior is back together and once i learn how to use my digital cam again!
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^ you don't need to upgrade any wiring for the LED's. they actually draw less current than a regular incandescent bulb.
that being said, over a year ago, i switched my stock bulbs in the dash out for red LED's. they look great! they're not the stupid pontiac red, they're like, BLOOD red. i love them, and did the same thing in my supra.
edit: to add pics.
pics do it no justice.
there are no hot spots in real life.
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dual LED dome light. (each LED had four small LED's on it)
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-shaeff
that being said, over a year ago, i switched my stock bulbs in the dash out for red LED's. they look great! they're not the stupid pontiac red, they're like, BLOOD red. i love them, and did the same thing in my supra.
edit: to add pics.
pics do it no justice.
there are no hot spots in real life.
dual LED dome light. (each LED had four small LED's on it)
-shaeff
yea exactly what shaeff said no need to do the wiring cuz i draws less power but it does make a BIG differance in the interior. im also gettin some HID headlight v-day so ill let you how that goes! Also thanks cam i can always no ur support is there!
i used the 5-LED (five tiny led's all in one bulb, one facing straight up, four facing each side) from www.superbrightleds.com - delivery was fast, and the bulbs work great.
-shaeff
-shaeff
damn i like the led climate control thing how did you do that im never messed with leds or any thing of that sort but i hate to mess with the damn control in the dark is pisses me off a lot. over all nice...
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234 Posts
This sounds like a great deal, i havent been into the top of my dash at all and would like to do this. Could u guys post a basic step by step?
i also have a red LED in my climate control location, but the picture quality isn't that great so i didn't post it.
grab a 10mm ratchet, and a phillips head screwdriver. pull the glove box out, (a few screws on top), the speaker enclosure on the passenger side, (10mm), and work your way to the left. remove the stereo bezel, (be careful), then you'll see that you can remove the outer dash piece over the gauges. (you have to disconnect the hazzard switch, and fogs if you have the switch for those mounted below the hazzards like i do)-
once you remove that outer trim piece, it's only a few phillips head screws away. pull the cluster out (it'll be apparent when you get that trim off) and replace the bulbs. i only replaced the bulbs that light when the lights are on, and didnt bother with the 4wd light, engine light, or anything else. (also, i only put in three bulbs, one for the center of the speedo/tach, and one on each outer side. the side gauges illuminte very well from the residual light bleeding over.
i didn't feel the need to put those in since it's plenty bright. so, i used 4 bulbs TOTAL. three for the cluster, and one for the climate control.
by the way, here's a pic of the climate control. the dark spots are where the adjustment levers are. the picture doesn't show it, but the blue part of the hot/cold selection actually lights up a deep cool looking purple.
![]()
-shaeff
grab a 10mm ratchet, and a phillips head screwdriver. pull the glove box out, (a few screws on top), the speaker enclosure on the passenger side, (10mm), and work your way to the left. remove the stereo bezel, (be careful), then you'll see that you can remove the outer dash piece over the gauges. (you have to disconnect the hazzard switch, and fogs if you have the switch for those mounted below the hazzards like i do)-
once you remove that outer trim piece, it's only a few phillips head screws away. pull the cluster out (it'll be apparent when you get that trim off) and replace the bulbs. i only replaced the bulbs that light when the lights are on, and didnt bother with the 4wd light, engine light, or anything else. (also, i only put in three bulbs, one for the center of the speedo/tach, and one on each outer side. the side gauges illuminte very well from the residual light bleeding over.
i didn't feel the need to put those in since it's plenty bright. so, i used 4 bulbs TOTAL. three for the cluster, and one for the climate control.
by the way, here's a pic of the climate control. the dark spots are where the adjustment levers are. the picture doesn't show it, but the blue part of the hot/cold selection actually lights up a deep cool looking purple.
-shaeff
Joined
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234 Posts
Thanxs a lot, i think i will go with all blue if it will be bright enough.
Shaeff, what did you do for the 4WD bulb? did you just keep the original bulb in it or what? the red dash looks sweet though. my bro just bought a bmw m3 and they have all red lights for the dash and climate controls. it has really made me want to get red bulbs for my pickup!
Cam
Cam
haha, nevermind. i just finished reading the rest of your post!! im stupid! another question though, what bulbs do you use for the map light? is it just another 194?
Cam
Cam
you could also change the PRND21 light to led and the climate control the bulb size is 74 or 37 here is the link on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&viewitem=&item=250072985570 there a lil bit more expensive but work great thou im buying some more!
yes but there are two types of bulbs in the speedo, there is four 194 and the is six 74 or 34. And there is just one bulb in the climate control and thats a 74 or 34 bulb! hope this helps!
I am incredibly angry. I had a HUGE response typed up, and I lost it all by accidentally hitting the “forward” button in the right click menu! Ugh! Anyway… here it goes again.
the red really sets it off. My friend still has the stock green lights in his Toyota pickup (’91), and it looks like puke green compared to my red!
I included a map light writeup below. J
There seems to be a lot of interest in this, so I’ll give all the information I can remember.
First, the Gauge cluster takes 194’s and 74’s. I used three 194’s ONLY here are the exact ones I used:
WLED-x5 LED Wedge Base Bulbs
5-LED super wide angle 194/168 wedge base bulbs
4 radially mounted 3mm LEDs emit most of the light from the sides of the bulbs
1 High Flux LED emits from the end of the bulbs - non-polarized bulbs
I put one between the speedo and tach, and one on the outside of both the speedo and tach. The extra light leaks over to the other two gauges on each side just fine. (so there’s no need to buy 1 LED for each of them, which also saves you money! J
For the climate control, I used a single one of these:
Single LED Wedge Base Bulbs:
These 12 Volt Super Bright LED bulbs will replace T3-1/4 (#194/168) filament bulbs found in many automobile and water craft applications. Inverted cone clear lens causes the light to emit from the sides as well as the end. Built in current limiting resistor and diode to protect the LED from reversed polarity installation. These bulbs are polarized so if you plug them in and they don't light, turn them around in the socket and they will light.
