Brighter dash lights

5411 Views 13 Replies 14 Participants Last post by gcc, Nov 30, 2020

du907

Discussion Starter · Nov 27, 2020

I'm wanting to brighten up my stock dash lights. I was thinking of changing to LEDs. Does anyone have LED type to replace the standard bulb? Does the voltage regulator for the dash need changing for this update?
Suggestions are welcome.
Thanks

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LeeFred

· #2 · Nov 27, 2020

Yes, you can replace your current lights with LED, and the voltage regulator for the dash does not need to be changed because it doesn't control the lights...just the gauges. LEDs are a good upgrade and you can use different colors if you wish. All you have to do is remove your current bulbs and put the LEDs in. Another suggestion is to remove the blue colored plastic lenses currently in your dash and use the LEDs to supply the colors. I would say stay away from the Scott Drake LEDs as those are what I bought at first and the bulbs didn't fit very well into the light sockets. Had issues of lights occasionally going out because of the poor fit and coming loose. I went to superbrightleds website and bought those for my car and have been happy with them.

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snj1013

· #3 · Nov 27, 2020

I went with these, and while they worked in the end, the little nipples on the side of the bulb are a little smaller than the OEM lights, and they are a little difficult to make the bulb stay in the stock housing. They are bright, and the color is very similar to the stock bulbs. I purchaed the green LED bulbs and didn't replace the the stock filters.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R6HSMN6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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EmbergloConvertible66

· #4 · Nov 27, 2020 (Edited)

Edited: Removed info due to posting wrong bulb. Need to find right number on my invoice.

Corrected link below

Amazon.com: YOOSEN Ceramics Interior/Exterior LED Light Super Stable and Bright Bulb Bayonet BA9 BA9S 53 57 1895 64111 T4W Size Green Color : Automotive

Buy YOOSEN Ceramics Interior/Exterior LED Light Super Stable and Bright Bulb Bayonet BA9 BA9S 53 57 1895 64111 T4W Size Green Color: Courtesy Step Lights - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

I used these on my dash and the light is natural looking, similar to incandescent, with no hot spots or dark areas on the dash. To my eyes, they have the right amount of brightness and aren't overwhelming like an import. If I remember correctly they also worked in the turn signal indicators which made them just as bright as a modern car, but still look incandescent. Whatever you do use a frosted bulb like in post #3 or mine for a more natural look.

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Woodchuck

· #5 · Nov 27, 2020

LED's work pretty well. As stated, the bases on the 1895 LED's are a bit small... a small o-ring over the base run up to the bulb will keep them in place. Leaving the radio bulb an incandescent or adding a ballast resistor will retain SOME of the dimmer's function.... If you go ALL LED without a ballast the dimmer may not work. I went for clear LED's using the original colored bulb "lenses".

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xcelr8

· #6 · Nov 27, 2020

Someone else used these and are the ones I had in mind to use. The guy removed the colored lenses in the instrument housing and said it worked great.

Anyone else use these?

BA9s LED Bulb - 4 LED - BA9s Bulb | Super Bright LEDs

This LED replacement bulb works in many vehicles including antique, vintage, and classic cars and is perfect for vanity lights, map lights, footwell lights, dashboard lights, instrument cluster lights and gauge lights. The BA9s single-contact LED bulb replaces a variety of traditional bulbs...

www.superbrightleds.com

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jp-67Mustang

· #7 · Nov 27, 2020

NPD has some that they say work to some extent with the dimmer: LED KIT, GAUGE CLUSTER, FACTORY HUE 5X LED - #13464-1DK - National Parts Depot

Mustang Project has different LED dash kits as well, but I don't believe they're dimmable. You'll need to select for your year Mustang.

Mustang Project - Catalog

Ex: Mustang Project - Product Display
jp

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myfirstcar66

· #8 · Nov 27, 2020

Absofreakinglutely!!

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Randolph2112

· #9 · Nov 28, 2020

From Mustang Project. The aqua color. I did not remove the blue lenses

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image98

· #10 · Nov 29, 2020

I first tried experimenting with LED bulbs that I purchased from Amazon for my 65 and 66 Convertibles. Ultimately I would recommend spending a little more money and going with the kits from Mustang Project. It will save you time and headache from having to pull your instrument cluster multiple times due to the bulbs popping out from their fitting.

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GearHeadPeter

· #11 · Nov 29, 2020

I got my LED bulbs from SuperBrightleds. One thing to keep in mind is the color as cool white or warm white. Warm white is about the same color as a normal bulb, whereas cool white is much brighter. The gauges and speedo have cool white, and the Rally Pac has the Warm white to give you an idea of the difference.

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bmcgc

· #12 · Nov 30, 2020

Make sure you are using a 1895 with a 3.78w rating. A 1445 also fits and it is rated at 1.87w.

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tx65coupe

· #13 · Nov 30, 2020

xcelr8 said:
Someone else used these and are the ones I had in mind to use. The guy removed the colored lenses in the instrument housing and said it worked great.

Anyone else use these?

BA9s LED Bulb - 4 LED - BA9s Bulb | Super Bright LEDs

This LED replacement bulb works in many vehicles including antique, vintage, and classic cars and is perfect for vanity lights, map lights, footwell lights, dashboard lights, instrument cluster lights and gauge lights. The BA9s single-contact LED bulb replaces a variety of traditional bulbs...

www.superbrightleds.com

I used those and they fit the sockets better than the brighter bulbs and those are far too bright anyway. These work very well in green.

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gcc

· #14 · Nov 30, 2020

I just replaced most of the 194 bulbs in my 69 instrument panel with "white" LEDs. I left the incandescent bulbs for the turn signals, as I thought the blinker may need them for proper loading, and I left them in the red high beam indicator and warning lights. Those I replaced with LEDs for back-lighting the instruments are working great, although the dimmer doesn't do much now, except some very minor dimming near its lowest setting.. The old bulbs were definitely not putting out enough light to see the instruments by. But I had to remove the blue covers as most of them had melted, and prevented the new LEDs from being installed properly.

There is no such thing as real white LEDs by the way that LEDs work, as most "white" LEDs are made of blue LEDs with a layer of yellow phosphor coating. The phosphor intercepts some portion of the blue photons and fluoresce yellow, and the combination appears white to your eyes. So if you put such an LED behind a red filter, as in those warning lights, or the high beam indicator, not much comes through. But now I do need to get red LED replacements for those remaining 194 bulbs, as they're now pretty dim in comparison to the back-lighting.

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