Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 (edited) Hi Again! I Have the Idea (Maybe the Project) of Change all the Backlight Bulbs of at least one of my Wagon´s Dashboard, to H.I.D White L.E.D.s (High Intensity Discharge Light Emission Diodes) Have you seen those? They look like the White Ones on the Base-right of this Image: They´re so Bright!, not like Common Leds, so that´s Why they´re Called H.I.D. L.E.D.s. I have two in the Map lights at the Roof, but They Aren´t Extremly Bright, I think that if a Common Bulb do 5 Watts Output, those L.E.D.s may do only 7 Watts Output, but I´m not Sure... Why Change the Backlights? ... Well, both my Wagons got the Yellowish Backlight (Found on the early EA82´s), instead of the Greener backlight Found on the Newer ones, so, it looks Like it is Just the Direct Light of the Bulb, with no Tint at All... and the Dashboard is so Pretty for that illumination. :-\ This is how they Look: So, the seven Questions are: Did a Brighter Backlight illumination be Harmful? I think I can use the Dimmer lights on L.E.D.s, isn´t it? is Possible to Change all the Bulbs for those L.E.D.s? Are all of those Backlight Bulbs, the Same? What do you Think About? Have anyone Tried somethin´ like That before? Do you think the Dashboard will look Nicer with Brighter White Lights, or I will just make it look Uglier? Shall I use other color than White? Finally, I must say that those H.I.D. White L.E.D.s, Looks like a Standard Neon tube´s Light, Plain White, but Near to the Blue... Any opinions / Suggestions \ Ideas will be Wellcome! Thanx! ► Edited to add Tags, due to the New USMB's system. Edited August 24, 2013 by Loyale 2.7 Turbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 Well someone has to try it first nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrdeep2001 Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 how much are these bulbs gonna run? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted March 4, 2007 Author Share Posted March 4, 2007 Excuse me: How much What? ... Price?: around $ 12.ºº the Pair ( in our Currency, the "Lempíra" it s Around L. 250.ºº ) ... Wattage Consumption? I think that those L.E.D.s are around 7W or 10W I Think, and they work Cooler than Bulbs, so they´re Safe to use in Plastics. ... Time they´ll Last? they claim Those L.E.D.s will Last 10X more than a Standard bulb, or so... Well, thanx for the Replies, Any other Idea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 Why not just by a pack of LEDs and wire them into the sockets ? nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfire Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 i have leds in my dash. i have had red amber and blue. the next color i am going to try is uv or black light. i have some pics you can look at in profile photos. i got mine from a web site pm me if intersted in the site. as for your question on the dimmer it works fine with leds no problem. 2. i changed all the dash bulbs that back light. 3. my bulbs are all 194 for dash backlighting. 4. i have not used white yet. but i can tell you blue light makes it hard to see the needles at night. and red looks great but seems to be to much over a long peroid of time. amber looks really nice. i do not like the stock green color. just make sure to get the l.e.d.s. with the flat tip because they are a wide angel lens. if not then you end up with just small areas lite up when all of the dah should light up. one more thing right now i am running blue and red l.e.d.s. in my dash. blue on the outside. so gauges for gas, voltage, oil pressure, and water temp area is blue and fades in to red for the tach and speedo. i dont have a pic of that yet give me a couple of days i will get that up on the site. i hope this helps you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted March 5, 2007 Author Share Posted March 5, 2007 Oh Thank You! ... Yes, you did help me too Much, I´ll Love to see the "Fadin´ Blue to Red" Scheme on your Dashboard, it Sounds Great! Also: Do you know How many L.E.D.s Shall I Need? I never has taken the Dashboard out, so That info, along with pics of it´s Back, should be a Great Help too. I´m not Sure about the "Flat Tip" L.E.D.s... but I Saw some designs of ´em that Spread the Light to the Sides, and others Spread the Light just to the Front, is that what you mean? if so, which ones Should I Use? Thanx! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfire Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 you will need 4 l.e.d.s. on the back side of the dash there are 4 parts that twist out each holding a bulb. two are the color brown and two are black. i am including a web site that yo be able to find what l.e.d.s you would like just remeber they are 194 bulbs. www.superbrightleds.com flat or inverted tips will broadcast the light in all directions. standard tips will work more like a flashlight. i hope this helps. check my member photo's for how the dash looks with different colors. and www.cardomain.com. look under subaru gl and look for name dragonsteel. that is my car check out the change from nov. of 05 till now plus it shows more dash lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joostvdw Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 you have to look at the angle of the LED's, because some a meant to project a beam pattern (so when you mount them in your dash, you'll get very well lit spots ) and some have a wider angle and are more to illuminate an area. I have a gauge cluster laying around here, with the green tint, and I'll take some pictures of it tomorrow I'm also going to try different chemicals to see if I can get the green off, but not the black oh and if I may, I have a '88 XT 5MT, but the cluster is amber colored, what's the deal? just change the bulbs and the color changes? or is there a snag? