Convert Your Cluster & Control lights to LED's How-to!

Yep, another how-to... For a while I had some general colored bulbs in my cluster, you know, the crappy APC ones. The problem with these incandecent bulbs is that over time they fade...(In the case of the blue one, they faded to green, and the reds faded to pink).... So I finally got off my arse and decided to upgrade my cluster to LED's. Yes, I know, some of you say..."Why don't you go with EL Glow gauges?" Well, unfortunatly, we with the 94-97 clusters have a hard time getting the right gauges for that. (Some of you know what I'm talking about). Besides, what I ended up doing was cheaper and looks pretty decent. This how-to also applies to 98+ clusters as well with the exception of the gear indicator. So let us begin...

(Forgive some of the pics, my camera sucks for close up detail)

Tools needed:
Needle nose pliers
Soldering pencil
solder
15mm socket
7mm socket
Phillips head screw driver

Start by removing the drivers side kick panel and knee panel. Once this is out of the way we need to drop the steering column. (The cluster won't come out with the steering wheel up) On either side of the steering wheel column you will see a 15mm nut. Remove both. This drops the column. Let it rest on the driver's seat.

Remove both screws above the cluster. Now carefully start pulling the dash bezel towards you until it releases from the dash. Disconnect all switch harness's and set bezel in the back seat of the car (or where ever you want to).

Now, you will see 5 7mm screws. 1 in each corner, and 1 on the bottom just left of center. Simply remove these. Now slowly pull the cluster towards you. Ok, that's it. Cluster removed.

Shown here is the back of the cluster. There are 5 194 twist style bulbs (For gauge illumination) , and 10 t1 twist bulbs. (Idiot lights).


http://www.pghconsulting.net/led/cluster.jpg

Here we see the typical GM green socket. These suck. Why? Because they aren't slip on 194's. You actually have to disassemble the damn thing.

Here we see the original 194 socketed bulb and the new 4 LED LED bulb. (No resistors are needed as the resistors are built into the wedge)

http://www.pghconsulting.net/led/194.jpg

Simply use a pair of needle nose pliers and pull firmly on the connection tab on the bulb.

http://www.pghconsulting.net/led/194-1.jpg

The tab will slip out.
http://www.pghconsulting.net/led/194-2.jpg

Do this for both sides of the bulb, pull the old bulb. Straighten the wires on the new bulb so they go through the top of the bulb socket. When you insert the tabs back in, simply fold the wire over the connecting tab.

Now simply put the bulb back in the back of the cluster and move to the next one.

Shown here is a t1 bulb with a base, and 1 without. The cluster itself as stated above uses 10 of these. The HVAC uses 3, the 4x4 switch uses 3. For my T1's I used hyperwhite LED's for all the idiot lights in the cluster except for the turn signals. The turnsignals are now blue.

Now realize. LED's are polarity sensitive for the ANODE/CATHODE. After installing all bulbs. Push cluster into place and turn on your lights. Note which ones are NOT coming on. Simply pull the cluster back out and re install that bulb 180 degrees.

The HVAC controls use 3 t1 bulbs without a base.. Simply pull the old bulb and slip in the new. (Remember, turn on the lights to make sure you have your polarity correct)

Shown here is the HVAC with 1 incandecent and 1 blue led.


http://www.pghconsulting.net/led/hvac-1.jpg

Now of course, I abosultely hate the orange PRNOD321 lights. So of course I had to change that. On the bottom of the back of the cluster you will see a single t15 torx screw. Remove screw, lift up cover. Remove the circuit board and unplug connector.

Shown here is the light board for the gear indicator on the cluster.

http://www.pghconsulting.net/led/gear.jpg

Note your polarity on this board for the bulbs. Top in anode, bottom is cathode. Each bulb must be de-soldered and a new one put in its place. It takes about 5 mins per bulb to swap out. I used 5mm 2600mcd blue LED's for replacements. Again, no resistors are needed as existing resistors are in place from the original bulbs.

Here is a pic of the bulb lit up... Little fuzzy but you get the idea. It's currently in drive.

http://www.pghconsulting.net/led/gear2.jpg

Arm rest controls and the rest of the controls on the dash were done with 3mm 200mcd bulbs to replace the built in incandecent bulbs. These were soldered in place of the old ones using a 310ohm resistor on the cathode. Don't try this unless you know how to take apart these switches! Practice on some old ones from a junker to learn how to take them apart and put them together!

So at this point all bulbs are replaced and the car is put back togeather....

