Gauge Lights
April 27th, 2015, 04:56 PM
#1
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Location: Conyers Ga
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Gauge Lights
I want to replace my gauge lights with led's. I have seen threads where some guys have changed theirs but I can't find no one that has benched tested them. I would like to bench test them to see if they work before I put the gauges back in the car. I would hate to keep pulling them out trying to get it to work. Does anyone know how to test the gauge lights. Thanks.
April 27th, 2015, 05:19 PM
#2
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Location: New Mexico
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I want to replace my gauge lights with led's. I have seen threads where some guys have changed theirs but I can't find no one that has benched tested them. I would like to bench test them to see if they work before I put the gauges back in the car. I would hate to keep pulling them out trying to get it to work. Does anyone know how to test the gauge lights. Thanks.
April 27th, 2015, 05:46 PM
#3
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Location: Conyers Ga
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Thanks for the reply RandyS. I already have the gauge out of the car. I wanted to clean them up a little. I figured it out before I got to read your post. I didn't know those things were polarity sensitive. I would of thought they was like regular bulbs. I guess you learn something new everyday. Once again thanks.
April 27th, 2015, 06:23 PM
#4
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No, the D in LED is for Diode
electrical 1-way or check valve.
So, if you put the LED's in a twist-in holder, it can always be put in backwards. Then again it can always be switched around easily. You could put two in every holder, reversed, then one will illuminate either way.
electrical 1-way or check valve.
So, if you put the LED's in a twist-in holder, it can always be put in backwards. Then again it can always be switched around easily. You could put two in every holder, reversed, then one will illuminate either way.
April 27th, 2015, 07:43 PM
#5
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Location: Birmingham,Alabama
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LED's don't not work in the turn signal position very well without using an electronic flasher. OEM flashers work off amp draw and LED bulbs do not have much amp draw. The electronic flashers are cheap on eBay. I bought a solid state electronic flasher on eBay for around $20. The good thing about the solid state flasher is,it doesn't make the click click noise the others do. I have LED bulbs in the dash of my 66 442 and they're great,much better/brighter than the tungsten OEM units. 
April 28th, 2015, 03:40 PM
#6
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Location: West Michigan
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I don't know what LEDs you're thinking of buying, but an LED by itself cannot handle anywhere near 12 V of drop across it. You need a resistor in series with it to limit the current.
Another consideration is that even with the current-limiting resistor, the LED will likely be brighter than the original bulb. I guess since the dash lights are on a potentiometer which you control it's not a big deal, you can just turn it down. But you might want to consider limiting the LED current well below their max rating.
One final consideration is that most LEDs are quite unidirectional compared to incandescent bulbs. Depending on the LED, you might end up with them creating a bright spot while leaving the rest of the gauge dark.
Maybe you were thinking of buying an LED kit which took all these factors into consideration. That's probably the way to go -- provided they manufacturer knows what he's doing.
Another consideration is that even with the current-limiting resistor, the LED will likely be brighter than the original bulb. I guess since the dash lights are on a potentiometer which you control it's not a big deal, you can just turn it down. But you might want to consider limiting the LED current well below their max rating.
One final consideration is that most LEDs are quite unidirectional compared to incandescent bulbs. Depending on the LED, you might end up with them creating a bright spot while leaving the rest of the gauge dark.
Maybe you were thinking of buying an LED kit which took all these factors into consideration. That's probably the way to go -- provided they manufacturer knows what he's doing.
April 28th, 2015, 04:43 PM
#7
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 2,972
I don't know what LEDs you're thinking of buying, but an LED by itself cannot handle anywhere near 12 V of drop across it. You need a resistor in series with it to limit the current.
Another consideration is that even with the current-limiting resistor, the LED will likely be brighter than the original bulb. I guess since the dash lights are on a potentiometer which you control it's not a big deal, you can just turn it down. But you might want to consider limiting the LED current well below their max rating.
One final consideration is that most LEDs are quite unidirectional compared to incandescent bulbs. Depending on the LED, you might end up with them creating a bright spot while leaving the rest of the gauge dark.
Maybe you were thinking of buying an LED kit which took all these factors into consideration. That's probably the way to go -- provided they manufacturer knows what he's doing.
Another consideration is that even with the current-limiting resistor, the LED will likely be brighter than the original bulb. I guess since the dash lights are on a potentiometer which you control it's not a big deal, you can just turn it down. But you might want to consider limiting the LED current well below their max rating.
One final consideration is that most LEDs are quite unidirectional compared to incandescent bulbs. Depending on the LED, you might end up with them creating a bright spot while leaving the rest of the gauge dark.
Maybe you were thinking of buying an LED kit which took all these factors into consideration. That's probably the way to go -- provided they manufacturer knows what he's doing.
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