LED bulbs

[dons56]

One of the issues we have with our older cars is the bulbs lighting the gages.  These days it is hard enough just finding a source for the correct bulbs.  If you get too high a watt it can do nasty things to dash parts, especially plastic.  Too low a watt and you can't see the turn indicator in the daytime.  In addition to that, some of the bulbs are hard to reach and replacing them is not a quick or fun job.  It would appear that the perfect answer would be LED bulbs.   In my mind there are a few questions one should answer before jumping in head first.

 

Do they have bulbs with the right base for my applications?

How bright are the bulbs? 

Can you get brighter bulbs?  Will they generate a lot of heat?

What about color?  Will it change the appearance of my instrument cluster?

Will the change cause any problems, i.e. more than just how fast the turn indicator blinks?

What will it set me back to replace everything?

Does anyone sell a kit to supply all I need?

Anybody have a favorite source?

Is there any reason I should not go to LEDs

 

I am sure there are questions I have not thought of at this time but any help in this area would be appreciated.

 

[Daves1940Buick56S]

Just be sure to get the warmest in color temp that you can. Our old panels have a fabulous look with the small incandescents of about 2400 K and replacing them with something approaching 5000 K would ruin it IMHO.

 

Also LED replacements for 6V are rare, if you have 12V you will have some choices.

 

Cheers, Dave

[JohnD1956]

One of the guys I know has changed all his bulbs to LED's.  But that's on a 69 GS.  He claims everything is brighter but when I looked at it in operation I did not really see a difference.  I do not know if there are LED's for the dash illumination on the 56, but I imagine one would be best seeking these in the Chevrolet parts world, if you really want to try it.  In my opinion, I don't drive the 56 enough at night to warrant the time, cost, and effort to make this change. 

[Beemon]

LED bulbs almost generate no heat. The heat from incandescent bulbs comes from the filament, something the LED doesn't have. However, you would need a special dimmer switch to control the brightness of the bulbs. Because LEDs are not resistors like traditional bulbs and will not be affected by a change in load, they're either on or off. You can probably find them online, but LED bulb technology, at least in the automotive world, is really lacking. LED bulbs require a projector to diffuse the light properly because it only shines in one direction, versus an incandescent bulb that shines omni-directional and only requires a reflector or nothing at all. It might look good in practice, but when installed it might look bad because the LED bulb, unless shining directly on the gauge, will not illuminate properly.

 

There are many online sources for bulbs, just stay away from the tower bulbs and single bulbs where the LED has a clear lense. LEDs are just now becoming descent for house lighting, it should be soon I would suspect that they will be getting better for automotive application.

[DonMicheletti]

Las Vegas Dave posted dash bulb information for 6 v cars a while back on the pre-war site

[Kosage Chavis]

I asked the same question about the application of LED lights about a year ago.  I will be following this thread.  I too, would like to convert the lighting in my car to LED, but only if there's improvement to the general illumination.

[NTX5467]

Automotive LEDs are evolving and seem to be improving in design and range of applications.  Many now have a barrel with several panels on the side, for "side" light, plus one on the end of the barrel for direct light.  

 

In older instrument clusters, you might be surprised at the dust that can accumulate on the gauges and illumination devices.  Perhaps a good cleaning and gentle "wipe-off" might make a difference?  Sometimes, there are cardboard rolls that direct light to a particular warning icon, and they can deteriorate, too.  I know that putting it all together and it staying operational is a definite consideration!

 

NTX5467

[Daves1940Buick56S]

Yes, and the filters can fade as well. When I redid my '40 dash, I used some Wratten gelatin filter stock to replace the green turn sig indicator filters. And red cel for the bright indicators.

 

Cheers, Dave

[dons56]

I thought I had checked the box to be notified of posts but I guess not.  I wondered why I had no responses, then I went back and looked only to find quite a bit.  Sorry.

 

Thank you all for your input.  I see lamps on Ebay but they are expensive.  I have noticed the price of household lamps dropping from from $15 each to around $2 the last time I bought.  That is an encouragement.  

 

Unlike household bulbs, I don't remember having any choices on color temperature.  That has concerned me.  Behind the turn signal indicator I think is less of a color concern since it has a colored lens to change the color anyway, although I think the lenses are fading.  I would not want a White light on the gages or speedometer.  There should be a yellowish cast such as the incandescent gives.

 

I wish I could get new plastic for the turn indicator because mine seem to have lost color intensity.  Never thought about a Wratten filter.  Not a term you often hear.  Are you an old school photographer?  That might help the color of the turn indicator.  I suppose I couId also try such in yellow or red to make the "white" warmer... I can surely live with incandescent everywhere except the turn indicator where it can be hard to see in daylight.  This along with LED lasting almost forever is what prompted me to consider this. I mean, some of those bulbs are hard to get to.

 

The service bulletins say to paint white as a reflector in the bulb area,  i wonder about silver paint or even a piece of foil to reflect better, Especially the left indicator on the '56.

[Daves1940Buick56S]

4 hours ago, dons56 said:

I wish I could get new plastic for the turn indicator because mine seem to have lost color intensity.  Never thought about a Wratten filter.  Not a term you often hear.  Are you an old school photographer?  That might help the color of the turn indicator.  I suppose I couId also try such in yellow or red to make the "white" warmer... I can surely live with incandescent everywhere except the turn indicator where it can be hard to see in daylight.  This along with LED lasting almost forever is what prompted me to consider this. I mean, some of those bulbs are hard to get to.

 

The service bulletins say to paint white as a reflector in the bulb area,  i wonder about silver paint or even a piece of foil to reflect better, Especially the left indicator on the '56.

Yup, very old school. I haul around a 4x5 view camera. You will find the Wratten filters on E-bay. As a side note, I detailed all of my dash overhaul in a prior thread that I started and it was published in the Bugle a couple of years ago, it lays it all out.

 

A filter might not do much good on LEDs as they have a spiky color spectrum due to quantum effects, rather than a continuous spectrum such as incandescent or sunlight. This is why they say to use the red LED lights on tailights rather than white LEDs and depending on the red glass lens to filter.

 

I would recommend white paint rather than silver. Silver will reflect specularly, but white will diffuse for a more even distribution.

 

Cheers, Dave

[dons56]

Thanks Dave.  If you can give me the month and year on that issue of the Bugle I would love to look it up.

 

I was born in '51.  My older brother taught me how to process my own film very early.  We estimate I was doing this by the time I was 10.  I have a 5X7 camera I have used (I try to use all of my old cameras at least once).  I have a variety of cameras from my Cycle-Poco 4, to the Graflex A3, to my grandma's Autograph Brownie, and several models of Minox, not to mention 35mm cameras out my ears.  These days I shoot with a Pentax K-10D.  I love mixing my hobbies.  You might like to check out Facebook.com/1956Buick.

 

Have a wonderful weekend...

 

[Daves1940Buick56S]

Let's see, May or June 2015. Here is a link to the original post:

 

This may be getting OT, but I too went into photography in a big way from about age 11.  35mm and 2 1/4 until college (RIT) where I switched to large format, 4x5 and 8x10. Still use the 4x5, 8x10 getting too heavy!

My website is dbstovall.com, have been in many shows and exhibits thru '14. Need to update the site but take a look.

 

Thanks, Dave

 

[dons56]

Thanks Dave.  I had planned to enter the Air Force as a photographer but this five foot nothing girl distracted me.  No regret with her but I have wondered how my life would have been different had I done that...

 

Eagerly looking forward to learning what you have done to the instruments of your '40.  I will be checking it out... Thanks again...