Brightest LEDs for LED swapout???
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Brightest LEDs for LED swapout???
Well i finally decided to do the swapout but i have some concerns
how hard is it to correct the needles if i mess up??? my friend kinda mess his up and now his gas needle wont point to full when he;s fills up his tank it;s like a notch off i don;t wanna drive with a mess up speedometer could be dangerous
also what do u guys think of white gauges with blue needles? i was also thinking of doing white speed and Blue Tach and gas or some combo of white has anyone done diff color gauges???
finally who makes the bright leds? ive seen some really dim leds...
how hard is it to correct the needles if i mess up??? my friend kinda mess his up and now his gas needle wont point to full when he;s fills up his tank it;s like a notch off i don;t wanna drive with a mess up speedometer could be dangerous
also what do u guys think of white gauges with blue needles? i was also thinking of doing white speed and Blue Tach and gas or some combo of white has anyone done diff color gauges???
finally who makes the bright leds? ive seen some really dim leds...
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i order from lc-led.com.
tips on needle "reassembly", the gas and temp needles are fine as long as you remember where they start out on.. they have a pretty good stop, and when i put them in, i have it so i can slightly push down on the needle (to hit the stop) and then adjust it, and then push the needle in.
speedo and tach, i reassemble in my car, and then have the gauges do the "sweep" which then the speedo and tach zero out.. install needles to get it to zero.. and then push in. it's helpful to have the needle a little higher before you push in because i have noticed it moves downward when you push it in.
and of course, never push it all the way in. that's just bad.
here's my gauges in white:
i tried to adjust my camera as best i could to be accurate to the real light output. and yeah... i was driving..
that's why it's at about 60 mph
tips on needle "reassembly", the gas and temp needles are fine as long as you remember where they start out on.. they have a pretty good stop, and when i put them in, i have it so i can slightly push down on the needle (to hit the stop) and then adjust it, and then push the needle in.
speedo and tach, i reassemble in my car, and then have the gauges do the "sweep" which then the speedo and tach zero out.. install needles to get it to zero.. and then push in. it's helpful to have the needle a little higher before you push in because i have noticed it moves downward when you push it in.
and of course, never push it all the way in. that's just bad.
here's my gauges in white:
i tried to adjust my camera as best i could to be accurate to the real light output. and yeah... i was driving..
that's why it's at about 60 mph
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Originally Posted by _-Dark-_-Scion-_
Multi-tasking.. At 60!? lol hey, go get some gas =)
That looks amazing btw, Im just scared to take off my dash and all that. Was it difficult?
That looks amazing btw, Im just scared to take off my dash and all that. Was it difficult?
yeah... i got gas that night too minutes after i took the picture... $3.25 for 87... and that was at arco! 
hmm.. i've taken things apart so many times it's so easy for me... but yeah... i don't think it's that hard.. just start pulling at things and if you see a screwdriver/bolt, remove it.. that's my "philosphy" of tC gutting.
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I second LC-LED.com
As for the needles, turn all the needles when you take them out until they stop (should be when they are near or at resting position.
Draw a pencil line at the needle mark (like off the tip)
Then when you put them back on, just turn the needles slowly until it is lined up with the pencil line. If you go past it, rotate the needles fully arround the otherway until they stop again, then a little more (don't worry, you can get the needle to go around the odo reset and dim *****) then go back, and try again.
As for the needles, turn all the needles when you take them out until they stop (should be when they are near or at resting position.
Draw a pencil line at the needle mark (like off the tip)
Then when you put them back on, just turn the needles slowly until it is lined up with the pencil line. If you go past it, rotate the needles fully arround the otherway until they stop again, then a little more (don't worry, you can get the needle to go around the odo reset and dim *****) then go back, and try again.
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Scikotics
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the ones from LC-LED.com are the only ones I have found that work correctly, and I have looked some since I have done about 30 of these swaps.
If the center console ones you have seen look dim, it is because they did not follow the circuit mod I created. You will have to perform this for swapping to blue, green or white.
If the center console ones you have seen look dim, it is because they did not follow the circuit mod I created. You will have to perform this for swapping to blue, green or white.
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Scikotics
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Hey, no problem.. I am a tech geek at heart and HAD to change those colors I have two more projects relating to the gauge and console lighting that are waiting for me to get off my lazy **** to do right now as well Programming the controller and hopefully testing soon, but between work, a friends wedding to go to, a trip to OK this weekend, and about 6 more sets of gauges and consoles... I have been a bit busy :D
I have two more projects relating to the gauge and console lighting that are waiting for me to get off my lazy **** to do right now as well Programming the controller and hopefully testing soon, but between work, a friends wedding to go to, a trip to OK this weekend, and about 6 more sets of gauges and consoles... I have been a bit busy :D
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LC-LCD Cheap? Haha, college student on a budget here....but at the same time I don't want it to look tacky! Also does anyone know how to change the LED's in the AVN-5435? Cuz I do NOT like the green! lol, hehee
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It doesn't matter how bright LED you have, if you don't get enough voltage.. it's not gona be bright enought..
That's the case for the climate control...
Even at the gauge cluster, blue/white/green runs at under voltage....
They can be brighter if you put enough voltage, by changing the resistor so that they acutally powered at 3.0-3.5 volt
That's the case for the climate control...
Even at the gauge cluster, blue/white/green runs at under voltage....
They can be brighter if you put enough voltage, by changing the resistor so that they acutally powered at 3.0-3.5 volt
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Scikotics
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That is the entire purpose of my mod on the climate control. To mod the circuit so there is enough voltage to power them.
