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Refractor LED 194 Bulbs

hey guys i have been real busy the past few months but i had a issue with my leds... i have prewired 12v midnight blue leds from autozone in my buttons ,pictures posted earlier in this forum, anyways the are hooked up through illumination on m,y car stero so they come one when the lights do....my leds keep burning out. after a few weeks of use they start flickerin then they die anyone have any ideas im baffled
 



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hey guys i have been real busy the past few months but i had a issue with my leds... i have prewired 12v midnight blue leds from autozone in my buttons ,pictures posted earlier in this forum, anyways the are hooked up through illumination on m,y car stero so they come one when the lights do....my leds keep burning out. after a few weeks of use they start flickerin then they die anyone have any ideas im baffled

I had the same problem with rewired LEDs from Advanced Auto Parts. I'm sure Auto Zones are junk as well. Buy LEDs off of ebay and make them yourself if you want good quality.
 






actually i did get them from advanced haha i orderd 50 blues straight from hong kong from ebay 6 months ago and instaled them on my headlamp switch but they are a lighter blue but have lasted for 6 months and shows no sign of failing but i wanted the dark blue glow and can not find them any other ideas also has anyone came up with a full waLKthrough on the gauge cluster led conversion
 






Hey i just did the 4wd fog defrost and rear wiper switches, and i was wondering how many 168/194's are behind the dash, and if i could get away with ordering some t10s that are online. and which ones are the ones that affect the needles and which ones affect the numbers

Thanks,
Justin
 






I think that there were 6 of them in the gauge cluster, and 2 or 3 of them in the climate control module on my '99 - I bought 20 (2 packs of 10), but only opened one pack.

Polarity does matter - do a test-light before you button everything back up - I put some of mine in backwards, originally, and had to pull it all back apart - big pain in the butt! :)
 






The dimmer switch probably changes the voltage applied to each bulb, in which case the LEDs will not dim at all. They will remain a constant brightness until the voltage drop of the LED (and resistor) is greater than the voltage applied by the dimmer, at which point they will simply turn off.

To P51: How many LED 194 'bulbs' did you end up needing? I'm making my quarterly LED purchase (lol) and would like to pick up enough to do my dash.
 






The dimmer switch probably changes the voltage applied to each bulb, in which case the LEDs will not dim at all. They will remain a constant brightness until the voltage drop of the LED (and resistor) is greater than the voltage applied by the dimmer, at which point they will simply turn off.

this is incorrect. they dim just fine.
 






Glad to be wrong, then! Thanks for the info.
 






The dimmer switch probably changes the voltage applied to each bulb, in which case the LEDs will not dim at all. They will remain a constant brightness until the voltage drop of the LED (and resistor) is greater than the voltage applied by the dimmer, at which point they will simply turn off.

To P51: How many LED 194 'bulbs' did you end up needing? I'm making my quarterly LED purchase (lol) and would like to pick up enough to do my dash.

You need 6 194s for the Cluster, 2 194s for the climate controls.

And yes the LEDs do dim just like the original bulbs
 






LEDs can be dimmed. Most LEDs can function with a very low voltage/amperage coming through them. Heck I can set one off with a resistance test on my multimeter. So they can be dimmed no problem, if they are too too too bright and you need to dimm them permanently, you can simply add a resistor(in the cluster its a PAIN).
 






Also a note about color changing as I see it asked here alot. Two ways to do it. If you have a BLUE cover over your gauges, this is easy, get some Cool White LEDs to replace your 194s, bam done. If not, then you have to rip apart all of the gauges, and scratch off the coloring on the back to make it CLEAR, then you can either put it back with any color, which is not reccomended, it wont look too good. Or you can paint the now clear plastic with a plastic clear paint, with whatever color, then put some LEDs behind it.
 












While reading (and watching a movie with the wife) I purchased a Sport Trac Cluster. I would like to replace all the bulbs before I install it, do I replace all the 194 bulbs only? I like to go with led's as some of you guys have done.
Do you still recommend led's? Do you guys know what color lens is in the White sport trac cluster.

Thanks guys.
 












Still in the box it arrived in waiting for more input.

Anyone??
 












I've bought alot of LEDs from Best Hong Kong... Great company, fast shipping, but those LEDs aren't bright enough. I tryied to put some blue ones in the cluster but I just got dots and alot of dark areas. I ended buys Wide Ange LEDs and making my own to stick behind the dash. I've posted pics on here a while back. http://community.webshots.com/album/550998492PcBjEb
heres a link to my pics
I LOVE THAT SLOGAN. " Fix it till its broken" Good Stuff LOL
 






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