I have at least 50% of the lights in my dash out. I can barely read the speedometer at night. Also there is only one left for all of the HVAC controls. I am debating between LED and traditional bulbs. I never change the light level but do not want them to bright (I am the car's only driver). What LEDs (part#, brand etc.) fit the stock sockets and where can I get them inexpensively? What bulbs work best if I go that route? Also how many do I need to change all of them in my 1987 Monte Carlo LS?
Dash lighting question
- Thread starter tkruger
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https://www.superbrightleds.com/vehicle
Crazy amount of options and you can look the bulbs up by vehicle. Not too pricey either. You can find them on eBay cheaper but you get what you pay for with these. I think I replaced just about every bulb on my car for about $80 a couple of years ago.
Crazy amount of options and you can look the bulbs up by vehicle. Not too pricey either. You can find them on eBay cheaper but you get what you pay for with these. I think I replaced just about every bulb on my car for about $80 a couple of years ago.
As a reference for choosing the instrument lights, the 168 incandescent bulb is usually ~38 lumens and a 194 is ~24 lumens.
Good to know. I'll be taking my gauge cluster out soon to clean off the terminals, and replace bulbs. One thing you need to be cautious of... when using a similar bulb but at a higher wattage, it will be a hotter temperature bulb as well. I took apart my 3rd brake light to find the bulb housing was melted and it had crumbled apart...the last owner put in a higher wattage bulb to make it brighter.
I just did this in the Cutlass, too. Went with the eBay cheap ones, so we'll see how they hold up. They're no less bright than the original lamps anyway. If I could go brighter, I would, but I suspect the way the cluster is built plays into it. The indicators/blinkers/etc. are improved for sure. Also make sure you test them before you button everything back up. If one doesn't light up, turn it around 180* in the socket. They're diodes and as such are electrically directional. I think I got the longer ones with elements all around for inside the cluster, and the front-facing only ones for the indicators. I want to say I just used all 194 replacements, maybe the Monte dash is different.
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