Both of the aforementioned LED’s can be found on this page of the www.superbrightleds.com website: http://www.superbrightleds.com/mini-wedge.html
For the Dome light, I did a bit of customization. J here’s what I did and how:
I use a regular festoon type LED bulb found here: http://www.superbrightleds.com/festoon.html
I ordered two of them. Here is the size: 36 x 10 mm Festoon base with 4 LEDs
When they arrived, I managed to jam one of them in there, although it was a bit too long, it worked. It didn’t cast enough light for my needs, so I got to thinking. The festoon bulb is shaped like this <==>. If you look carefully at the very tips of the ends, you can see that the bulbs and small circuit board are soldered into the festoon housing only on the very ends.
I warmed up my soldering iron, held the bulb with a pair of pliers wrapped with a cloth, and melted the solder on the end. With another set of pliers, I pulled off the metal end cap. Do this for both sides! Then use a saw, (or a cutting tip on the soldering iron like I did) and melt/cut through the remaining plastic that is holding the bulbs. You want the end result to be JUST the bulbs on the circuit board. Now go get some spare wire and solder about 1.5” on each end of the bulb/circuit board combo (where the original tiny little wire was, which I forgot to mention you have to take off) once they’re soldered on both bulbs, twist the ends of them together parallel.
It should look like this:
------[====]--------
------[====]--------
But with the ends twisted together. Then crimp on a regular eye-lit connector, and cut the eye-lit in half. (note: use wire with thick copper strands to bend the wire as you like- look at the pic) Tuck it inside on either side of the dome light where the contacts are. It’s a PITA, but can be done. Then both lights will turn on when you open the doors, or flip on the switch. Here's a sort of blurry pic of what it looks like. (it was taken at night)
![]()
I’ve had great luck with it, and had many compliments.
-shaeff
The blue will be plenty bright! (brighter than the red, actually)Jakey_Jake said:
I left it as-is. I liked how the green stands out against the red. It makes it virtually impossible to forget that you’re in 4WD.Geius Meniacal said:
the red really sets it off. My friend still has the stock green lights in his Toyota pickup (’91), and it looks like puke green compared to my red!I included a map light writeup below. J
I included part numbers and stuff belowJ95toybox said:
There seems to be a lot of interest in this, so I’ll give all the information I can remember.
First, the Gauge cluster takes 194’s and 74’s. I used three 194’s ONLY here are the exact ones I used:
WLED-x5 LED Wedge Base Bulbs
5-LED super wide angle 194/168 wedge base bulbs
4 radially mounted 3mm LEDs emit most of the light from the sides of the bulbs
1 High Flux LED emits from the end of the bulbs - non-polarized bulbs
I put one between the speedo and tach, and one on the outside of both the speedo and tach. The extra light leaks over to the other two gauges on each side just fine. (so there’s no need to buy 1 LED for each of them, which also saves you money! J
For the climate control, I used a single one of these:
Single LED Wedge Base Bulbs:
These 12 Volt Super Bright LED bulbs will replace T3-1/4 (#194/168) filament bulbs found in many automobile and water craft applications. Inverted cone clear lens causes the light to emit from the sides as well as the end. Built in current limiting resistor and diode to protect the LED from reversed polarity installation. These bulbs are polarized so if you plug them in and they don't light, turn them around in the socket and they will light.
Both of the aforementioned LED’s can be found on this page of the www.superbrightleds.com website: http://www.superbrightleds.com/mini-wedge.html
For the Dome light, I did a bit of customization. J here’s what I did and how:
I use a regular festoon type LED bulb found here: http://www.superbrightleds.com/festoon.html
I ordered two of them. Here is the size: 36 x 10 mm Festoon base with 4 LEDs
When they arrived, I managed to jam one of them in there, although it was a bit too long, it worked. It didn’t cast enough light for my needs, so I got to thinking. The festoon bulb is shaped like this <==>. If you look carefully at the very tips of the ends, you can see that the bulbs and small circuit board are soldered into the festoon housing only on the very ends.
I warmed up my soldering iron, held the bulb with a pair of pliers wrapped with a cloth, and melted the solder on the end. With another set of pliers, I pulled off the metal end cap. Do this for both sides! Then use a saw, (or a cutting tip on the soldering iron like I did) and melt/cut through the remaining plastic that is holding the bulbs. You want the end result to be JUST the bulbs on the circuit board. Now go get some spare wire and solder about 1.5” on each end of the bulb/circuit board combo (where the original tiny little wire was, which I forgot to mention you have to take off
) once they’re soldered on both bulbs, twist the ends of them together parallel.It should look like this:
------[====]--------
------[====]--------
But with the ends twisted together. Then crimp on a regular eye-lit connector, and cut the eye-lit in half. (note: use wire with thick copper strands to bend the wire as you like- look at the pic) Tuck it inside on either side of the dome light where the contacts are. It’s a PITA, but can be done. Then both lights will turn on when you open the doors, or flip on the switch. Here's a sort of blurry pic of what it looks like. (it was taken at night)
I’ve had great luck with it, and had many compliments.
-shaeff
Joined
·
234 Posts
i noticed the 31x10 festoon bulb with the 9 leds i think it would fit and still give plenty of light if u dont want to do all the Mcguivering
shaeff why did you decide to go that route with the dome instead of buyin an led bulb?
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