converting to leds for interior lights

[sweetbmxrider]

i am trying to change every bulb to an led bulb. i was on superbrightleds.com and they have the direct fit leds to replace wedge bulbs and such. does anyone know what bulbs are where? 95 lt1 camaro a4

i think i have the gauge cluster covered and i think the HVAC has 2 #74 bulbs as do the doors. does anyone know any others? i am going to attempt to solder an led in for the headlight switch, seams like fun.

has anyone changed their needle color? i want to do blue and i am actually replacing the bulbs for the needles to blue leds but i'm not sure if i should just sand the orange/white off and leave them clear or possibly just use white out/paint so they are opaque during the day? should i paint them blue? i believe the light is reflected through the needle and illuminates the color from the front so i would assume that you don't need a special coating? any insight is quite welcomed. i would prefer not to change to truck or aftermarket needles because the length will be incorrect.

also, if you have done this or something similar could you post up some tips and such? thanks a bunch! 8-)

pics welcome too :wink:

[LTb1ow]

Not sure what links you have been looking at but heres a start.
http://www.keliente.com/LED.htm

[sweetbmxrider]

yeah that site is pretty good. i need to figure out the rest of the interior bulbs though. wasn't sure if someone had a good list or any nice write ups. i also really want to change the needles but am weary about that one.

[LTb1ow]

You and your damn fancy electronics....

More
http://www.fbodyonline.com/install-leds-dash-camaro-firebird/

[LTb1ow]

Purdy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxqWw-21qiU

[sweetbmxrider]

thanks matt that one is real good. still need to figure out the glove, ash, shifter, console, mirror, and dome. i also have to replace all the warning lights. freakin mcnord overlay is clear.

[LTb1ow]

Glove box is just a cut and splice LED I would think.
Ash tray, well.... um, you don't smoke... ;)
Shifter I would think just pull the thing up and check em out.

Mirror will be tough, and LEDs may be to bright for up there. We have a dome light?

"Danger to intake manifold"? LOL

Clear LEDs is the overlay is clear maybe?

[sweetbmxrider]

yeah i am doing colored leds. i have the shifter apart, i think its a 74. i thought the glove, ashtray, and console took a wedge bulb. probably a 74 too. mirror i'm not sure, just wanted bright white in there and the dome so i can wear my sunglasses at night 8-) so i can so i can.....damn corey heart :lol:

[LTb1ow]

The mirror I can see being the toughest one to swap. Never took that thing apart, only thing that works all the time with my car.

[NJ Torque]

I use cool white...

[sweetbmxrider]

I use cool white...

moar? i know you have a pimp setup, i am waiting on my hvac overlays and finally decided to install the gauge overlay :lol: it looks real good.

do you have any ideas for the needles?

[LTb1ow]

An 18 gauge.

[sweetbmxrider]

ahem?

[NJ Torque]

You got the 6LE guage??

What do you mean for needles?

I did my map lights, the little gizmo by the door switchs, a4 shifter, rear dome, rear plate light

[Knipps]

Chris, could you do a write up?

[Triple-A]

Here you can look up the bulb numbers: Click me! (http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/LampReplacementGuide/AutoLRG-Results.htm)

[sweetbmxrider]

You got the 6LE guage??

What do you mean for needles?

I did my map lights, the little gizmo by the door switchs, a4 shifter, rear dome, rear plate light

yeah i got 6le gauges and he is doin the hvac and stuff for free :-P

i want to remove the orange and white backing on the needles and paint them blue with white behind it so they illuminate blue and look blue during the day. i am replacing the bulbs with blue led's for the needles too.

any idea on those bulb numbers? everything cept the plate light, already got something there.


triple-a, link doesn't work. i used some bulb look up on one of the car bulb sights and it threw some crazy numbers and doesn't really specify location or quantity but thank you.

[NJ Torque]

Since I'll be off... I'm do a write up this week for you guys...

Send me pics of the overlay and how you like it... was really interested in one...

[sweetbmxrider]

well the stock paint on the needles scratches off and/or you can wetsand it till its clear. you can then use sharpie to color the needle and i took some white out and covered the sharpie so the needles are opaque. looks pretty good. i am curious how they will light at night though. from what i could do with a small led flashlight, they seem dimmer. hopefully the multi-led bulbs brighten them up a little.

fyi stock 4th gen gauges will light up blue with white leds. it will also retain the red markings this way, blue leds will lose them. the backing of the numbers are blue and with incandescent bulbs being slightly yellow, you get the green illumination at night.

white leds - note red lines
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c350/bnorcross23/My%20car/DSCF0344.jpg

blue leds - needles don't change much since they are painted and the light is reflected onto them but red lines go blah since blue light passes through and is filtered by the red
http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/5719/blueled013xm2.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b133/dooder101/Car/0430072117.jpg

blue truck needles - don't reach tick marks but look damn good
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j136/kage62005/Picture065-2.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j136/kage62005/Picture008-7.jpg


here is mine
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3342/48/4/707706396/n707706396_2922388_4364223.jpg

i am going to redo the needle and wetsand it before i sharpie it again. i want to get it just a little bit cleaner before i apply anything and maybe get a better sharpie, only had a fine point :lol: then get a nice, even coat of white behind it. i'll update with the new results when i am done and satisfied.

edit: chris, thanks in advance and they look freakin awesome! i also painted my bezel flat black and am trying to clear up the plastic cover. definitely worth it IMO and they can do some cool things with the markings or even go to 200 mph. now with matching hvac, headlight switch, and shifter plate (going to have to change the gear indicator :D) it should look pimpppp

[NJ Torque]

what trucks are they from? i like that...

