What is the best way to increase brightness in gauges?

[SlantnoseSD]

I am looking to make the lights in my gauge brighter and came across these LED's on Ebay. They only come in rted or blue so I'm not sure how they would look but would they damage anything?

Has anyone done a upgrade to their gauge lighting and what have you used?

Also, just to mention that I am not planning on buying these because I think this guy is way over priced and I am sure I could find these same bulbs for under $1 somewhere on the internet.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-911-914-930-Instrument-Panel-Led-Gauge-Kit_W0QQitemZ130008118142QQihZ003QQcategoryZ33713Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Oh Haha]

Try just replacing your olda$$ bulbs first. It made a huge difference in my guages. If original, they are at least 20-25 years old. There are others here who have upgraded to LED but for me the cost was too much to justify when I needed others parts.

[Rot 911]

What Wayne said. I replace all of mine and while not as bright as what you see on cars today, there was still a noticeable difference.

[Early_S_Man]

1. Remove your bulb holders one at a time and clean & polish both the Faston tab and the holder body with HD rubbing compound or metal polish ... until bright and shiny brass is all you can see. Clean the Faston cnnector at each bulb with vinegar and old toothbrush, then rinse with distilled water ... you should see slight 'pink' coloration of the copper in the brass alloy! Put a small amount of Dow Corning 4 or 111 Silicone Grease on the tab and Faston connector and reconnect.

2. Clean the ground tab and connector at each instrument and treat with silicone grease.

3. Replace the bulbs.

Improvement should be quite visible!

[Jack Olsen]

Do a search. There have been lots of discussions on this. The short answer is: there's an expensive way to do it that works pretty well -- and no one's found an inexpensive way that works really well, yet.

Don't waste your time on colored LED lights, though.

[75blkcarrera]

My 75 had the originals and they were ready for the bone yard. Went to the LED ones and have no complaint at all. Purchased form on of our own Pelicans. (If you don't care if (it) is period correct.) JC

[Carl83911]

Who manufactures these bulbs?

[JLGarbanzo]

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=755

Look at the very bottom of the page. I bought the ultra white bulbs about 2 weeks ago.

In my opinion, there is a slight improvement, but i think brand new incandescent bulbs probably do a better job.

[qlander]

LED and white faces NH speedo. Expensive but worth it.

Q.

[acapella8]

subscribing to this thread.

[mmastro]

If you replace your bulbs with new ones, you should see a big difference (as said previously).

The tungsten heat cycle is to blame for the dull light emitted from old bulbs. The tungsten oxide that gets released from the filament, when incandescent, deposits on the upper inside surface of the glass envelope as a greyish black/mirrored substance. This occurs over years of use. This diminishes the amount of light emitted and notches the tungsten filament, which eventually results in a blown bulb.

[Miguel Antonett]

Forgive my ignorance... but:

How do you I get to the bulb holders?

Do I need to remove the gauges from the dash?

[SlantnoseSD]

Originally posted by qlander
LED and white faces NH speedo. Expensive but worth it.

Q.

Damn, thats almost too bright

[SlantnoseSD]

How many bulbs are required?

[steve911]

Originally posted by Miguel Antonett
Forgive my ignorance... but:

How do you I get to the bulb holders?

Do I need to remove the gauges from the dash?

Yes, the bulbs are in the back of each of the gauges. To remove the gauges, GENTLY pry them out with a putty knife -- they are only held in by the friction of the rubber against the dash.

If memory serves me, there are 2 different types of bulbs used, depending upon the gauge. The smaller gauges have 2 bulbs each I think, and the tach/speedo each have 3.

Once you have the speedo out, turn it over. The 3 bulbs are in their own holders (denoted with a red ring). Pry the entire holder out from the back of the speedo - DON'T TRY AND TWIST THEM OUT BEFORE REMOVING THE HOLDERS FROM THE BACK OF THE SPEEDO. The bulbs have bayonet-type mounts. If you try and twist them out while still in the gauge, the bulb can fall into the gauge (ask me how I know).

Follow Warren's instructions on cleaning the bulb holders and replace with new bulbs.

And Jack's correct - search. You'll find the actual bulb numbers in prior threads.

[Miguel Antonett]

Good deal, thanks.

This forum is just AWESOME!!!!!!!

[Craig 930 RS]

If you have the patience and skill (and possibly new parts) lining the instrument cans with foil tape made a h u g e difference in my old 3.6 -

[Miguel Antonett]

Craig911, What do you mean with lining the instrument cans?

[Craig 930 RS]

inside the housing - apply HVAC foil tape

[Won]

Or one could polish or chrome the inside to match the Fuchs... er.. no.