Installed new LED lights in the speedo cluster

[Bronco73]

The new LED lights look great and will be a nice addition to my night time driving. I was able to install the LED's from under the dash and not have to remove the cluster. That's was until I some how had the bright light LED fall off inside the cluster. Then I had to remove the cluster to retrieve it.

This morning I went out to the garage to see how bright they looked when is was a little darker than yesterday when I installed them. This is when I discovered why my tach light has never worked. The tach light comes on when I hit the brights for the head lights. Now I need to go track the wire down and wire it in the correct spot.

Installed some used black seat belts I have had for a long time. I think they were from a full size bronco project I had before moving from Ohio to FL. It's nice being able to get little things done on the bronco now. One more full week of school and only one day the following week. Then I will be officially done. More bronco time! ;D

 

[bteutsch]

Pictures would be awesome

 

[Bronco73]

I never even thought of taking pictures of the LED lights. I will do that when it gets dark out tonight.

 

[spap]

Where did you get the LED lights, I installed some and it really wasn't any different than the regular bulbs

 

[Bronco73]

Where did you get the LED lights, I installed some and it really wasn't any different than the regular bulbs

Wild Horse, I bought the ultra bright LED's. Not the normal LED lights they.

 

[blubuckaroo]

When I installed the set from BC, I wasn't sure if I needed to remove the colored lenses from the panel. I left them in and they aren't as bright as I thought they would be. The red hi beam indicator couldn't be seen at all so I just left the old incandescent bulb there. Was I suppose to disassemble the head and remove the lenses?
http://www.bcbroncos.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=1556

 

[Bronco73]

When I installed the set from BC, I wasn't sure if I needed to remove the colored lenses from the panel. I left them in and they aren't as bright as I thought they would be. The red hi beam indicator couldn't be seen at all so I just left the old incandescent bulb there. Was I suppose to disassemble the head and remove the lenses?
http://www.bcbroncos.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=1556

Those LED lights are different than what I purchased. The ones I bought say they will still work with the dimming switch and the ones I purchased say ultra bright from WH.

I was unsure about buying them for fear of them not being any brighter so at the last minute I decided to spend the extra $10 and buy the ultra bright LED lights and I think I made the right choice. When I could see the lights while sitting in the driveway during the day with the sun out I knew they were brighter. Not direct sunlight but there is no way I could see the stock bulbs in the same conditions.

I was not able to see if the high beam LED was working or not. I knew the LED worked when I had the dash apart but could not see the red dot light up while sitting outside like I described above. This morning in the garage where is was a little darker I could clearly see the high beam indicator light up. Not sure if I was suppose to remove the red lens or not. Like always I don't read instructions until I get stuck.

I will never use stock bulbs again and I wish I had known of these when I owned my 65 fastback.

 

[Bronco73]

Heres a photo of the LED lights.

 

[panteramatt]

Nice. The speedo #'s dont light up?

 

[Bronco73]

Nice. The speedo #'s dont light up?

I think I need to take the cluster apart and see whats wrong. It looks as if it has moved inside and would explain why I have never been able to see it at night. Either that or the LED isn't plugged in correctly. You can still see how bright the LED lights are.

I will try to dig into it next week to see why the speedo is not lighting up.

 

[DirtDonk]

Check your high-beam indicator again after dark Bronco 73. Make sure it's really not working. If not, let us know and we'll send you another bulb pronto.

However, it is definitely the one that's not as visible. It's kind of a good/bad thing though. I kind of like it myself, so it's a good thing in my case.
The main illumination lamps have that super-white/blue look to them, but the turn-signal indicator lights actually light up bright green behind the green lens covers. They're super bright green! So bright I don't think you'd ever need to worry about leaving your turn signals on again. Even in the daylight you should be able to easily see them winking at you.

The high-beam indicator is actually a darker blue. That's due to most modern vehicles using red to indicate more dire circumstances than your brights being on. Since blue is the most common color for the last 30 years or so, that's the color of the bulb.
That makes the light look Purple (blue and red combined) and is kind of cool. It's also a bit dimmer than the others, so you can run around with your brights on and not have the lamp staring you in the face the whole time.
That's the good/bad part.

I like it, as I've driven cars with too-bright of a high-beam indicator lamp that was extremely annoying. But around town, I could see a brighter light being a good thing so you don't actually leave the highs on by accident. And the purple color is very cool!
I think you can see it well enough, so don't have any problem using the LED's myself.

Again though, let us know if you determine that it's not working, and that it's not the socket.

Thanks!

Paul

 

[Bronco73]

The high beam LED works. I just had to try it in the dark to see it. There was no seeing it sitting outside looking at it during the day.

I just hope I didn't mix up the top cluster LED with the high beam LED, meaning having the incorrect one in the socket. Pretty sure I kept them in the correct spot.

I like the white background cluster. I will look into that mod.