Led Speedo

[sprinter2012]

Had the SMD kit fitted for just over a month now, and the same thing has happened as with every other one I've tried. One of the smaller single bulbs has gone out.

So my opinion is, that the only way of stopping the smaller style bulbs going out is to solder them in (despite what the seller may say)

The problem is that whereas the standard bulbs are very short and fit snuggly in the holders, any LED aftermarket bulbs are just too long to be stable in the housing and they just wiggle around untill they stop working.

[lightmeup]

Obviously its entirely up to you if you want to try and solder the smaller bulbs in but i have honestly never heard of any problems occurring with these bulbs in the past, i have had a set fitted to my own car for around a year now and am yet to encounter any problems.

I am however perfectly happy to exchange any bulb that encounter a fault :)

[Dinho]

Waitin for feedback on eBay lightmeup

[lightmeup]

Waitin for feedback on ebay lightmeup

Whoops sorry mate, will do it now, should have give me a nudge on there, normally the missus does that side of stuff

[Kiefels]

Update!!!

Bought a replacement air-con control panel for £5 :) just in case i made a mess of fitting the LEDS in said item.

I spent 5 hours drilling and soldering the LEDS in place and when I tested the results it was not pretty. Where an LED was fitted it caused bright spots and just looked really awful.

Whilst doing the air con controls I had an idea of removing the original bulbs and replacing them with the same 5000mcd 3mm leds that I was using for the controls anyway but just to use them as direct replacements for the originals.

Soldering in a resistor and 3mm LED and getting them to fit into the original bulb holder took a little getting used to but it worked out real well. (Pictures will follow when I have time and the sun goes down)

The result is definitely blue and has no bright or dark spots which suits me. Some people might think they are not very bright but I had a Sony head unit with blue graphics constantly scrolling that couldn't be turned off. It was REALLY distracting when you are driving so a slightly less IN YOUR FACE blue for the centre controls was just what I was looking for. :)

I also used the same LEDs and resistor idea to replace the bulbs in the Heated seats, Snow and TRC buttons. They are a little dim so may try 10000mcd's and see if they work better?

Also replaces Cigarette lighter with same Leds and its fine

Ashtray is a direct T5 replacement and its good

Also changed the Light level, Headlamp Wash and Fog light switches.

Will have to step up the brightness on the Headlamp wash and Fog light. They are barely visible but the Headlight level switch is great.

NOT DONE

Clock and Orange ON lights the ones that come on when you press the buttons. Not sure I want to do them yet as I like the idea of them being orange to remind me they are on.

Lightmeup...Will be ordering a dash (Clock) kit shortly when I get paid :) keep your eyes open for toooldforgames.

Really liking the blue. Goes nice with the paint and a refreshing change to the standard orange.

I have carried out the work in such a way that I can easily put things back to standard if required.

As I say I will upload pics when I get a chance.

[DaveEdin]

I'll be interested to see this... have something similar planned :)

[Kiefels]

**Update to Update**

OK so here are a couple of pics so far.

Remember From my update that I said i may step up the brightness on the heated seats and wash wipe buttons. These are 5000mcd NOT the brighter ones which I am still waiting for.

Also I have found out that the rear fog light switch does not light up at all even with standard lamps in it so I have to get a new one of those too.

I am sorry about the quality of the pics. They were taken on a camera phone.

This is the light controls. Wash wipe needs brighter LED and Rear fog switch needs replacing as it doesn't light up.

Above is the Electric window switches. These are surface mounted LED's and fiddly as hell to solder on.

This one is obvious but still not sure on wether to change orange LED's to blue. Also stepping up the brightness on the TRC, Snow and heated seat buttons.

The 3mm LED and resistor crammed into standard lamp holder. The long bit out of the bottom is a leg from the LED. This just wraps around the original lamp holder like the original bulbs.

And the above is the Cigarette lighter lamp holder doctored with a 3mm LED and resistor.

Something I feel I should mention...

LED's only light up one way, so if it doesn't..Try it in the other way around.

Also...Although this is NOT industry standard. An LED if you look at it will have a large metal part inside the LED and also a small part. These are Anode and Cathodes. Cathode is K on a wiring diagram.

The Large part in the LED is "USUALLY" not "ALWAYS" the cathode. +side. This is the side I attached the resistors to.

*EDIT*

Changed the standard bulbs to LEDs in the TRC, Heated seat etc buttons (The 1 that lights up when switched on) and because the bit that illuminates is made of orange plastic, it lights up green.

Only solution I see to that is to remove offending lump of plastic and replace it with a piece of clear plastic. eg the textured part from a plastic container/pot.

[spliffy]

hi all

just fitted my blue smd's to dash

sorry bout shaky cam

here is my 'disco' interior light also http://s1092.photobucket.com/albums/i406/spliffy22222/?action=view¤t=R0011632.mp4

can someone confirm if link works or not thanks

[Dinho]

Link not working mate.

[MW70]

That looks brilliant - bit more exciting than the IS 2nd gen. !

[jomo]

Ok guys, just did mine at work (quiet today!) cant really tell as its very sunny, so gonna recheck them to night when its darker.

Pic's to follow.

FOOT NOTE, WHEN YOU GO TO PUT YOUR CLOCKS BACK IN TO CHEAK THE LEDS ARE WORKING AND THEIR IN THE RIGHT WAY, DONT FOTGET TO RE-CONNECT THE DIMMER SWITCH!!! HAD MINE IN N OUT 5 TIMES BEFORE THE PENNY DROPPED

[richardghia]

Sorry to ressurect an old thread but does anybody know where I could buy the two smaller SMDs, or at least their code, for the dial mod? I can get the three larger ones fairly easily. Thansk guys!

[IHgs300]

http://www.crazyleds.co.uk/T5-286-LED/

[richardghia]

Nice one! Thanks very much

[keeny]

hi guys been looking at these smd dash kits are heater and fag lighter just a mix of t5 and t3 bulbs would be very grateful for the help only half me heater control is in darkness along with fag lighter and ashtray

cheers guys

[triiickyy]

Yes its just the 5 bulbs you get.

The 5 sided bulbs are about £6.50 each if you buy them individually, and im not sure about the single ones.

So you'd probably struggle to beat the price if you were only buying the exact quantity to do one set of dials.

I've just finished fitting the bulbs, took about 20mins to do. Trickiest part is the trial and error of working out which way round the bulbs go in the holders, because they will only work one way round.

And I must say I'm very impressed with it, mainly by the perfectly even light spread across the dials. I stared at it for a good minute and couldnt see any noticable light/dark patches between bulbs. http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/smile.gif

Colourwise, they are a perfect white with no blue tint. Looks very nice against the yellow and red of the rest of the dials.

And as for brightness, perfect. Bright enough that you go 'ooh, they look nice' but not so much that it draws your attention while driving.

hi there just wondering how do I find them on eBay h a s Im having difficulty with locating them atm.. thanks

[triiickyy]

Where can I get them? Can't find them on eBay.. thanks

[Kashy]

I'm also on the hunt for a white kit!

[Dean1309]

I did this couple years back, converted my dials to white, i ordered the bulbs from www.crazyleds.co.uk

hope this helps people.