Also keep in mind that we are looking at different types of light generating products.  Fluorescent, for instance, will have very different light characteristics when compared to LED or incandescent.  In the world of light, there are many opinions as to what is good and bad.  I've found where some people like the effects of fluorescent, I really cannot stand it.  There are also factors involved in LED lighting that can have an effect on how you see the light as well.   I've noticed that some LED bulbs, even at the same color temperature, have vastly different refresh frequencies.  Some of the cheap LED's for instance, show a slight flicker (to me anyway) when you move your head from side to side.  The more expensive and better quality bulbs do not have this problem.  I also noted that you guys don't like the direct LED's facing toward you, but, the refracted light feels much better.  It's all in what you prefer, really.  Here's a good page on color temperature for those who have a few minutes of light reading.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature

It looks like the paddle-style bulbs I was putting in the gauges are not that popular; you can't find them on eBay.  Currently you can find domed or tower style bulbs.

  On 4/3/2016 at 5:51 AM, Lumens said:

3000K warm white is not natural daylight color. Natural daylight color is 5000-5500K. I sell it.

You sell daylight? Awesome! I will put an order in now for next winter!

TomoHawk, I can't believe those paddlewheels aren't on ebay. I thought they were everywhere!

  On 4/3/2016 at 2:30 PM, wheee! said:

You sell daylight? Awesome! I will put an order in now for next winter!

I like a good pun and all, but that's just sad.  ?

So I got my car put back together and did some night time driving for the first time this season and got to try out my new pulse width dimmer and dash LED's. I'm thrilled with the results of how the job turned out. I know it's really hard to describe with words how bright the LED's are now, but I would say... "They are a little brighter than the original incandescents turned all the way up, but they are a purer white than the originals."

 

Here's the LED bulbs that I used. Six on the left with the top emitter removed and a 240 Ohm resistor built into the base. These are for everything other than the clock. The clock wanted a little more brightness due to the construction of the clock and the way the light has more internal obstructions before it gets to the face. Because of that, I used a 150 Ohm resistor for the clock emitter. And the wedge base paddlewheel on the right was for the HVAC panel. I shorted out all the original resistors an inserted a 1K Ohm resistor in series with the whole device. For that one, I broke the original ground side connection and inserted the resistor there.

 

All of them are warm white, and here they are all done and glued back together ready for install:

 

And here's a closeup of the paddlewheel for the HVAC trying to show how I inserted the 1k:

 

  On 4/4/2016 at 1:29 PM, Captain Obvious said:

I can't believe those paddlewheels aren't on ebay. I thought they were everywhere!

YOU can still find them, but only in small quantities.  Originally I bought a bag of 10, and now I can  only find them on pairs, and some weird-looking tower designs.

I had a hard time finding them too...

I recently used this auction to restock my supply of paddlewheel LED bulbs. You only get 4, but hopefully you only pay shipping once for a larger quantity, so order 12 if you can. I suppose the tower  bulbs are pretty much the same in terms of illumination, but I haven't tried them yet.

I keep seeing reference t 5730 or 5050 SMD LED chips/emitters. I haven't found any information discussing the differences so you can make an informed decision when buying the bulbs.

Edited April 4, 20169 yr by TomoHawk

How about this paddlewheel LED bulb, with 24 5050 (5x5mm) emmiters? Stick one of these in your heater  panel! 

BA9S 2.5W white T11 Led 24 SMD 2835 Canbus Error Free W6W 5050 Lamps

Edited April 4, 20169 yr by TomoHawk

  On 4/4/2016 at 1:38 PM, Captain Obvious said:

Here's the LED bulbs that I used. Six on the left with the top emitter removed and a 240 Ohm resistor built into the base. These are for everything other than the clock. The clock wanted a little more brightness due to the construction of the clock and the way the light has more internal obstructions before it gets to the face. Because of that, I used a 150 Ohm resistor for the clock emitter. And the wedge base paddlewheel on the right was for the HVAC panel. I shorted out all the original resistors an inserted a 1K Ohm resistor in series with the whole device. For that one, I broke the original ground side connection and inserted the resistor there.

Awesome!  are you going to provide kits for members to upgrade theirs too?  Put me on the list. 

If you do sell, I am interested in a complete set for the interior of my '77 280Z 2+2!

  On 4/4/2016 at 4:20 PM, TomoHawk said:

II keep seeing reference t 5730 or 5050 SMD LED chips/emitters. I haven't found any information discussing the differences

TomoHawk, Those 5730 or 5050 number designations for the LED emitters are a "series number" relating to physical size. The numbers are in millimeters with an assumed decimal point.

 

For example, 5050 is a square outline package that measures 5.0 by 5.0 mm on the sides.

Other example, 5730 is a rectangular package that measures 5.7 mm by 3.0 mm on the sides.

 

Those numbers don't tell you anything else like color, hue, manufacturer, brightness... Just size. Consumer packaged LED technology is moving very quickly right now, and everything is volatile. In fact, that may be why there aren't as many of those eight emitter paddlewheels on ebay. It's volatile.