I'm looking for plug in led replacements for the original gauges in the car.
Anyone here have a part number and source for them?
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Doug,
I've tried half-a-dozen different LED bulbs in stock gauges and, unfortunately, the best ones I've tried (Autolumination.com – item #: 194 168 W5W 2825 SMT Tower – green) are NLA.
SuperbrightLEDs.com makes one that works very well (WLED-GHP5); however, they have an "old" version and a "new" version of this bulb. The "old" version needed some minor filing in order to fit into the bulb tubes on the back of our gauges. They are noticeably brighter than 5W incandescent bulbs. Green, 360 degree LED bulbs give our gauges a slightly greener, "crisper" look than incandescent bulbs. White LEDs make the gauges look "washed out" and very pale green because the white light they emit is too blue (IMO). The "new" version of this bulb (photo below) looks smaller than the "old" one, so it will probably fit without modification, but I haven't tried it.
So far, SuperbrightLEDs doesn't have any dimensional specs available for the "new" bulb, so the only way to find out if it works is to try it. Just make sure you get the "new" version. SuperbrightLEDs will take them back if they don't fit.
The key features to look for in an LED bulb for OE Pantera gauges are: 360 degree light output and green illumination. Also, the bulb needs to protrude far enough into the gauge that the radial mounted LEDs, on a 360 degree beam pattern bulb, are inside the gauge and not in the bulb tube. Most of the LED bulb companies have bulbs like this but most are too large in diameter to fit into the bulb holder tubes on the back of OE Pantera gauges.
If you use an LED bulb with a narrower beam pattern than 360 degrees, the illumination will be uneven over the face of the gauge.
I hope this helps!
I've tried half-a-dozen different LED bulbs in stock gauges and, unfortunately, the best ones I've tried (Autolumination.com – item #: 194 168 W5W 2825 SMT Tower – green) are NLA.
SuperbrightLEDs.com makes one that works very well (WLED-GHP5); however, they have an "old" version and a "new" version of this bulb. The "old" version needed some minor filing in order to fit into the bulb tubes on the back of our gauges. They are noticeably brighter than 5W incandescent bulbs. Green, 360 degree LED bulbs give our gauges a slightly greener, "crisper" look than incandescent bulbs. White LEDs make the gauges look "washed out" and very pale green because the white light they emit is too blue (IMO). The "new" version of this bulb (photo below) looks smaller than the "old" one, so it will probably fit without modification, but I haven't tried it.
So far, SuperbrightLEDs doesn't have any dimensional specs available for the "new" bulb, so the only way to find out if it works is to try it. Just make sure you get the "new" version. SuperbrightLEDs will take them back if they don't fit.
The key features to look for in an LED bulb for OE Pantera gauges are: 360 degree light output and green illumination. Also, the bulb needs to protrude far enough into the gauge that the radial mounted LEDs, on a 360 degree beam pattern bulb, are inside the gauge and not in the bulb tube. Most of the LED bulb companies have bulbs like this but most are too large in diameter to fit into the bulb holder tubes on the back of OE Pantera gauges.
If you use an LED bulb with a narrower beam pattern than 360 degrees, the illumination will be uneven over the face of the gauge.
I hope this helps!
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Thanks for the help and info David. Appreciated.
In my case I converted to VDO gauges with white markings and installed the matching face plates on the tach and speedo.
White would be the way to go for me with this set up.
Just an't find the right application to find the bulb number yet.
My original Veglia's are stored safely away.
The original bulbs are making these gauges look yellow. Very strange.
In my case I converted to VDO gauges with white markings and installed the matching face plates on the tach and speedo.
White would be the way to go for me with this set up.
Just an't find the right application to find the bulb number yet.
My original Veglia's are stored safely away.
The original bulbs are making these gauges look yellow. Very strange.
quote:Originally posted by David_Nunn:
Doug,
I've tried half-a-dozen different LED bulbs in stock gauges and, unfortunately, the best ones I've tried (Autolumination.com – item #: 194 168 W5W 2825 SMT Tower – green) are NLA.
SuperbrightLEDs.com makes one that works very well (WLED-GHP5); however, they have an "old" version and a "new" version of this bulb. The "old" version needed some minor filing in order to fit into the bulb tubes on the back of our gauges. They are noticeably brighter than 5W incandescent bulbs. Green, 360 degree LED bulbs give our gauges a slightly greener, "crisper" look than incandescent bulbs. White LEDs make the gauges look very "washed out" and very pale green. The "new" version of this bulb (photo below) looks smaller than the "old" one, so it will probably fit without modification, but I haven't tried it.
So far, SuperbrightLEDs doesn't have any dimensional specs available for the "new" bulb, so the only way to find out if it works is to try it. Just make sure you get the "new" version. SuperbrightLEDs will take them back if they don't fit.
