how hard is it to replace the interior lighting?
- Thread starter Opi
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SleekRunner
New member
Yeah extremely easy, just takes time, and BE PATIENT. Dont hurry things then you will break somethings plastic. Ive done a complete interior swap including gauges. I recommend V-LEDs. Ive used some autolumination and the quality isnt that great so i just switched to v-leds. Waste of time and money... Ive also heard good things about superbrightleds.
Heres a link to the gauge leds i used
2 V-LEDS 3 SMT HID WHITE WEDGE BASE DASH LIGHT BULBS 37 74
And a pic...
No hot spots and i Love them! If you have any more questions just lemme know id be glad to help out.
Opi
New member
those look useful thanks!
SleekRunner
New member
Yes, that is correct, still maintains full dimming capabilities. And good glad you like them! It took me 3 different LED types to find the right one. First set was cheapo from v-leds not bright enough, 2nd set autolumination*horrible quality, one led had barely any connection and would wobble in connector and would flicker on/off* then finally bought the currents which as you can tell get the job done! haha. Are you planning on doing just gauges or also doing the a/c controls, shifter, domes etc...?
I just did my heater control lights again as the sylvania ones I bought from the local parts store didnt fit right and created a loose connection. Anyway, I got replacement bulbs from the stealer and popped them in less than 5 min.
1. Pull the knobs off the heater controls
2. Pull the AC switch out
3. Pull the dash heater control/stereo dash surround back (careful as its secured with clips and I've already lost when it popped off).
4. Pull the heater control face off
5. Pull the bulbs and and remove the green condom cover and replace
6. Reinstall in reverse
1. Pull the knobs off the heater controls
2. Pull the AC switch out
3. Pull the dash heater control/stereo dash surround back (careful as its secured with clips and I've already lost when it popped off).
4. Pull the heater control face off
5. Pull the bulbs and and remove the green condom cover and replace
6. Reinstall in reverse
SleekRunner
New member
I kinda did a experiment on the a/c bulbs... Since there is only two spots for bulbs to go in i decided that it may have been hard to get leds to get a good spread. So i bought a 6in. LED strip, and a #74 adapter. I hardwired the strip to the adapter and plugged the socket into one of the bulb spots and ran the strip across the controls. It was a tight squeeze but it works great! It has 3m backing tape which held it in place inside the box.
Yeah i also had one of the clips come off and i caught it, but its kinda bent outta shape and wont go back on correctly, not to worried it still works fine.
Those bulbs are a PITA to grab onto... i had to get some pliers to get grip on the bulb to remove it. Im surprised the bulbs held up very well to the pressure i had to put on them to grab them. :zoom:
bak3rme
Senior Member
Yeah extremely easy, just takes time, and BE PATIENT. Dont hurry things then you will break somethings plastic. Ive done a complete interior swap including gauges. I recommend V-LEDs. Ive used some autolumination and the quality isnt that great so i just switched to v-leds. Waste of time and money... Ive also heard good things about superbrightleds.
Heres a link to the gauge leds i used
2 V-LEDS 3 SMT HID WHITE WEDGE BASE DASH LIGHT BULBS 37 74
And a pic...
No hot spots and i Love them! If you have any more questions just lemme know id be glad to help out.
everytime i see this i say im gunna do it..maybe i'll do it this time. how much am i looking at to spend if you dont mind asking anything over 60 bucks im not gunna do just for lighting. and in the pic it looks like there are hotspots..but u said there no hot spots. ...soooo...........i take ur word.
SleekRunner
New member
Okay okay... They are there. but its not that noticable compared to other brands ive used which have stood out redicilously. So you got meh! haha.
Well... Interior is really cheap to do i dont remember exactly the cost but it is at or below 60 if i remember correctly. Its been a while since ive done them, i did them before i joined the site. But i did see a guide to reference at first, so cant take all the credit haha. And do it! Its deffinitely worth it! When i first installed them i would love to look around at everything and see a nice white instead of that green.
