Dashboard Light Bulbs - Where to buy?

[tmiron]

Hey Guys,
I took apart my dash to replace the master brake cylinder. While in there I noticed a few of my dashboard lightbulbs were out. Anyone know where to get them? I did a quick google search and asked at Napa but no luck.

Thanks!

[Burntboot]

I was lazy and got them from the dealer, as the originals have been around for 20+ years, figured it was a safe bet, not like they are an expensive item.
The ones with the green condoms aren't available anymore but if you get them nice and soapy, in warm water, you can usually slip them off and onto the new bulbs. I used a tiny flat blade screwdriver that is so worn all the edges are smooth, worked well for sliding under the condom and working it around to loosen the green. Only tore one but I had a few spares, if you don't mind the white illumination you can skip the whole process and they are a tad brighter without the cover.
For what it's worth, most of the bulbs are a standard #194 peanut bulb. The pack I installed was from an automatic and also had a few of those super mini peanut bulbs (#174?) They were in the trans temp/overdrive slots.
Also a good bet to change them ALL while your there (not just the burnt ones) and clean the pack while you have it out.
It's worth the time it takes as the difference with fresh bulbs and clean lenses is like having a new car.
It's amazing how bright the pack is when all the bulbs are working, I actually have to use the dimmer now.
BB

[timsrv]

LED's are cool (literally). They also draw much less current so that's a win/win for a project like this. They are also brighter than standard dash lights (win/win/win). The really small ones can be a pain to use because they operate at about 3 vdc (if you feed them straight 12v they will burn out). Fortunately for us all the general illumination bulbs in the van's cluster are standard 168 wedge bulbs (with green "condoms" on them ). This is fortunate because they make this style LED bulb with the resistor already built into the base (so you can upgrade to these with very little effort).


If you venture over to the heater controls, then you get into the really small bulbs (3.5 mm) & for those I use Linrose B4304H96-5pk Super Brite in blue. This is the part number for a pack of 5. I got these ones at Fry's Electronics (a geek heaven superstore). These can be purchased in any color you like, but the part number changes a bit. I think the "B" in the front of the part number indicates color. As mentioned above, these are the super small bulbs that cannot be run directly on 12vdc (or they will burn out). To prevent burn-out I use NTE 1/2W 680 ohm resistors (one per LED). Here's some pics of the LEDs / resistors I used and a pic of the fan switch out of my Previa after I installed the LEDs in the sockets and added the resistors:



See the resistors in the clear shrink tube under the sockets:


On the circuits with one or more bulbs you can use multiple resistors (one per bulb) wired in parallel to each other but in series with the LED or you can install just one resistor (of an adjusted value) in circuits with multiple LEDs. Example: circuits with 2 LEDs would use a 340 ohm or you could use a 170 ohm resistor in a circuit with 4 LEDs. In order to get the required voltage drop, always wire the resistor(s) in series with the LED(s).

As for the instrument cluster, installation of the T10-5 LED's is easy because they are already set up to run on 12vdc. Here is a picture I took of my vans instrument cluster. All the grey sockets with green stripes on the backs are your back-light illumination. There are a total of 4.



Here's a stock incandescent bulb:


Here are the Super Bright T10-5's I got on eBay:




And here's what it looks like after installing them:


Important note: Unlike incandescent lights, LED lights are polarity sensitive. Wedge bases are not polarity keyed, so it's important to install them in a specific direction. The easiest way to do this is to install them, then power the circuit. If any of the lights don't work, pull them back out, rotate 180 deg & put them back in. Tim

[TheMAN]

does the dimmer still work with the LEDs? I replaced all the dashboard illumination bulbs in my Previa with brand new ones from the dealer.... those Toshiba bulbs last longer than anything else easily available in the market, so it was worth the extra money considering the amount of work involved replacing just one bulb! I know 194 bulbs work and are the "same", but they're really long life 2825 bulbs but the Japanese made Toshiba bulbs are really that much better... those smaller bulbs used for the HVAC controls aren't easy to replace either and I got tired of the aftermarket ones I get from the parts store burning out after a few years, so those too were replaced with ones from Toyota... even some of the bulbs used for the buttons were replaced because they only work intermittently since years ago

[timsrv]

Yes, the dimmer still works. The dimmer you run them the longer they last, but LEDs last for such a very long time anyhow it's likely they'll outlive the van. Tim

PS: #194 bulbs are about the same dimensions, but if I remember right they are brighter and produce more heat than #168 bulbs. I'd worry slightly about too much heat inside the cluster & possibly melting or discoloring the plastic inside. Tim

[tmiron]

Ok you've sold me on the LEDs. They are super cheap, draw less power, and are brighter. I'f I'm understanding this right, I can buy T10-5 #168 and replace the current bulbs with no problem. Does the 5 in "T10-5" mean they have to be 5 watts? or maybe .5 watts? How do you get the old bulbs out of the little grey housing? I noticed the ones you used timserv are the round style LEDs and they also sell them in the square style. Do you know if either would fit?

