Dimmable LED Gauge Lights

[bluebear15]

A couple of my gauge lights went out recently on my 06 Tahoe Z71 that I was going to replace. I had some LED gauge lights in my old 97 Tahoe from superbrightleds but I noticed driving at night for a longer distance the brightness would hurt my eyes and make me more tired. Was wondering if there are some dimmable LED gauge lights? Or maybe some better ones to use that are easier on the eyes at night for long drives.

 

[camaroz1985]

Bulbs are soldered to the gauge cluster. You can replace them with LEDs, and they will still dim, but it isn't a simple bulb replacement. You either need 12V LEDs or need to solder the correct resistor with your LED to make it work. Probably the easiest way to do it is with USSpeedo kits. They are 12V and have good distribution of lights. You can get them for about half price on ebay compared to their site.

 

[adventurenali92]

He’s correct^! I had @ScottyBoy update an Escalade cluster for me with blue LEDs and new stepper motors that’s now in my 2006 Denali. And they dim when I use the dimmer wheel just like all the rest of the backlighting does.

 

[bluebear15]

Bulbs are soldered to the gauge cluster. You can replace them with LEDs, and they will still dim, but it isn't a simple bulb replacement. You either need 12V LEDs or need to solder the correct resistor with your LED to make it work. Probably the easiest way to do it is with USSpeedo kits. They are 12V and have good distribution of lights. You can get them for about half price on ebay compared to their site.

I have no problem soldering them. What resistor is needed to keep them dimmable to a reasonable low light? Do you have a link? I'm having trouble finding 03-06 ones for mine.

 

[bluebear15]

He’s correct^! I had @ScottyBoy update an Escalade cluster for me with blue LEDs and new stepper motors that’s now in my 2006 Denali. And they dim when I use the dimmer wheel just like all the rest of the backlighting does.

Do you know what resistors they are?
And could you post a picture?

 

[camaroz1985]

Resistors depend on the exact LED you use (color, etc. will change it), not how bright you want them to be. Like someone said above, with any LED you can dim them down to nothing with the dimmer switch. The kits I was talking about are here.

http://www.newtruckstuff.com/Complete-Dash-LED-Upgrades/productinfo/LED.GM.D/

http://www.newtruckstuff.com/Speedometer-LED-upgrade-Kit/productinfo/CUBE360/

You pay more but no resistors are needed and you get instructions and pre-cut, pre-bent LEDs. You can use whatever color you want, but blue and green tend to work best because some of the switches have a blue film or tint to them, so if you use white they won't all match. The blue and green hide the difference the best.

 

[bluebear15]

Resistors depend on the exact LED you use (color, etc. will change it), not how bright you want them to be. Like someone said above, with any LED you can dim them down to nothing with the dimmer switch. The kits I was talking about are here.

http://www.newtruckstuff.com/Complete-Dash-LED-Upgrades/productinfo/LED.GM.D/

http://www.newtruckstuff.com/Speedometer-LED-upgrade-Kit/productinfo/CUBE360/

You pay more but no resistors are needed and you get instructions and pre-cut, pre-bent LEDs. You can use whatever color you want, but blue and green tend to work best because some of the switches have a blue film or tint to them, so if you use white they won't all match. The blue and green hide the difference the best.

Thanks! That makes it easier and I think worth the extra cost. I was looking to go with blue anyways. Does anyone do anything for the orange needles? I know it's been mentioned the 00-02 can have the orange removed fairly easily but mine is an 06 and the solid orange. In my 97 Tahoe I had blue LEDs and left the needles orange and it looked a little weird but not bad.

 

[camaroz1985]

Thanks! That makes it easier and I think worth the extra cost. I was looking to go with blue anyways. Does anyone do anything for the orange needles? I know it's been mentioned the 00-02 can have the orange removed fairly easily but mine is an 06 and the solid orange. In my 97 Tahoe I had blue LEDs and left the needles orange and it looked a little weird but not bad.

Look on the same site, they sell different needles.

 

[adventurenali92]

Thanks! That makes it easier and I think worth the extra cost. I was looking to go with blue anyways. Does anyone do anything for the orange needles? I know it's been mentioned the 00-02 can have the orange removed fairly easily but mine is an 06 and the solid orange. In my 97 Tahoe I had blue LEDs and left the needles orange and it looked a little weird but not bad.

Digital dash solutions also sells needles and gauges faces. I bought mine off their eBay store. When I did the esky cluster I ordered the white platinum edition style gauge face and then I also ordered the blue needles with the grey bases. The blue in the needles matches perfectly with the blue LEDs.

 

[bluebear15]

Anyone do (or have a picture) blue LED's with red needles? Wondering how the lighting turns out with the red and blue