[LTb1ow]

Agreed, looks pretty awesome.

[sweetbmxrider]

gotta be chevys. i'm thinkin like the avalanches or maybe ss's. late 90's early 00's. i'll see if i can find out more. if i used the truck ones, i would personally want to paint the end caps black.

[LTb1ow]

I wants teh bluuueee

[sweetbmxrider]

you just need white #194 leds. superbrightleds.com you can get the ones with 5 leds per wedge and it should look great. you need 7 for the gauge cluster/needles. unless you are wanting the blue needles, its either my way or go **** yourself :rofl:

[sweetbmxrider]

found the blue needles!!!! http://newtruckstuff.com/shop/product.php?productid=18003
they are definitely shorter than stock but they do light up good.

right now i am doing mine white so daytime = white nightime = blue :nod:

[LTb1ow]

60 bucks for some needles???

geez.

[sweetbmxrider]

make your own!!

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3342/48/4/707706396/n707706396_2928891_7757554.jpg

white is win. it just matches so nice to me and looks really clean. can't wait to order the leds and light em up.

[LTb1ow]

Looks good. White out?

[sweetbmxrider]

no actually i bought "Premium Decor High Gloss waterborne acrylic enamel" it says you can paint toys with it so i thought it was good enough. i wanted to get model paint but couldn't find any. a few coats with a small brush and it looks pretty damn good. i wetsanded all the needles today at work and they looked really smooth clear. i was tempted to stick them in like that :lol:

[LTb1ow]

So how will they be illuminated if you painted em white?

[Knipps]

light will shine through if he only painted the backs (even if he didn't some light will show through)

[sweetbmxrider]

So how will they be illuminated if you painted em white?

light will shine through if he only painted the backs (even if he didn't some light will show through)

yes, you paint the backs. i used 2000 grit to wetsand the old color off. i then painted on the back of the needle. the light is reflected onto the color, not pass through it. i was testing it out with little led snakelights and it looks pretty sweeet. i can't wait to try blue though!!

[NJ Torque]

looks real good.. how do you like the fitment of the 6le?

[sweetbmxrider]

it honestly fit perfect. absolutely no complaints.

[sweetbmxrider]

ok here is a list of what i bought for my 95 lt1 a4. the 6le overlay is clear so i need color leds to maintain factory color. if using the stock gauges, white LED's will show up blue do to the blue film on the stock overlay. you will also have red/orange redlines and you don't necessarily have to change the idiot lights.

7 blue 194's for gauge and needle illumination.

3 blue 194's for high beams and turn signal indicators (**** green).

6 red 194's for check gauges, brake, seat belt, low coolant, air bag, and i switched to red for the low oil instead of orange.

4 amber 194's for security, SES, low trac, and ABS INOP. add 1 if you need skip shift and add 1 more if you need low trac.

2 white 194's for glove box and center console. i would recommend wide angled with 6 led's for maximum illumination.

5 blue 74's for door panel pinholes, shifter plate (a4 only), and HVAC.

3 white 4410's or 212-2's for the rear view mirror and dome light. the original dome light actually hooks around the contacts but i simply bent them inward and it works fine. the mirror will be a direct fit. the lenses pry towards the windshield and fall out. i recommend a pick like a dentist would use.

the headlight switch needs an LED soldered in with an appropriate resistor.

superbrightleds.com is where i purchased everything. what is difficult with the gauge bulbs is the old filament leads extend down the socket, solder at the bottom, and come back up the sides. i was using a pocket knife to break the solder and pull the lead down from the side. the bulbs won't pull out of the socket, they break. superbrightleds does carry led's already in the sockets, but i didn't see any that would work.

some links:

http://superbrightleds.com/

http://ledgauges.tripod.com/camaroinstructions.html

http://www.keliente.com/knob.htm

http://www.fbodyonline.com/install-leds-dash-camaro-firebird/

good luck. if you have questions i'll do my best to help answer them. 8-)

pics one of these days.....

[Knipps]

bookmarked :w00t:

[sweetbmxrider]

ok so apparently you can't use an LED in the low coolant light. it will work but the PCM will think the bulb is out due to low resistance. the pcm will then command the fans to operate at low then high speed. use an incandescent bulb instead. pretty smart GM!

[LTb1ow]

Low coolant light is an idiot light only.... Pretty sure at least. No connection with PCM.

[sweetbmxrider]

you my friend, are dead wrong. it fixed the problem as well. here is how i see it.

if you had a coolant leak and the low coolant light came on, but the bulb burned out, well you could overheat the motor rather quick. the pcm will see little or no resistance on the circuit with the blown bulb. in turn, the pcm will command the fans on by itself. i watched my car do it. takes about 30 seconds. so if you are an idiot and your idiot light is burned out, your car will try to save itself. i will show you if you want, the led does not have enough resistance for the pcm to see it lit. i could probably solder in another resistor, but i don't care that much.

[98tadriver]

owned by sweettrikerider