led lights

[jinos]

Hello guys, I just installed some LEDs BA9 in red for my white gauges and noticed it doesn't light well. I did alot of research on this site but can't find any on brightness info. Is there a big difference between a regular led bulb and a 4 bulb? Or does it light up the same? My friend advised I can add a relay which will brighten the LED, but I thought you can't with LED's. Correct me if that's wrong. Thanks.

[3.2 CAB]

I bought some of the LED lights when they were first being offered. I installed them and found that my factory bulbs actually worked a lot better than the LED lights. I bought a set of the Super Bright White lights and a set of the blue ones. Neither type was very satisfactory, so I re-installed my factory type bulbs, and they did a much better job of lighting the gauges. I now have 2 sets of the LED bulbs in my tool chest, the Super Bright White and the Blue types.

[Netspeed]

The big problem with LEDs is that although they may be as bright as a comparable incandescent bulb, they are very directional and don't spread the light as well as regular bulbs. Also, (and I could be wrong), I don't think adding a relay will help because it's not a bulb that needs more voltage...it's a diode.

[old man neri]

Ya, from what I understand it's the directional thing. However, you can purchase LEDs that are 'wide angle'. That might help.

[scottb]

Originally Posted by jinos

I did alot of research on this site but can't find any on brightness info.

There are a bunch of threads here that deal with using LEDs in gauges. Search again, and try different search criteria. You'll find them...