After trying loads of different bulbs, I finally found some that work and are much, much brighter than the crappy stock ones without any of the usual bright spots/uneven light problems and the dimmer still works. Thought I'd share for those wanting to upgrade theirs also.
The bulbs to get are called 'T5 3 3030 SMD'.
(https://i.ibb.co/ZVSVgGX/Smart-Select-20200119-211109-e-Bay.jpg)
There's various different colours on ebay. A lot of them seem to be from china though so delivery time is around 2 weeks. Theres similar looking bulbs from UK but most are actually different, crap and cost more. Trust me, I tried loads.
I'll post the ebay item numbers below for the different colours so you know which to get and they cost £4.33 for 10 bulbs. Keep in mind, all the colours will look slightly pale due to the orange filter but still decent.
Ebay item numbers
Amber - 401714378348
Red - 183344612233
Blue - 401572722076
Ice Blue - 183344611905
White - 183344611899
Pink - 183344612232
Green - 401572722157
I got the amber bulbs as I quite like the stock orange look. The original bulbs actually look more dingy in person as you all know and the new bulbs are actually waay brighter.
(https://i.ibb.co/KNd0R2q/Before-After.jpg)
:o
wooozers
Good find and post!
Would you mind posting a pic at dusk, if you get chance? I've got LEDs fitted but they've got hotspots, as it were, and they're hopeless on an early evening as the sun is setting.
Mine are (I don't have a clue what all the numbers mean)
10x WHITE T5 286 3 SMD 5050 Wedge LED 3W Lighting Light Bulb Dashboard 12V 3528
Edit: looks like that 3030 designation on yours makes all the difference according to this chart
https://www.saving-star.com/smd-led-comparison/
I might just have to give these a go!
@Ardent this is definitely a mod ;D are you going for it?
@househead Too left field for me.
Will stick with my stock replacements
Nice, they do look very bright!
Quote from: Ozzy on January 19, 2020, 22:22Keep in mind, all the colours will look slightly pale due to the orange filter but still decent.
Did you try them to see? Wondering what the blue ones would actually look like.
Does the dimmer wheel still work, I don't like having them super bright all of the time?
@BossworldI'll get some pics tomorrow... If I don't forget lol.
@onion86Dimmer wheel still works and not tried myself with these bulbs but I know someone who has tried blue using some different bulbs and the colour looks pretty good.
(https://i.ibb.co/XkjkJZt/Blue.jpg)
One bulb is missing in the middle but you get the idea of how it should look.
Blue is a dark colour so not sure how easy it would be to read the speed or how good it'll look in person. Colours like amber, ice blue, white and pink are probably best for visibility.
Straightforward push fit replacements or any soldering required etc??
Quote from: househead on January 19, 2020, 23:08@Ardent this is definitely a mod ;D are you going for it?
Bwahahahahaa ;-)
I like the clocks et all as dim as possible. That distracts less and is better for your night vision.
Quote from: Call the midlife! on January 20, 2020, 07:02Straightforward push fit replacements or any soldering required etc??
The holders twist out of the clocks (only three screws to get the clocks free if I'm remembering correctly). You then just carefully remove the existing glass bulbs from the holders without gripping them too tight.
You may need to push the metal contacts inside the holders in slightly so they grip the LED boards better. You'll also swear a lot as you put them in, realise you've got half of them the wrong polarity, and have to redo them.
Ordered the white ones, I love the effect on the needles but my previous attempt was too dark:
(https://preview.ibb.co/h4yovq/6-F4-E6-C71-4-A13-43-D4-BB4-A-FF6-D60-F87548.jpg) (https://ibb.co/nhjTvq)
I also feel bad as I got them with a best offer of £4, that 33 pence would have probably made a difference to the seller ::) Take the boy out of Yorkshire...
Quote from: Petrus on January 20, 2020, 09:15Quote from: househead on January 19, 2020, 23:08@Ardent this is definitely a mod ;D are you going for it?
Bwahahahahaa ;-)
I like the clocks et all as dim as possible. That distracts less and is better for your night vision.
I do tend to also dim them a little in pitch-blackness, but early sunset / early evening I do prefer them as bright as possible. If the dimmer wheel still works with these then you still have that option.
Quote from: Bossworld on January 20, 2020, 10:25Quote from: Call the midlife! on January 20, 2020, 07:02Straightforward push fit replacements or any soldering required etc??
The holders twist out of the clocks (only three screws to get the clocks free if I'm remembering correctly). You then just carefully remove the existing glass bulbs from the holders without gripping them too tight.
You may need to push the metal contacts inside the holders in slightly so they grip the LED boards better. You'll also swear a lot as you put them in, realise you've got half of them the wrong polarity, and have to redo them.
Ordered the white ones, I love the effect on the needles but my previous attempt was too dark:
(https://preview.ibb.co/h4yovq/6-F4-E6-C71-4-A13-43-D4-BB4-A-FF6-D60-F87548.jpg) (https://ibb.co/nhjTvq)
I also feel bad as I got them with a best offer of £4, that 33 pence would have probably made a difference to the seller ::) Take the boy out of Yorkshire...
Nicely done! Yeah, I've replaced the standard ones before so I'm au fait with the general procedure but I've also seen people have to solder leds in and I'm all fat thumbs when it comes to that.
I'm also another lover of a barely there light at night but run with sidelights on during the day and like the dash turned up to 11.
Thanks for the guinea pig work and the good info, I might risk the £4 myself next time I'm feeling flush.😆
Quote from: househead on January 20, 2020, 10:33If the dimmer wheel still works with these then you still have that option.