Square Style:



Round Style:


Thanks for the help with all of my questions! PS the blue LEDs look awesome!!

[timsrv]

You'd be safe with the round type. The other type might work too, but keep in mind our dash bulbs are T-3.25 (not T-5). The T-5 rating refers to the shape/size of the bulb (not watts). A T-5 incandescent is about twice as big as a T-3.25 incandescent (although it has the same wedge base). FWIW a T-5 incandescent would NOT fit in the cluster.........but some low profile T-5 LEDs will. At the time I got my LEDs the T-3.25 LEDs were not available, so I took a chance with the T-5. They were tight but worked well. They were bigger around (where the side bulbs stick out) & had to be put in sideways and wigged to get them in. Tim

PS: I just noticed your signature says you have an 84 van. I'm assuming these use the same dash bulbs as the 86-89 vans.............but don't know for sure as I haven't messed around much with 84 - 85 vans.

Correction on my earlier post: 168 bulbs are 5 watts, 194 bulbs are only 4 watts, so if you go incandescent, the 194's would be slightly dimmer & run slightly cooler.

[TheMAN]

actually you got this mixed up

168 is 3 watts
194 is 4 watts
and 2825 is 5 watts
all identical sizes and wedge bases

[timsrv]

I guess I had it right the 1st time . Actually, I think they vary depending on manufacturer & grade. They are all close enough to be interchanged I guess. Not sure why there needs to be so many choices. Tim

[tmiron]

When I pulled out my bulbs, they said 158 on them. I ended up ordering these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400428841903



They are the same exact size as the original bulbs that are in there. I'll post a how to once they get here and are all installed

[JDM VANMAN]

tmiron,

thanks for for the ebay link, I'm looking to redo my dash lights too this summer, have you installed yours? If so let's check'm out

Thank you

oh yes.... And Tim thank you for the documentation and pics on this thread, they look amazing!!

[tmiron]

http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...=9790#post9790

tmiron,

thanks for for the ebay link, I'm looking to redo my dash lights too this summer, have you installed yours? If so let's check'm out

Thank you

oh yes.... And Tim thank you for the documentation and pics on this thread, they look amazing!!

[JDM VANMAN]

i'm looking to pickup the the cluster bulbs and been digging around, how do these looks as far as being the right specs??

http://www.amazon.com/SUNGETACE®-Deg...ght+t10-5+blue

and how many are used in the cluster just 2?

thank you

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[timsrv]

The LED market is a bit unpredictable. There's a lot of junk out there and also some very good products. Seems like every time I buy there's something new and the stuff I used before is NLA. Those are probably good, but it's always a roll of the dice. It's been a while since I put LEDs in a van cluster, but I seem to remember there being 4 general illumination bulbs there. Tim

PS: For general illumination, you typically want the light to diffuse over a large area. The bulbs in your link have the correct base, but appear to be a bit focused. If they are too focused, you will end up bright spots where the bulbs are, but dim in other areas.

[timsrv]

I just went back and looked at that listing. I checked out all the pics, and based on that I think these would be a good choice (regarding light diffusion). Be sure to post some pics and let us know how they work out. Tim

[JDM VANMAN]

Tim thank you for the reply, it's nice that they put the measurement on the bulb size in the illustration cause it would be a real pain to have it all apart and they don't fit. Do you happen to know the OEM bulb measurement?

Its gonna be a little while before I have this done, but I'm gonna order up the bulbs cause yes when I went on ebay and Amazon to search the bulbs mentioned in this thread I wasn't able to locate them.
But yes I'll be sure to post when I get them done.

Thank you

[timsrv]

Stock bulbs are about 1" tall (top to bottom including base) and ~ .4" diameter.

[spacecruisers]

Ever since installing LED's in my gauge cluster, I've had a few weird issues:

• Fuel light always on
• brake, oil, charge stay on dimly - only notice it in the dark
• dash backlights come on when braking even with the headlights turned off

Anyone that could help troubleshoot?
Im at a loss and would hate to have to pull the cluster and put incandescents back in...


for reference, heres the bulbs I bought from superbrightleds.com: