LED Bulbs for GTS Gauge Illumination. Which one??
10-18-2011, 11:35 AM
#46
Bruce,
Glad Ed and Jim Chimed in on this one as the only exterior LED mod I've done is the License plate bulbs.
Looks like Ed used a 39mm. I used a 36mm and it worked.
I did give Sean 2 for his 88 the other day and the 36mm were too short. Looks more like 39 or 41mm for that model year.
BUT, the prongs on all the license receptacles can be bent to accept bulbs that vary by several mm's.
Sean did it and it fit like a charm. Now if he could just fix his blown fuse to see how good they look!!
Glad Ed and Jim Chimed in on this one as the only exterior LED mod I've done is the License plate bulbs.
Looks like Ed used a 39mm. I used a 36mm and it worked.
I did give Sean 2 for his 88 the other day and the 36mm were too short. Looks more like 39 or 41mm for that model year.
BUT, the prongs on all the license receptacles can be bent to accept bulbs that vary by several mm's.
Sean did it and it fit like a charm. Now if he could just fix his blown fuse to see how good they look!!
10-18-2011, 02:32 PM
#47
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...and again...nice info Ed. I just never got around to doing the exterior lighting.
Did you ever do anything with the headlights? Xenon or different bulbs?
I actually had an idea at one point to rig an LED or two fit inside of the headlights. While in the down position with only the parking lights on, it would give them an illuminated glow. Similar to what the older BMW's had. I thought it would be a nice touch with those massive 8" ers glowing while sitting at rest.
Did you ever do anything with the headlights? Xenon or different bulbs?
I actually had an idea at one point to rig an LED or two fit inside of the headlights. While in the down position with only the parking lights on, it would give them an illuminated glow. Similar to what the older BMW's had. I thought it would be a nice touch with those massive 8" ers glowing while sitting at rest.
10-18-2011, 03:55 PM
#48
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See the six-year-old thread "H4 HID Conversion Kit Installed; Writeup Now Available". The HID kits available now would probably be a little easier to deal with than the one I installed.Unless I've missed something, the only tungsten filament bulbs left in my car are the four H3s for the fog/driving lights.
I actually had an idea at one point to rig an LED or two fit inside of the headlights. While in the down position with only the parking lights on, it would give them an illuminated glow. Similar to what the older BMW's had. I thought it would be a nice touch with those massive 8" ers glowing while sitting at rest.
10-19-2011, 02:43 PM
#49
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Yea, that is a little too over the top for me. Not what I was suggesting. I was thinking one bulb, be it a single or a WLED5. I guess at the time I do the change over, I will experiment.
FWIW, I am working on another innovative idea at this time for the 87-95 cars...namely the GTS, but should work for earlier S4's. To be announced at a later date.
Also, if one wanted to keep up with the latest and greatest, flashing brake lights. Mostly seen on higher end cars at this time.
FWIW, I am working on another innovative idea at this time for the 87-95 cars...namely the GTS, but should work for earlier S4's. To be announced at a later date.
Also, if one wanted to keep up with the latest and greatest, flashing brake lights. Mostly seen on higher end cars at this time.
10-24-2011, 09:44 PM
#50
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Finally got around to getting the POD back in w Sean.
The following are pics of the LED backlighting installed. They look really bright in pics, but its comfortable on the eyes in person. The illumination is light years better than what it was and definately updates the pod vs the dingy yellow 20 year old std bulbs that were in there.
I was originally was trying to match the center console bulbs, but I think they are a tick "blue-er" than the hvac and clock illumination. Not as "pure" white, but I'm still happy with them! The only thing I'm seeing is that 160 in the speedo looks a little brighter than the rest of the cluster. I would imagine that the bulbs that Keith and Ed ordered (which had forward AND side facing illum) will more evenly distribute the light.
Botton line is, if you have the pod out for any reason, replace the crappy incandescent bulbs and go with LEDs, definately worth the effort!!
The following are pics of the LED backlighting installed. They look really bright in pics, but its comfortable on the eyes in person. The illumination is light years better than what it was and definately updates the pod vs the dingy yellow 20 year old std bulbs that were in there.
I was originally was trying to match the center console bulbs, but I think they are a tick "blue-er" than the hvac and clock illumination. Not as "pure" white, but I'm still happy with them! The only thing I'm seeing is that 160 in the speedo looks a little brighter than the rest of the cluster. I would imagine that the bulbs that Keith and Ed ordered (which had forward AND side facing illum) will more evenly distribute the light.
