LED dash conversion

[Seavette]

Hi everyone , so I had one bulb in my 89 digital dash that was intermittent on and off. I decided to inspect the issue by following Batee. Com video which was extremely informative. His step by step instructions made the job quite simple. There was some minor issues reattaching wiring but with patience all went well. I found one loose bulb that needed to be tightened but decided once in the depths of the the dash to replace all the bulbs with LED. They are definitely brighter and will take getting use to . I was under the impression the LED bulbs I ordered from Batee were dimmable to some degree but found no difference when dimming. They don’t seam to dim. In any case Bryan at Batee was very helpful in diagnosing several issues. I will report back on wether I stay with LED dash lighting or return to the regular bulbs.

 

[dannyboy]

Not being able to dim would definitely be a deal-breaker.

 

[Tourmax]

I've tried both the led and xenon bulbs from same vendor.

Regardless of what the vendor advertises, the LEDs do not dim. At least they don’t in an “Atari dash” C4. But more disturbingly, they make unlit segments much more visible. For me, it was to the point where it made it hard to tell what the gauge reading were at a glance. Just too much showing and not enough contrast between what was on and what wasn't. It just made it all look very "busy".

The Xenon bulbs are brighter than the originals and they run cooler. The "unlit" segments are a tiny bit more visible than with the OEMs, but it's well within acceptable.The xenon bulbs also dim like the OEMs. I've got a convertible and no issues at all seeing gauges in direct sunlight.

The LEDs live in a bag in a drawer, the xenons have found a permanent home in the dash cluster......

 

[VikingTrad3r]

I've tried both the led and xenon bulbs from same vendor.

Regardless of what the vendor advertises, the LEDs do not dim. But more disturbingly, they make unlit segments much more visible. For me, it was to the point where it made it hard to tell what the gauge reading were at a glance. Just too much showing and not enough contrast between what was on and what wasn't. It just made it all look very "busy".

The Xenon bulbs are brighter than the originals and they run cooler. The "unlit" segments are a tiny bit more visible than with the OEMs, but it's well within acceptable.The xenon bulbs also dim like the OEMs. I've got a convertible and no issues at all seeing gauges in direct sunlight.

The LEDs live in a bag in a drawer, the xenons have found a permanent home in the dash cluster......

appreciate that writeup. ill go with xenon. got an 89 6pd coming that needs dashwork.

 

[dannyboy]

Thank you for the experiments & for passing on your results to us!

 

[Tourmax]

appreciate that writeup. ill go with xenon. got an 89 6pd coming that needs dashwork.

One thing I would recommend if using xenon bulbs is to take a lint free cloth and some rubbing alcohol (90% or better) and give them a wipe down before installing them.

like halogen bulbs, oil from skin (ie: fingers) creates a hot spot when they’re on and that can shorten their lifespan.

Even ones that come directly out of their packaging should be cleaned. You don’t know how they were “handled” before you got them.

any bulb that burns as hotly as xenon/halogen/etc runs into this issue.

give ’em a good clean and let them sit for 10-20 mins. Then install with a nice, thin, clean fabric glove or some other holder that doesn’t contaminate the glass.

It’s cheap insurance that you get all the life out of them you can…

 

[Live Wire]

I replaced my halogens with LED's on my 85. I found they don't dim by using the dimmer function of the headlight switch. But when I cover over the little square hole in the upper left of the panel that senses ambient light, then they do dim to a perfect level for night use. Give that a try first.