LED HVAC lighting questions.

['96_Talon_TSi]

Alright guys, im starting to change all of the lighting in my interior over to blue LED.

What brightness LEDs do you think i should use?

TIA

 

[james13]

if you can choke down your pride....and take some BS from the local car parts stores....i used the LED windshield squirters. All ready for 12v so you don't have to mess with anything

 

[zachakagoat]

You used the led squirters? how? did you disassemble them and put them in the back or did you just stick the whole thing up in there. Also what is the price on those compared to getting led's alone? got any pics too? [email protected]

 

[Pro3racer]

I'm wondering the same question, i want to change mine all to red lights though, instead of the stupid amber. If the windshield led's work, than wouldn't they work for like the gauge backlightes, and all the other light-up things? [email protected] for the led info, or just post it. That is my personal email(not my parents).

 

[Slipstream]

Okay, I stood back and watched this thread flounder, but i can't watch anymore.
http://dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5282

the search is an amazing feature.

In answers to your questions.

For the hvac, cig ring, key ring, and ashtray you can buy blue led replacement bulbs that are direct fit...no soldering.

for your switches it requires that you can solder and is detailed out in the thread i linked you to.

the gauge cluster itself is covered by an orange film (also as noted in that thread) so putting anything behind it won't serve any purpose.

don't use led washers...try radio shack for real leds...or order in bulk from one of dozens of online stores. get the brightest you can, you can always add a heavier resistor if you want them dimmer. In all reality all of these questions and the countless others you're likely to have while converting have been asked and answered several times in that one thread alone...not to mention the other threads that can be found by searching.

 

[james13]

yea i took the l.e.d.'s out of the nozzels....i work at a radioshack...and the nozel type l.e.d.s are far brighter than any that i have seen at radioshack.

 

[blackGSX2g]

I just got a bag of like 100 off of ebay for like 3 bucks. You can adjust the brightness of the bulbs by changing the resistance the bulb sees.

 

['96_Talon_TSi]

I'm aware there are tons of threads on this topic. I noticed in the one jaybone made a long while back he said he used 6000mcd LED and wished they were brighter.

I jst ordered a bag of 8000mcd LED off ebay. I think that'll do the trick.

 

[dynatos]

yea i took the l.e.d.'s out of the nozzels....i work at a radioshack...and the nozel type l.e.d.s are far brighter than any that i have seen at radioshack.

you must not have tried the 2600mcd ones..

What i've noticed with the ebay 8000mcd LEDs is that they are just as bright as the ebay 5000mcd ones, or radioshack 2600mcd ones. For a red LED, though, radioshack doesn't carry the brightest. I found a company 'Linrose' made a good 10,000mcd red led with a nice "Do not look straight into" warning for brightness.

Dissassembling washer nozles sounds like a not-so-fun task when you can purchase the leds directly. Try www.superbrightleds.com - they have a good selection. I haven't seen any pictures of a BLUE led interior using those pre-maid bulbs. And for what i've seen, there are many dark/light spots. I went the super tedious way and solderred each led in the housing, and positioned it to aim at the face of the switch, knob, or whatever.

 

[blackGSX2g]

[QUOTE='96_Talon_TSi]I'm aware there are tons of threads on this topic. I noticed in the one jaybone made a long while back he said he used 6000mcd LED and wished they were brighter.

I jst ordered a bag of 8000mcd LED off ebay. I think that'll do the trick.[/QUOTE]

Gotta love ebay for stuff like that. Mine even came with resistors mounting clips.

 

[cuttheduck]

Radio shack leds are horrid. 2-3 dollars for a dim crap led with no resistor is not a good option.
If you pay more then 50 cents for a decent led and resistor then you're getting ripped off.

Places like superbrightleds and oznium.com are great places to buy bright leds with resistors for around 20-30 cents. I had 40 leds on for two months straight 24/7 doing a science project and non burned out or dimmed.

 

[dynatos]

well i never said the price point was great

haha, anyway - the standard t3's worked great for my hvac. I found that t1's (if you want to solder them and aim them like i did) worked best for clearance issues. The hardest switch for clearance is the cruise control, if you have the led raised up. The t1's (linrose # B4303F6) were a perfect replacement for the leds in the cruise control switch already for the on/off portion.