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General Information => Upgrades (non engine related ) => Topic started by: 92A2VWJTD on October 27, 2005, 12:37:19 pm
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I have a burnt out speedo light and was wondering if anyone knows about possible upgrade options to an LED setup for Mk2 Jettas? In my experience with LEDs they are truly superior. I've searched the net but can't find any kits or what have you. Any knowledge to be had from anyone here? If not relative to LED's, maybe someone knows a good source for blue standard dash guage replacement lights. Thanks
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Here, just follow the link's, and you' l have it...It is on german language but you'l get it from the pictures..There is also how to change illumination on switches...
http://www.blauetachos.de/doc/index.htm
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92A2VWJTD-
Just wanted to let you know that I've had issues with the speedo dash light going out on my audi 4000 and did solve it using a led. I had some 10mm 'white' leds off the 'bay that came with a resistor already soldered and shrink tubed in so it was just needing a 12v hookup and was good to go. I also used these 10mm LED's to solve the vw pickup licence plate light problem for good.
This is similar to what I used:
http://cgi.ebay.com/10-sets-10mm-12v-Ready-White-9000mcd-LED-LEDS-CAR-PC_W0QQitemZ7558341726QQcategoryZ66952QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Hope this helps.
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i've converted all my switches on my dash to blue LEDs, looks really cool. I still plan on doing the gauges but have to decide how im gonna do that first, i want it lit from behind so i have to make the numbers somewhat transparent. If you want a pic of what the dash looks like send me your email, they aren't the easiest pictures to take but you'll get the idea
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ledsupply.com is about the best internet source for LED's that I have found. They have 1/2 watt and 1 watt ones in several colors at good prices ($5 or $9), which are 10 to 20 times as bright as the superbright 5mm ones. They also have all the drivers you need to run them on 12 volts, etc. Remember to heat sink the 1/2 watt and above LED's, or they'll burn out.
Zeke
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I have a burnt out speedo light and was wondering if anyone knows about possible upgrade options to an LED setup for Mk2 Jettas? In my experience with LEDs they are truly superior. I've searched the net but can't find any kits or what have you. Any knowledge to be had from anyone here? If not relative to LED's, maybe someone knows a good source for blue standard dash guage replacement lights. Thanks
http://www.h2ovw.com/html/gaugefaces/mk2.html scroll down to the bottom of the page.
I plan on getting these... the $12-$18 investment seems worth it to see how well they work.
-d.
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Theres a DIY on the vortex somewhere....i'm trying to find it for ya
Jeff
TADA: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2225178
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1300337
Thats all I could find, hope that helps (i think the first one is the better way to go, the 2nd one is just hacked together, but it works, up to u man)
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Here's a pretty good one too. This will be the one I use for mine.
http://www.vwot.org/community/modules.php?set_albumName=albut32&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php
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Thanks a bunch for all the replies!
I'm sure there's a solution here somewhere. I've been running with the burnt out Tach light now for so long it seems normal, but the truth is that I don't have a space to work on my car where I can take the time to pull my dash apart without half freezing to death. It's COLD up here! I picked up some basic green replacement dash lights, but can see that I should look into the LED plan some more....cheers!
- 89VWdieselGolf - Nice! (read=cheap and good) I think I can even handle the equations if i snoop around some of the AME's electronics manuals at work. Thanks for the lead.
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It took awhile for the weather to warm up enough to be able to work on my car outside, but I've finally completed my LED dash light project. The work itself wasn't overly difficult, it just took longer than expected (about 1 week, 2-3 hrs. / night). I ended up going with blue for all rocker switches and gauge flood lighting, and bright red for the digital clock. The clock looks bad-ass! I used 3mm LED's throughout, all of them sanded flat on the end for better light diffusion. Results are quite good, easily as good as OEM. I haven't got pics yet (not dark til after 22:30 these days), but will add them to this post soon. Anyone wants more details, PM me. Very much worth the effort! :D
Here's the VWVortex post that helped me out the most:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1448352
Pic is the best I could get. There's very little spotiness in real life.
(http://www3.telus.net/fastdan5/assets/images/LED_dash_sm.jpg)
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awesome!! i didnt think the gauges would look that great, but yours are awesome!! im gonna do that now!! sanding the LEDs to diffuse the light is a brilliant idea, why didnt i think of that! good job man!
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how did you set up your blue LEDs for the guages?
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idont wanna mess y'all up,but as a little tip regarding dash lights and stuff,,,ive used the vinyl interior spray paint for years on bulbs,,its cheap,,igot my 79 dash/speedo w/ red painted bulbs,,it doesnt burn off like paint,,at first i see a little smoke the first time you turn them on,but i use a power supply,and let them "heat cure " first before installing,hell half the time i power em up,and lightly start to fog them,,try different thicknesses of spraying,,,have fun,thats what its all about :D
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in the end, i went with LED's cuz they match the efficient turbo diesel theme so well. i love the intense color and light they put out, which certainly can't be matched by an incandesent solution. i fully respect the minimal/dirt cheap VW style, but i lean more towards the top notch German factory style. way i see it, anytime a fella does his/her own mechanical work, it's money in the bank no matter how you slice it, not to mention the experience gained and the ability to appreciate the fine engineering that has gone into our beloved VW's.
never accept anything that you can imagine being done better .
