Replace dash lights with LED's

[JPSpen]

Does anyone know where to get LED replacements for the 601 lamps used in the dash lights?

thanks

John

[steamboatjohn]

Although they don't have them on their website, cyclegadets.com might be a good place to start

[Malki]

Not that I've ever pulled my bulbs out in public - but are they not 501'S ? might make your search a little easier.

[JPSpen]

Yeah, I think 601 is the wrong number.. Now that I look closer neither the owners manual or the service manual give the number for the telltale lights...

I'll call the dealer this morning and find out the correct number....we'll go from there..

I think they have them at PepBoys..

John

[Dick]

I think they have them at PepBoys..

John

Wal-Mart haz 'em. IF you're talking about the backlights that surround the speedo/tach area. Not sure if they're LED tho --- the one's I used when I replaced some that were toast, were 12v #74/BP2. In the auto dept. HTH.

[bmwriders]

You can order them from one of two places www.autolumination.com or www.superbrightleds.com
Hope this helps. I have blue dash LEDs on my bike K12RS but they are not as bright as the white but still readable.

[dshealey]

Wal-Mart haz 'em. IF you're talking about the backlights that surround the speedo/tach area. Not sure if they're LED tho --- the one's I used when I replaced some that were toast, were 12v #74/BP2. In the auto dept. HTH.

The #74 bulbs are close, but not actually the correct bulb. They are a little larger, and may make the socket too loose when the correct bulb is installed at a later date.

The European bulb is available at most auto parts stores, Sylvaina #2721. The Sylvania Eropean spec. bulbs are in black/green packaging. I have bought them at Kragen and Pep Boys.

The #74 bulb is a T1 3/4 size, 1.4 watt, 500 hour rated life
The #2721 bulb s a T1 1/2 size, 1.2 watt, 1000 hour rated life.

[JPSpen]

2721, That's the magic number....Thanks David

John

[gulfxray]

John, when you get 'em replaced, let us know how it went ok?

[JPSpen]

no worries shawn.. I'm gonna have to order the led's . I just picked up a pak of replacement lamps in the meantime... Going for Red I think.....


Later

John

[gulfxray]

Cool! Maybe in the spring we can have another RTE in the OKC area and I can check 'em out.

Of course the way the weather is, that could be any time now! :eek:

[mark7ltd]

When you start to age, 5's look just like 6's!

[JPSpen]

Led's ordered... Sent by first class mail so they should be here probably wed or thu..

I'm just gonna leav the w/s cover and windshield off until I get them ....

Keep you posted..

John

[JPSpen]

Got my led's in and installed today. Looks Great.. Got the #74-R for red..

from :


http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=CAR&keywords=&cart_id=6139125.19322&next=50

No installation issues. Fit perfectly.

Picture enclosed.

John

[ecirwin]

I just thought I would throw in a little something here. Red lights are better for night vision than amber, green, blue, or white. I don't have any real science to back this up, although I'm sure I could find some. Just an example that always seems to work.

Have you ever noticed how much an LED lit clock will light up a pitch black room, unless it uses red LED's? If you don't believe me, just look for yourself. The more the color of the light moves from red to blue, the more you can actually see the light from the clock in the room. It seems that our eyes are less sensitive to reds, at least while in the dark.

When I had the dash torn apart on my LT, the first thing I did was to darken the cruise control lens with a black marker. That amber light glowing in the corner of my eye was a nuisance. I could actually see the glow coming off the backside of the windscreen. Now that the light has to shine through the marker and lens, it is much more subdued.

I just might do this red LED thing this spring. Looks like a good idea.
Eric

[Dezrae]

Red lights are pretty cool actually and are damn near impossible to be seen at night time under the correct conditions.

try this at home.

get a standard old torch that emits a started white beam and got to a dark park or dark area at night with some friends.
have about 50 meters between you and u friends and turn the light on and point it direct at the ground by your side.

yell out to them and ask them if they can see it.
you will get a a definate yes.
now turn the torch off and sticky tape come red celophane over the lens and cover the whole lens of the torch and point it directly at the ground and switch it on again.
yell out to your frineds and ask them what they see.
they will be lucky if the see anything i will be suprised if they see anything at all.
you on the other hand will see red on the ground and you can even raise the torch a little and point in front so you can see the ground better.
dont lift the torch too high of they will see the torch.

this is an old trick i learnt when i was a kid in scouts. a nifty idea to see your way round bush when playing "stalk the lantern" or similar at night time.

[Motomadman]

John did you replace any of the other lights in the dash with LEDs? ( Turn indicator,Low Fuel, High Beam, Temp, etc. etc. etc.

[JPSpen]

No craig I didn't. Just wanted to change the dash to red.... the other lights that normally don't shine anyway unless there is a prob are fine for me the way they are...

I also plan on doing the stingray when I finally get it apart again to do my annual and intercom/gps/trailer wiring/aux lighting.

John

[swaanimal]

So, John, how many LED's did you need for the conversion?

You're conversion looks so good, I may do it myself next time I'm under the tuperware!

[JPSpen]

Gosh don't really remember, I think it took 5 or 6 for the dash, I ordered a 10 pak..
Think it was 16 bucks with shipping..

John

[usa-medic]

Are these the bulbs you got?

74 Wedge Base LED bulb
Small Wedge Base LED bulb (74 type)
3/16 inch wide base, 13/16 inch overall length
Flat tipped LED produces wide beam angle
$ 1.19

[JPSpen]

Yup. Them's the ones...

