flashgordon

I don't know the specs on the leds that I used as they were left-overs from some project my son built and he can't remember what they are. They are 5mm and fit ok, but 3mm would have been better for everything except the fan speed switch which needed the 5mm to fit right. Since I didn't know the specs, I hooked them up to a power supply and read the current draw and was then able to figure the resistor sizing needed. I installed a single 1 watt resistor in the power wire for the lighting in the cc. This saved me from the hassle of trying to install individual resistors for each led. I'm sorry I don't have any other info on the leds that I used, but I think that most any led will fit the bill. The only thing I would do different is to install a less bright led for the ac button and fan speed switch as they are too bright compared to the rest. Superbrightleds.com also sells individual leds and has a handy calculator to determine the resistor sizing. I ordered the bulbs for the gauge cluster from superbrightleds.com and there part number is WLED-X6. These simply plug into the stock bulb holders and require nothing else as they are self regulated. At $2.79 ea, they are the way to go for the gauges.

PorscheDude1

Thanks! I am going to start messing with an extra CC unit I have laying around.

TRDRacer

Smokie i think the 5mm leds are the ones that fit in the CC but I am unsure of what Luminous Intensity I should get? I looked online on ebay and they have stuff ranging from 4000 to 55000. I want to go bright but not to bright! Anyone have any idea as to what intnsity is good?

PorscheDude1

Honestly have no clue. I am going to start looking into it. I have an electrical engineer here at work, hopefully I can get him to help out. It should not be to complex. I was thinking of buying several different LEDS and just going thru them till I end up with something that matches.

TRDRacer

Flashgordon were did you put the resistor in the wiring? have pics!

mtccl

buy one low and one high and you'll know the range.

Install both and run a demo on them yourself.

TRDRacer

I would but I am not willing to spend my money left and right and be left with 100's of bulbs! I get these in packs of 100 with 12v resistores For a good price! Was just woundering what someone else used?

TRDRacer

Alright I got some 90Degree Flat Top blue leds coming my way! For reference here is a list of leds you will need and what the original bulbs are!

These are all taken from superbrightleds site except for the 5mm leds;

Guage Cluster: Need 3 WLED-x6 LED Wedge Base Bulbs Original is 194
Ashtray & Cigarette Lighter: Need 2 74-xHP3 SMD LED Bulbs Original is 2721
Climate Control Fan **** & Clock: Need 2 74-x LED Bulbs Original is 2721
Window Defrost Indicator Above Fans: Need 1 74-x LED Bulb Original is 2721
Climate Control: Need 7 3 or 5mm Flat Top Leds with 12v resistors that have 60 Degree's or better Viewing Angle .

Robby

TRDRacer- have you actually completed the climate control, etc? I had NH do my cluster- they used 7 LEDs- not sure what type- IIRC, Brian (Perry951) used 7 bulbs in the cluster as well. all they told me about them is that they're surface mounted LED's at 470 ohms. I'm trying to get the right resistor to dim them down a touch, as my rheostat wont shut them off & at the lowest setting, they are still WAY too bright. Anyway, I'm really wanting to get someone to do the rest of the bulbs- the climate control, window defrost indicator, & possibly the clock. Just curious how your's have turned out so far & whether or not you've actually completed a set...?

Has anyone else here actually completed a set of climate control LED's? Brian (Perry951) said this was much more difficult than the cluster)- now that I have it done, I'd like the rest to match. Would be glad to pay to have it done, unless it's something I can do w/out a ton of effort...

TRDRacer

Robby - I have not done it yet! I got the leds in transit to my house! The reason it is so hard is beacuse taking apart the unit is difficult as the plastic is very brittle after 20 some years and you have to desolder the old bulbs and solder back the new ones! My mcd ratings for all the leds are around 4000 to 5000 as higher ones will be too bright! The CC uses 10 leds that are solder into place and are either 3mm or 5mm in size! Here is a pic of the 5mm leds I am using and the legs need to be cut down some and then soldered into place!

PorscheDude1

TRD I got your PM. But I have not gotten as far as you on this project.
The part number are a great help.
Thanks!

Wallace

DAMN, this is some good info. Thanks TRDRAcer.
Let us know how the install goes.

TRDRacer

So I got the leds and i took my climate control out and broke it! Basicly if you have the late style without the pop out buttons you are screwed!!! I even tried to desolder the crap and it was not going anywhere and I tried to clamp it and pull on it and it shattered into pieces!!!

The LEDS are very small inside, the 5mm flat top leds are overkill so you would need the 3mm cirlce leds for the buttons and 3 flat top leds for the ones by the big *****!

TRDRacer

I tried retrofiting the unit with half the leds installed, but when i turn the lights on the fuse blows! Anyone know why this is? I got a 7.5 fuse in there and i am running 12 volt resistors with my leds! Do i need to change the 7.5 fuse to a 12?

I also heard that if you run leds for the instruments you would need to change out the relay? Is this why the fuse keeps blowing cause only lights that are condecent are my overhead, trunk, and my glove box!

billthe3

If there is less resistance (which an LED has) it will cause there to be more amperage, which would be why you're blowing fuses.

If you want to be really precise about it, I'd use a multimeter to try to figure out what the resistance of the stock incandescent bulbs are, and then use whatever resistor is necessary to get that same amount of resistance for each bulb/the circuit.

I would NOT put in a higher amperage fuse. It may stop you from blowing fuses, but you may end up running too much amperage for the (crappy) wiring to take, in which case you might start frying wires and possibly catching things on fire.