trev260764
New member
One of me bulbs has gone! LH side of the dials. Can anyone tell me (or provide a link to the bulb) so I can get one BEFORE taking the dash apart to see which one I need?
Ta
Trev
Ta
Trev
Instrument light
- Thread starter trev260764
- Start date
petrolhead944
New member
hi trev they are just 2 watt push fit side light bulbs.i have up graded my bulbs to 5 watts so i can see the clocks better.hope this help's you out mate..cheers carl
trev260764
New member
Yeah! Ta Carl. They do seem a bit dim, especially as I have one out I guess! (only had the car a couple of days...) How many do I need if I replace them all?
petrolhead944
New member
you only need three mate..carl
] The lack of light is probably caused by the reflective surface on the light prisms breaking down and not allowing the full 2 watts to shine on the clocks.petrolhead944
New member
i know what you are saying but i did this months ago with no problems yet.and i also did this on my mx5 with no problems..18 months later..cheers carl ..you can also do this mod with led side light bulds don't get hot and are three times brighter than the 2 watt bulbs in the clocks now. carl
sawood12
New member
I'd seriously consider upgrading to an LED kit. The one on the link below also replaces the prisms which are the real reason why your lights are dimming. This is a job i've been meaning to do for a long time. Let me know if you're going to place an order and we can double up (assuming there are some shipping cost savings to be made for more than one order).
http://jageng.com/garage9/product_info.php?cPath=49_55&products_id=151&osCsid=39643c7835e1d8d5b804c07365ee2a50
http://jageng.com/garage9/product_info.php?cPath=49_55&products_id=151&osCsid=39643c7835e1d8d5b804c07365ee2a50
LEDs can be a bit too directional so you might end up with dark and light patches.
I was going to post what Paul did re: bigger bulbs, but he got there first. With respect it may work on an MX5, but that doesn't mean it works on everything. In fact it's known to cause problems in the 944, perhaps because the bulb is in a more confined space so heat rejection is more of an issue, or possibly because the plastics used are less thermally stable.
Some time ago one of our number (who sadly had to sell his S2 after it cost him a huuuuuuuge amount after breaking cam teeth and doesn't post any more) spent a lot of time and effort making an LED based solution that was a true improvement. Now I was in contact with him throughout the development and while it could be argued that he is a perfectionist I also find it hard to believe that chucking in 3 LEDs will be a satisfactory fix - of course LED technology is moving on and possibly something on the market now would do a better job than what was available 3 or 4 years ago.
I have no idea how well the one Scott linked works, but my guess is that it's something similar to the Flamingeye kit and its existence underlines that simply adding LEDs won't fix the issue.
sawood12
New member
Fen, from previous posts on this product it seems like it is pretty identical to the Flamingeye kit, however as you have pointed out the downside is that the light from the LED's is a bit directional so you do end up with shadowy areas - however the chap who installed it still seemed to think it was an improvement over new filament bulb. I don't believe the Flamingeye kit is available anymore, and I believe it was alot more expensive.
You're right about the Flamingeye kit not being available and probably it was more expensive, but its light was even and the point of my post was that it is more complex than merely sticking some LED bulbs in the dash if you want a quality improvement.
If the product you linked to (which I haven't looked at) leaves dark and light areas then I would have to say that underlines my point. I'm pretty sure Darren was surprised by the effort his kits took to make and I'm also pretty sure he would rather have sold them at for a small profit at 25 quid than 99, but the economics (his time, materials etc.) must have pushed the price up and that is because it's a sod of a thing to get right.
If the product you linked to (which I haven't looked at) leaves dark and light areas then I would have to say that underlines my point. I'm pretty sure Darren was surprised by the effort his kits took to make and I'm also pretty sure he would rather have sold them at for a small profit at 25 quid than 99, but the economics (his time, materials etc.) must have pushed the price up and that is because it's a sod of a thing to get right.
3 screws around the air vents, two in the top of the binnacle, 2 underneath either side of the steering column, then you can get the black surround and air vent section off.
The instruments themselves are held in by 4 screws you will see easily. You can get the unit out without taking the steering wheel off though it's tight and you might prefer to remove the wheel. There are 3 electrical connectors on the back, one horizontally behind the bottom of each of the main clocks and one vertically in the middle. You squeeze the levers toward the centre of the plug to release them. Once removed the illumination bulbs are the 3 bigger size ones along the bottom of the instrument pack.
The instruments themselves are held in by 4 screws you will see easily. You can get the unit out without taking the steering wheel off though it's tight and you might prefer to remove the wheel. There are 3 electrical connectors on the back, one horizontally behind the bottom of each of the main clocks and one vertically in the middle. You squeeze the levers toward the centre of the plug to release them. Once removed the illumination bulbs are the 3 bigger size ones along the bottom of the instrument pack.
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