After seeing DrivingTibNaked's AC controls I decided to change mine to red smile.gif. So today I tried using 4 led's to light it up, but it was just barely visible. Is this do to low mcd led's or just wrong positioning. Would it be better to just use replacement bulbs, or just get higher MCD led's(5000)?

What's the best way to redo the gauge cluster in LED's?

Also how hard is it to do the cruise control, defrost, windows, and fog light switches?

 

the problem could be either. I used 15 high intensity, 12000 blue LEDs with that center lense being repainted white.

here's a brief rundown. The "on lights" on all buttons are easy as replacement. you have to take apart the whole switch. start by removing the front button and pulling the switch back the other way through the hole.


The lighting for all illumination lamps should be LED w/resistor 1000+ ohm 1/4 watt for red. If you can find a good reliable bulb, it may be easier to use. If you use red LEDs it will look a whole heck of a lot crisper, ie red is red and not part orange, part purple. you can't even see red through the blue portion on the heater vent no matter how much red you use, so you WILL need 2 blue LEDs. if you give me specs on LED i can calculate resistance values for you and even give you a few blue ones at texas state meet.

The main heater control needs 3-5mm holes drilled in the back and LEDs stuck through. Just find a way to keep them in place, like super glue or something. you can heat shrink, wire tap or just coat the whole mess of leads and wires on the back with liquid electrical tape

i think there may be a DIY somewhere.

 

There's several DIY's.

 

they may not have been brought over from the old site. I have 1 picture of a heater install with cover off from tibby01. there IS a DIY on switches, but nothing on the heater controls themselves.

I'll do a DIY next time i open the heater. I need to put another red LED in.

 

check out the install pics on this thread. they should give you a good idea of what to do.

http://www.rdtiburon.com/index.php?s...6109&hl=gauges

 

That's the exact thread I was looking for , thanks smile.gif.

Wow you used like 25 LED's... Looks like I'll be ordering some more lol.

If I remember right I need 510 ohms resistors for red LED's... I think that's right tongue.gif.

Also, is 5,000MCD the highest you can get for red LED's? That's all I can find sad.gif.

 

red you can prolly get like 8 or so. i dont know. i used 470 ohm resistors just because thats what came with them. your leds will be a little overpowered, because our cars are no where near 12volts, but mine have been holding up fine.

 

Well I used 470 in my speaker grills and they seem to be ok.

I'd like to get as high of MCD as I can because I plan on just buying a bunch and having some fun with them smile.gif.... I promise it won't be anything to ricey tongue.gif.

 

sorry i gave you eronious info, it's 640 ohms for a standard red.

510 ohm is ok for 3.2V @ 21mA standard blue LEDs. 470ohm puts a standard 1.7V RED led at about 25mA though. 640ohms keeps 1.7 at a nominal 20 mA.

If the specs match 1.7V 20mA, go to radioshack and try to find around a 170ohm 1watt resistor to run in line with the hot wire or the ground wire and connect the 470s to each LED.

170ohm 1 watt equivilants
2 85ohm 1 watt resistors in series.
2 340ohm 1/2 watt resistors in paralell
3 510 ohm 1/2 watt resistors in paralell

its possible to run 25mA load on a 20mA LED, but they will eventually dim and blow alot quicker. Stick with manufacturer's specs, not distributors.

 

**UPDATE**
Got the heater controls pretty much done... now moving on to the gauge cluster.

Where can I pick up power for the LED's in the cluster? Do I need to run a hot wire to them, or stick to something in the cluster? Also, I have no idea what to do about the emergency lights(overheating light ect. ect.)... is it better to find a way to hook them back up where they were originaly?

Thanks
SC