Mine does but I only used it to dim to just under half and left it there.
Quote from: Bossworld on January 19, 2020, 22:55Good find and post!
Would you mind posting a pic at dusk, if you get chance?...
(https://i.ibb.co/G7JnmYZ/20200121-144242.jpg)
Visibility is still pretty good tbh
Quote from: Ozzy on January 21, 2020, 18:46Quote from: Bossworld on January 19, 2020, 22:55Good find and post!
Would you mind posting a pic at dusk, if you get chance?...
(https://i.ibb.co/G7JnmYZ/20200121-144242.jpg)
Visibility is still pretty good tbh
Nice one. Ordered the white ones as above, will stick a picture up in a few weeks. Glad you did the research, it seems the numbers on this type are much higher in terms of output/lumens.
Looking forward to how they look, that colour of your current bulbs looks alot nicer than expected and makes the needles really pop. Wonder if the ice blue bulbs mixed with the stock orange filter would make the speedo light up pure white with red needles.
By the way, do you guys have an empty bulb spot on the back of the speedo? I do but not sure if I've got one missing or supposed to be like that.
Quote from: Ozzy on January 21, 2020, 21:16Looking forward to how they look, that colour of your current bulbs looks alot nicer than expected and makes the needles really pop. Wonder if the ice blue bulbs mixed with the stock orange filter would make the speedo light up pure white with red needles.
By the way, do you guys have an empty bulb spot on the back of the speedo? I do but not sure if I've got one missing or supposed to be like that.
Whereabouts? I know the SMT has a gear indicator on the panel but not sure if it's a standalone led display?
Quote from: Ozzy on January 21, 2020, 21:16By the way, do you guys have an empty bulb spot on the back of the speedo? I do but not sure if I've got one missing or supposed to be like that.
I had an empty one too when I last changed mine out (not leds). I assumed it was for the SMT display which has an extra bit.
Aaah, must have been for the SMT display then as you guys said. It was near the middle, around the same location where it would be. I tried putting a bulb in but didn't notice any different so left it empty.
Look good, thanks. I'll try both the blues and see how they come out :D
Mine arrived (fairly quickly, though given the recent developments around Coronavirus I wasn't sure what would happen to something from China).
Fitted up, I cannot understate how little fun it is ensuring polarity is correct. The high beam one was particularly fun. I thought I had it nailed by making sure the writing on the back of the bulb holders was the same for all, and that the - and + signs on the LED's board were all the same in relation. Nope :))
They are definitely brighter, I've lost some of the detail/distance on the needles as these bulbs sit much closer to the plastic bulb holder but hopefully I'll be able to see at dusk now. The photo makes the needle effect seem greater than it is.
These are the 'white' ones. Much more uniform, the only bright spots left are the '3' on the rev counter, and 120mph marker.
Second pic is a before/after, the left hand side is my old LEDs, the right, the new.
(https://i.ibb.co/d5gNdSb/IMG-20200129-133931.jpg) (https://ibb.co/sVHT0h5)
(https://i.ibb.co/RvtqVs4/IMG-20200129-124541.jpg) (https://ibb.co/HFRjkbp)
Nice to see that with some decent LEDs, the redline is actually red :)) I can barely see a difference in colour on it with my (replacement, similar to) stock bulbs.
Ordered 3 different colours as they're so cheap I'd like to see what's possible colour-wise. 7% discount for multi-buy too!
That looks nice but odd that it still has a slight bright spot for you. Definitely better than before though.
If you have a spare bulb left, you could try sanding or filing down the base of the bulb a little bit that's causing the hotspot, the part that wedges into the holder. That should help sort it out.
Those lights actually look quite good. A lot better than the LEDs I put in and then ripped out.
Might have me reconsidering
Quote from: shnazzle on February 2, 2020, 20:30Those lights actually look quite good. A lot better than the LEDs I put in and then ripped out.
Might have me reconsidering
The type makes all the difference, looking at the chart I linked to earlier, the 3030 designation that Ozzy found is miles ahead in terms of lumens, to the ones I took out
Mine finally came today... need to add that to the ever increasing list of things to do!
I got a set of these in white. After a short night drive I reverted to the tungsten bulbs in the indicator repeaters and the main beam warning as the leds were just too bright. I am very happy with the instrument illumination now.
Quote from: Jonquirk on February 23, 2020, 23:29I got a set of these in white. After a short night drive I reverted to the tungsten bulbs in the indicator repeaters and the main beam warning as the leds were just too bright. I am very happy with the instrument illumination now.
Yep, I did the same. Those indicators would have sent me into a hypnotic trance!
Very happy also. Running it on maybe 25% full illumination for full-night driving, where before it was on 100%. Not had the pleasure of using it at dusk yet. That's more of a summertime thing.
Which bulb is it for the full beam? Mine's been blown for ages but thought it wasn't possible to change that without taking speedo apart?
Guess I must have missed it thinking it's indicator bulbs as I left them stock.
There are ten bulbs. Three illuminate the speedo. There is a row of four in the middle. The outer ones illuminate the rev counter, the middle two are the indicator repeaters. Of the remaining three, two illuminate the ancilliary gauges and one is the main beam repeater. There is an unused bulb holder position, used on SMT cars only.
I've had my first dusk and nighttime run outs with these. They are so much brighter than the LEDs I had previously (but in a usable fashion, and as others have said, the dimmer works fine too).
I'm running with a 300mm steering wheel so haven't noticed the indicator issues (mainly as they're blocked by the wheel) but may drop some of my original LEDs back into those slots so I've got a couple of the brighter ones as spares.