Rallye dash lights

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70Duster340

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What's everyone using? I replaced the OEM bulbs with a pack of LED's that were packaged specifically for an A body rallye dash, but they still don't seem very bright. I haven't installed the dash in the Duster yet, so I have been testing everything with a 12V lawnmower battery. Could that be an issue?

Thanks!
 
I have plans to do that, but right now the dash is out of the car. The LED's should be brighter than what I see, or am I expecting too much? I am hooking the lights to a lawn tractor battery, and just using alligator clips. Could this be an issue?

These LED's are the replacement for the OEM bulbs.
 
I would think the amps may help as in in the car engine running 14.6 volts from alternator? the lawnmower battery may be a little low on charge.
 
Are they dimmable LED's and do you have the instrument dimmer switch turned down?
 
Mike I did not think that any LED dash bulbs were dim able, I used the 2886X dash bulbs in my 66 they look just like the stock bulbs but are twice as bright and yes they are dim able. I could not see my gauges in my 66, but with these I have no problems now. I put them in my 68 also but have not fired it up yet, still do not have power to it yet. (SOON)
Bob
 
Sure, here it is:

Dash LED.jpg
 
I have used some with a lot more LEDs on the bulb, don’t know if that is a factor.
 
I left them in in mine and got plenty of light. I wanted it to look stock.

Some guys have put the programmable led strip lights around the interior of the cavity so they can change colors. I learned that after I did mine.
 
I don’t remember, it has been a couple years. I will look for some leftovers.
 
LEDs actually operate on 3 volts. If you were to break the end LED off you would find a resistor underneath, in the center of it, that reduces the voltage. 12 volts in or 14 volts in wouldn't make much difference. ( I dont know how headlight relays could have any effect on dash lighting either.) This is a pretty large cavity for only 4 illumination bulbs. If you were testing while out in the sunlight with original #158 incandescent bulbs, you could hardly tell they came on. Any will appear brighter in the car, in the dark. New vehicles have a lot more lights, lighted needles, etc.., so they light up well in daylight. You would need more than the 4 bulbs to get that look from a classic instrument panel.
 
RedFish said:
LEDs actually operate on 3 volts. If you were to break the end LED off you would find a resistor underneath, in the center of it, that reduces the voltage. 12 volts in or 14 volts in wouldn't make much difference. ( I dont know how headlight relays could have any effect on dash lighting either.) This is a pretty large cavity for only 4 illumination bulbs. If you were testing while out in the sunlight with original #158 incandescent bulbs, you could hardly tell they came on. Any will appear brighter in the car, in the dark. New vehicles have a lot more lights, lighted needles, etc.., so they light up well in daylight. You would need more than the 4 bulbs to get that look from a classic instrument panel.
Click to expand...
I tested the lights in the dark. No windows in my garage, so I hooked up the battery and turned the lights off. You can see the gauges, but I would have expected more light from these LED's.
 
70Duster340 said:
I tested the lights in the dark. No windows in my garage, so I hooked up the battery and turned the lights off. You can see the gauges, but I would have expected more light from these LED's.
Click to expand...
I used LED's from a place called superbrightleds.com. The dash LED's have the same shape as the originals. I got blue ones for the dash lights & high beam, red for the brake warning, and amber/red for the rest of the running lights. Very happy with the results. Had to get a different flasher (one with a ground wire) because the flashers that company sold did not work for my duster. Again, very happy with the results. Nice and bright, and are dimmable if you want less light.

Edit: Be sure to test before putting your cluster back in. LED's are polarized, so they will only illuminate if they are installed a certain way. Just take the socket out, twist 180*, and put it back in. For the front parking lights, I had to cut the wires going to the socket and reverse the connections. All good now.
 
Ricks70Duster340 said:
I used LED's from a place called superbrightleds.com. The dash LED's have the same shape as the originals. I got blue ones for the dash lights & high beam, red for the brake warning, and amber/red for the rest of the running lights. Very happy with the results. Had to get a different flasher (one with a ground wire) because the flashers that company sold did not work for my duster. Again, very happy with the results. Nice and bright, and are dimmable if you want less light.

Edit: Be sure to test before putting your cluster back in. LED's are polarized, so they will only illuminate if they are installed a certain way. Just take the socket out, twist 180*, and put it back in. For the front parking lights, I had to cut the wires going to the socket and reverse the connections. All good now.
Click to expand...
So, even though you only have 4 lights in the dash to illuminate the gauges, it does light up well?
 
The instrument panel bulbs look just like the originals. This is what I bought:

https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...odel=691&scc_id=1420&year=1970#/attributes/14

Edit: by the way: when I pull the headlight switch to turn on only my parking lights, the ammeter barely moves. That was not the case when using all the original incandescent bulbs! Think your electrical system will be much happier!

Second Edit: when I bought the car, the instrument lights were LED, but they were garbage. Half of them did not work and they were dim. The bulbs I replaced them with were perfect replacements, bright, and I'm very happy with the result.
 
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