Dashboard Gauge Lights...

[vatahoelt]

Yes this does help. Thank you!

What lights and resistors did you order? I'm trying to find out which led's and resistors I need to solder into the instrument cluster

---------- Post added at 04:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:49 PM ----------

wow... this is really starting to give me a headache!!! i've been navigating through the super bright led site as well as a few others trying to find out which led's i can use... and now it seems that I have more questions than answers!


The led's are cheap, so i think i'm just going to buy a huge assortment of different types and start experimenting....

i cant figure out which style size or type of led to use
i'm not sure about which angle is the best
and i have no clue about what resistor i should use and i havent come across any led's on that site that can be soldered in that have the resistors already on them...

so i'm either gonna short something out or have one sweet looking instrument cluster! but I will find out!!!

5MM wide angle leds is what you need. they normally come in 3V and you'll need 470 ohm resistors. 1 for each led you solder to the cluster.

also, you'll need 8 iirc leds for the a/c and maybe 12-16 for the guage. buy them off ebay, way cheaper than the websites.

 

[johnsgonewild]

5MM wide angle leds is what you need. they normally come in 3V and you'll need 470 ohm resistors. 1 for each led you solder to the cluster.

also, you'll need 8 iirc leds for the a/c and maybe 12-16 for the guage. buy them off ebay, way cheaper than the websites.

thank you so very very much! that is what i needed to know! i have been searching for that information for nearly 5 hours now!!!

if you didnt live so far away I would buy you lunch and a beer!


one more small question....

when attaching the resistor, should i attach it in parallel or series? should the resistor simply be soldiered across the two leads on the led? or should it be added to one lead? do you follow me?


Thanks a million!

John

 

[vatahoelt]

thank you so very very much! that is what i needed to know! i have been searching for that information for nearly 5 hours now!!!

if you didnt live so far away I would buy you lunch and a beer!


one more small question....

when attaching the resistor, should i attach it in parallel or series? should the resistor simply be soldiered across the two leads on the led? or should it be added to one lead? do you follow me?


Thanks a million!

John

the resistor goes in series with the POSITIVE lead of the led. The ones I got, the positive lead was a hair longer than the negative lead. you'll have to do some trimming to the leads, along with getting creative in the way you bend and configure the resistors and leds.

 

[johnsgonewild]

5MM wide angle leds is what you need. they normally come in 3V and you'll need 470 ohm resistors. 1 for each led you solder to the cluster.

also, you'll need 8 iirc leds for the a/c and maybe 12-16 for the guage. buy them off ebay, way cheaper than the websites.

what is an iirc led? (i googled it and didnt come up with much) and do i still need a 470 ohm resistor for each led i put in the A/C panel?

---------- Post added at 01:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:37 AM ----------

ok... i just did a little bit of "exploratory surgery" i removed the cluster and opened her up, it only took five minutes to do that and it doesnt seem like its gonna be that hard to do. it looks like there is going to be plenty of space to fit the resistor in with the led. I dont really see any major issues.

without completely taking the faceplate off (dur to the fact that i didnt want to break a needle before i learned how to remove them) but, it looked as though the lights are nestled in a small blue housing... it also looked like the lights have four prongs... when you upgraded yours did you remove the little blue housing? or did you place the LED's in them? I'm sure i can figure this part out, but the more knowledge I can attain the better.... know what i mean?

the only thing i want to ask (before i go and break something that i'll regret) is how do you remove the needles? is there a trick? i read somewhere to use a fork and just pry them off... is this ok? or is there a better method?

 

[vatahoelt]

what is an iirc led? (i googled it and didnt come up with much) and do i still need a 470 ohm resistor for each led i put in the A/C panel?

---------- Post added at 01:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:37 AM ----------

ok... i just did a little bit of "exploratory surgery" i removed the cluster and opened her up, it only took five minutes to do that and it doesnt seem like its gonna be that hard to do. it looks like there is going to be plenty of space to fit the resistor in with the led. I dont really see any major issues.

without completely taking the faceplate off (dur to the fact that i didnt want to break a needle before i learned how to remove them) but, it looked as though the lights are nestled in a small blue housing... it also looked like the lights have four prongs... when you upgraded yours did you remove the little blue housing? or did you place the LED's in them? I'm sure i can figure this part out, but the more knowledge I can attain the better.... know what i mean?

the only thing i want to ask (before i go and break something that i'll regret) is how do you remove the needles? is there a trick? i read somewhere to use a fork and just pry them off... is this ok? or is there a better method?

1st part question: iirc = if i remember correctly. and yes you need a resistor for each led in the a/c housing, however you could put one resistor inline with the 12v power wire in the harness if you wanted to go that route. only problem is if it fails then all the lights go out.

2nd part: the factory lights should only be soldered in by two prongs, a + and -. the blue housing is just a piece of rubber covering the bulb. it's all one piece. once you get to the back of the circuit board, just take your soldering iron to the 2 prongs and heat them up and then you'll be able to pull out the bulb.

also, you can use a fork to take off the needles.

the tricky part of the whole process is going to be figuring out which hole is + and which is -, since the bulb is universal whereas the led has a specific polarity to each lead.

hope this helps.

 

[johnsgonewild]

Vatahoelt,

Thank you, I really appreciate all of your help and advice! Yes, you are right about the polarity issue..... hmmmm I'm not sure how I'm going to figure that part out yet..... I am getting a seperate cluster to massacre (upgrade) maybe I'll pull both of the housings off and plug it in and just try and hit it with a multi meter....that or try and somehow track down a schematic diagram forr the cluster.....I seriously doubt they are labled... that would be waaaay to easy!


Thanks again,
John

 

[vatahoelt]

Vatahoelt,

Thank you, I really appreciate all of your help and advice! Yes, you are right about the polarity issue..... hmmmm I'm not sure how I'm going to figure that part out yet..... I am getting a seperate cluster to massacre (upgrade) maybe I'll pull both of the housings off and plug it in and just try and hit it with a multi meter....that or try and somehow track down a schematic diagram forr the cluster.....I seriously doubt they are labled... that would be waaaay to easy!


Thanks again,
John

yeah, it's def not going to be labeled. you could either take off the cover and then plug it back in and then turn the key to ON. then take an led already set up with a resistor and then just touch it to each spot on the circuit. when you find out which side is +, just mark it with a sharpie. i had to do this for the window switch.

either that or if you can find a diagram of the wiring harness, you could figure out the + pin on the circuit board and follow the circuit that way. i had to do that for the overhead rear a/c controls because for some reason, they wired those lights in series, instead of parallel.

 

[B0$$MAN]

So today I took my gauge cluster out to change the bulbs in my 2002 Denali. There isn't "4", but "6" 194 bulbs (Good thing I ordered extras). The way the original bulbs were put in there were those irritating metal clips that held the bulb in place. After trying many times to get just one bulb to fit, it kept popping out of place. So, I gave up and will be taking it to my shop to just have the bulbs put in correctly.

Anyone else run into this problem?

 

[denalianyone]

you have to buy new sockets for the leds

 

[B0$$MAN]

you have to buy new sockets for the leds

Where can I get those sockets?