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in the end, i went with LED's cuz they match the efficient turbo diesel theme so well. i love the intense color and light they put out, which certainly can't be matched by an incandesent solution. i fully respect the minimal/dirt cheap VW style, but i lean more towards the top notch German factory style. way i see it, anytime a fella does his/her own mechanical work, it's money in the bank no matter how you slice it, not to mention the experience gained and the ability to appreciate the fine engineering that has gone into our beloved VW's.
never accept anything that you can imagine being done better .
oh i agree,,this tip was more a thing i remembered we did back in the day,,the led's nowadays are 10X better,we(hillfolk) dont dirtball everything :? only reason my car is crappy looking is it was crapX10 when i began,now its down to a crap3 factor, we resurrect old pieces of crap so they can live for a little longer..i have a nice car, a 91 jetta 2 door 1.9/ 1.6 head,na diesel,,its a cherry in and out and i do the clean euro thing on that car , like the single round front(crystal clears/red led city lights),and m3 tails, removed rear muffler,added dtm tip,nice +cleen,its slow right now, its a pimpin car,but im gonna do a stock turbo install on this car,its gonna be so clean you will think its factory.this rabbit (race)bucket isnt worth it to bling it out... say no to bling+rust :D
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:) Roger that.
I only have one car, which I hope will one day be better than stock by a fair margin. I have gotten a ***e load of inspiration and ideas from this site to be certain, and fully intend to euro-pimp my ride diesel style, when I'm not 'broke as a joke' anymore :roll: :cry: It's the little things like my LED project that keep the interest level high.
BTW hillfolk'r, I was reading about your drag diesel, speaking about focused project cars, and wondered whether you have a custom copper HG and headstuds installed to be running full boost like you do?
Cheers for the project rides!
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:) Roger that.
I.
wondered whether you have a custom copper HG and headstuds installed to be running full boost like you do?
Cheers for the project rides!
no,,dont scare me,,im runnin head studs though,,if you get a very smooth head surface the mls gaskets are good,my decks were cleaned with 1000 grit on the rebuild,i did some research at work on this,,basically get em smooth..... anyways,im makin ok money where i work, but ill get way better back east though.. i /we have some saved up otherwise,,but i/we dont dig into it,i call that sorta like cheating, pretend its not there,i think even if i won the lottery,i would sink a ton of money in my vws,while others would get new cars... wow a million dollar bunny,drool,,.....but if the furnace blows up tomorrow,i know i can pay for a new one if needed, not like ill be freezing on the street,,,,i dont like gettin way extended out there,ihate bills :twisted:
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92A2, you seem to be where i am. The little projects to keep the car interesting while "broke as a joke" (lol). Now my time has come to make money and soon to start on the monster of a diesel!
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heres some history for all you "kids",i hope this isnt too ratty for you
someday itll get the full resto it deserves,really,ihave to figure out what to do,,a stock restoration,or boltons etc,,i dunno,ive got time
[/url]http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2589706http://
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re-emerging a very old post for what it's worth because i read a post about someone wanting LED dash lights but i can't find the post now.
I just put super "brite" whites (LED's) from a flash light into my dash and all i did was solder the correct resistors on the inside contacts on the printed circuit board. I believe i used 2 pairs of 100 ohm 1/4 watt resistors for each light to make sure they don't burn out or catch fire.
If you do not protect the led's you will be running several watts through an LED that can only handle at most 1 or 2 watts. If you use a 100 ohm resistor by it's self it can't take the current and it will burn up after about 5 minutes of them being on and possibly start a fire inside the dash. There are single resistors that you can buy instead of soldering up 2 pairs of resistors but these 100 ohm ones cost pennies and so long as you do a clean job it works great.
I can post a pic of my dash if anyone cares to know how bright (or how much of an improvement) they are.
I was given the resistors by a friend who has hundreds of them and this upgrade cost me absolutely nothing. Maybe 5 minutes soldering them up. Be careful not to melt the printed circuit board though!!!
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Can you post some pics when you're done ed? 8)
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pics would be sweet
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Oh im so sorry!
i just put the whole dash in the car the night before last. I'll take some of the lights on right now though?
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One of these is really blurry and i apologize but on photobucket i can't tell which one
(http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/edmcclung/SSPX0301.jpg)
(http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/edmcclung/SSPX0302.jpg)
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Can you dim them?
I hate brite lights but the actual White color is nice.
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It runs of the same switch as the normal lights.
I just changed the wiring to accept LED's.
The dimmer does the same thing.
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My 1981 Caddy is completely LEDs, except for the headlights. I got them all here; http://www.superbrightleds.com/led_prods.htm
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My 1981 Caddy is completely LEDs, except for the headlights. I got them all here; http://www.superbrightleds.com/led_prods.htm
That's one of my favorite sites. Have yet to buy something but there's a want for sure..
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Forgive me for bringing up the dead, and forgive me if I missed it, but how many LED's are in the Dash cluster? Looking to have mine replaced and would appreciate some info.
Thanks in advance.
Stay safe, stay well. Jimmy
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My MK2 has 3, one at the clock in the bottom which I left as a standard bulb and 2 at the top of the main gauges.
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My MK2 has 3, one at the clock in the bottom which I left as a standard bulb and 2 at the top of the main gauges.
Thanks.I also forgot to mention it was a Mk2 (89), but I ordered 7 since they were cheap enough.
Stay safe, stay well. Jimmy.