ok well first im swapping gauges clusters. ( no tach to tach) and im took my new cluster completely apart and i want to put leds in to light up the needles. i took the old bulbs out of the green clips and my question is how would i wire the leds. would i use leds with a resistor on the or with out. thanks in advance. its a 98 cavalier with a 98 cluster.
Depends on the LEDs. I can tell you the voltage running to those lights is a 12v-14.4v source. So adjust accordingly, using Ohm's law (resistance in ohms = voltage in volts / current in amps). This means the resistor size you want follows:
x = (14.4 - [voltage drop across your LED, or the "forward voltage"]) / (current the LED draws, or "forward current")
If I use a 3.5v LED that requires 20mA of current, I get:
x = (14.4 - 3.5) / .02
x = 545 ohms. Take the resistor rated next highest from 545 (which would be 560 ohm).
With that said, just remove the green clips if you do this and solder the LEDs directly to the board. The green clips were just an obstacle for me, but your mileage may vary I guess.
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im puting my old tumbler? in to the cluster that has a tach so i have correct mileage. wouldnt i still need to use the green clips to hold the led in place?
could i just use these leds and just solder them in
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nvm i found all the info i need thanks.
clicky
i did mine using the leds at the very top of the page in green (194/168). plugged right into the sockets, work beautifully. also, the hvac are at the very bottom of the page, the #74 bulbs.
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So if I buy those bulbs on that page it's pretty much plug & play when I get the cluster apart?
You have any pictures of yours done?
I picked up Victor 194R red bulbs from the parts store and pulled the original clear bulbs out and put in the red ones. Kind of a PITA because the metal tabs on the socket are soldered to the bulb leads. Grand total of $4 and used a red sharpie on the two hvac bulbs.
check out my car domain page (the black car, link in my profile) it has a pick of my cluster that i did with red LEDs i did the HVAC too. Ahfunaki, if u need help lemme know, i live kinda in the same area as you. but the 2000+ clusers are harder to do because they need soldered in
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I bought some 168-compatible bulbs on eBay, with 6 LED each in "wide beam". I had to file some of the casing plastic off of them before they would fit in the holes in the cluster. I used a tiny precision screwdriver to pop the old bulbs out of the holders from the bottom (a couple broke doing this, but no problem), and worked the bare wires on the new bulbs to so that they lay against the contacts in the holder without even having to solder. I twisted the holders back into place, fiddled with them a bit until they all worked, and ended up with this:
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Friday, March 02, 2007 10:07 AM
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any one think if i just used 194 blue bulbs NON leds if it would be just as bright? cuz i have a few of them laying around.
yea coated. guess im useing leds then
I just bought 194's in red from Crappy Tire, they were like $2.69 for a pair, so i bought 6, luckily because i fudged my first 2. Mine aren't uber bright, but they are bright enough and look nice. One of my contacts off the green tabs isn't connecting properly, so one bulb is on about 30% of the time. Come spring when i won't freeze my knucles off, I'll go back in and bend the tab to ensure proper lighting.
yea well i just bought some 194 coated bulbs (blue) and swap them in and i just got done put them whole cluster in and it looks really nice. and the bulbs are pretty bright too but not as bright as leds.