HVAC----

http://www.pghconsulting.net/led/hvac.jpg

Center shift gear indicator--

http://www.pghconsulting.net/led/shift.jpg

And the cluster. Yes, I put in RED for all the small gauges and blue for the Speedo and Tach... Personally I like the way it fades violet into the red. Also all the damn needles look like Light Sabers! Of course you want to light to your own tastes...


http://www.pghconsulting.net/led/final.jpg


All LED's purchased at www.superbrightleds.com

ohhh...excellent post. I shall have to give this a shot in my spare time

ohhh...excellent post. I shall have to give this a shot in my spare time

Thanx...Glad I could help.

i like the light saber comment. I might try this in my 91. Every dang bulb is so dimm its like whats the sense of having the dimmer switch on full blast. Might have to make a post like yours if i go for it.

hey rlith. i noticed you have the same pioneer CD player as my 97 blazer. there are some menus that i can access.. and then other times i cannot figure out how to get to them! i know that the bottom right function button if you hold it changed operation modes but is there any other way to get to certain menus?

rlith, that looks freakin' awesome. I don't have the cojones to takle anything electric. :worshippy

hey rlith. i noticed you have the same pioneer CD player as my 97 blazer. there are some menus that i can access.. and then other times i cannot figure out how to get to them! i know that the bottom right function button if you hold it changed operation modes but is there any other way to get to certain menus?


Which menu's? PM me on that

rlith, that looks freakin' awesome. I don't have the cojones to takle anything electric. :worshippy

Believe me, its not difficult... Only thing that's ever a pain is soldering...(such as the door control lights)

An excellent article. I have a 93 that i would like to do that to. Where did you get the LED's and do you have a part number or price?

Thanks
Steve

An excellent article. I have a 93 that i would like to do that to. Where did you get the LED's and do you have a part number or price?

Thanks
Steve

You can see everything at www.superbrightleds.com

Rlith, you rock. I did this with a Subaru and a Dodge Ram 1500 back a few years ago. It's greatest benefit is that you do not have burned out bulbs ever again, and the super-low current draw is power best used somewhere else. With your little FAQ, I have the itch to do it all over again to my 95 mud-slinger. ;)

Man thats hot. I was wondering, how even is the light distribution on the panels though, especially the guages? The only problem with LED is that they project light basically just straight forward, and barely light up anything next to them. Are they guages just basically hot spots with a little bit of light bleeding or all bright? After I did my HID Retro I put LED in my parking lights and turn signals and love it man. Once again looks sweet as hell!

The bulbs produce about a 35 or so degree viewing angle... My camera sucks but it has a very nice flow from the lighting. The only thing that seems a bit brighter are the needles. You can also get the bulbs with 2 in the center, and 4 pointing at a 90 degree angle for even more side washing if that's what you're looking for... They're cheap enough you can buy 1 of each to experiment with.

The bulbs produce about a 35 or so degree viewing angle... My camera sucks but it has a very nice flow from the lighting. The only thing that seems a bit brighter are the needles. You can also get the bulbs with 2 in the center, and 4 pointing at a 90 degree angle for even more side washing if that's what you're looking for... They're cheap enough you can buy 1 of each to experiment with.

Very nice. You said you used hyperwhite LED's for your car, and i was wondering how it ends up being blue? I want to change my 2003 blazer lights to blue also, what color would you recommend? Also how many sockets of each would i need and where could i find them? Thank you for your precious help.

The hyperwhites were for the idiot lights, RED and BLUE were used for the cluster... If you look above I specified 10 t1's for the idiot lights, and 5 for the gauges. All led's were purchased at www.superbrightleds.com. As shown in the above pics, you use your old sockets. Color is individual, see the sight and pick your colors :)

does the red on the HVAC show up at all? from the pic it looks like only the red shows.

does the red on the HVAC show up at all? from the pic it looks like only the red shows.


My camera sucks... The red shows up as violet now since I put all blue bulbs in there. Just really can't see it in the pic.

can you take another pic of the entire cluster but with the PRND21 showing? or does it not show with your camera. also what was your total cost when finished?

If you look at the 7th pic down, you can see the blue LED that is my OD light. As I said, my cam sucks (cheapy hp) so it's hard to show anything).... Total cost for bulbs was about 26 bux. 10 t1's, 5 194's, 7 5mm 2800mcd led's, and another 6 or 7 3mm led's for switches (5mm's were used for the cluster PRND321)

did you by chance also change the lights where the defroster switch is? can you change the ones in the door as well or is it a sealed unit.