Botton line is, if you have the pod out for any reason, replace the crappy incandescent bulbs and go with LEDs, definately worth the effort!!
10-25-2011, 02:08 AM
#52
Rennlist Member
Wow, Chuck--that looks great! Any noticeable improvement with the information system display?
I ordered all the inside and outside lights last week ($$). Can't wait 'til they arrive so I can get started.
I ordered all the inside and outside lights last week ($$). Can't wait 'til they arrive so I can get started.
12-31-2011, 03:58 AM
#54
Rennlist Member
It took longer than planned, but I finally converted the instrument cluster and pod switches to LEDs. The reason for the delay was the black face on my instrument cluster was completely disintegrating—it started out as a half moon tear at the 140 mph mark but when I had it apart, I noticed it was also bubbling around all the edges and was just turning to crap. Thanks 928 Intl for the quick replacement!
- I followed Ed’s guide—which BTW is an excellent guide. And, it’s much needed as I noticed some of the older links in these Renlist threads are dying. About the only area I strayed from Ed’s guide was forgoing the installation of a resistor on the air bag warning light. I just left the incandescent bulb on that one.
- The courtesy lights are incredible; especially in the passenger footwell area. Hell, I didn’t even notice there was light there before!
- For the GTS, the hood light is the same as the passenger footwell, a 42 mm festoon-style LED bulb. When talking to Roger a couple weeks ago, he said Jim also installed a switch next to the light under his hood—haven’t done that yet, but definitely on the list of things to do.
- The bulbs for the pod switches are polarity sensitive so you have a 50/50 chance of getting it right the first time. But for those, it’s no biggie—just pull it out, rotate it 180 degrees and put it back in.
- Like an idiot, I reinstalled the instrument cluster and pod before moving on to the pod switches. That was a huge mistake as you need to leave the pod loose so you can slide it back to expose more wire to install the resistors. Also, Radio Shack didn’t have the 1.8 ohm resistors Ed recommends, so I rounded-down to 1.5 ohm. In hindsight, I would have rounded up to 2.0 ohm so it dimmed them just a little bit more.
- Next, it’s on the center console lights. I’ll post some pics when I’m done as I’m also going to install some backlight under the shifter gate assembly. I know it’s no longer needed since the shift indicator is in the instrument cluster, but after driving an OB, every time I look down at that area, I just get the feeling there’s a burned out bulb in there. OCD I guess…
- Sorry the pics are blurry; need a tripod and timer settings for these night shots… For those on the fence considering doing this; all I can say is this has to be the single most BEST thing I’ve done to modernize this car. No kidding, from an appearance perspective, it’s like driving a new(er) car.
- I followed Ed’s guide—which BTW is an excellent guide. And, it’s much needed as I noticed some of the older links in these Renlist threads are dying. About the only area I strayed from Ed’s guide was forgoing the installation of a resistor on the air bag warning light. I just left the incandescent bulb on that one.
- The courtesy lights are incredible; especially in the passenger footwell area. Hell, I didn’t even notice there was light there before!
- For the GTS, the hood light is the same as the passenger footwell, a 42 mm festoon-style LED bulb. When talking to Roger a couple weeks ago, he said Jim also installed a switch next to the light under his hood—haven’t done that yet, but definitely on the list of things to do.
- The bulbs for the pod switches are polarity sensitive so you have a 50/50 chance of getting it right the first time. But for those, it’s no biggie—just pull it out, rotate it 180 degrees and put it back in.
- Like an idiot, I reinstalled the instrument cluster and pod before moving on to the pod switches. That was a huge mistake as you need to leave the pod loose so you can slide it back to expose more wire to install the resistors. Also, Radio Shack didn’t have the 1.8 ohm resistors Ed recommends, so I rounded-down to 1.5 ohm. In hindsight, I would have rounded up to 2.0 ohm so it dimmed them just a little bit more.
- Next, it’s on the center console lights. I’ll post some pics when I’m done as I’m also going to install some backlight under the shifter gate assembly. I know it’s no longer needed since the shift indicator is in the instrument cluster, but after driving an OB, every time I look down at that area, I just get the feeling there’s a burned out bulb in there. OCD I guess…
- Sorry the pics are blurry; need a tripod and timer settings for these night shots… For those on the fence considering doing this; all I can say is this has to be the single most BEST thing I’ve done to modernize this car. No kidding, from an appearance perspective, it’s like driving a new(er) car.
Last edited by NoVector; 09-09-2018 at 12:48 AM.
