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Gauge Lights


gapboi210
03-14-2005, 02:23 PM
Does ayone knowof ot possible to replace the bulbs in the gauges to leds? I like the bright look similar to those like Lexus, and the newer Hondas. I have seen the bulbs on eBay but I don't know how difficult this would be. I don't know how bright they would be and if I would be able to use the dimmer still.

l3adMonky
03-14-2005, 11:32 PM
I'm actually planning on doing this myself. I haven't yet purchased anything yet but in my last car i did replace the gauge lights. it was really easy. i bought led bulbs of the same size, usually it's 194 but check to make sure first though, and popped the old bulbs out and the new ones in. in my old car the turn signals were covered with a green plastic so i had to keep that green. leds are usually aimed in a particular direction and unless otherwise stated its directly up so they should shine rather brightly. You should also be able to use them with your dimmer switch because all the dimmer switch does is lower the voltage which in turns lowers the brightness of the lights. whatever colour you choose though it should be much brighter than your current lights, last longer, use less energy, and be more durable. lastly, you want to make sure that the leds can handle 12 volts. i've seen some that handle 12 and others that use a resistor to lower the voltage to 3v, so make sure you check what you're buying before you buy.

gapboi210
03-15-2005, 12:58 AM
Thanks for the reply. I knew that the dimer lowered the voltage but I wasn't sure that if I used the dimmer, that the LEDS would even light up or respond. Can you give me a little bit more detail on the turn signals and what you were talking about.

gapboi210
03-16-2005, 10:28 PM
Does anyone know how many bulbs I would need to do this? I don't want to tear it out out to find out howmany LEDS i need to order.

igkyoa
03-18-2005, 02:13 PM
there five bulbs that light the gauges and i'm not sure how many for all the warning lights and such but thoes are just clear bulbs with colored plastic so there's not much you can do to change the color anyway.

03ls
03-19-2005, 01:29 PM
The 2005 Corvette has an unbelieveably bright dash, makes the Malibu look loke the dimmer is halfway down. Ya, I would look into that, sounds like a good idea.

gapboi210
03-19-2005, 01:39 PM
Well I called this company that makes LED lights, they are based out of Japan (God help my cell phone bill), they recomended me using the LEDS with inverted tips. It makes an even light. The others would create "hotspots" or areas on the dash that were brighter than the others. Found a company here in US that sells them but the are out of stock. I think I am just going to go with white, thought about orange like in the pontiacs, or green like ford but i don't want it to look ghetto.

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