Back to the hot spots. Yeah your correct they are there, but you cant tell the difference much its not glaring in your eye it just a slight bit brighter really not that much, you will probably only notice them if your the one driving the truck and look for them and know they are there. Its not an eye sore or distracting so IMO its worth it! Goodluck on the install dont break anything haha.:artist2:
SleekRunner
New member
The first time I swapped them out it took me about 30 mins. When you install them the + & - ends might not be the same. So it's the luck of the draw. You install them, turn lights on check them, and whatever isn't working take back apart then switch around and reinstall. That's what takes the most time. Plus when you first do it take your time with it. I used 3 different LEDs before I found the right one so I was used to it by the third time and it was so much quicker. So yeh in short 30 mins give or take. Btw this was my First mod so I was very careful and slow haha.
ok cool, yeah i haven't done many mods... i took apart my clock the other day and fixed that so i think i'd be able to figure out the dash. 30 min. isn't too bad either. Now i just need to figure out what color to do... I really like the look of white so I'll probably go with that. Thanks
xskydivingdudex
Senior Member
Are V-Leds.com that much better then superbrightleds.com? The prices are much higher compared to that of the other site. On super bright i could do the entire interior dash swap for around $20 + $5 shipping
So to put in the 3 LED's for my speedometer and gas meters do I need to take apart a lot of stuff? In that link to install new gauge faces it looks like there's a lot to do but I'm not sure if it's easier if I only want to change LED's.
I think I'm going to change the speedometer LED's along with the cigarette one and maybe my shifter. I already have some blue neon under the driver side near the gas pedal and passenger side
I think I'm going to change the speedometer LED's along with the cigarette one and maybe my shifter. I already have some blue neon under the driver side near the gas pedal and passenger side
SleekRunner
New member
Well superbright idk I've never used their stuff. But IMO I've learned that in LEDs u kinds have to pay the extra $ to get quality or bright enough stuff. I've used V-LEDs for all my stuff and I'm satisfied. So it's really your opinion and if you go with theirs I'm not sure how well it will come out. I'd say get v-LEDs but it's up to you. Yeah I'd go with white, or blue. I've seen some with blue that look great I may swap for Blue too see if I like it or not and may just switch every now and then haha. Not now that's 20$ I'd rather spend elsewhere.
SleekRunner
New member
Yeah I'd deffinitely go white or blue. Both IMO loon awesome!
Actually its not that hard only like
A few screws. And when you say speedometer do you mean jist the speedo bulb or jist gauges and not all interior. Cause just gauges deffinitely make a difference! Good luck! And since u have blue neon blue may look better. Just my .02. But you may what to look into way blue looks like.
Opi
New member
ideally i would like to do all of them. how in the world do you change the ignition ring light?
years ago i used superbright for license leds on my old acura cl and they were awesome haha thats all the experience i have with that company
GottaBeTRD
New member
i have used superbright after some of my autoluminations burnt out and after 4 months or so recently, one burnt out. but it could have just been a bad bulb?? no idea. just make sure you get the white you want, they have 3 different shades and the natural white looks good and all but if you have the cool white with natural white, it makes the natural look a little yellow.
SleekRunner
New member
Oh that's the really easy part. When taking apart the dash you remove the plastic piece over the ring it exposes the ring and a sleeve. There's a small plastic pin holding it on, just remove the pin, slide the ring out, and the wire that runs into back of the ring has the bulb. Follow it to where there's the bulb holder and twist to the left abd bulb slides out. Remove that bulb replace with led and reassemble. Kinda a rough run-through. Check on yota-tech their is a pretty good writeup on it. I just did a quickie. If u really need help I'll take some pics later if you want. Hope that helps! Goodluck.
Well, I was thinking of starting off with the area that is under the plastic (the temperature gauge, speedometer and the gas gauge) there are three LED's there right?
But would it make sense to do the AC, keyring and cigarette lighter at the same time? Do those have to come out to get to the speedometer area anyways?
And i think i agree with you that blue would look good with my blue neon. I like that idea better than the white for me.
Thanks
