One thing I didn't mention, was there is a possibility you will get all of your work complete only to find a week or month later, you have a faulty bulb or two. I have had issues with the 4 cluster back light bulbs flickering and blinking after they warm up..and NOT in sequence! This was one of the reasons I waited so long to post this thread. I called Superbright and they had discovered that the maker of the bulb had some faulty resistors inside. My instrument panel looked like a discotheque for a month or two until they had a new run of these bulbs. I certainly explained to them the PITA factor for replacing these bulbs. Now, I have one that looks a bit "nervous" as it is flickering a tad...pisses me off. However, I have noticed a huge difference in the green colored display. Driving in the wet causes the PSD to light up at times and the difference in color from the parking and turn signal displays is night and day. So I am going to replace the PSD bulb to LED. The orange and red displays do not need replacing just to reiterate.

To my knowledge, LED's are quite reliable and I just got them at a time that there was a bad batch sent out. Superbright replaces and ships at no charge of course. I discovered a way to check the bulbs beyond the 12v battery check...add another 12v battery to get you 18v's! ONLY do this with the bulb itself and NOT installed in any components!!! Just take a third alligator clip lead and connect the two batteries from the "+" of one to the "-" of the other. Then use the "+" from one battery to the bulb and the "-" from the other battery to the bulb...18v's! This will get the LED working harder and shining brighter, allowing you to see if it is going to crap out on you. If it doesn't start to blink within a minute, it is fine. Actually, I highly recommend checking all of your bulbs before you install them, something I should have mentioned in my original post. Throwing 18v's to these bulbs won't hurt them for this short period of time to test.

so 12 + 12 = 18?

Two 9-volts perhaps, but two 12-volt batteries in series will give you 24V...

...at least, it did when I went to school! ;) (which is what my dad always used to say when I made one of my -frequent- mistakes!)

Did you mean to type 2x 9V batteries, or did you mean to type 24V? -The way it stands now, the math doesn't make sense.

Keith

Leds are prone to fail when facing over current conditions.
(Which will occure if you apply higher voltage than the series resistor used was ment to face)
To limit the current it is common practice to use a resistor in series with the LED.(most normal LEDs are designed to run at maximum 20mA, superbright can be 30mA up to A level)
To define the correct resistance value you should use Ohms law.
(E=RxI or in this case R=E/I where E=Voltage, I=current and R=Resistance)

I assume this has alreday been done to these LED lamp bulbs as well to make them usable in 12-14VDC applications like in cars.
So be careful applying higher voltages since this might end the life or significantly shorten it.
The reostat for the instrument lighting is no good for the LEDs.
There are many benefits with LED's compared to traditional lamps.
Most of the energy applied to an LED will transmit into light instead of heat which is the case with traditional lamps.
The 'turn on' time is much shorter which is great for breaklights for instance.

For more details on the technology and current limiting calculations check out these links:

http://ledcalc.com/

http://www.the12volt.com/ohm/ohmslaw.asp

http://www.theledlight.com/ledcircuits.html

http://ecmweb.com/mag/electric_under...ed_technology/

/Peter

Keith-

I was looking these up and couldn't find these. Can you provide an updated description based ont he SuperbrightLEDs website? I figure I might as well do this over the winter too! Thanks.

Edit: Obviously, I'm looking for the bulb reference. I figure I can pick up the resistor from Radio Shack or some place similar.

Bump

I think i will try and replace the door lamps with some of these 42mm LED lamps. I find them all over the internet but does a place like Frys Electronics stock these things? If so i will just go there, anyone?

I stock them... in warm white and cool white. I also have some red and blue ones in stock.

BTW: I don't recommend doing the dome or trunk lights in color - you won't find anything in your car. Colored LEDs in the doors are OK, but on the 90 and later models you need the white type again above the fuse box (if you care to see the different colors of fuses in case of a problem)...

color as in what, Red like a ricer? I would hope people only use white. The reason i want to change them is that the amber illumination is ok, but i think white would look nice.

I was just in an autozone and they have fiberoptic stuff to run all around the interior of your car in many different colors. On most cars this looks like hell. But I remember when the current S-Class came out you could get it (i'm sure you still can) with an interior illumination ambient package that had a fiberoptic line in amber running from the center of the dash under the wood trim, into the door panels front and rear. I really liked the way this looked on that car. It was very tasteful, i was thinking that with the 928's door panel design that you could run a strip under the armrest and inbetween the carpeting for a nice effect. But i dont know how it would carry into the dash.

The lighting strands that i am talking about, like in the BENZ above are like $20. I may buy a set and see how it looks. Thinking about it i think the passenger side would be easiest with a dual airbag car. Run the strip from the lower portion of the door panel, then into the lower dash at the point where the glovebox lid opens. and that could carry into the center console. You could light it up where the black plastic dash meets the carpet.

But you may have some issues with how the lights looks against the carpeting, that may distort the light somewhat and look like crap. I think i will try it actually. Could be a nice bit of mood lighting when its on, and look totally hidden when its not on.

When i saw the pic of the S-class with that lighting i thought it was a great idea.

BTW, Keith the instruments look AWESOME. I like the different colored lighting that you as well for different switched.

Nicole, I would prefer to just buy these things locally. Again, anyone know if Fry's sells this stuff? The Frys in Austin is a hassle to get to otherwise i would just head over there.

Damm You; I have been avoiding tearing into my my dash to fix a few things now this lamp write-up. When will it all stop, I may have to list this site as spam, seems I do everyting I see on this list makes me go out and do it:icon501:

Ryan...just remember this.."Less is More". Forget about the strand lighting. It will end up looking like an RV. JMHO

I am about to do the dash of the 85 I have and it is an older car. When I am done, I will do a write up on that.

Holy Hell Keith! Your instrument cluster blinds me just looking at the pictures! LED is definitely something I want to do with my shark also. That looks fantastic!

I agree less is more. I never would have considered the fiber lighting until i saw it in the S-class.

Its pretty cheap, I would need 2 light boxes and 16 ft of fiber to do what i want. The fiber would cost $8, the boxes, i dont know maybe $20 each. I may try it out and if i dont like it sell it to someone with a civic.

OH FYI, Fry's doesnt have anything like what i am looking for. I will try online.

Some of the autopart stores like PepBoys are starting to stock LED bling items, but they don't have all the various replacement bulbs like Nicole.

nicole can you PM me prices, or are they on your website?

I have read Wojtek's page on HVAC illumination, but am unsure about how he has lit the "Knob". I think I understand the need to make a slot in the Plexiglass for the Fibreoptics, but how does it then enter the back of the Knob. Does the Knob have to come off (If so how) to drill a hole in its back?

Also has anyone successfully backlit or otherwise illuminated the Window/SunRoof/Rear Wiper Switches? The idela would be modifying the switches to be translucent similar to the Pod Switches, but this seems far too difficult, and maybe a bit of trial & error = $$$. Perhaps a piece of Plexiglass semi hidden in a U shape around the front of the switches and light with a couple of LEDs from beneath? There appears to be enough clearance....

Jim Reay
1991 S4 (ex Japan)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qds1qoH5LW4