A 3V LED with an absolute minimum of about 2.65 V with a range up to 3.5 (like the ones we use) will run at their dropp voltage whether you apply 3V or 5V. This is why simply running the led with no resistor causes torched LEDs. The rest of the voltage is dropped across the rest of the circuit. A PN junction (diode for example) is a constant voltage device for all intents and purposes here. The problem with the center console is that they have three in series.. so with blue that gives you about 7.95V. The supply on the board is providing.. you guessed it, 7.95V. So, once you subtract the voltage of a branch of LEDs you have nothing (There is actually VERY little) dropped across your dropping resistors, so even with a short there is not enough to create a good 8 -10mA of current to power them. So rearranging, cutting and adding to the circuit using my mod corrects for this.
On the gauges, the way they are laid out there is still sufficient voltage to create sufficient current to make them nice and bright, since we are using a nice, high output LED. So I created the mod for the climate control to match the brightness of the gauges. If you could find an LED that creates more output at the same current level as these then you could potentially get them brighter. But, I havent found any better, or even close to as good anywhere else. And really, this setup comes out absolutely perfect. The idea is to create enough current flow, not necessarilly voltage in this case. It is not the same as dealing with a purely resistive circuit.
A 3V LED with an absolute minimum of about 2.65 V with a range up to 3.5 (like the ones we use) will run at their dropp voltage whether you apply 3V or 5V. This is why simply running the led with no resistor causes torched LEDs. The rest of the voltage is dropped across the rest of the circuit. A PN junction (diode for example) is a constant voltage device for all intents and purposes here. The problem with the center console is that they have three in series.. so with blue that gives you about 7.95V. The supply on the board is providing.. you guessed it, 7.95V. So, once you subtract the voltage of a branch of LEDs you have nothing (There is actually VERY little) dropped across your dropping resistors, so even with a short there is not enough to create a good 8 -10mA of current to power them. So rearranging, cutting and adding to the circuit using my mod corrects for this.
On the gauges, the way they are laid out there is still sufficient voltage to create sufficient current to make them nice and bright, since we are using a nice, high output LED. So I created the mod for the climate control to match the brightness of the gauges. If you could find an LED that creates more output at the same current level as these then you could potentially get them brighter. But, I havent found any better, or even close to as good anywhere else. And really, this setup comes out absolutely perfect. The idea is to create enough current flow, not necessarilly voltage in this case. It is not the same as dealing with a purely resistive circuit.
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Originally Posted by engifineer
That is the entire purpose of my mod on the climate control. To mod the circuit so there is enough voltage to power them.
A 3V LED with an absolute minimum of about 2.65 V with a range up to 3.5 (like the ones we use) will run at their dropp voltage whether you apply 3V or 5V. This is why simply running the led with no resistor causes torched LEDs. The rest of the voltage is dropped across the rest of the circuit. A PN junction (diode for example) is a constant voltage device for all intents and purposes here. The problem with the center console is that they have three in series.. so with blue that gives you about 7.95V. The supply on the board is providing.. you guessed it, 7.95V. So, once you subtract the voltage of a branch of LEDs you have nothing (There is actually VERY little) dropped across your dropping resistors, so even with a short there is not enough to create a good 8 -10mA of current to power them. So rearranging, cutting and adding to the circuit using my mod corrects for this.
On the gauges, the way they are laid out there is still sufficient voltage to create sufficient current to make them nice and bright, since we are using a nice, high output LED. So I created the mod for the climate control to match the brightness of the gauges. If you could find an LED that creates more output at the same current level as these then you could potentially get them brighter. But, I havent found any better, or even close to as good anywhere else. And really, this setup comes out absolutely perfect. The idea is to create enough current flow, not necessarilly voltage in this case. It is not the same as dealing with a purely resistive circuit.
A 3V LED with an absolute minimum of about 2.65 V with a range up to 3.5 (like the ones we use) will run at their dropp voltage whether you apply 3V or 5V. This is why simply running the led with no resistor causes torched LEDs. The rest of the voltage is dropped across the rest of the circuit. A PN junction (diode for example) is a constant voltage device for all intents and purposes here. The problem with the center console is that they have three in series.. so with blue that gives you about 7.95V. The supply on the board is providing.. you guessed it, 7.95V. So, once you subtract the voltage of a branch of LEDs you have nothing (There is actually VERY little) dropped across your dropping resistors, so even with a short there is not enough to create a good 8 -10mA of current to power them. So rearranging, cutting and adding to the circuit using my mod corrects for this.
On the gauges, the way they are laid out there is still sufficient voltage to create sufficient current to make them nice and bright, since we are using a nice, high output LED. So I created the mod for the climate control to match the brightness of the gauges. If you could find an LED that creates more output at the same current level as these then you could potentially get them brighter. But, I havent found any better, or even close to as good anywhere else. And really, this setup comes out absolutely perfect. The idea is to create enough current flow, not necessarilly voltage in this case. It is not the same as dealing with a purely resistive circuit.
Most of the SMD LED that I dealt with runs on 20mA (That's at normal/optimal)
I guess 10mA would be sufficient.... for gauge cluster and climate control...
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Originally Posted by Dooly
Most people won't understand that...... LOL
Most of the SMD LED that I dealt with runs on 20mA (That's at normal/optimal)
I guess 10mA would be sufficient.... for gauge cluster and climate control...
Most of the SMD LED that I dealt with runs on 20mA (That's at normal/optimal)
I guess 10mA would be sufficient.... for gauge cluster and climate control...
i'm so lucky to have studied electrical circuitry and all that joyous stuff a few years back... granted it's been a long time since i've really calculated anything out...but... i really need a Fluke.... those things get really pricy...
you wanna do some more calculating Dave? sent you pm.
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