Keith Winston Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 Hello, tinkering with my instruments. Any advise and thoughts on replacing bulbs with LED? Are they dimmable? Couldn’t find to much in the search. Thanks Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steves_TR6 Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 I fitted led instrument bulbs with a dimmer, but its not simple ! the led dimmer i bought on ebay required control of the 0v line as well at the 12v line our cars earth the instrument bulbs via their sockets and have only a single 12v feed. so i bought new bulb fittings made of plastic which had two wires for 0v and 12v wired these in to the new dimmer, note i did NOT cut the old sockets out just added new ones in addition and removed the bulbs from the old. the variable resistor bolted into the original location and all looks original and works well ! hth steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Keith Winston Posted April 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 Thank you, So if I put a set of led bulbs, say from eBay and did a straight swap, they wouldn’t dim, but would work. If the volume was turned up full on the original dimmer vr. ? Ps you wouldn’t have a tip to brighten up the red square on my temp gauge ? one good thing about owning a tr, there’s always something to do. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steves_TR6 Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 Yes Keith, leds should work with the dimmer turned up. sorry, no tips for gauges except to refurb or at least clean the glass! steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 (edited) The position of the original dimmer will make no difference; wherever you set it LEDS will remain at full brightness. It has too low a resistance to reduce the current enough to dim the bulbs. Edited April 1, 2020 by RobH Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fireman049 Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 I fitted a set of LED bulbs in the instruments on my 3A. They are 'brilliant'! They do not dim with the rheostat switch but why fit bright bulbs and then want to dim them?? Tom. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AarhusTr6 Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 Hi I find often the bulb holder that then presses into the dial often pops out on some of them, really annoying!! Rich Quote Link to post Share on other sites
barkerwilliams Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 I fitted green LEDs a few years ago I do not think they need dimming. The gauges are now very clear to read but are not that "bright" in that they would need dimming. If you are thinking of LED's I would do a little research into the colours available as they may not all have the same visibility. I am very happy with the result, Alan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter V W Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 I also have green LED’s. no dimming. all fine, see photo. Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
iani Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 (edited) Here are mine in blue, I removed the rheostat and just joined the wires together. Edited April 1, 2020 by iani Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AndyR100 Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 I changed to white on my 4, but when driving at night I found they were just a bit too ‘crisp’, changed to green now which I prefer. ....... Andy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevenphillips Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 Hi Keith I recently changed all mine including the oil pressure, ignition, high beam indicators and instrument illumination. I used a combination of wattage lamps to achieve enough light to not be too bright and didn't worry about the rheostat as I previously never really dimmed them when they were the standard incandescent. Take a look at my previous thread as I did find that when you change the flasher unit to enable the indicators to work correctly you will also need to make sure you use the 'p' terminal from the flasher unit otherwise the dash turn indicator only works for the RHS as the leds have polarity. All will be clear if you read the thread. Other very helpful chaps from this forum inserted links for parts I needed. Anyway suffice to say I think the led lamps all round are a great improvement and my indicators have never worked this good in the 23 YEARS I've had my 6 Regards Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drewmotty Posted April 2, 2020 Report Share Posted April 2, 2020 (edited) I found that I needed the lamps with side mounted chips for the instruments but they were just too long to fit into the TR3 warning lamps for which the single chip units were ideal. Both types were supplied by Bad Boy Classics who can be found on eBay or online. Edited April 2, 2020 by Drewmotty Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DRD Posted April 2, 2020 Report Share Posted April 2, 2020 Please be aware that there are some really poor LED bulbs out there. I had some from eBay that broke when you screwed them into the holder. The best supplier I found was Classic Car LEDS, who are also on eBay, but you can order direct from their own website. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tom hall Posted April 2, 2020 Report Share Posted April 2, 2020 There has been a previous posting on here about the possible unsuitability of LED lamps in the ignition warning light, as the alternator needs an initial resistance (ie a conventional lamp) to make it charge. I have this afternoon changed back from a LED in that lamp to the original lamp and the problem of the ignition warning lamp not extinguishing until about 3000 rpm was instantly cured. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andy Moltu Posted April 2, 2020 Report Share Posted April 2, 2020 The ignition warning lamp does have to be a standard bulb for the alternator to work but all the rest can be changed. I went for white and I don't find them too bright but ultimately the colour is down to personal preference. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.