See the above pictures, yes, the HVAC was also changed out, they use t1 bulbs... As stated earlier, the switches (doors and dash controls) used 3mm LED's.

ok i'm looking into do it my self so i'll let you know how it goes. i'll try to post some pics to see if they are any better.

Is there a specific reason why you used hyperwhite LED's for the idiot lights? Would I not be able to see them if i use blue LED's? also what did you use for the center gear selector? 3 or 5mms and how many? Thank you again.

Is there a specific reason why you used hyperwhite LED's for the idiot lights? Would I not be able to see them if i use blue LED's? also what did you use for the center gear selector? 3 or 5mms and how many? Thank you again.

I used the hyperwhite for the idiot lights because I wanted to maintain stock colors on that. Being the t1 blues are only 900 mcd they don't light up the idiot lights because the socket is so far away from the gauge material.

If you read the article itself, it states that I used 5mm 2600 mcd blue led's for the gear selector on the cluster. The center shift gear selector uses a 194 bulb which I used a 4 led wedge 194..

verry nice, i shal be book marking this, the only thing i noticed, is you said you have to drop the steering wheel, i know in the 98+ you do not, just put the selector down to 1 and there is enough clearence, and is it even possible to do this with the 98+ seince the bastards made it a sealed unit?

verry nice, i shal be book marking this, the only thing i noticed, is you said you have to drop the steering wheel, i know in the 98+ you do not, just put the selector down to 1 and there is enough clearence, and is it even possible to do this with the 98+ seince the bastards made it a sealed unit?

If you can get the cluster off without dropping the steering wheel, more power to ya! :) Only the front is sealed on those (makes it a biatch to put glow faces on, you have to heat up and seperate the glue) The bulbs are the same though in the back so it's not an issue.

After making this conversion, am i correct in assuming you will no longer be able to effectively dim your dash board lights? Basically, turning the dimmer control into an on/off switch.

look earlier in the thread, yes, your dimmer switch still works.

nice tut, I love LEDs. I'm going to do this on my 99 Blazer. I was looking around the site you mentions I seach'd the site for *edit- i searched for the wrong thing* and twist stytle bulbs. I found the T1 (idiot) bulbs but never found the *edit- i searched for the wrong thing* style bulbs.
Also may I suggest, for just regular LEDs (no bubls and whatnot) try LSDiodes.com

Ok, last edit I hope.
I know you said ur camera sucked but that one pick with the bright blue dot on it is that the PDNR123 display above the colum? Also for some better pics, try turning ur macro mode on.

ok, i have a 98 pu, it has the all digital display, can i change that color or does that need to stay the turquois color?

ok, i have a 98 pu, it has the all digital display, can i change that color or does that need to stay the turquois color?

I assume you're talking about the gear selector display... You could probably change that if you could find the proper rated edge led's (superbrightleds doesn't carry edge led's)

its digital though, and yes its the gsd

its digital though, and yes its the gsd

Yes, I know the gear selector is digital, that's why I said you would need edge led's...

alrighty, thanks a ton

Would this work on an 84? I'm customizing mine and this looks awesome

Would this work on an 84? I'm customizing mine and this looks awesome

Yes

how well does your dimmer switch work?

how well does your dimmer switch work?

Works like it always did.

thats looks awesome, once i get on break from college i'll give it a shot, But one of topic question, is that the org. gauge cluster? i don't think ive seen a blazer w/ a shifter on the floor which i'm assuming u have and one up in the cluster

find his colum to floor shift mod, its basicly a jimmy shift kit

thats looks awesome, once i get on break from college i'll give it a shot, But one of topic question, is that the org. gauge cluster? i don't think ive seen a blazer w/ a shifter on the floor which i'm assuming u have and one up in the cluster

Original cluster, the shifter is from a 98+ (Though they had them in some 96 and 97's as well)

Just some FYI here, when you put the LED in backwards it turns into a Zenner Diode. This doesn't mean much unless you are electronic literate.

for our purpiousus here, we just keep it simple and tell john q public it doesn't work when installed backwords, otherwise youll be asked a shit ton of questions about spicific stuff impossible to discribe on the screen

http://community.webshots.com/photo/547517782/2715612430085836855fBUlZvhttp://http://community.webshots.com/photo/547517782/2715612430085836855fBUlZv
Well I was able to do it this weekend, I used the Ones at Auto Zone, It was a single Blue LED wedge. I only got 4 cuz thats all they had So on the right sides is dark, I just need one more. It looks a lil faded on there i took the pic w/ my phone. But in real life its very blue a step or 2 down from the VW gauges and the needles look like orange under a black light. I have a new cluter w/ a tach coming and New RED leds i'm gonna put in that. But just givin ya guys another pic

