Preliminary Test pictures of LED Instrument Cluster

[Diesel Fly]

Looks very nice! How hard would it be to reproduce this set up for older trucks like mine? Just wondering because my cluster lighting is so dim I can barely see it at night.

 

[f-two-fiddy]

So where's the update/writeup?


Is there any reason a guy could'nt jsut use these?

http://cgi.ebay.com/194-168-161-Mat...hZ016QQcategoryZ71537QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

 

[diesel4me2]

thats simillar to what i used. i got them from jam-straight, there in my dash and all of my gauges, i used blue. i'll post a picture tonight, after dark
chris

 

[subway]

So where's the update/writeup?


Is there any reason a guy could'nt jsut use these?

http://cgi.ebay.com/194-168-161-Mat...hZ016QQcategoryZ71537QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

if they were just put in they should be fine, i dont think you will have any trouble until you tried using the dimmer.

 

[LA350]

VERY COOL!!

 

[Optikalillushun]

i dont understand why u need a heat sink and cooling fan. i have quite a few high output LEDs in my 93 and they build no more heat then ordinary LEDs. i have a few that can light up the whole driver or passenger side of the truck where ones feet woud go and they dont get hot at all.

 

[yARIC008]

http://www.luxeonstar.com/item.php?id=386&link_str=196::198&partno=LXHL-LW3C

Those are the ones I used. 1 amp goes to them. They do get very hot on full output. With no heat sink they'll get past 200 and upwards. With them turned to about 75% power and a small heatsink and fan they don't get hot. The dies on them are like 400% or larger than normal LEDs. 80 lumens of light output. Those aren't even the brightest ones they make. Even with their heat and power input they're still more efficient than normal bulbs and whiter which is what i wanted. Those small ones posted just above would probably work pretty well. I'd like to buy some and check them out.

 

[frdtrckmnrich]

Wanna try an 85 dash cluster???????

 

[92F350CC]

Sounds cool, I wouldn't mind trying it in a blue or red tint.

 

[diesel4me2]

Wanna try an 85 dash cluster???????

how bout an 86'? taken with lots of ambient light from the neighbors. temp and amp gauges are not illuminated due to led moving out of socket
chris

 

[yARIC008]

If anyone wants me to install these LEDs in the cluster I will. Maybe for a small fee...

but it's kinda a two part job. The cluster has to be changed up and then it has to be wired in the truck.

Here is some more pics I had of the install.

You must be registered for see images

You must be registered for see images

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

I want to compliment you on a good looking job.

For years, I put up with the dimly lit gauges on my 1985, having to hold the flash-light on the odometer to read it; of course, the odometer on these models is hard to read in full sun-light, sort of sunk back in the shadows.

My solution is not nearly so nice and professional as yours; but, I really helped the gauge-lighting for very little time and expense.

I mounted a cigar-lighter plug, hidden up under the dash, with a toggle-switch to control ON/OFF.

I got some of those aimable BLUE LED spotlights, like the ones hanging in every Walmart and chain-gang parts-house.

A pair of singles are centrally mounted on that little flat ledge underneath the gauge-panel, one pointed at the speedometer, the other pointed at the four little gauges.

A triple-light bar mounts above the big centered pyrometer/boost gauge, with the light aimed down and across the gauge.

I cut the little wires, so that I could route them through tiny holes, and re-spliced them together, once I got everything where I wanted it.

These cast a BRIGHT blue light across all the gauges, making it MUCH easier to read them at night, and it looks real COOL.


I learned one thing, that cigar-plug on the end of the wires, plays an important part; on my first experiment, I clipped off the plug and just wired the little lights to a switch; I got one big flash, some smoke, and that was the end of those bulbs.


I am going to experiment with replacing the bulbs, in some of my auxilliary gauges, with these LED spots, and see what effect I get.

 

[yARIC008]

cool. Yeah... without some sort of a power regulator like a resistor LEDs will just blow up. They have virtually no resistance themselves. The ones I did needed me to get this special small power regulator that limited them to 1 amp otherwise to get resistors to do the job was very difficult.

 

[Camarogenius]

Mainly, I'm just subscribing to the thread, but Those blue ones posted above, is that as bright as they get? They look a bit hard to read to me.
Also, has anyone played with the color changing LED's?
My brake controller has about 20 different colors for the display screen, and you can go through and change it at will. Would that be going way overboard?

 

[Optikalillushun]

hey fellow 4x4country player!