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted March 6, 2007 Author Share Posted March 6, 2007 I Really Thank You Soo Much your Help! ... I´ll Search for Dragonsteel on Cardomain (I´m There too, as "JesZeK" ) Also, I´ll Love to see Pics of the Dashboard´s Back and some tips to do the L.E.D. Conversion. Thank you! ... what's the deal? just change the bulbs and the color changes? or is there a snag? Well... in the Greener Dash, I don´t Think so... but in the Yellow, I hope that there´s no Tint at all, or that it is less than in the Greener ones, ´cos Yellow is done by Just the Bulbs... but if there´s Tint, is more Easy to Fight Yellow than Green... Thank you so Much, You´re so Kind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psylosyfer Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 Thought you may be interested to hear that in 25 years of working in electronics I have come across one and only one bad LED, And I suspect it had excess voltage applied to it. 10X longer life than bulbs is a world class understatement! Also far more efficient than incandescent bulbs. I would like to know if they come with a built in current limiting resistor In the plain bulk ones you buy they self destruct instantly without one at even half the voltage that they are rated for, bulbs only draw X amount at a certain voltage, But an LED is a forward biased diode, so with out limiting resistors in the circuit they try to draw infinite amps! So something gives in the first few milliseconds. I'm curious to know how the maker dealt with that issue? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psylosyfer Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 Excuse me: How much What? ... Price?: around $ 12.ºº the Pair ( in our Currency, the "Lempíra" it s Around L. 250.ºº ) ... Wattage Consumption? I think that those L.E.D.s are around 7W or 10W I Think, and they work Cooler than Bulbs, so they´re Safe to use in Plastics. ... Time they´ll Last? they claim Those L.E.D.s will Last 10X more than a Standard bulb, or so... Well, thanx for the Replies, Any other Idea? Answered my own question a link at the bottom of superleds wesite "about leds" states right out that the resistor is built in to every LED they make! Excellent, Can't see them ever needing replacement unless the resistor opens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonicfrog Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 I didn't use LED for backlight, but I did mount red ones behind each needle. It worked out pretty cool, but it was not easy and somewhat time consuming. I would have a spare dash handy just in case something breaks!!! :-) The placement of the LED's is tricky, and though it's hard to tell from the pic, the Volt meter neelde seems to give the best high contrast color. The speedo and tach need two LEDs to get the best results, as the neeldes are bigger. Here's more info. I have some pics documenting the process and will post them... if I can find them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misledxcracker Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 Would there be a way to stick some really small cold cathode lights back behind the dash? I have like six small blacklight CC's, but I dont know if there would be room for them... I've never pulled a Subaru cluster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beataru Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 Well Loyale,,, I dont know if you answered your question about the dimmer switch for the L.E.D. but... At my auto technical school, I am currently taking A-6 which is Automotive Electrical Systems, and we have been over the L.E.D. thing... so... basicly what I should have said to start with is.... Yes the dimmer will work so long as you do not apply too much voltage through the L.E.D. but why would you apply too much voltage?? just buy a 12 V rated leds and you be fine! be sure to take pictures!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheYeti Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 I would love to see how this turns out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted March 30, 2007 Author Share Posted March 30, 2007 Thank you all... I´ll Start Soon to do That... but I wanna ask you Somethin´: Could you Post Pictures of the Back of the Dashboard? and How many Leds Shall I Need? ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted April 16, 2007 Author Share Posted April 16, 2007 Anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfire Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 i just ordered my leds so when i put them in i will post pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonicfrog Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 Thank you all... I´ll Start Soon to do That... but I wanna ask you Somethin´: Could you Post Pictures of the Back of the Dashboard? and How many Leds Shall I Need? ... I have some and will post them.... if I can still find them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted April 26, 2007 Author Share Posted April 26, 2007 i just ordered my leds so when i put them in i will post pics. Thank You! I have some and will post them.... if I can still find them Well... Thank you too... I´ll be Waitin´ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfire Posted April 27, 2007 Share Posted April 27, 2007 leds came in today will post pics by sunday evening:burnout: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted April 27, 2007 Author Share Posted April 27, 2007 I´ll Love to See Pics of the Procedure, if you Could... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted May 20, 2007 Author Share Posted May 20, 2007 ... ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBush Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 I wanna do this too. PICS please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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