The Ultimate LED Ba7s bulbs for Gauges ala ETarga (pic & vid)

[Reiver]

I really like the bright white as I have an aftermarket AFR gauge in place of the clock that came with led lighting. Good match.

[A horse with no name]

Whoa!...Now that's really of interest! ... LED's for our tail / brake / signal lights-> Let there be Light eh

[jonbek]

I purchased a set for my 3 gauge 912, vintage hue, which I thought I would share here. Excellent service, and a great product. Apologies for the poor photo. The light and hue is so good. At first I wasn't even impressed, and then I was impressed by the fact that I wasn't blinded by the new bulbs.

[FL911SC]

Hi Jake,
I am interested in an LED kit and shot you a PM with some questions and some details about my car.

Thanks,
Keith

[Driver_X]

Got my kit just a few days after placing my order, and I finally got a chance to install them last night before a late night drive via back roads to the Jersey shore. It took all of the ten minutes, and wow what a difference. I ordered the vintage color for my 74 and the color is just right. I should have measured, but it's got to be 4x as bright as before. I can't believe it took me so long to order these....

[Caledonian]

Thanks Jake
Happy with mine too, more details on other thread below.



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/7615372-post48.html

[joe payne]

Originally Posted by A horse with no name

Whoa!...Now that's really of interest! ... LED's for our tail / brake / signal lights-> Let there be Light eh

I tried a set of LED tail light/brake lights bulbs from over seas. They were a bit loose in the sockets, and when I got them in so they worked my parking brake light wouldn't turn off on the dash when I drove the car. Put back the old incandescent bulbs and the problem went away.

[DRACO A5OG]

Even my incandescent were loose in my tail light assembly sockets, had to use rubber orings to keep them stable.

Posting eTarga's LED tail lights shortly

[DennisS]

Since the light switch died and took out the wire to the gauge lights, I have pulled all the gauges and will rewire. While all this is apart I was thinking about brighter lights. I read all the threads but did not see where I could order nor a webpage.

[jonbek]

Just send eTarga a PM.

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by DRACO A5OG

Posting eTarga's LED tail lights shortly

Ehem.



I put my new Vintage style bulbs in this weekend, replacing the Superbright LEDs that I've had since Draco first tempted us with them a few years ago.


I haven't had a chance to drive in the dark yet, but even in my garage during the daytime, I could tell which gauges had the new bulbs, it was dramatic.

Protip: Don't look right at the LED while powered, it will make you see stars. They're that bright.

[Uneekone]

The metal contact pads inside the housing over time deflect inward and stay permanently deformed to accommodate the incandescent bulbs. I just replaced my brake lights with LED bulbs from superbrightled and had the same loose socket issue. I disconnected the battery and carefully pried the two contacts away from the back of the housing towards the cover lens using a very small flat head screw driver. After doing so the new LED bulbs were nice and snug once reinstalled...

The LED replacements are too tall for the side marker lenses though which caused the side reflectors to not fit. I used some black strip caulk from Eastwood to keep the front edges secured in place. When the lights are on the side markers illuminate the entire side of the road. Its impressive actually.

I also didn't need to mess around with the flashers. There was no difference in the signal speed once the LEDs were installed which was nice...

[cdagnolo]

Wow, Over two evenings, I've finally made it thru this entire thread. Amazing! Lord (and E Targa) only knows how many hits this thread is up to! I just don't think I've seen much on white gauge faces. I'm leaning toward the vintage lights but would love to see pics on white gauge faces. Any help?

Thanks,
cd

[Joeaksa]

CD,

One thing that is difficult to describe is the total change in lighting that these bulbs make.

I did a evening drive on Monday with the car and there is simply no way to compare them. Take the chance and get some!

Joe A

[Etarga]

CD, thank you for reading through 26 pages This is getting to be a pretty long story

Please drop me a PM and give my vintage LEDS a try, I think you will like them. If not, you can always exchange them for superwhites (those might be overkill with the white faced gauges) or you get a full refund if you don't like either. You can't lose either way

[FL911SC]

I read the thread, looked at the pictures and sent ETarga some questions before my decision. I pulled the trigger on Monday, had a tracking number on Tuesday and the bulbs were in my mail box on Friday.
I am new to the Porsche word and had never thought about pulling the gauges out of my dash. Over all the process was straight forward for which I will make a separate post (found here)
The one unexpected part of bulb installation I will note is that I had to remove the Momo steering hub adapter to get the tachometer out. So for those with a Momo wheel, have that 27mm socket ready.

Below are the before and after pictures. The new bulbs are awesome and I really do like them. I went with the ultra white in my 1979 Targa. Even before I removed the hub I had removed the steering wheel to get a good shot of the all the gauges.

If I am to be completely honest, the dash is brighter in the picture than in actuality. That said, it is 100% better (the two pictures show that) and I am 100% happy. Thank you Jake!

Lastly, those will a keen eye may note the green running light indicator in the speedometer isn’t illuminated. This was my fault. There was no bulb in the socket when I pulled the seedo out and I didn’t know that was there the green bulb went. It has since been installed and is working fine.

Thank you again Jake for the bulbs and the quick shipping.

Here is the before:


Here is the after with the ultra white LED bulbs:

[Etarga]

That looks great Keith ! Thank you for posting ! I did not know you had a momo installed, but glad you figured that out!!

[kidrock]

26 pages and over 2 years later....OK, I'm sold.

Etarga, you have a PM.

[Etarga]

Allen and Scott - your lights are en route!

Kidrock - did not get your pm. Inbox was maxed out. It is cleaned up again!

[AJ's 911]

Thanks Jake, got the tracking number and can't wait to install them. Btw, I read somewhere that I should add a fuse to the lighting circuitry. Since I am a newbie and big on plug and play, is this a nice to have or must have? If it is a must have, how hard is it to do? Thanks!