Super white gauges like a Lexus!

[DrewQ45]

You must be talking about the 05Q because I'm sure you know that there is a green light on the cruise on/off switch on the 90Q. Mine was burned out when I bought my Q and I had to replace the microlamp.

I was talking about backlighting of the lettering such as you'd see on the HVAC buttons. The green button only lights when you turn it on, otherwise it's dark in that area. I didn't even know the rear defog (the symbol) lit up until someone told me. Fixed that with a diode.

[Ozzie]

The rear defogger switch lights up?(goes out to car, organises the soldring iron )

Time to get busy!

[qship96]

my 96q cruise lettering lights up

[Q451990]

What do you call the Focus? Do you substitue the "o" with another "u"?

That's what I've called it since the day they announced it's production!

Hate to say it, but my 90' locks automatically when I drive off. The design team must have been slacking off that day and forgot.

Do you have an aftermarket alarm? If so it's a function of that... the car didn't come with that feature from the factory. Neither did the wife's G, which is bone stock... bugs the crap out of me to find a switch...

Heath

[Ozzie]

Mine locks itself once you go over 15 km/h, and no aftermarket alarm system, AFAIK...

And my rear demister switch now lights up, and I changed the other lights in the demister and cruise contol to superbright white LEDs

[TBrack]

wow, a lot of responses... I bought the leds from http://www.superbrightleds.com

I don't know why the pic looks like that but it has no dim spots what so ever with these bulbs. The $20 bulbs would look more like the Lexus lights I think because they put off a whiter and brighter light.

[DrewQ45]

Mine locks itself once you go over 15 km/h, and no aftermarket alarm system, AFAIK...

And my rear demister switch now lights up, and I changed the other lights in the demister and cruise contol to superbright white LEDs

Oz... you are a madman! I think we have all gone LED crazy! You know, I think if every light in the car was switched out to LEDs (one day in the future they'll be good enough for headlights), it would free up enough capacity in the electrical/charging system to do some wicked things or at the very least, greatly extend battery and Alternator life! When the time comes, I'll disable every bulb warning in the console. I think having to add a load along with LEDS is counter-productive.

To answer the previous question....yes I have an aftermarket alarm. It's one of those code-jumping models.

[3Q Jay]

Siju, that's exactly it. my '94 has it, and the '95 does not.

The front of the instrument cluster has an EL glow panel, which spans the complete width, that is painted matte black which gives a soft diffused light at night. Is that what is meant by the "Serenity Matte"?

so, i guess i have to find a (partial) '94 cluster and rob that piece. anyone knows whow it is powered?

[Ozzie]

Oz... you are a madman! I think we have all gone LED crazy!

It starts with one......

[superuber]

wow, a lot of responses... I bought the leds from http://www.superbrightleds.com

I don't know why the pic looks like that but it has no dim spots what so ever with these bulbs. The $20 bulbs would look more like the Lexus lights I think because they put off a whiter and brighter light.

Thanks for the link. How many bulbs did you use.

[TBrack]

the gauges take 3 wedge bulbs. The clock takes 2 mini wedge bulbs.

[superuber]

Thanks, Did the bulbs fit ok? I know sometimes those led bulbs run big.Hey, are you going to Carlisle? I just registered to park at Nicofest!

[elwesso]

Did they plug right in or did they require soldering and stuff?

[superuber]

They just plug right in. They do have positive and negative poles.So if it doesn't work you flip it. Wes, are you parking with us?

[elwesso]

They just plug right in. They do have positive and negative poles.So if it doesn't work you flip it. Wes, are you parking with us?

At carlisle, yes. I havent registered yet but I will this weekend. Did you register for the entire weekend, or just for one day?? Im not sure I'll be at the park enough on friday to justify it, but we'll see... But I'll be parking with the cool kids...

Im gonna get in contact with you and Peter this week and the rest of the people in the area to find a place to meet.. Kind of a bummer, my Q is in the worst shape since I've owned the vehicle..

