Dash LED illumination

[cranetruck]

I'm experimenting with LED strips for making the dash gauges more visible at night.
Here is a preliminary view of the strip winding its way across the rear of the dash.

 

[CliffW]

I like it how does it look from the front?

 

[cranetruck]

To the naked eye, it looks good in the dark, but the camera gets flooded.
The gauge in the upper left is a newer style with an all transluscent plastic housing and get lots of light.
Still need to optimize it....
Yeah, the speeometer is jammed and is non functional.

 

[steelandcanvas]

Neat idea Bjorn!

 

[Rattlehead]

It looks good on the camera, so if it looks better to the eye then

Good idea. I installed brighter bulbs in mine just so I can see the gauges at all, but the light is still not very evenly distributed.

 

[devilman96]

Bjorn be careful aiming the LED's so their not in your eyes in the driving position... they get quite annoying! I wrapped the rear of my guage cluster with reflective material to help the lighting as well as keep the underside of the dash from glowing like a christmas tree!

 

[rmgill]

REALLY good idea. Much better than the standard lighting. And you can use those light positions for other indicators.

Here's a 13-32Vdc -> 12 Vdc regulator for $27.
http://www.theledlight.com/rg12a2_regulator-module.html

And strip lights for $17-19
http://www.theledlight.com/flexible-ledstrips.html

Which is better? Blue or Red?

 

[Capt.Marion]

Red probably for night driving, If I'm not mistaken it doesn't affect night vision (as much)... but it depends on your preference too. Neat idea, I like that. LEDs are so handy.

 

[Michael]

After driving my truck in the rain the other day, I don't think I would use something rated for "indoor use only".

 

[rmgill]

As far as the LED strip goes, slide it into some clear rubber tubing and put a dab of silicone caulk at each end.

 

[devilman96]

I have blue in mine... I prefer it to the red and it matches my light switch, it works just as well as red with NVG's plus you can tell colors apart with blue moreso than red... Blood for example is very hard to see in red light. I think this is why they changed the color of the dome lights used in MV's... Just a guess!

 

[cranetruck]

This is the strip I'm playing with:
http://www.pilotlights.net/pilot_light_ecommerce_002.htm

It's very thin and waterproof.
Its intended application is to illuminate the dash from the outside/above and blue is another option.
Installing a glare shield and sticking the strip on it would be a good solution too, since it would make all controls visible....

 

[bnbrown]

The aftermarket gauges I use in one of our dodge diesels are cobalt blue LED illuminated... I have red in the other truck, I like the blue a lot better, Seems to allow easier differentiation. I also have a dimmer on them as they can be excessively bright when you are trying to see through rain or snow especially.

 

[CliffW]

I have blue in mine... I prefer it to the red and it matches my light switch, it works just as well as red with NVG's plus you can tell colors apart with blue moreso than red... Blood for example is very hard to see in red light. I think this is why they changed the color of the dome lights used in MV's... Just a guess!

That is correct for map reading it would wash out the red lines on the map.

 

[Alredneck]

MVs have dome lights? WHere? Do they come in green, it is supposed to be easiest to see that why NVGs are green. That does look good though as is, I also like the newer brighter gauge in the upper corner as well. Very interesting!

 

[cranetruck]

After installation and working with the intensity, I'm not satisfied with the LED lights, the individual sources are very bright and are not diffused as is the incandescent light.
Using #356 bulbs with original fixtures, a pretty nice and even light results, so that will be my solution here, clear lenses would be nice, can't get complete 360 coverage with the holes drilled in the red lenses.
My digital camera is not good at night time pictures, so images will have to wait.

 

[euhero987]

I like it how it look overall. how's this thing work for you?

 

[papakb]

Bjorn,

These worked out great for the HMMWV and 151 dash. I don't know if it was necessary or not but I did put a drop of silicon on them to seal the lamps an little better. They worked out great in the dash but were a little too bright for the turn signal switch at night.

Kurt


10x 6er LED Dashboard T10 BA9S 24V blue Light Bulbs | eBay

 

[Darwin T]

here i a link to where i used LED's in my dash and they work great. however i am making one change. i am painting the back side of my instrument clust glossy white to make it even brighter. my Led's only have one bulb and there is a picture in the post of one of them.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce-modification-hot-rodding/76024-my-m109a3-going-100-led.html