LED dash lights

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Joeype70
Posts: 65
Joined: Fri Aug 18, 2017 2:27 pm
Your car is a: 1979 Pininfarina

LED dash lights

Postby Joeype70 » Tue Sep 19, 2017 10:16 pm

My 79 Pininfarina dash lights are pretty dim. Are LEDs an option? Thank you!!

bonsaiwino
Posts: 228
Joined: Sat Jul 13, 2013 8:10 am
Your car is a: 1979 Spider

Re: LED dash lights

Postby bonsaiwino » Tue Sep 19, 2017 11:25 pm

Yes, I put LED's in my '79's gauges....much improved!

Joeype70
Posts: 65
Joined: Fri Aug 18, 2017 2:27 pm
Your car is a: 1979 Pininfarina

Re: LED dash lights

Postby Joeype70 » Wed Sep 20, 2017 3:42 am

Excellent, if you dont mind me asking....where did you buy them?? Thanks again.

bonsaiwino
Posts: 228
Joined: Sat Jul 13, 2013 8:10 am
Your car is a: 1979 Spider

Re: LED dash lights

Postby bonsaiwino » Wed Sep 20, 2017 6:28 pm

I think i got them from superbrightleds.com

bonsaiwino
Posts: 228
Joined: Sat Jul 13, 2013 8:10 am
Your car is a: 1979 Spider

Re: LED dash lights

Postby bonsaiwino » Wed Sep 20, 2017 6:28 pm

I think i got them from superbrightleds.com

Joeype70
Posts: 65
Joined: Fri Aug 18, 2017 2:27 pm
Your car is a: 1979 Pininfarina

Re: LED dash lights

Postby Joeype70 » Wed Sep 20, 2017 8:34 pm

Big thank you Bonsai, looks like they are the 194 bulbs. Thanks again!!!

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nelsonj
Posts: 394
Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2010 5:37 pm
Your car is a: 1972 Spider 124

Re: LED dash lights

Postby nelsonj » Wed Sep 20, 2017 10:46 pm

Here is my write up with results and details - hope it helps.

Update: LED dash instruments lights installed.
Below is a writeup of my swap from standard lights to LED dash lights. My temp gauge light died, so I decided that, while I had the dash apart I would try LEDs. I only replaced the backlights (to try and get the dash brighter) and left standard lights for the oil idiot light, driving lights, high beams, and low on gas.
I got my lights from http://www.superbrightleds.com and they were a 5 element, about 80 lumen part (part number 194-CW5-CBT cool white). They were $3.95 per bulb - here is the receipt:
Image

Note - most of my lights were 194 (I think) but my clock had a different light (per below). I checked my parts box and my old tach had lights similar to my clock. So, you should look at your gauges to see what type of lights they use before ordering parts. I had to do special (non-destructive) wiring for the clock and one light on my tach. The rest of the lights were plug and play. Note that the lights were not as snug as the originals, and one light fell into my speedo and I couldn't recover it - $4 down the drain.

Image

Now for before and after pictures. I used the same camera, lens, aperture, shutter and ISO speed for all pictures. This should give you a true apples to apples comparison. For each gauge, the first picture is "before", the second picture is "after" - going from left to right on the dash. Note the car was not running at the time (my lights get brighter once the motor is 1000+ RPMs). The dash was "max bright" with the rheostat fully clockwise.

Gas Before:
Image
Gas After:
Image


Tach Before (only had one backlight):
Image
Tach After (with two backlights):
Image

Temp After (no before shot because the light was burned out when I started the project):
Image

Speedo Before:
Image
Speedo After:
Image
Clock Before:
Image

Clock After:
Image

Full Dash Before:
Image
Full Dash After:
Image

Verdict and thoughts: My dash wasn't that bad to begin with. But it's noticeably brighter now (and can still be dimmed). The color is more blue and less yellow than original, but still looks good to my eyes - newer rather than vintage. The green light on the speedo and the set up of the tach make those two gauges look like they have different lights from the other three gauges.

Bottom line: I don't think this mod is for everyone. While the gaugues are brighter, I used 80 lumen bulbs ($4 each) but going with 100 lumen bulbs (at $6 each) would be even better. The fact that not all the gauges have the same "tone" may bother some and may make it look less than professional. I spent about $35 and had to do a bit of creative soldering and wiring - I plan on leaving the LEDs in because the dash is noticeably brighter.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Peace out.
Image
Simi Valley, California
Spider 1800
Romans 10:9

Joeype70
Posts: 65
Joined: Fri Aug 18, 2017 2:27 pm
Your car is a: 1979 Pininfarina

Re: LED dash lights

Postby Joeype70 » Thu Sep 21, 2017 3:57 am

Nelson,

Excellent write up!!! Very detailed and the pictures are great. Boy, now im not sure...lol. i do like the vintage look and not sold yet on having gauges look different light wise. I will have to mull this one over a bit. Thanks again!!!

spider2081
Patron 2024
Patron 2024
Posts: 2967
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2006 11:45 pm
Your car is a: 1981 Spider 2000
Location: Wallingford,CT
Contact:

Re: LED dash lights

Postby spider2081 » Thu Sep 21, 2017 7:55 am

i do like the vintage look and not sold yet on having gauges look different light wise.


The dash light dimmer reduces the brightness of the dash lights even when it its turned to full bright position. Some people simply eliminate the dimmer and are satisfied with the dash lights. This is done by connecting the 2 wire on the dimmer together.

Other alternatives are switching the bulbs for brighter bulbs that are the same physical size.
The original bulb is a 158 draws 0.24 amps @ 14 volts
One option slightly brighter is a 194 draws 0.27 amp @14 volts
another option is the 168 bulb it draws 0.35 amp @14 volts.
Personally I do a lot of night driving and don't like the dash lights too bright. I replaced mine with the 168 bulbs and have them dimmed to about 70% of full bright.

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spidernut
Posts: 1905
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:20 am
Your car is a: 1979 Fiat Spider Automatic
Location: Lincoln, CA

Re: LED dash lights

Postby spidernut » Thu Sep 21, 2017 12:36 pm

The lights he posted would not stay solidly inserted in the gauges on my son's Spider. They kept popping out. I'm not sure why.

I found these worked better, stayed in and gave sufficient brightness to the gauges.
There are other styles that would place the LEDs closer to the actual gauge,
but these were about $3 for 10 of them on Ebay.

Image

On my 79, I upgraded from the 3 watt incandescent bulb to a 5 watt 194 series incandescent from Auto Ricambi. It was a huge improvement and didn't have the bluish hue that LEDs put off. I am VERY pleased with them.
John G.
1979 Spider (Owned since 2000)
1971 124 Sport Spider (Owned since 2017)
1977 Spider (Sold 2017)
1979 Spider (Disposed of in 2017)
1979 Spider (Sold 2015)
1980 Spider (Sold in 2013)
1981 Spider (Sold in 1985)
2017 Spider (Owned since 2019)

bonsaiwino
Posts: 228
Joined: Sat Jul 13, 2013 8:10 am
Your car is a: 1979 Spider

Re: LED dash lights

Postby bonsaiwino » Thu Sep 21, 2017 2:58 pm

I like the look of your gauges now! Mine are very similar. Glad I could help. Happy motoring!


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