Trying to jumpstart by using Java (had many late night work calls) not firing on all cylinders yet.
I opened up the instrument housing and I did paint it the same color as the outside. The bezel ring is still stock Blue inside/Dark Silver outside, as when I inspected it has some slight rust (patina?) more work but not right now.
I am taking some photos of the regular lamps today, and if I get time I will take a shot of the 1969 housing all lit up.
Well I took the housing apart and took some photos to post. The back and front are the same color. The bezel is a tad lighter (stock color) than the housing as you can see in the photos.
Well here are the results with the Led's installed on the 1969 instrument housing. The housing is stock and nothing done to it. It takes three bulbs so it is not as bright as the 67-68 housing. I used the tall tower type as before.
As soon as I get the right lamp for the high beam and ignition key lamp (I left the replacement chart at work) I will post each lamp position with corresponding Led.
I agree that the Led's are the way to go. The color and brightness are a winning combination.
The only problem I can see is the dimmer on the headlight switch. I will reassemble the instrument housing with all Led's in place and take some photos to post.
I probably not do a regular lamp comparison to Led because after reinstalling the darn thing I will not want to have to do it twice.
The lamps that are used for the High beam and ignition switch lamp are a #1445 lamp. The rest are a 194. The cost is very pricey and I am doing it for looks.
25 Led SMT Tower III 194 are $10.99 each
194 Goldstar Bulbs with Metal Heat Sink are $7.99 each
Still waiting for the package to arrive on the porch. Finally work has slowed down so I have some weekends free. I will assemble the housing with the new Led's and post photos how they look using the Lamp Dimmer Switch.
Still working the Gen light problem in another post. I hope that the results using the Led's change the results for that thread.
Great work. In the summer I had installed some non tower led's (LED's at the top only) to my cluster....color is there but a bit dim. I will be sourcing and getting the towers, and fitting my heater controls as well. I just am not happy with the dim stock 194's either...
My stock bulbs are actually pretty bright now ever since I did the rally gauge conversion and ran a fresh ground from the gauge housing to the metal dash. I just like the look of the what you have done with the gauges as they look more modern, bright and blue etc. I may do this upgrade as well as the sequential LED tail lights. They have them at NPD now for $199 for the entire kit including backup lights!
Even my heater control area is nice and bright, however, the clock is terrible. I wonder how that would look with an LED!
Oh yeah, and is there an LED bulb that would fit the floor light sockets near the kick panels? And how about one for the dome light, that would be the nuts, nice and bright and MUCH less heat and wouldn't melt the darn lens cover...
Well I hooked the new LED's up to a power supply and did some test. I am amazed on the brightness of the LED's. They produced more direct light than the Tall towers at half the current draw.
I tried to test with the bayonet Led's but could not get any photos due to no socket to hold the LED when under power (not enough fingers).
Well I did some test again this week. I am going to change my mind on the Led's used for the driving lights. I was going to use the tall tower type, but I like the Goldstar. The pictures show a difference in the amount of light that hits the instrument housing. They are brighter with the direct facing instead of the all around type. The only problem is that they are not bipolar (polarity sensitive) just rotate to the other side; they won’t blow because of internal protection (I checked).
I used the Goldstar for the results you see in the photos. I like the color produced when the direct light mixed with the blue from the housing and bezel cover.
The SMT Tower 111 did not have the affect of a bright foward beam but has a great all around affect as you saw in the early post. I was going to use these but changed my mind for the Goldstar.
Reading through this again only confused me more. If all I want to do is upgrade to nice bright led bulbs in my 1968 cluster for just the light general gage lighting (ones used to read the gages at night), which type and how many would I need?
This is where I wasn't sure if the lights he changed his mind on, where the backlighting for nightime driving. Sounds like if I'm right, Outposter liked the Goldstar best. Not sure what he means about the bulbs not being bipoler... I guess that means you have to check installation orientation before you resinstall the gage cluster? So only 4 are needed? Is this per side, or both (4 doesn't seem like many).
"Well I did some test again this week. I am going to change my mind on the Led's used for the driving lights. I was going to use the tall tower type, but I like the Goldstar. The pictures show a difference in the amount of light that hits the instrument housing. They are brighter with the direct facing instead of the all around type. The only problem is that they are not bipolar (polarity sensitive) just rotate to the other side; they won’t blow because of internal protection (I checked)."
I will say one thing, these tests you are conducting are excellent info and outstanding results. For not much work and not too much money one could really get a completely new look and all without changing anything other than bulbs. Nice work!
Just found this thread and have to say that this information is awesome! I have been contemplating switching most of my bulbs over to LED's since getting LED tail lights, and now after reading all of this, I am determined to do it. Now I just need to figure out exactly which lights to use for each area. I dont think I am going to paint the inner area of my gauge assembly blue (although I have to admit, thats looks amazing) so I guess I need to know which LED's work best for stock use. I also will be looking at replacing my courtesy lights, licence plate lamp, tach light, and front turn signals.
They are a bit more money, but the lack of heat, less energy draw, and longer life more than make up for it.
Thanks for taking the time to post all of your tests and the information on the bulbs you used. All of it is great info!
Let me echo Calfdemon. Just bought a 68 vert a couple of months ago, and this board has been a wealth of info. Dropped the dash last weekend and replaced everything with leds based on the research here. Great results, especially after I discovered the cluster ground wire was broken!
The internal area of the guages is a kind of robins egg blue already! I did the LED swap as well, now just have to swap the heater lamp so the color matches!
Everything in the dash cluster plus the heater/glocvebox/shift indicator done with GoldStar 194 replacements or SuperStar 161 bayonet replacements (http://autolumination.com/otherleds.htm) in bright white.
Used short towers for '68 convertible courtesy lights.
All based on Outposter research. Very happy with everything except the hood tach. Still can't see it.
One hint - ground, ground, ground. Just like every other thread on electrical issues. From my reading, everybody that's enjoying their car seems to have chased down all of the grounding gremlins on their vehicle.
I replaced all the bulbs in my gauge cluster and it cost $22 to buy them in two packs. I went to Discount Auto and bought the 10 pack, apparently only commercial customers can buy it, and spent $2.57. I was much happier spending the $2.57.