The key features to look for in an LED bulb for OE Pantera gauges are: 360 degree light output and green illumination. Also, the bulb needs to protrude far enough into the gauge that the radial mounted LEDs, on a 360 degree beam pattern bulb, are inside the gauge and not in the bulb tube. Most of the LED bulb companies have bulbs like this but most are too large in diameter to fit into the bulb holder tubes on the back of OE Pantera gauges.
If you use an LED bulb with a narrower beam pattern than 360 degrees, the illumination will be uneven over the face of the gauge.
I hope this helps!
Do you have any photos of how it looks with these LED?
Is the same lamp in all the gauges speed, rpm and them small?
How many lamp is it?
Each gauge has one light bulb. So you need six if you have the stock gauge configuration.
Anders,
In the photo below, the voltmeter and clock have LED bulbs, the other two gauges have 3W incandescent bulbs.
Like Doug wrote, there are six gauge illumination bulbs. There are also seven warning light bulbs; three each in the tach and speedo, and one in the fuel gauge. If you want to replace these with LEDs as well, make sure the color of the LED bulb is the same as the lens that it will shine through. As an example, you would use a red bulb for the low fuel warning light. This LED bulb works well for the warning lights: SuperbrightLEDs.com WLED-xHP.
In the photo below, the voltmeter and clock have LED bulbs, the other two gauges have 3W incandescent bulbs.
Like Doug wrote, there are six gauge illumination bulbs. There are also seven warning light bulbs; three each in the tach and speedo, and one in the fuel gauge. If you want to replace these with LEDs as well, make sure the color of the LED bulb is the same as the lens that it will shine through. As an example, you would use a red bulb for the low fuel warning light. This LED bulb works well for the warning lights: SuperbrightLEDs.com WLED-xHP.
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Wow! You sure need to like green! What a difference.
Good thought on the factory warning lights in the speedo and tach. Didn't think of that.
Lighting is one way to bring the car into this century. LED's can help.
Good thought on the factory warning lights in the speedo and tach. Didn't think of that.
Lighting is one way to bring the car into this century. LED's can help.
Here are some pictures that may interest you. I found some LED replacement bulbs on ebay from a supplier named allpartspipe. I want to reduce the heat of the bulb inside the gauge. With the incandescent, they get so warm that it causes condensation inside the glass, and my gauges would fog up (the small ones, not the tach and speedo).
Just to see the difference, I set up my gauges on the bench and used a bench power supply set at 13.2 volts. These photos are time exposures taken with the same camera, settings, and conditions. First the incandescents:
Then green LEDs in the next picture:
You can see that the incandescent bulbs are brighter than these LEDs, which are inexpensive ones. I am sure there are better ones available, so I am interested to see what others find.
What I notice is the difference between the gauges. The volt meter is the brightest, followed by water temp, oil pressure, fuel level, and amp meter is the most dim. My clock was out so not visible, but I see in David's pic that it is pretty bright.
My question is how to make them more even in brightness. If I have plenty of light, I can simply add a resistor to the brightest ones. But if the light is weak at best, I need to take the gauges apart and improve the light delivery inside.
Just to see the difference, I set up my gauges on the bench and used a bench power supply set at 13.2 volts. These photos are time exposures taken with the same camera, settings, and conditions. First the incandescents:
Then green LEDs in the next picture:
You can see that the incandescent bulbs are brighter than these LEDs, which are inexpensive ones. I am sure there are better ones available, so I am interested to see what others find.
What I notice is the difference between the gauges. The volt meter is the brightest, followed by water temp, oil pressure, fuel level, and amp meter is the most dim. My clock was out so not visible, but I see in David's pic that it is pretty bright.
My question is how to make them more even in brightness. If I have plenty of light, I can simply add a resistor to the brightest ones. But if the light is weak at best, I need to take the gauges apart and improve the light delivery inside.
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UFO-LOW,
I had exactly the problem you mention, when I tried LED bulbs with a 270 degree beam pattern. Some gauges were brighter than others and some were bright on one side only. When using bulbs with a 360 degree beam pattern, I think you'll find this problem goes away (just like with incandescent bulbs). Your voltmeter is the exception, as it must have different internal construction, that lets more light through to the front of the gauge.
I had exactly the problem you mention, when I tried LED bulbs with a 270 degree beam pattern. Some gauges were brighter than others and some were bright on one side only. When using bulbs with a 360 degree beam pattern, I think you'll find this problem goes away (just like with incandescent bulbs). Your voltmeter is the exception, as it must have different internal construction, that lets more light through to the front of the gauge.
quote:Originally posted by UFO-LOW:
Here are some pictures that may interest you. I found some LED replacement bulbs on ebay from a supplier named allpartspipe. I want to reduce the heat of the bulb inside the gauge. With the incandescent, they get so warm that it causes condensation inside the glass, and my gauges would fog up (the small ones, not the tach and speedo).
