LBZ: Anyone Done White LED Dash Lights?

[Combine Pilot]

I am considering doing the LED upgrade on my dash and want to do white LED's. I just installed Isspro gauges with white LED's and want to keep the dash matching. I'm not going to change the dash at all besides the lighting. Has anyone done white LED's and have pics they could share? I've searched and all i can find is blue and red LED's.

 

[Lparrill]

There was a thread on DF of a guy that tried to change his to white and there is a blue film on the the back of some parts that make it seem blue. I will did up the thread.

 

[Combine Pilot]

That'd be great. :thumb: I've been searching and haven't found anything yet but i will keep looking.

 

[Lparrill]

Same guy: just two parts of two different threads

End of Pages 7&8
http://www.duramaxforum.com/forum/alligator-diesel/154027-led-interior-swaps-7.html

http://www.duramaxforum.com/forum/interior/158429-blue-led-dash-2.html

 

[Combine Pilot]

Thanks. I found a thread that guy started too. I wonder how it would look if i did the dash white and left all the other stuff on the dash stock? Or maybe i could do just the 4x4 and foglight and headlight switches in orange or red? I just don't know.

 

[duratothemax]

its possible to do white, as in actual white.

 

[Combine Pilot]

Ooooooo! Me likey! :coolspot:

I think that white would match nicely.

 

[duratothemax]

[YOUTUBE]9GiqJhVSv3E[/YOUTUBE]

Ill take another video at night, but you can see the cool-white (not blue) look here.

the look I was going for was like the 07+ escalades, and the Lexus "optitron" instrument clusters.

It looks all black when its off; you cant see any numbers on my cluster when the truck is off, and then when you start the truck, the numbers light up white, and at night the needles illuminate a deep blue/purple/blacklight color.

I also got rid of the km/h markings, it cleans up the speedo a little and makes it less cluttered.

 

[duratothemax]

 

[Combine Pilot]

So can the "true" white illumination be obtained without too much trouble?

 

[duratothemax]

[YOUTUBE]rX76G73pc7o[/YOUTUBE]

I like having the backlighting on during the day too, because as you can see in this video, its not dark enough to have the headlights on, but its dark enough so that it would be hard to see a normal instrument cluster.

The "bright white" is visible here too. You might have to make it full screen and set it to HD to see it well.

 

[Cornell]

Ben your cluster looks amazing :hug:

 

[yellowchevy]

Wow Ben that looks really good :thumb:.
I'm assuming you used clear gauge needles, not the factory ones?
Did you use US speed needles and new back plate?

I thought you had an LED conversion kit on your website but last time I was there I couldn't find it.

I would like to do this next time I have my cluster apart.

Yellowchevy

 

[Combine Pilot]

Ben, why does your speedo only go to 120? I think something is wrong.

 

[duratothemax]

heres another one

 

[Combine Pilot]

That looks frickin great! :thumb: Definitely need to do at least the white leds in my dash.

 

[duratothemax]

the trick is to use these.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x24-White-...Parts_Accessories&hash=item588d8dc6c6&vxp=mtr

If you just do what everyone else does and solder single 5mm LED's directly in place of the stock incandescent bulbs, it ends up looking like crap and you get lots of hot spots, uneven lighting, etc.

Ditch the stock clear plastic "diffuser" thing, and use those "angel eye" SMT LED kits behind each of the gauges.

As you can see in the pic I posted, there are no hot spots and the lighting is very close to "perfectly even"

 

[duratothemax]

I also cut out the filter over the DIC display.

Now it looks like a more muted "forest green" color, compared to the original blue/green 1980's looking color.

 

[duratothemax]

I used blue needles with black hub from here:
http://www.fixmygauges.com/Pointers.html

and then I also lit the blue needles with blue LED's. Thats how I got the blue so "blue". If you light up those needles with white light, they look kinda baby blue, its a little silly looking.

With mine, blue needles lit with blue LED's, pictures dont do it justice; in person the needles are a deep blue/purple color...they look just like "black light" color.

The needles are also lit separately from the rest of the cluster, as I said before. So when I turn the key on, just the needles light up...and then when the engine starts, the background gauges light up.

 

[Combine Pilot]

So did you have to put resistors in when you installed those angel eye leds?