By the way, You can't do the radio stingray display the same way..i've got mine apart now and it's going to have to take another method...., More on that later when it's done. Each button has it's own individual led in the center of the switch and the readout has a row of smd led's underneath it... I'm going to use Gel ( plastic ) to cover these to change them to red. They're currently yellow so the change should work out. I'll post on this method with pictures when I get it done probably tonight..

John

[ecirwin]

John,

It sounds like you are going to try this anyway, but I will say that putting a red filter in front of an amber LED should basically lead to no light at all. LED's have a very narrow light spectrum. Of course, this kind of depends on the quality of the filter. At any rate, it should not change the color of light to red. At most it should just darken them.

Eric

[JPSpen]

Eric,

I'm glad that I didn't read that before I tried my conversion...It might have discouraged me... :)

Check em out..
http://www.bmwlt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5871

John

[ecirwin]

Very Nice, and also surpirsing. Still not sure how amber light gives you red in the end. Maybe those amber LED's have more red in them than I suspected. LED's that I have seen spec'd are for a given wavelength. Different materials used in the manufacture of the LED's give off different wavelengths of light. If you can remember about 30 years ago, LED's only came in red. Since then they have developed different materials to give different colors, with white being the latest.

I am really glad that it worked for you though. I am sure that lots of people will be copying this one!

Eric

[Gino]

Maybe those amber LED's have more red in them than I suspected. LED's that I have seen spec'd are for a given wavelength.

One thing to remember is that, although LEDs are supposed to be monochromatic, they are typically specified with a "center wavelength" and are not precise. They can be off by as high as +/- 100nm (that's why RED LEDs have a RED plastic lens - to enhance the "center" color to compensate for the variance).

So the "amber" LEDs probably have enough energy at "red" to work great.

[Toolman]

Well, I ordered and installed the red LED lights in my instrument cluster. Got the suggested #74 red LED wedge base bulbs from superbrightleds.com. I am VERY dissatisfied with the result. It's so dim that I can barely make out the odometer. Checked and rechecked to make sure they're all working....which they are. Just don't like it. It's also has lots of "uneveness" to the light. Some areas brighter/dimmer than others.

S, I'm going to go back to incandescent bulbs. I like the red color, so I'm gonna try some red glass incadescents. Bought some today from http://autolumination.com/74.htm for 99 cents a piece. I'll post my results when I get them changed out.

FWIW, I also modified my radio backlighting (like jpspen did) witht he red colored tape over the SM LED's on the radios circuit board. I am very happy with that as it's plenty bright enough.

[Toolman]

Got the red incadenscent bulbs installed yesterday. MUCH, MUCH better. Brightness is very good now.

Anybody want to buy 10 red LED #74 wedge base bulbs?

[mdrose]

Gentlemen
It appears the LED folks have something to offer now. heres the link.
SuperBrightLED (http://superbrightleds.com/mini-wedge.html)

Ref to an earlier posting, the generic 74 bulb is short lived and I don't believe is a worthy replacement. Make the effort to locate and order 2721, after all who wants to open the top of the dash to change bulb once a year.

Have a nice day. :)

[Toolman]

mdrose, those are the exact bulbs (and from the same vendor) that I got. Se my post above....I was VERY disappointed in their lack of brightness. So, I went with red incadescent bulbs instead. MUCH MUCH better. If you want those LEDs, I've got ten of 'em I'll sell ya. Make me an offer.

Toolman

[mdrose]

Toolman

Sorry, I'm waiting for LED manufactures to come out with either a brighter LED (simular to the luxeon LED) or a LED flood panel before I jump into LED's for the bike.

FYI, if you would like to see a 3 watt LED device, heres the URL. http://www.luxeonstar.com/item.php?id=1810&link_str=330&partno=LXK2-PW12-R00

The only catch with these LED's is, they're raw devices, packaging and the curcuits need to operate them is something you would have to come up with. ---<< Know any electronic engineers with to much time on their hands.>>---

Later

[deputy5211]

The magic of this site is it is almost a year after this thread ran, and the information in it is going to help me solve an issue on my own bike this year!

[Zotter]

Wonder if Toolman ever sold those LEDs he didn't like so much...

[airborneod]

Eric,

I'm glad that I didn't read that before I tried my conversion...It might have discouraged me... :)

Check em out..
http://www.bmwlt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5871

John

I'm looking for a little help. I want to do the red radio illumination bu can'tseem to get the cover off.I took the stingray off, removed the back panels, removed the 3 phillips head screws but still can't get the radio cover off....Am I missing something? I will do the red tail lamp material same as yours....

Thanks

[JPSpen]

Geez, It's been so long now since I did it I don't remember...

Looking at the drawing in the service manual it looks like there are 5 screws.

three around the top round portion and two more by where the wiring enters..

HTH

JOhn

[acs5166]

I was interested in reading all these posts, but I'm a bit confused. My manual says DIN 72 601 is the right bulb. I saw some posts saying 501. Maybe they changed in different years (mine is 2000).

I also saw a suggestion to go to the 2721 because it was the right socket size over the 74. I bought some Sylvania 2723's which are a bit hotter (2.3W) than the 2721's but the same size. A photo is attached showing that the 2723 is smaller than the original. The original is on the right side, the 2723 is on the left. It wobbles a bit in the socket but sure lights up nicely.

Any thoughts?

[deputy5211]

Jack,

If you want to really dress up your dash, do a seach for my thread on group buy for LEDs. I am getting ready to do another bulk order, and will be happy to include your wish-list items for you.