[superuber]

I registered for the whole thing. I don't think you can register for just one day. I will be there really early Saturday morning. I plan on being theremost of the day so we can talk there too. Like I said before you can come to the shop for a visit also. I'm like 10 minutes from the fairgrounds! I could run home to use the bathroom!

[db_autotek]

I'm looking forward to doing this mod too. For clarification, are these ( #74's) the ones which go into the clock?

http://www.superbrightleds.com/specs/74_t15.htm

[q45VIP]

Can you still use the dimmer function with these bulbs on?

Ive changed the bulbs around the shifter with LEDs and I cant dimm those lil' bastards.

[DrewQ45]

The leds I put in the dash and HVAC dim fine.

[db_autotek]

From what I know of LEDs and electrical theory, what makes some LEDs dimmable with the factory dimmer, and some others will stay constant; is whats called forward voltage. This is basically the voltage that goes into the bulb. Obviously, the factory bulbs (incadecent/fillament type) have a baseline forward voltage of 12 volts. When you turn the dimmer, less voltage goes to the bulbs, making them dimmer... probly down to 7 or 8 volts I would guess... maybe a little less 'cause the Q45 can get dark! Now all the LEDs I've found have very low forward voltage, 2 volts or less usually. This means that you must use a resistor to bring the 12 car volts down to the 1 or 2 volts that the LEDs need. (see "Ohm's Law" ) Some LED have Vf of up to 5 volts, but they still won't dim with the dimmer. Best case scenario that you get some LEDs with a Vf of 5 volts, and for some silly reason you don't use a resistor, they still won't be dimmable. Now we get down to the simple mathmatics of it: if the best-case-scenario 5Vf LEDs are connected to your 12 source, they are still only going to accept 5 of those volts to function at makimum brightness. So, with your dimmer all the way down there is still way more voltage than the 5Vf that the LEDs need to funciton at maximum brightness. So therefore, the LED's don't even know the difference when you turn the dimmer up or down.

Another scenario which is most common: you get some LEDs with a Vf of 1 to 3 volts, and use the correct resistor so you don't burn them up in ten minutes. Now sorry for the Barney lesson, but this is helpful to know. With the CORRECT resistor, the commonly used LEDs will only have the 1 to 3 volts going into them. So whether you have the dimmer on full (12-13 volts) or all the way down (7 or 8 volts), there is still way more voltage than the resistor needs to still get the full voltage to the LEDs, making them function on full brightness.

The interesting thing I noticed while examining the specs sheets on superbrightleds.com is that their LED bulbs for car interiors have a forward voltage ( Vf ) of 12 volts. This means that they will opperate at maximum brightness at 12 volts. So whenever you turn down the dimmer, those LEDs will dim like factory!!!

It's easy to get sidetracked here and I can see the questions comming. "But I thought LEDs use less electricity than factory bulbs??" Well yeah. Even though the ones on superbrightleds.com have a Vf of 12 volts like the factory fillament bulbs, you have to remember that power use is measured in watts and amps. The LEDs, no matter what the Vf is, are still using only fractions of the watts that the factory bulbs are using, which frees up a little bit of stress on the factory wiring/alternator/battery. Realistically, if you changed all your bulbs (except headlights of course) with LEDs then you could dramatically reduce the power consumption of your lighting system. Here's a real-world application to help that concept make sense: in your house there's 120 volts at every wall socket. If you change all the light bulbs in your house from 60watt light bulbs to 40watt light bulbs, you could stand to see a good savings in your power bill. Here's yet another real-world application for you car audio guys!! Lets say you buy an amp for your regular 10inch subwoofer, and the amp is rated at 400 watts. Nothing special, sounds good and your headlights don't dim out when the bass hits. Soon you want more and then you get a big fat sub and a matching amp that uses 1100 watts. Now you're gonna have some lighting issues when the bass hits.

