Make dash lights brighter

[robzombie]

After reading through this thread I'm just wondering why the fascination of LED lighting is so popular especially with all the trouble you have to go through to install them.

Why is it that people are trying to fix the problem with tape{smoke} and mirrors {pun intended} when all that is needed is a higher watt replacement bulb of which there are many choices out there to pick from??

Is it the cool factor or are some having issues with the higher watt bulbs that I haven't confronted yet??

I'm just trying to figure out what all the hype is about and why people are trying to over think the problem, albeit a very real problem as the stock cluster design does suck as far as lighting goes and it has since day one.

 

[robzombie]

Be careful how much light power you use with bulbs. The single trace that powers the lighting receptacles on the flex board is very thin, and made even worse by the die cut that GM used to get the Tach/Boost module wiring thru it. I have seen burned traces and melted substrate due to overloading or shorted bulb sockets, and it's a bitch to fix properly. When I re-designed the flex board, I added copper to the trace area for that very reason.

LEDs are a bit less in power draw, so you're safer with them. If you use the brown-bead wedge bulbs, yes, you'll make more light, but run the risk of damaging the flex board. Then it's lights-out.

I haven't had that problem yet. I am concerned about to much wattage also as I have seen burned traces and bulb sockets in the past.

I guess I have mine dimmed enough where it hasn't become an issue yet as I run mine at about 1/2 power [5/6 watts is my guess] according to the dimmer switch which gives me double the light of 194 bulbs with the dimmer set to full.

If there is a cooler running bulb out there that is a direct plug in I would like to try one so I don't chance burning the trace or bulb sockets.

 

[earlbrown]

The only way to get a cooler running incandescent bulb is to get a lower wattage unit.


by design, they are heaters that happen to give off a little light.

 

[DarthBuick]

After reading through this thread I'm just wondering why the fascination of LED lighting is so popular especially with all the trouble you have to go through to install them.

Why is it that people are trying to fix the problem with tape{smoke} and mirrors {pun intended} when all that is needed is a higher watt replacement bulb of which there are many choices out there to pick from??

Is it the cool factor or are some having issues with the higher watt bulbs that I haven't confronted yet??

I'm just trying to figure out what all the hype is about and why people are trying to over think the problem, albeit a very real problem as the stock cluster design does suck as far as lighting goes and it has since day one.

How is adding a small reflector over thinking it and no it is not the "cool factor" The factory bulbs put out plenty of light it is just that the factory reflective surface degrades over time. I for one don't want to see glaring bright light in the cluster. I just ant to see the numbers and needles like they were when new. I have seen higher watt bulbs kill the flimsy circuit boards more than once. Maybe we should just call it photon redirection.

 

[robzombie]

How is adding a small reflector over thinking it and no it is not the "cool factor" The factory bulbs put out plenty of light it is just that the factory reflective surface degrades over time. I for one don't want to see glaring bright light in the cluster. I just ant to see the numbers and needles like they were when new. I have seen higher watt bulbs kill the flimsy circuit boards more than once. Maybe we should just call it photon redirection.

If that is the reason then I can understand that as part of the problem, but they sucked when new from the factory.

I do agree with your last statement as I already posted that issue also.

 

[1986BuickGrandNational]

I was cleaning and changing bulbs on a GN tonight and tried to find something to make the cluster easier to see at night. After having the dash panel disassembled I noticed that GM used reflective light to illuminate the cluster..

I thought about something that may help

.View attachment 275586
I View attachment 275587
The thing that worked the best and was easy to do was to put chrome reflective tape behind the bezel cover
View attachment 275588
This was just an experiment and it could use some tweaking. Not the best phone camera pic but I could tell a significant change in illumination

Hey darth buick...Im new here and Id love some honest feedback on the reflective tape attempt...I like the idea...I tried regular leds...EVEN the loooong reachable ones...neither worked well....can u honestly say that reflective tape made a true difference...dont wanna tear my dash apart and risk btreakn something if there was no difference. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Dennis Kirban]

Kirban 2 cents worth

As it has been pointed out we sell a real nice LED kit to replace your 7 bulbs on the analog dash. The trick is ours basically looks like a small stick and the leds are on the end. We move the lite about 1 1/2 inches closer to start with. Not had one complaint about them burning out even so you don;t have to pull the dash. their is enough room to pull it out from one side and drop them in...I know I did my car and my mechanical skills are very limited. Also we sell the low fuel warning circuit both made locally for us by a guy who does LED lites for another brand of cars -

as for the dimmer working or not working not really an issue as the lite is a nice glow to it....hard to explain and photo graph but its worlds better than the GM format.... also our headlite kit is worlds better than the factory set up and neither one has any issues nor does either one affect the stock look of the car.

We have sold quite a number of them...its kinda like the flip down stay down license plate bracket....neat product that really works great....and still retains a stock look. Beats having gas spill on $300 + rear fillers.

denniskirban@yahoo.com

like I said biggest issue with the dash lites is you need to get the lite source close to the area it is shinning the lite on. Makes no sense to me to start over one inch back. and attempt to put out more lite. ...GM method was primitive but understandable since the rear wheel drive format was going away and that dash probably was unchanged for several years on our cars and the Rivieras...

 

[DarthBuick]

Hey darth buick...Im new here and Id love some honest feedback on the reflective tape attempt...I like the idea...I tried regular leds...EVEN the loooong reachable ones...neither worked well....can u honestly say that reflective tape made a true difference...dont wanna tear my dash apart and risk btreakn something if there was no difference. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

It made a nice difference. I would say 30% brighter but that is the look I was going for