Headlight/Wiper/Defrost/Fog LED conversion

[patman]

alright...i'll check with my multimeter first but thanks

 

[ornithology]

Just an Update for everyone

How did you do the HVAC switches????

 

[scubadogg86]

it is actually very easy all you need is two 12v 194 leds , color of your choice, i got mine one ebay. remove the control panal there was a green plastic in mine i took it out and i cut the middle tempiture control and left that in there and put it back together put your leds in and boom your down about a 30min job still want to figure out the speedo

 

[ornithology]

it is actually very easy all you need is two 12v 194 leds , color of your choice, i got mine one ebay. remove the control panal there was a green plastic in mine i took it out and i cut the middle tempiture control and left that in there and put it back together put your leds in and boom your down about a 30min job still want to figure out the speedo

Wow you replied fast! I thought having only 28 posts you probably seldom come on. Anyways, I spent the past 4 hours getting it done. Mine is hella bright though so I may have to dim it a bit. I took pictures and will make an instructional since I could not find any info on it at all. Thanks for the idea though Scubadogg!

Aaron

 

[scubadogg86]

yea you caught me aat the right time i been out of work with a herniated disk and had time to run through all my email and i saw you had a question about my post if you have any other led questions please ask

 

[wrigley_1285]

here's a question i can't believe that hasn't been brought up yet. will the dimmer still work. or are they always going to be bright. i don't know about you guys but i'd like to be able to dim my lights depending on where i'm driving at.

 

[ornithology]

Yes it will dim.

 

[wrigley_1285]

does it dim as much as the original bulbs do. or just a little bit.

 

[MustangP51]

It dims almost exactly like the bulbs do.

 

[fenderbender2002]

so where did the wires from the led for the fog and defrost run to? i can't figure it out so p51 if you could help?

When you remove the switch there is a small part that a flat head screwdriver can fit into, that piece holds the original bulb you can get power from here if you want to.
My ex used to have an ashtray but I replaced the cupholder with one from a newer model. Then I made a small cut in both cupholders and the little coin holder then I put a flat square led in each hole and used the light from the old ashtray for power. I will take a couple of pics and post them later.
Also here are some good links for people wanting to learn how to wire leds and calculate what size resistor you will need.

http://ledcalc.com/

http://led.linear1.org/1led.wiz

http://www.theledlight.com/ledcircuits.html

http://www.instructables.com/id/E5W4M8U0LOEV2Z9R9A/

http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz

http://www.quickar.com/ledbasics.htm

 

[blakshukvw]

I have a question for mustangP51. I have the 194 bulbs coming for my cluster. If I install these and they are brighter than than the stock bulbs, maybe even obnoxious, then I will need to dim them only to make the rest of my dash lights even dimmer. I'm not sure I want to do my complete dash with LED's. How long do these Ebay LED's last? I see you use the hot glue alot. What do you do when you need to repair a bad LED or do they just last a long time so it's not a concern?

Also, how did you come to the conclusion that you wanted 55,000mcd LED's for your other dash upgrades. I see 18,000 and 25,000mcd LED's and others. I'm not concerned with the price difference, not sure there is one. Just curious if maybe the 25,000mcd would be enough for my other dash lights. Do your 194 LED's in your cluster match the brightness of all of the other dash LED's you have installed. Basically I want a uniform look, wether that is at full tilt boogie or dimmed down with the dimmer switch.

I basically just want lights that work, consistently. Half of my dash lights are out now. I know the LED's have a really long life so maybe I'll just jump in with both feet now.

 

[MustangP51]

I have a question for mustangP51. I have the 194 bulbs coming for my cluster. If I install these and they are brighter than than the stock bulbs, maybe even obnoxious, then I will need to dim them only to make the rest of my dash lights even dimmer. I'm not sure I want to do my complete dash with LED's. How long do these Ebay LED's last? I see you use the hot glue alot. What do you do when you need to repair a bad LED or do they just last a long time so it's not a concern?

Also, how did you come to the conclusion that you wanted 55,000mcd LED's for your other dash upgrades. I see 18,000 and 25,000mcd LED's and others. I'm not concerned with the price difference, not sure there is one. Just curious if maybe the 25,000mcd would be enough for my other dash lights. Do your 194 LED's in your cluster match the brightness of all of the other dash LED's you have installed. Basically I want a uniform look, wether that is at full tilt boogie or dimmed down with the dimmer switch.

I basically just want lights that work, consistently. Half of my dash lights are out now. I know the LED's have a really long life so maybe I'll just jump in with both feet now.

The LEDs will match pretty well, Everything I have done is uniform, they all dim evenly and at full tit they are all at the same brightness. I bought the 55,000mcd LEDs because they were the brightest 5mm white LEDs that I could buy in bulk. You can always uses a different resistor to reduce the brightness of the LED, but you can't overdrive them and expect them to last.

I use hot glue on everything to prevent fatigue on solder joints caused by vibration. It sets almost instantly and if anything does go wrong the glue can be heated with a heat gun or hair dryer to replace failed components. However I do expect the LEDs to far outlast the vehicle itself.

 

[blakshukvw]

So I'm correct to assume that the rest of my stock dash lights won't match the brightness of the 194 LED's I'm going to be installing in my cluster. This will almost ensure that I will need to replace all of the rest.

You can get a deal on those 50,000 mcd LED's with resistors on Ebay. $14.99 plus free shipping. BTW, are you using the supplied resistors that come free with the LED's? The listing says they are rated for 12V systems. I also found some LED's with resistors already installed on pigtails ready to go in a 12V system but none with that high of power. I think the highest they had like that were 25,000mcd. Oh well, they cost more.

Thanks for your response MustangP51 and you have inspired me to make these upgrades as well as the puddle lights too.

 

[scubadogg86]

just tuning in i highly recommend staying away from them they use cheap resistors. i had a problem with sevral diffrent kinds and i now purchase my leds from superbrightleds.com and choose my own resistors but i have not had problems with any wedge based bulbs like the 194s

 

[FishinFord]

when you replace the regular bulbs with leds, where to you connect hose contacts too? i see all those long leads, where do they connect to?
-kug

 

[MustangP51]

when you replace the regular bulbs with leds, where to you connect hose contacts too? i see all those long leads, where do they connect to?
-kug

You will have to connect the wires coming off the LEDs to the wire in the wiring harness that goes to the rear wiper control that powered the old light bulb. ( that's a mouthful )

 

[FishinFord]

lastly, ive seen some of you guys change them to all blue as i am also trying to do. The leds inside the head of the switch i cant seem to get to, and its either amber or green? how do i get to it?

 

[scubadogg86]

which switch are you having problems with

 

[FishinFord]

im talking about the fog and rear defroster, switches, like deep inside, there seems to be a crystal in front of it when i take it apart which the light refracts through.
-Kug

 

[scubadogg86]

can you send a picture so i can see