Well this post was a little long-winded, but hopefully it clears up some of the confusion about LEDs. It took me years to sort throught all the b/s and come up with an understanding. If you don't want to search for the dimmable LEDs (12 Vf) or if you don't want/need them to dim then you can learn more about Ohm's Law and how to calculate the resistor size you will need for a given LED's Vf, check out this posting in The12Volt

http://www.the12volt.com/insta...&PN=1

[TBrack]

Thanks, Did the bulbs fit ok? I know sometimes those led bulbs run big.Hey, are you going to Carlisle? I just registered to park at Nicofest!

nope I won't be there.

I'm looking forward to doing this mod too. For clarification, are these ( #74's) the ones which go into the clock?

http://www.superbrightleds.com/specs/74_t15.htm

yep.

The leds I put in the dash and HVAC dim fine.

yea they dim normally

[q45VIP]

Thanks db, lots of good info.

Ill go with the 12v led for my gauges.

[DrewQ45]

Thanks db, lots of good info.

Ill go with the 12v led for my gauges.

Well, I stuck with OEM bulbs. Here's a twist... Super Red gauges like a BMW. A very pleasing effect... the red gauges seem to float in a bluish-greenish serenity matte not able to be caught in the photos. I wish I'd have done this a long time ago.

Gauges in top photo seem brighter due to longer exposure setting. Bottom photo more in line with how it really looks. I've already sold my Pioneer HU (green display) and am getting a clarion with customizable illumination, MP3, bluetooth capable...etc.





...Drew...
Modified by DrewQ45 at 7:18 AM 4/30/2007

[db_autotek]

Holy crap thats awesome! How did you do it? Please tell.. I like how it now matches the odo screen.

[Ozzie]

All the info is in this thread....you just have to read it.....

[DrewQ45]

Holy crap thats awesome! How did you do it? Please tell.. I like how it now matches the odo screen.

I picked up two pairs of red gel caps at Pep boys and pushed them onto the three OEM bulbs that light the cluster. I also did the bulb on the gear shifter. Cheap $8.00 mod that looks like a million bucks. The match with the odo look better IRL as the long exposure created a blue effect.

Advice, wipe the bulbs off with rubbing alcohol or brake cleaner and avoid touching the glass with your fingertips.

[db_autotek]

Thanks! I've seen the gel caps at Poopboys and always wondered how they would look. Now I know! Thanks I'll give it a shot. I might get the red ones and some blue ones and see which ones I like. I'm still gonna go with LEDs eventually, but in the meantime for fun I'll try the gelcaps.

Another question: is there an easy way or a trick to getting to the bulb in the the shifter? I took the window switch bezel out and looked.. I see four screws that look like a real pain. Is that how it must be done?

[DrewQ45]

Thanks! I've seen the gel caps at Poopboys and always wondered how they would look. Now I know! Thanks I'll give it a shot. I might get the red ones and some blue ones and see which ones I like. I'm still gonna go with LEDs eventually, but in the meantime for fun I'll try the gelcaps.

Another question: is there an easy way or a trick to getting to the bulb in the the shifter? I took the window switch bezel out and looked.. I see four screws that look like a real pain. Is that how it must be done?

zerothread/244016

I thought about LEDs in the cluster but the gel caps are so much cheaper and simpler. If a bulb blows (never happened on my car, 212K) then I can just transfer the gel cap to a new bulb. I have LEDs all thru the dash and door switches.
Modified by DrewQ45 at 12:53 PM 4/30/2007

[TBrack]

do NOT get the blue ones. I had them in before the white leds and it looks like **** and you can barely make out where the needle is.

[NASCARLANCE]

Does anyone know if these same LEDs will work in a j30?I want to change my gauge cluster and hvac control lights to amber. I have a couple that are blown and need to change them anyway.Is there any where else to get the gel-caps? I could go that route, but I don't have a PepBoys anywhere near me.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their know-how, NL