Chuck Schreiber

Tony, Alex,

Ordered bulbs today, hope to have them installed this weekend along w getting the GTS running again.
That's the plan anyway.

ALKada

Chuck,
Which one's did you order if you don't mind me asking? I'm looking at your linked page for the 194s and I see a big selection there. Did you order the "fat Boys" with the CANBUS cancellation chip?

Chuck Schreiber

Alex,
I ended up ordering from Autoillumination as I've had good luck w them. I also wanted 194 bulbs that would match all the other "super white" bulbs I already have in the car.

Based on the dimensions that Ed wrote up, I ordered the following:

http://autolumination.com/images/aut...4sshs_w_wm.jpg
which are off this page

http://autolumination.com/194.htm

They are 194 Superstar Bulbs With Metal Heat Sink. 9mm x 24 which fit the size Ed specifies.
There are probably 2 or 3 other bulbs on that page that fit and will do the trick, but it's the one that Tracy (From autoillumination) recommended for gauges. They have a "wide" throw of light.

Again, Since I really wanted to match the bulbs that were there already, I ordered from them.

For you starting from scratch, I would order exactly what Ed specifies in his how to pages since you know it will work.

ALKada

Thanks Chuck!!!! Can't wait to see your results.

Ed Scherer

From the document I already referenced, I have the following notes related to the four cluster backlighting bulbs:

The bulbs I recommend (Super Bright LEDs WLED-WHP5) are 12.14 mm maximum diameter and 25.35 mm maximum length.

I know I tried a WLED-WHP9-T, which is 32.75 mm long. It doesn't fit.

I strongly recommend not using a bulb that exceeds the dimensions I noted. And I know that the bulb I recommended fits and is quite bright (almost too bright; it motivated me to design and build the PWM dimmer).

I'll be interested to see how those Autolumination bulbs that you ordered turn out when installed, Chuck. They should fit fine; light distribution pattern and/or reliability are probably the only things left to discover. Something about Autolumination that I've noted a number of times before is that they tend not to provide very comprehensive (or accurate) specs on their products, so you typically have to order a bunch of stuff to find out whether or not they're any good for your applications. And sometimes they do substitutions on what you order (without asking first) and give you something unsuitable for your application. That said, I do recommend some of their products (like for the pod switches).

928ntslow

I use the cool white, don't like the warm white. You can see most all info and pics in my original post
https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...-looooong.html

Awww Chuck....you never lit the Fan ****

BTW, Ed..Very nice documentation...and thanks for the honorable mention
Did you have to modify the #74 bulbs for the pod switches? I replaced a couple of those last week as well and I take a dremel with a barrel sander attachment and shave the base some so they will fit. I'd rather screw up a bulb than a switch.

Ed Scherer

Agreed.

Nope... the bulbs I recommend fit pretty darn well; actually, you have to wrap just a little bit of tape around them to keep them from popping out.

928ntslow

Iiiiiliiiike it!

Chuck Schreiber

Ed,
Yes, I picked the bulbs based on your dimensions, making sure they fell within those specks. They are a little narrower and shorter, so I knew they'd fit.
Again, the only reason I went w autoillumi brand is the fact that I could match the "hue" of the white. If I was going from scratch, I'd just order the exact bulbs that you and Keith listed. For anyone tackling this now, I'd recomend they do just that. I was already down this road and committed.

So far (knock on wood) the autoillumination bulbs have been ok in both cars.
The 79 bulbs from them (as well as the Jager gauge kit) have been in there for about 5 years now. I ordered more than I needed this go round, just as I did last time as some have been know to arrive D.O.A.

Will report back w feedback and pics when complete.

Thx again!

Chuck Schreiber

Keith,
I agree, The warm whites look a little too yellow to me as well. I like the way my superwhites look. According to autoillumination, they are 7000K. Cool blues are 8000k (bluer) and natural whites are 6000K. (more pure white)

Dont' ask me what all that S##T means, I just know I like the way the superwhites look!

No, I didn't do the fan ****. It wasnt a job I wanted to tackle at the time and I took the easy way out. Yours looks great man, maybe I'll come back to that in the future??!!

I had to modify the #74 bulbs for the pod switches on the GTS as well. Filed them down with a small nail file until they fit. I will tell you that the #74s fit right in w no mods whatsoever on the 79. Weird, but I guess there was a change somewhere down the road in the bulb housing??!!

Thx to you and Ed for blazing the trail on this project. It's a great mod to bring these cars into 2011!!

Jim M.

Chuck, I've been on the fence about doing this mod on my GTS, so I look forward to seeing yours at 3rd Coast. Oh, and if it's not done by then we will expect you to skip dinner and the parking lot session to get it done while your there. Or else your focked!

Chuck Schreiber

Jim,
Everything else on your car has been modified, you need to do it!!

77tony

Chuck & Jim, I'll bring an LED flashlight for the parking lot sessionT

Jim M.

That's not true at all . . . er, well maybe that will be next.

77tony

If Jim's avatar is an example, Chuck might have something there. T