I think the link should work, Can some help me on posting pics on here I can't figure it out

I wanted to knew if i would be able to change the color of the needles, Or at least clear them out??

http://community.webshots.com/photo/547517782/2715612430085836855fBUlZvhttp://http://community.webshots.com/photo/547517782/2715612430085836855fBUlZv
Well I was able to do it this weekend, I used the Ones at Auto Zone, It was a single Blue LED wedge. I only got 4 cuz thats all they had So on the right sides is dark, I just need one more. It looks a lil faded on there i took the pic w/ my phone. But in real life its very blue a step or 2 down from the VW gauges and the needles look like orange under a black light. I have a new cluter w/ a tach coming and New RED leds i'm gonna put in that. But just givin ya guys another pic

I think the link should work, Can some help me on posting pics on here I can't figure it out
That looks great with all blue, how long did it take? I just bout some of the white HVAC bulbs off of superbrightleds.com and I am waiting for them to arrive. I'll post some pics when I'm done, it should look good since I have a white light head unit. After that I will attempt the cluster which I have a question about, I saw that it said to "straighten the wires on the new bulb so they go through the top of the bulb socket. When you insert the tabs back in, simply fold the wire over the connecting tab." Could you make a picture in paint to illustrate what it looks like, I don't want to start working on this then not be able to figure out this one step, everything else seems very simple.

If you want to post the pics on your post instead of doing a link heres what to do. Go to photobucket.com and make a free account(I found this to be the easiest way), then add your images and it will resize them and give them a url. Heres what you will do with that url: add to the front of the url and to the end of it.
Example: www.photpbucket.com/images/mypics/blahblahblah
Just dont put spaces between the and the url and and the url.

P.S. What did you do to get your shifter cover off? I saw that you had a red one, I want to put a black one on mine and did you just buy a new one or paint it?

That looks great with all blue, how long did it take? I just bout some of the white HVAC bulbs off of superbrightleds.com and I am waiting for them to arrive. I'll post some pics when I'm done, it should look good since I have a white light head unit. After that I will attempt the cluster which I have a question about, I saw that it said to "straighten the wires on the new bulb so they go through the top of the bulb socket. When you insert the tabs back in, simply fold the wire over the connecting tab." Could you make a picture in paint to illustrate what it looks like, I don't want to start working on this then not be able to figure out this one step, everything else seems very simple.

If you want to post the pics on your post instead of doing a link heres what to do. Go to photobucket.com and make a free account(I found this to be the easiest way), then add your images and it will resize them and give them a url. Heres what you will do with that url: add to the front of the url and to the end of it.
Example: www.photpbucket.com/images/mypics/blahblahblah
Just dont put spaces between the and the url and and the url.


The over all install on 4 bulbs took me....... 15 min if that very short, Um i'm getting a new cluster soon when i do i'll take some clearer pics to post. But yea u pull the tabs out,pull the old bulb out. slide the LED though the socket put the tabs back and fold the wires on the LED over the tab. Once u see it its very very self explanitory. But i'll get some pics up. I was gonna do red, But i really like the blue, I'm going to get a 5 LED to put in the one led is stright and the other 4 are on 90 degree angle. Yea i don't blame you for going in blind. What i did was once i took the cluster out was get a 9v battery. And connect it to one of the LEDS and just plug each one in and find out if there in the right direction so you don't have to keep taking the cluster in and out till they all work, but like i said once i get it all take some clearer HOW-TO pics. its really easier than i thought. and thanks to the help w/ the pics, i used webshots. but i'll try photobucket
thanx

Ok thanks I think ill be able to finish the cluster confidently now, did you use T1 led bulbs for your idiot lights? or did you just do the 5 194 leds?

Ok thanks I think ill be able to finish the cluster confidently now, did you use T1 led bulbs for your idiot lights? or did you just do the 5 194 leds?

I just did the 194 for the gauges but i was thinking about getting some t-1's for the turn signals i havn't got that far yet, But if i do i'll post it

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/eslhockey92g/untitled.jpg
YESSSSSSSSSSSS i got it to work, I used photobuckets own link to post it up i didn't use AF's link thanx man

No prob Im glad to have helped, its nice having the pics already in the post huh? By the way I sent you a private message about something else to keep this thread on topic.

