LED gauge cluster bulbs

[McHensley12]

ahoy there sailors!

I've looked around for about an hour or so and im trying to figure out if these will fit in my car (98 lx)
http://autolumination.com/74.htm

The one i am looking at is the third one down, its called "tri power 3led bulb, wide angle 3x brighter"

I have no idea if they are too big or what... i've only heard people say 4 #74's and 1 #194. so if people could let me know...

A. Will that bulb fit

B. if it doesn't, what does.

and C. What bulbs did you use in your car? (a link would be nice ) and do you like how it came out?



Thanks errebudy! im not sure if this is the right place to put this, but i figured diy wasn't the place either..

 

[00_jdm_em1]

leds in the cluster will not be what you think they will be, the light is more directed and your cluster will seem to have "hot spots" in it, this is where the directed light hits the cluster, and the rest of the cluster will be dim...

 

[McHensley12]

true.. but thats why im looking at those ones, they're wide angled so they cover the entire area. I've seen it done in the DIY fourm and if done right it looks prime. I was just wondering if these would actually fit where the stock bulbs are, i think they are slightly longer.

 

[McHensley12]

but yeah, i have seen some come out pretty poorly too... usually those are the people who use led strips instead of the replacement bulbs.

 

[McHensley12]

anyone have an idea if they fit? or if you have done it what you used and how it came out? il like to order the bulbs soon!

 

[ej_swag]

leds in the cluster will not be what you think they will be, the light is more directed and your cluster will seem to have "hot spots" in it, this is where the directed light hits the cluster, and the rest of the cluster will be dim...

I did my cluster and got the bulbs from www.superbrightleds.com and it came out beautifully. No hot spots at all.

 

[WBJ]

They should fit just fine. I used all #74 LEDs and havent had any issues. They plugged right in. I suggest getting a set up bulb pliers from Harbor Frieght too. It will save you time and frustration when taking the OEM bulbs out.

http://www.harborfreight.com/bulb-pliers-65520.html

Mine came out like this..

From my research a #74 will work for all. I just replaced all of mine in my EG with #74.

Results

The full thread is here:
http://www.clubcivic.com/board/showthread.php?t=35219&page=2

 

[McHensley12]

They should fit just fine. I used all #74 LEDs and havent had any issues. They plugged right in. I suggest getting a set up bulb pliers from Harbor Frieght too. It will save you time and frustration when taking the OEM bulbs out.

http://www.harborfreight.com/bulb-pliers-65520.html

Mine came out like this..


The full thread is here:
http://www.clubcivic.com/board/showthread.php?t=35219&page=2

I couldn't remember who you were but i remember seeing yours and i was going to ask you, that looks quite good! i might even do red led's up top to shine down on the white... but we will see! Thanks for the help!

 

[McHensley12]

hey by the way did you use the regular bulbs? or wide angled?

 

[WBJ]

hey by the way did you use the regular bulbs? or wide angled?

I used regular LEDs. I found an eBay seller that got me 10-12 LED bulbs for $3-4 shipped. So I went the cheap route as a test job and liked it so much I never bought the higher priced ones. The red LEDs I tried were total fail however. They just were not bright enough. I imagine if you get the wide angled reds they will be fine, but the cheap ones were...well cheap LOL.

By the way what year is your car? I assume 96+ since you are talking about having upper lights.

 

[McHensley12]

hmm... maybe i should just save my money and get the cheaper ones then? and yeah its a 1998 Lx. I saw someone who did it with red led's on top, and eventually they got uv bulbs and fluorescent red paint for the needles.. it turned out pretty awesome! it looks a lot like the MkIV jettas, i guess im going for a similar look

 

[McHensley12]

http://i14.tinypic.com/4r9mdyf.jpg

That is with the red led's up top. its not very bright but bright enough to make the needles red, but still dull enough for the blue to shine through.. idk, the uv lights and flourecent paint looks better.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c56/ftwplayah/DSCN3419.jpg

but that means i would have to remove the gauges, and i don't really want to mess anything up. haha.

 

[WBJ]

Yah Ive seen that 2nd one before somewhere. The 1st looks good.

The cheap red ones arent very bright at all, I would get the nicer ones.

 

[McHensley12]

alright, sounds good! thanks for the help!

 

[XpL0d3r]

Moved to interior...

 

[leothelion]

I did the uv led conversion and all that...this is what i eventually decided on, Honda put a lot of research and effort into how the lights would light up your instruments, in the end, stock is the best way to go, right now i have red glow gauges because i eventually got sick of looking at my bright as the sun LED gauges...even when they are on full dim...I would say just stay stock.

-or at least keep all the old bulbs and don't modify inside the gauge like i did so you can go back to stock if you want to.

 

[WBJ]

I
-or at least keep all the old bulbs and don't modify inside the gauge like i did so you can go back to stock if you want to.

I agree with this part fully. I kept all my original bulbs just in case I need them for anything. I would like to get a cheap cluster from a junkyard to play with though.

I realize that Honda did their research but it seems to me that after almost 20yrs there is new tech. out there that improves the design, ie LEDs. Now there are some LEDs that are way too bright and some that are not bright enough. For me it was worth the 10min hassle of switching them out.