Just to see the difference, I set up my gauges on the bench and used a bench power supply set at 13.2 volts. These photos are time exposures taken with the same camera, settings, and conditions. First the incandescents:
Then green LEDs in the next picture:
You can see that the incandescent bulbs are brighter than these LEDs, which are inexpensive ones. I am sure there are better ones available, so I am interested to see what others find.
What I notice is the difference between the gauges. The volt meter is the brightest, followed by water temp, oil pressure, fuel level, and amp meter is the most dim. My clock was out so not visible, but I see in David's pic that it is pretty bright.
My question is how to make them more even in brightness. If I have plenty of light, I can simply add a resistor to the brightest ones. But if the light is weak at best, I need to take the gauges apart and improve the light delivery inside.
What do the bulbs themselves look like. Are they plug in substitutions for the stock incandescent and their holders?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/...e-view_1397496082016
This is the one I'm going to try. There was another thread on LEDs a while ago and these worked well
This is the one I'm going to try. There was another thread on LEDs a while ago and these worked well
Wow that was a big difference, I have bright days around the clock where I live. Except late fall and when I went home late from a DT friends, I discovered that I can't see nothing of the gages. It was the most speedo I checked the time I didn't want to drive too fast if something came up on the road.
I have to check up this with LED...
I have to check up this with LED...
that bulb is plug and play and it is bright!!
I replaced my gauge bulbs with the 360° LED's with the white plastic bases. They are a snug fit and could use a little filing. On the speedo and tach I ordered the style with an additional row of LED's. This really helped illuminate the larger gauges. I may have had to trim the bases, it's been a while since I did it. One thing to note is that they do not dim with the existing dimmer. I have plans to retrofit a LED dimmer but have not tried it yet. This is the style I used for the speedo/tach and the smaller gauges got the single row version. I used white and think I will change to green because the the white does change the color of the gauges quite a bit.
Steve
Steve
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Are they all this expensive?
Steve,
After installing LED bulbs in all of my gauges and improving the gauge illumination so dramatically, I found I really needed a functional dimmer (since the OEM dimmer won't work with LED bulbs). After trying a bunch of different dimmers, I found one that worked perfectly. I wrote an article for the March '14 POCA newsletter, describing the installation. Here it is:
http://tinyurl.com/kuulbhy
After installing LED bulbs in all of my gauges and improving the gauge illumination so dramatically, I found I really needed a functional dimmer (since the OEM dimmer won't work with LED bulbs). After trying a bunch of different dimmers, I found one that worked perfectly. I wrote an article for the March '14 POCA newsletter, describing the installation. Here it is:
http://tinyurl.com/kuulbhy
quote:Originally posted by David_Nunn:
Steve,
After installing LED bulbs in all of my gauges and improving the gauge illumination so dramatically, I found I really needed a functional dimmer (since the OEM dimmer won't work with LED bulbs). After trying a bunch of different dimmers, I found one that worked perfectly. I wrote an article for the March '14 POCA newsletter, describing the installation. Here it is:
http://tinyurl.com/kuulbhy
Thanks David,
Okay, Is his new version available to purchase? I looked at the website and it doesn't specify. That is exactly what I need to do to my car along with swapping out the white LED's for green. If anyone is wondering if it is worth the trouble, IT IS! That and one of the quad headlight kits from the vendors makes the car drivable at night.
Steve
Steve,
As far as I know, the three wire dimmer kit is not yet available. I'll send Dale Wheat an e-mail to see if he has an ETA. I'll let you know what he says. The only downside to the four wire version is, you have to convert to dual contact bulb holders, so that all the LEDs can ground through the dimmer.
Speaking of quad headlamp kits, I see Hella's now selling 90mm LED low beam and High/Low beam modules. Apparently, they are better than the 90mm Xenon and much better than the 90mm Halogen. The price, however, is about $780 each. Ouch! I'll stick with my halogen modules until the price comes down.
As far as I know, the three wire dimmer kit is not yet available. I'll send Dale Wheat an e-mail to see if he has an ETA. I'll let you know what he says. The only downside to the four wire version is, you have to convert to dual contact bulb holders, so that all the LEDs can ground through the dimmer.
Speaking of quad headlamp kits, I see Hella's now selling 90mm LED low beam and High/Low beam modules. Apparently, they are better than the 90mm Xenon and much better than the 90mm Halogen. The price, however, is about $780 each. Ouch! I'll stick with my halogen modules until the price comes down.