LEDs for 86 Dash - Report
12-08-2007, 08:24 PM
#1
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
LEDs for 86 Dash - Report
Using Mike's (NJSharkFan) writeup on pod removal, mtelliot and I pulled the pod off my 86.5 this morning.
The plan was to replace the warning and illumination bulbs with LED and fix a couple that were not working.
Pod removal was a snap. It was out in less than an hour. You have to be careful about connectors and not messing with the printed circuit. Mike's instructions were great. Two things I would add are: there is a philips-head screw that holds the trim piece that goes under the stalk switches. This should be removed right after the two screws that hold on the lower plastic tray. Also, there are two 5-mm allen bolts that hold the pod in place. One of these goes through an extension arm that comes off an additional 5mm allen that holds the gauges in the pod. The threaded hole on the extension should face forward when you reassemble or else you won't be able to tighten up the pod when reinstalling.
Once out, we went to town with pink erasers and cleaned up all the contacts and looked everything over.
The LEDs I bought for warning bulbs were #74 LED wedge-base, which is listed as replacements for 2721. They were too wide for the 928's bulb holders. Every bulb goes in a plastic holder and the LEDs would not seat because the bulb itself is wider than the 2721.
The LEDS I bought to replace the three illumination bulbs were WLED-5LED and they work just fine. I do not notice a significantly brighter dash, though, so don't expect that just from replacing these bulbs.
(all bulbs from superbrightleds.com, per Keith Widom's [928ntslow] great LED bulb replacement writeup)
Since the #74s did not work, I went to Autozone and bought some 2721. From our vendors you can buy the bulb in a new housing. Not a bad idea. Just the new bulbs require you to pull the old bulb out of its old housing, clip off its electrical contacts, insert the new bulb and solder it to the old contacts. So, pretty time intensive for 19 bulbs.
Also, some other bulbs for an 86 do not have direct LED replacements. These include the OSRAM 78180 type for the cigarette lighter, clock, and auto transmission
Two other useful tools are a flashlight and a 9V battery. Once your bulbs are out, you can shine it down the tunnels in the gauge and see which each one lights up. A few warnings actually use two bulbs because they are longer, such as brake fluid and low washer fluid. A 9V battery with two strands of wire can be used to test any bulb. It is enough to light up even the LEDs.
All my lights now work, which is nice. The downside is I couldn't go LED. I will keep shopping for a narrower #74 or proper 2721 replacement. Now that I know how simple the pod removal is (thanks, Mike! and mtelliott), I have no hesitation in doing it again. It helps to have a second person, though, who can watch through the windshield for any issue while you are pulling the pod out.
Matt
The plan was to replace the warning and illumination bulbs with LED and fix a couple that were not working.
Pod removal was a snap. It was out in less than an hour. You have to be careful about connectors and not messing with the printed circuit. Mike's instructions were great. Two things I would add are: there is a philips-head screw that holds the trim piece that goes under the stalk switches. This should be removed right after the two screws that hold on the lower plastic tray. Also, there are two 5-mm allen bolts that hold the pod in place. One of these goes through an extension arm that comes off an additional 5mm allen that holds the gauges in the pod. The threaded hole on the extension should face forward when you reassemble or else you won't be able to tighten up the pod when reinstalling.
Once out, we went to town with pink erasers and cleaned up all the contacts and looked everything over.
The LEDs I bought for warning bulbs were #74 LED wedge-base, which is listed as replacements for 2721. They were too wide for the 928's bulb holders. Every bulb goes in a plastic holder and the LEDs would not seat because the bulb itself is wider than the 2721.
The LEDS I bought to replace the three illumination bulbs were WLED-5LED and they work just fine. I do not notice a significantly brighter dash, though, so don't expect that just from replacing these bulbs.
(all bulbs from superbrightleds.com, per Keith Widom's [928ntslow] great LED bulb replacement writeup)
Since the #74s did not work, I went to Autozone and bought some 2721. From our vendors you can buy the bulb in a new housing. Not a bad idea. Just the new bulbs require you to pull the old bulb out of its old housing, clip off its electrical contacts, insert the new bulb and solder it to the old contacts. So, pretty time intensive for 19 bulbs.
Also, some other bulbs for an 86 do not have direct LED replacements. These include the OSRAM 78180 type for the cigarette lighter, clock, and auto transmission
Two other useful tools are a flashlight and a 9V battery. Once your bulbs are out, you can shine it down the tunnels in the gauge and see which each one lights up. A few warnings actually use two bulbs because they are longer, such as brake fluid and low washer fluid. A 9V battery with two strands of wire can be used to test any bulb. It is enough to light up even the LEDs.
All my lights now work, which is nice. The downside is I couldn't go LED. I will keep shopping for a narrower #74 or proper 2721 replacement. Now that I know how simple the pod removal is (thanks, Mike! and mtelliott), I have no hesitation in doing it again. It helps to have a second person, though, who can watch through the windshield for any issue while you are pulling the pod out.
Matt
Last edited by leperboy; 12-08-2007 at 09:25 PM.
12-13-2007, 04:25 PM
#2
Track Day
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And thank you Matt. I learned a lot on removing the POD. I now am no longer intimidated to remove the POD. I'll be pulling mine over the holidays to try to figure out why sometimes I get all my warning lights on for no reason.
And what Matt said. Purchase the bulbs in the holders when you need a replacement. That looked like a daunting task (19 bulbs).
Michael
And what Matt said. Purchase the bulbs in the holders when you need a replacement. That looked like a daunting task (19 bulbs).
Michael
12-13-2007, 06:43 PM
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The bulbs in holders are standard B8,4d - if you shop around you should find them for a buck each.
Those are the small ones; my '81 has 20 of them
Marton
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Purchase the bulbs in the holders when you need a replacement
Those are the small ones; my '81 has 20 of them
Marton
12-13-2007, 07:24 PM
#4
Craic Head
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Thanks for the additional comments Matt, I'll add them to the website.
Great write-up. Yeah, I did the solder thing with a few of mine. That's the main reason I didn't replace all of them(!), just the ones that were out.
So although the LEDs aren't that much brighter at least they're drawing a lot less and will last much longer, right?
Very cool.
Great write-up. Yeah, I did the solder thing with a few of mine. That's the main reason I didn't replace all of them(!), just the ones that were out.
So although the LEDs aren't that much brighter at least they're drawing a lot less and will last much longer, right?
Very cool.
12-16-2007, 10:46 PM
#5
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
I haven't given up on the LED idea for warning bulbs. I am going to buy a few bulbs and holders and see what sort of modification I need to do to make the LEDs fit in the holders. It'll be a good time to at least photograph for people how to take apart and repair the bulbs and holders, anyway.
Matt
12-16-2007, 11:12 PM
#6
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
I shopped for the B8,4d and found that 83 and up use B8,5d, which is OSRAM 2721MF. Thanks for the tip, though. I found them for $1.03 from Ryder Fleet Services so long as I pretended I owned a fleet of trucks.
Matt