Well I finally got around to doing both the HVAC and the cluster. It looks great with the white bulbs but i would like for it to be a little brighter, does anyone know how to make it a little brighter? The dimmer switch also doesnt dim it very well, the dimmer switch just turns the lights on and off but doesnt make it brighter at all. Im thinking this might be the problem, in the pic below on the back of the cluster I circled a part that came loose, I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be hooked to something or not, does anyone know what this is or if it affects the brightness?
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f236/manwiththeplan88/cluster1.jpg

Here are some crappy pics of it finished up, the lights look blue and so does my head unit, it flows together nicely. Thanks for everyone who helped out, rlith, elshockey!
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f236/manwiththeplan88/DSCF0967.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f236/manwiththeplan88/DSCF0965.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f236/manwiththeplan88/DSCF0966.jpg

[QUOTE=manwiththeplan88]Well I finally got around to doing both the HVAC and the cluster. It looks great with the white bulbs but i would like for it to be a little brighter, does anyone know how to make it a little brighter? The dimmer switch also doesnt dim it very well, the dimmer switch just turns the lights on and off but doesnt make it brighter at all. Im thinking this might be the problem, in the pic below on the back of the cluster I circled a part that came loose, I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be hooked to something or not, does anyone know what this is or if it affects the brightness?
QUOTE]

Yea i just got my new cluster w/ a tach the other day and put my LEDS from my old cluster in the new one and it looks jsut as a good as before.

About the dimmer. Mine does the same the lights in the hvac and the shifter controlls dim but the led in the cluster stay on or off once i turn the the dimmer switch all the way down. But i only did the cluster LED conversion. I was thinking that may because the LEDS use less energy to be lit, when u dimm the lights they still have enough power to stay lit. So i'm not sure how to fix the diming controlls. for being brighter that may just be the bulbs. Rilth used a 4 LED. I used the 1 LED wedge witch we talked about but the new bulbs that i order that will be here monday the have 5 LEDs so hopfully that will brighten my up a bit. Mine also are a lil dim i'll let you know how mine turns out aslong as the bulbs are all good i'll do it 2-morro nite

And that bottom part on the back of the cluster I think thats for the gear shifter indicator. I noitced in my cluster w/o a tach it was loose and just fell out but i have a floor shifter so i didn't have an indicator in the cluster. the New cluster i got w/ a tach has the indicator in the cluster. SO that may be there for the indicator or the tach. And since u don't have ither it may just be chillin back there not being used

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/eslhockey92g/snowboarding017.jpg

Very blury pic, Bt i got a new cluster W/ a tach ( i didn't have one before). so that was an upgrade in itself, than I order new LEDS of Ebay and put them in this cluster. and im very happy w/ my result :grinyes:

This pic is just what they look like in the car but the camera had to be very very still to take a non blurry pic so i had to rest on the stering wheel so hense the close pic.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/eslhockey92g/snowboarding003.jpg

This pic is just what they look like in the car but the camera had to be very very still to take a non blurry pic so i had to rest on the stering wheel so hense the close pic.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/eslhockey92g/snowboarding003.jpg

Does the light seem to be pretty evenly spread out, or do you notice that it is just a few hot-spots?

Does the light seem to be pretty evenly spread out, or do you notice that it is just a few hot-spots?

No hot spots at all. around the "3" on the tach is a lil dimmer but not very much at all. Im kinda anal when it comes to lil things like hot spots or thing not looking right. But i'm very happy with this. I used an led that has one in the middle. and 4 on the side. most other ppl use 4 led that go stright out. the ones i got i think work perfect for this application you can see in my blurry pic how even it is and where is a lil dim around the "3"

I put 194s in my 98 about a year ago and I also noticed that it is a little dimmer around the 3 on the tach. Has anyone changed the lights on the HVAC for a 98 Blazer with automatic climate control? Any help on how to change them would be greatly appreciated.

I may have ordered the wrong bulbs...DOH!! The post read to order "T1" bulbs which apparently only come in 3mm.

RL3-W3030 - White Qty 10
RL3-B2030 - Blue Qty 10
RL3-R5030 - Red Qty 10

I have some other things (non auto related) that I want to tinker with so I bought extra.

I'll have to search for the 194. Are these them?

http://www.superbrightleds.com/mini-wedge.html under Single Wedge Base Bulbs??

Also, I want to replace all four of the map lights, which bulb(s) would go for that application? Would like to do them in Blue or Red. Maybe even the overhead main interior light and rear hatch light as well...suggestions on those?

Bascially where ever there is an interior light, I want to change to the LED.

Thanks in advance for the help.

that looks like alot of work...i have a 96 would it be the same except my car shifts on the column?