howdog928

The bulbs arrived today and the verdict is in.... B8.5d is the correct bulb and socket size for the '88 warning lights. And based on what M Requin wrote about his 86.5 taking those bulbs, that at least covers the years '86.5 through '88 for the b8.5d. And BTW, they are waaay better than the original bulbs - clear and easy to see the whole indicator, not just a dim faded glow!

So for the record, the number of the b8.5d bulbs needed for the '88 pod is:

Red bulbs: 14
Green bulbs: 4
Blue bulbs: 1
Amber bulbs: 1

Of note, the b8.4d also works, just a bit more of a fiddle due to the very short base of that bulb. But it was actually the first one out of the bag & it fits securely in the hole and worked when powering the circuit board. But at the same price, the b8.5d is easier to work with and is the same size as the originals I am replacing.

Also, an alternative to the LED wedges is to replace just the 3 bulbs for LEDs. The correct ones to fit there are the 194 mini wedge LED bulbs. I bought one of the WLED-WHP5 bulbs at 75 lm that seemed to work OK, but appears to not be very bright without any mods to the housing.

So now got to order myself the rest of the bulbs, clean up the housing and finish fixing the odometer before I get it all back together. But so far so good.

bureau13

Regarding those Jager LED wedges...any thoughts on color choice? Their video and pics show blue, which looks pretty good. Stock white I guess would just be a brighter version of what's there now. Anyone try red? I know red light tends to allow you to retain your dark-adjusted eyesight better, but I'd like to see it. Leaning towards the blue at the moment, just because it looks good on their site.

bureau13

On the other hand, getting 3 of the mini-wedges (WLED-WHP5 on the site now says 90 lumens?) is a LOT cheaper. I wonder how that would compare in terms of brightness to the Jager kit?

howdog928

I personally have gone with the blue as my shark is white on blue & I already have blue LEDs for the interior lights.

All my bulbs have arrived now, have to clean up & repaint the black surrounds, change out all bulbs and then give her a test.

While the dash pod is off, I'm also going to tackle the center console & install my Paul Champagne window switches, change a couple of bulbs over and install the kickdown switch for my shifter. Also need to look into a probable loose connection for the fan WIAIT. So will still be a while before I get everything back together again.

bureau13

I ordered the LEDs themselves, rather than the Jager assembly...for about $17 vs. $90, I had to give it a shot.

I'm jealous you have those window switches....

Imo000

You can't just replace the incandescent bulbs with LED. It's not a straight swap.

bureau13

Did I read Ed's guide wrong then? I thought he listed LEDs that could be used with the existing setup?

Imo000

Before all the plug and play LEDs hit the shelf, I converted couple of my dash buttons and had to use a resistor inline with the LED. You can't just shove an LED into the socket and be done.

bureau13

Go read the guide linked on post 2. Lots of detail about what LEDs to use, when resistors are needed, etc. The only caveat is this is for a latter car. The OP in this thread was investigating what specific LEDs would work for the '88, which should be more like mine. I'm not just shoving discrete LEDs into sockets!

howdog928

You are correct Jeff. The newer 'omnidirectional' (for use of a better word) LEDs can just be plugged in to the existing sockets. I even tried a bulb in there to replace the 3 main bulbs lighting the instrument panel. Worked fine, but I had already ordered the wedges from Nicole.

Latest progress for me so far is all new bulbs are in place and briefly tested in the car (but not the wedges yet) and the dash surround has been cleaned, sanded and resprayed. I used the SEM trim paint that I had from respraying a trim piece last year and I think it looks good. A soft satin black. Next need to get the wedges installed and then full test all in the car to make sure my connections and feeds are all good.

M. Requin

Nice work, Howard, and I am sure you are going to be very pleased with the improvement. I tried variations on the LED theme for the wedges, but gave up and made EL faces for the gauges which work pretty well, but I hope you will post a pic when everything is installed and turned on.

One small note, "bidirectional" might be slightly misleading to those who don't RTFM, as they might think it means, "not polarized" when as I am sure you found out, they are!

howdog928

Yes sir, just 'discovered' that tonight after I have put the pod partially back together! Teach me not to read all of Ed's instructions. So now I've got to take all the bulbs out again, test them all to get polarity & find out +ive on the circuit boards. On top of that, one of the 3 main bulb housings broke so I need to order a new one to get the wedge installed! Sigh

I did get to see a couple of lights work when I tested it in the car though.

mskar

Thanks a TON for posting this, I also have an '88 and ordered the bulbs you specified. We'll see how I did with polarity, but here was my process:

I unpacked and tested each LED with a 9V battery and marked a "-" on each with a sharpie. I then looked at all of the tracings on the back of the instrument panel and marked a "-" on all tracings that appeared to be shared/common. Some bulbs light together, so this takes a bit of tracing in some cases. There are several socket terminals that lead straight to the ribbon connector w/o connecting to any other bulbs which I'll have to figure out by trial and error. I guessed here assuming that grounds are often consecutive on a ribbon connector. I'll post a pic once I have the orientations marked to hopefully help someone get this in one shot in the future!

These bulbs fit perfectly, but a bit more snug than the originals. I used a set of nylon jaw pliers and pushed firmly while twisting and they all went in without having to bend pins or use excessive force. Finally I tested one more time by hitting the tracings with the battery to make sure they all seated.

If I post something like "Holy God!!! So much smoke... oh the humanity" tomorrow you can disregard this post

howdog928

Between the two of us we'll get this figured out. Ed Scherer mentioned the same thing to me last night about the common grounds. I did the same with the bulb polarities, now all marked, but seems you'll get there before me as I'm doing other things this weekend.

One other thing of note here. I tried to get all my bulbs from Superbright LEDs, including the pod bulbs, but just found out those bulbs are too wide/round & don't fit!! So ensure you order the one's Ed recommends from Autolumination. I now have to re-order from them.

bureau13

Note that while the Autoillumination bulbs fit in the pod switches, and work, the are a little loose, and I find myself having to pull off the cover and readjust periodically (I've only done the headlight switch so far, because it was burned out). In other words, do take Ed's recommendation and use tape or something to make them fit more snuggly. I didn't, obviously, but I will fix that when I do the rest of them.