LEDs

[dna9656]

I installed the 158/194 LEDs in my dash in all positions. Now the Headlight monitor goes out at low RPMs, sometimes it's brightness changes, the Neutral light is now blue, all the monitor lights are pretty bright. The dash lighting is OK BUT the dimmer doesn't work, I don't think these LEDs are dimmable....

[Flyinfool]

Did you match LED color to lens color?

IE amber LED for turn signals, Green for Neutral, Blue for High beam. White for everything else.

 

Some LEDs are not dimable due to their internal construction, some are.

[djh3]

I knew Mr LED would find this thread. Thanks Jeff.

[dna9656]

Did you match LED color to lens color?

IE amber LED for turn signals, Green for Neutral, Blue for High beam. White for everything else.

 

Some LEDs are not dimable due to their internal construction, some are.

 

I haven't found ONE (or 2) LED(s) in ONE color for a reasonable price.

I was un-aware that LEDs advertised as suitable substitutes for dash lights would NOT

be dimmable...Don't "most" if not all cars come with dimmable dash lights?

[Flyinfool]

With LEDs you often get what you pay for.

I have read may posts where people bought ebay LEDs and swore off LED as no good.

I bought all of mine from www.SuperBrightLEDs.com, yes it was a lot more expensive, But I could not be happier with the end results. A place like SuperBrightLEDs has real engineers on staff to be able to answer questions to help you get what you want.

 

The only thing that I don't like about the LEDs is the neutral indicator. Because incandecents have to heat the filament to around 5,000 degrees F to make light there is a slight delay between when power is applied and when the bulb lights. same with turning off you can see the bulb dim to off. LEDs are instant on and instant off. So on the neutral indicator with the LED you will see it flash for a split second every time you shift from 1st to 2nd or 2nd to 1st gears. because this happens so fast the incandecent bulb does not have time to get up to temperature s you to not see the flash.

I am working on an idea to fix this.......

 

WARNING semi technical crap below.....

The isssue with LEDs that are dimable or not is the fact that LEDs actually run on 2 to 4 VDC depending on the color. different colors are different voltages. When they make the 12V LEDs they build in the circuit to drop the voltage to what the LED needs. It is that circuit that determines if they are easily dimable or not. Some use a simple resistor to drop the voltage, these are dimable. Some use a voltage regulator, these will not dim easily because the regulator will maintain the LED voltage regardless of the input voltage, provided the input voltage is still above the regulated voltage, that is why these do not dim well. There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods. The regulator type will still dim if your dimmer circuit can drop the voltage down to or less than the LEDs required voltage. You could add a resistor to your dimmer circuit to give the dimmer more range to be able to dim the LEDs.

Edited June 1, 2014 by Flyinfool