LED s14 gauge cluster bulbs. What do you use?

[afiser]

Originally Posted by afiser

one question tho, it seems so simple that im not sure about it. could you put the resistor on the 12v wiring going TO the button out side of the actual button? i know the fsm shows which wires are positive and which ones are negative going to the button. im just not 100% sure.

to follow up on this post

i put resistors on the illumination wire going to the buttons i changed to led's instead of putting it on the bulb and it seems to work totally fine. just put the resistor on the red with blue strip wire (12v illumination) that goes to the button and thats it. i put led's in my power window button (which was a bitch had to use hot glue to keep the led in place and still have power) and the defrost button and both buttons still function perfectly.

[DFWZenki]

Originally Posted by S14Serge

This has been an amazing thread! Alot of the simple questions I had about switching my cluster bulbs have been answered! Thanks guys

Glad we could help!!
Where in dallas are you from?

Originally Posted by afiser

to follow up on this post

i put resistors on the illumination wire going to the buttons i changed to led's instead of putting it on the bulb and it seems to work totally fine. just put the resistor on the red with blue strip wire (12v illumination) that goes to the button and thats it. i put led's in my power window button (which was a bitch had to use hot glue to keep the led in place and still have power) and the defrost button and both buttons still function perfectly.

Awesome. I was wondering if this would work.
Thanks for the follow up!

[importdude]

Here was my cluster and Dome light

[smoakie976]

Originally Posted by importdude

Here was my cluster and Dome light

How did you get your cluster to look that bright? I used the blue LEDs from superbrightleds.com the single beam and the needles are dark.

[smoakie976]

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._3968128_n.jpg

[Mister.E]

So im about to purchase some LEDs for my cluster and i would like to do the climate control at the same time. has anyone found any drop in LEDs that will work well in the USDM climate control and not cause hot spots? if not are there any good bright regular bulbs that can be used instead?

[enkei2k]

Originally Posted by E Double

So im about to purchase some LEDs for my cluster and i would like to do the climate control at the same time. has anyone found any drop in LEDs that will work well in the USDM climate control and not cause hot spots? if not are there any good bright regular bulbs that can be used instead?

I used direct drop in from superbrightLEDs.com but it has hot spots best way if you don't want hot spots is to do what DaPCWiz did with his and solder them..

here's a pic of the drop in's I used:





from this link:
Instrument Cluster and Gauge Backlights - Super Bright LEDs

I used the NEOx wedge xHP and choose the 3mm size ones.

[Mister.E]

Damnit, those were the ones that i was gonna buy too. I guess ill just get some replacement bulbs and call it a day, i cant deal with hot spots nor do i care enough about my car to go through the trouble of soldering a bunch of LEDs in.

[joshls2]

just get some wide angle component leds w/resistors and wire them in. you might as well sense you have to take the whole thing apart anyway.

it shouldn't be that hard. eg. get 120º or 180º angle lights for the buttons and slider and a 360º for the blower speed knob. and if u flatten the dome top of the leds u'll get a way better light output to eliminate the whole hotspot issue.

heres a link for ya to show u what I mean: http://www.nissanpacific.com/forum/s...ead.php?t=4029

[s14tan]

Anyone know how to fix the light for the window switches in a S14??

[ELECTRO]

Hey, this thread is absolutely great. Thank you all so much for your input. I've got a couple questions even after reading through the thread twice.

1. When replacing ONLY the 3 main bulbs on the back of the instrument cluster with these bulbs (T3-1/4 (#194/168) type bulbs with High Power SMD. Wide Angle LEDs radially mounted emitting 360 degrees. 12 Volt DC operation), do you need to wire in resisters or is it a straight plug and play.

2. When you change said bulbs out, does that also light the needles as well? I've seen the intelliglow needle kits. Are those special needles that have an LED mounted in them?

3. Is the HVAC led swap out without hot spots going to basically be a good weekend project down the road? It seems that it's a bit time consuming to go in and place several smaller LED's to get good coverage. Does anyone have tutorial pics on this process?

Thanks everyone so much for your help. I'm really looking forward to getting back to my S14.5 . I'm even seeing if I can get someone to convert over my AEM gauges to blue instead of the standard red. It's going to look baller!!!

[ELECTRO]

Originally Posted by joshls2

and if u flatten the dome top of the leds u'll get a way better light output to eliminate the whole hotspot issue.

Can you explain how to flatten it out? I would think doing something like sanding it down would dull the light output considerably. Do you mean by melting it down? Thanks.

[Chay G]

smd leds on cluster and corner lights




and a couple of this at my backup lights

[EJ8 944]

Originally Posted by ELECTRO

Can you explain how to flatten it out? I would think doing something like sanding it down would dull the light output considerably. Do you mean by melting it down? Thanks.

I think he means sanding them down, the diffused light will spread more evenly.

