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LED DASH BOARD BULBS


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Hi all. I have my dash out and am going to give the gauges a wee clean up. I was looking at he old bulbs and wandering about upgrading them to LED. Has anyone done this, did it work out and where did you buy them. 

 

Thanks in advance. 

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I use blue, as correct for an early car.

two.jpg

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I use blue, as correct for an early car.

Correct in what way, as you've lost me on that?!

Regards

Bill 

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1 hour ago, Bill944T said:

I use blue, as correct for an early car.

Correct in what way, as you've lost me on that?!

Regards

Bill 

'69 cars have blue filters in the gauges as standard Bill. If you look at this link it shows an original brochure where the blue dash lighting is mentioned. https://www.triumphexp.com/forum/tr6-tech-forum.2/dashboard-bulb-color.1442535/

 

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Early cars did have blue ish lighting though definitely not quite as "Blue" as that though.

Stuart.

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46 minutes ago, stuart said:

Early cars did have blue ish lighting though definitely not quite as "Blue" as that though.

Stuart.

It's not that bright in the dark Stuart, I like it so much I've just converted my MK1 GT6 to blue gauge lighting too

 

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10 minutes ago, Steve1 said:

Will the rheostat still work ok with this lighting?

In a word - no.  The resistance of the standard rheostat is much too low for that so the led bulbs will be on max brightness all the time.  You would need to replace it with a much higher resistance potentiometer if you want to vary the brightness. 

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8 minutes ago, murrayarnold said:

Whats a rheostat?

Ummm. You have a 1968 Morris Minor. Not biting :D

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1 minute ago, murrayarnold said:

Sorry. This is lost in me. OK ill Google it then. Thanks for the help. My cars all work perfectly. I only get to know the parts that don't work. 

Its the knob that adjusts the brightness of the gauge lights.

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5 minutes ago, murrayarnold said:

Sorry. This is lost in me. OK ill Google it then. Thanks for the help.

The problem with text is that one doesn't always know who's joking. My bad. A rheostat adjusts the resistance of a circuit. In the case of a TR6 it's what's behind the dimmer knob. It's inserted into the dash lighting circuit and acts to lower the voltage delivered to the bulbs, dimming them.

John

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OK. So its the dimmer switch. That was so much easier to say and understand is it not for anyone. And how does owning a 68 morris minor mean anything. There no dimmer swith in it. I really don't know why i started this post now

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Sorry for not being more specific in my post above. 

'Rheostat' is a rather old-fashioned term, usually describing a large wire-wound variable resistor connected in series with a load.  Wire-wound resistors are used where the current is high, as it is with standard light bulbs in this application, because it will get rather hot and a less robust type of resistor would burn out.  

The point is that the standard dimmer rheostat can only drop enough voltage to affect the bulb brightness if the current is relatively high. (voltage dropped = resistance times current)

 LEDs draw very little current so the voltage dropped is negligible and the control has little effect.  

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2 hours ago, murrayarnold said:

OK. So its the dimmer switch. That was so much easier to say and understand is it not for anyone. And how does owning a 68 morris minor mean anything. There no dimmer swith in it. I really don't know why i started this post now

Don't worry that comment escaped me as well :D

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On 1/13/2021 at 9:23 AM, iani said:

I use blue, as correct for an early car.

two.jpg

Ian,

I note that you've bypassed the rheostat/dimmer and installed a clock. This is something that I've been considering on my car. Did you cut the larger hole yourself or did you use a specialist woodworker? I'm bothered about damaging the surrounding veneer.  

Dave McD

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Hi Murray

I also fitted Blue LED's from classiccarleds and replaced the rheostat ( dimmer) with a Smiths clock supplied by Speedy Cables. I used a 52mm holesaw with fine teeth to cut the hole. Mask the area and practise on a similar material alternatively a joinery company will do this in a fraction of the time, save you buying kit you won't use again and easier on the nerves. It's worth checking the condition of the gauge glass when you're at it.

Good luck

Phil

104(1).jpg

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3 hours ago, Dave McDonald said:

Ian,

I note that you've bypassed the rheostat/dimmer and installed a clock. This is something that I've been considering on my car. Did you cut the larger hole yourself or did you use a specialist woodworker? I'm bothered about damaging the surrounding veneer.  

Dave McD

No Dave, I ordered the additional hole along with a replacement dashboard.

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