[Neurodeliri]

I'd like to switch out the bulbs in my 91 New Yorker's analog display with LEDs and was just wondering which ones would be compatible.

I've got 1 or 2 of the bulbs burnt out and I figure I just get them all done at the same time and the preferred way.

Thanks.


ALSO, I figure I mention this in this thread as to not make another topic:
The display that displays which gear you're in (P, R, N, D etc etc) was unaligned a tad when I had the panel out to replace the odometer gears awhile back, just wondering what I could do to try to line it up right. It's really been ticking me off with my OCD.

 

[B10alia]

There should be a hex screw for the indicator cable adjustor somewhere on the outboard side of the steering column. A manual should ahve procedures on realigning the indicator.
Here's an article on retrofitting LED's into a digital dash, as well as some repairs. If the OCD is bothering you, LED's are not dimmable and may give you a strange color. I would personally do it, as I hardly ever dim my gauges, but it's your call.
http://www.allpar.com/fix/electrical/digital-dashboard.html

 

[Bob Lincoln]

LEDs are dimmable. You simply vary the current supplied to them with a potentiometer.

 

[StarFire_MK2]

Yes, I put LED's in my dash, and they are dimmable

 

[B10alia]

Oops, misread the article, my bad. Said a certain type wasn't dimmable ENOUGH...that's what you get for posting after a long day...

 

[Bob Lincoln]

The dimming curve is different from incandescents, to be sure.

 

[Dave Z]

Yup. I think Jeremy Schrag has been doing this -- there's some stuff in his articles on allpar about it. Unfortunately they're scattered around.

 

[Oklahoma Wolf]

Yeah, LEDs only dim so far. I had to go to green ones in the Imperial's digital cluster because even blue single LED models were always too bright for me.

Then again, you wouldn't have that same issue if you weren't trying to use them to backlight the sweep style digital dash I am.

 

[Dave Z]

Brighter bulbs with less heat might be a good thing for my Valiant display. It's pretty dark even with all the bulbs in, which is really hard to do in any case.

 

[Neurodeliri]

I may be missing something but I'm a bit confused. The LEDs have a much smaller base then the bulbs already in the dash, but I can't seem to remove the bulbs from their bases. It looks like once they were removed the new LEDs would just take their place in the bulb, but I can't seem to unscrew them or anything.

I know I have to be missing something.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

The sockets for the incandescent bulbs come out of the circuit board by rotating them 1/4 turn counterclockwise and pulling them out. The bulbs are wedge base and just pull out of the sockets.

 

[Neurodeliri]

I'll try to look at it again, but the bulbs were definitely not pulling right out. : p

 

[Oklahoma Wolf]

These may be PC194's or similar... those don't pull out, the lamp and base is all one assembly that can't be separated. Not sure there is an LED version of those things.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Or, sometimes they corrode and really stick in there, and break when you try to remove them. Be careful of your fingers.

 

[Neurodeliri]

Ok so I've made a bit of progress.

The original sockets that are in the dash can not be used, their bulbs do not come out, one of you had mentioned that I'm just confirming it.

I found a seller selling both the smaller sockets and larger sockets on eBay for a reasonable price, I can provide links if anyone is interested.

With the actual LED bulbs, for the larger cluster bulbs I used T10 194 bulbs, and for the smaller ones used in things such as the radio or air control I used T5 74 bulbs.


The T10 194 ones I used actually are dimmable, which surprised me. The smaller ones I honestly don't know right now.

I'll post pictures when I'm all finished up, it's coming out nicely. Thanks guys.