[slydin240sx]

Originally Posted by Chay G

smd leds on cluster and corner lights




and a couple of this at my backup lights

Boss! More info on where you got bulbs? Links?

[Turbo Nismo]

Originally Posted by importdude

Here was my cluster and Dome light

That's how I want mine to look like! Sick!!

[J.bell]

On Ebay Look up "194 SMD LED", for the large lights in the cluster, and "74 SMD LED" for the small corner bulbs and clock bulb. Alot of the Ebay stores for bulbs have pics of what the output light color looks like, and the angle of projection. If you get the "carbus error free", they have resistors already in the bulb carriers and should retain dimming function. One of the US sellers has these bulbs in 10 pks, 30$ for 194's, and 15$ for 74's. The great thing about getting ten is if you have changeable bulbs in your boost gauge etc. , you can swap those with the 194 left overs so they match the cluster lights. Also make sure u get them from a US seller, I made the mistake of ordering from Kong Hong and they took a month to arrive. And ontop of that, they were'nt white SMD's, they were normal leds that had a blueish output with lots of dark spots in the cluster. And Im not waiting two months for an exchange.

[Dorifto Machine]

Thanks for the links and such.

Question: My time was showing up on my s14 cluster and now it doesnt. It still looks like the digitizer is dim/ lit, but is that the bulb that I need to replace for the digits on the clock to show up or is it a malfunction with the cluster itself ?

[J.bell]

Originally Posted by Photool

Thanks for the links and such.

Question: My time was showing up on my s14 cluster and now it doesnt. It still looks like the digitizer is dim/ lit, but is that the bulb that I need to replace for the digits on the clock to show up or is it a malfunction with the cluster itself ?

I dont think bulbs can fix that problem. Id say its a cluster problem. Bulb only illuminates the display so it can be read in the dark.

[Promise Land]

This thread has been helpful, so thanks for everyone that has posted. I looked at V-LEDS and superbrightleds.com (with a coupon code) for the options. I went with white on both options.

WLED-xHP5: LED T10 Wedge Base Bulb
Options: WLED-WHP5: Natural White -> bought 3

NEOx-xHP: NEOx High Power LED Instrument bulb
Options: NEO3-WHP: 3mm NEO3-xHP Cool White -> bought 3

I think the gauges will be a clear white, but the a/c lights may be a blueish tint. We'll see. Total with USPS shipping was $26.47 (after coupon code). The V-LEDS was about $28 with shipping (they make you buy pairs vs. individual bulbs).

I'll post the final pictures of before and after like others have done.

[blueshark123]

whats the code i need to order from superbrightleds.

[Promise Land]

I used RE619 for a 5% discount. It was one one of their ads.

[WERDdabuilder]

save yourself the time and just get some


no hotspots like with LED shit. i used the 5wedge LEDs for 1min and took them out because of hotspots(unless you do that shit right like mike from clear corners). put in the Sylvania and 10x better, BWM-esque.

[az_240]

^those are orange...... bleh.

No hotspots here and I use LEDs.
Still looking for a nice white #74 clock bulb...like this


All the ones I've tried are blue.

[Promise Land]

Has anyone reapplied the blue silicone covers from the OEM bulbs to the white LEDs?

[az_240]

^They wouldn't fit.... you'd have to find some LEDs with a glass bulb OEM style housing. You're better off just getting blue or green LEDs IMO.

[Dorifto Machine]

Originally Posted by J.bell

I dont think bulbs can fix that problem. Id say its a cluster problem. Bulb only illuminates the display so it can be read in the dark.

I found the problem with the time not showing up. It was a fuse in the kick panel that was blown.

[Dorifto Machine]

Originally Posted by WERDdabuilder

no hotspots like with LED shit. i used the 5wedge LEDs for 1min and took them out because of hotspots(unless you do that shit right like mike from clear corners). put in the Sylvania and 10x better, BWM-esque.

Think you can take a shot of your cluster with the Sylvanias in it please, I would like to see the difference ?

[slydin240sx]

For anyone wondering what 194 smd led's look like in the s14 zenki corner lights. I have yet to decide on what color I want to use for my cluster. Sorry to get off topic a bit.

I ordered a pair for my license plate lights too.

[kouki_drifter]

Originally Posted by az_240

I've been through a couple sets of wide angle "hyper white" led bulbs in my 97' but always get a blotchy blue color.

^what I have now. It looks bluer and duller in person.

Miniature Wedge Base Bulbs - Super Bright LEDs
^anybody have experience with these 360* bulbs? Im wondering how white the cool white bulbs really are.

I'm looking for some bulbs that will give my cluster a crisp white color without looking blotchy... preferably with a clock bulb.

Post up what you have and please be specific.

i got the WLED-x5
Miniature Wedge Base Bulbs - Super Bright LEDs

on my yamaha R1 accent lights their pretty dam bright im using the cool blue, i was actually thinking of using them on my cluster i will post some pics of mine once its all done