Clusters....

[PiercedE30]

Ok, I know it has been talked about before, but I don't remember anybody actually doing. The cluster lights tend to either be dim, not working, etc. and I would like some info on what size LED's and resistors to use when swapping from bulbs to LED's.
Anybody know the resistance of one of those cluster lights? If I just knew that then it would be easy for me to come up with what is needed to do everything.

Jon

[Jean]

Ok, I know it has been talked about before, but I don't remember anybody actually doing. The cluster lights tend to either be dim, not working, etc. and I would like some info on what size LED's and resistors to use when swapping from bulbs to LED's.
Anybody know the resistance of one of those cluster lights? If I just knew that then it would be easy for me to come up with what is needed to do everything.

Jon

don't go off the resistance of the bulbs, calculate the resistor based on what led you are going to be using (mA draw vs. voltage given).

[DJB]

Which lamps? The two 3W lamps used for overall cluster illumination, 1.2W black base twist-in lamps used for cluster alerts, or the 80mA@12V white/clear base lamps used for indicators and ashtray/HVAC illumination?

If you replace with LEDs or other lighting, consider the brightness at 12V (engine off) and 14V (engine on), as well as dimmed. If you replace too many of the high-draw lamps with LEDs the dash light dimmer won't dim the remaining lamps very much.

[M42Technik]

Here is a handy link I found for LED's to replace most lamps and other lights in cars, so you can update your other lights too:

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=CAR&cart_id=4270077.20368

[sweetride01]

If you replace with LEDs or other lighting, consider the brightness at 12V (engine off) and 14V (engine on), as well as dimmed. If you replace too many of the high-draw lamps with LEDs the dash light dimmer won't dim the remaining lamps very much.

This is the (opposite) of my problem. Despite installing new bulbs, often 1 or more of the dash lights doesn't come on... and when they're all on, then the display seems really dim... so I'm wondering, if I replace several of the 3W/HVAC lamps with LED ones, will they always stay on and be bright?
Also, should I go with clear or amber/red LEDs (is it the bulb or a filter that makes the dash light amber)???

[SandyEggoE30Girl]

It is actually a orange/amber filter that makes the lights orange/amber. also there are two things to remember with LEDs.

LEDs do not dim like the factory lamps. To dim an LED it needs to be done with pulse width modulation. So you would need to have some one build you a dimming module, that would work with a LED driver. You would have to bypass the Interior Dimmer in your car.

The second thing to always remember is that LEDs have to be hooked up + / -
You can not interchange the positive as in an incandescent type lamp (bulb).

Ozium sells LEDs with the resistor already mounted to the leed, and they have an orange LED that is very close to the BMW orange.
There is also a lot of info at that website too.

[sweetride01]

It is actually a orange/amber filter that makes the lights orange/amber. also there are two things to remember with LEDs.

LEDs do not dim like the factory lamps. To dim an LED it needs to be done with pulse width modulation. So you would need to have some one build you a dimming module, that would work with a LED driver. You would have to bypass the Interior Dimmer in your car.

The second thing to always remember is that LEDs have to be hooked up + / -
You can not interchange the positive as in an incandescent type lamp (bulb).

Ozium sells LEDs with the resistor already mounted to the leed, and they have an orange LED that is very close to the BMW orange.
There is also a lot of info at that website too.

You knows your stuff!
So, if I buy the Ozium LED w/resistor, will the dimmer function as normal?
I'm not too worried about the dimmer though - I always keep it at full brightness!

Oh yeah, do you have a link to the Ozium website? Thanks!