6W Instrument Bulbs Installed! Let There Be Light!

[pj]

Hello Alfred,
that photo of the "inside" of the central instrument cluster is extremely helpful! Especially because I've never seen one opened up. But still there are questions. . . For one thing, you've labelled the red LED as blue. 1 point for me if I figured this out, 1 point for you if it really is supposed to be blue 

Are the green LEDs used for turn signal indicators bright enough to be seen in daylight? I find my stock turn signal indicators are almost invisible in daylight.

Did you hang on to the part numbers if you ordered these LEDs from www.superbrightleds.com ? Why not make a list? If you didn't, I'll scour their website and see if I can figure which one is which.

The low-fuel lamp is just a regular 2W bulb? So the red colour comes from a lens in front of the lamp? This one I probably would not want to make brighter.

[66andBlue]

Hi Peter, 1:nil for you!
I colored the borders and arrow red but mistyped the text, it should read "red", not 'blue".
--Corrected April 6, 2017!
The turn signal indicators are really bright, especially when it is dark, and I am not sure whether I should replace them with the 1-LED bulbs.
I do have a list of all the part numbers - including LEDs for other locations that I plan to put into the technical manual. I replaced the Festoon bulbs in the glove box, license plate illumination, and shifter console (for automatic 280SLs) also. Can you believe that they all have different lengths?!
And yes, the fuel warning light is a regular 2W, there is a red filter inside the housing.

[awolff280sl]

Great work Alfred!
Regarding accessing the bulbs in the center cluster, and referring to your picture ( and using the pictures at http://www.sl113.org/wiki/pmwiki.php?n=Electrical.Temperature ), how is the frame/glass part separated from the part holding the bulbs? I see that both the temp and oil gauges are removed first.

[66andBlue]

Hi Andy,
you need to unscrew the back as described here:


then you just lift the bulb holder together with the rheostat off. No need to remove the Bakelite cover or any other screws.

If your capillary to the temperature gauge is original, that is has not been repaired and shortened, thyen you should be able to pull the unit into the cabin far enough to remove individual parts from the cluster without unscrewing the temp sensor on the engine block.
Haven't had a chance to add all of this to the manual because of an upcoming trip to Europe.

[awolff280sl]

Thanks Alfred

[ricky9089]

how do you remove the dimmer knob from the shaft

[awolff280sl]

the dimmer knob is not removed from the shaft, rather the shaft is pulled back out of the knob. You do this by removing the back of the center cluster as described above. The knob remains on the glass. When you reassemble, be sure that the shaft lines back up with the knob. The glass could break if it is not when the back of the cluster is screwed back down.

[bsimaz]

I'm in the middle of replacing bulbs and re-installing the instruments.

a few notes:  I am planning going the LED route.  They are OK for some but not all the light bulbs.   There is one socket on my revolution counter that will not accept the LED bulb.   The LED's are too big to fit.  This is also true for the light behind the instrument panel.  The rest will fit and they do look great.

I've read all about the removal and re-install of the dash but I'll tell you this....  I'm about one more try away from paying someone Airfare, hotel, meals and expenses to come out here and do it for me.    I've been at it for two evenings now and I don't have one of them in.
It is a tight space.

Good news is that I have a long weekend ahead.

[awolff280sl]

Bill,
I can relate completely. But there is hope. It used to take me over 2 hours to do it, now I can do it in under an hour with minimal pain.
For me the trick was finding the correct route to the back of the tach with my right hand, and this happened when I changed my entire approach.
I used to lie on my back with my head on the pedals, very cumbersome.
Now, with the steering wheel and electrical connector bracket removed, I can partially sit on the seat, and reach my right hand under and around to disconnect the vent hose and then the tach bracket.
If you haven't tried this, I can recommend this.
I also had a problem with an LED being too big. I had to carefully take a Dremel to the socket.

[mdsalemi]

For me the trick was finding the correct route to the back of the tach with my right hand, and this happened when I changed my entire approach.

Don't forget friends, that Andy is a SURGEON.  He has skills the rest of us frankly do NOT have! 

[49er]

John, were the lights at full brightness?

Sorry Alfred, for some reason I missed seeing your question from a while back. Yes, they were cranked all the way on. The rheostat still functions OK but I just leave them set at full brightness.

John 

[mmizesko]

Alfred,

After Joe Alexander and I replaced all the bulbs in my dash after a rheostat hard wire last spring, I just bought a full set of LED's per your suggestion.  I added one 4 LED white bulb for the clock.  I too have a hard time reading the gauges at night, and need to have the dash apart anyway for a full body paint restoration next month.  I can't wait to see the light again!

Mike

[awolff280sl]

Mike, ortho surgery tends to be easier: good exposure, good assistants, good light, good retraction. You don't usually get any of that working on the Pagoda.

I also put in LEDs all around and I'm pretty happy with the results. However, both the tach and especially the speedo are not as bright as the center cluster.
I happened to look at the Bud's Benz apparent repros ($$$$) of the rubber covers for the back of the speedo and tach. I was struck by how white they are
compared to what I have. So, I've decided to have the inside of the rubber housings painted gloss white by Palo Alto Speedometer. I'm waiting to get them back now. Apparently, the vintage Porshe owners have had good results with this method, but their instrument housings are metal, so we'll see.

[66andBlue]

... I added one 4 LED white bulb for the clock.  ....

Hi Mike,
What kind of clock do you have?
I tried to get a 1-LED in there but had no success. Perhaps I need to take another look.

[mmizesko]

Alfred,

I've got the standard VDO.  I just ordered all of the LED's being inspired by your experience. I'll probably face the same problem when we try to get it in there.

Joe promises me he can fix my 5 minute per day loss problem.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Andy,

I'm an old collegiate shot putter with hands like hams.  Pre-med for 2 weeks.  With orthopedic surgery, I'm always the patient, not the practitioner.  Good thing Joe Alexander is there to help.  We've already had everything out once already last year, so I know the sequence.  I've got a howling tach when it gets cold, so I need to send it out for repair while the car is in the paint shop this winter.

[awolff280sl]

Alfred,
I was able to get an LED into the quartz VDO clock.

Mike, you are lucky that Joe is near. He's walked me through some rather dark and scary regions by remote control.

[mmizesko]

Alfred,

Just an fyi.  Had to pull out the dash components to get the wood out, as I'm replacing the windshield during my exterior paint restoration.  The clock light bulb will only fit a 1 LED bulb, and we had to grind down the bulb to the metal on the sides (on a wheel) to remove the plastic bulge and the metal flange.  Also had to remove about 1/8" off the top of the bulb, but still left enough room on the stalk to protect the LED component.  It did leave the plastic translucent instead of clear, but I hope it is kind of like a frosted bulb.

Put the clock back in and the instrument cluster and I like the brightness.  Sent the tach and speedo out for refurb so I don't know what they look like yet.

I don't think the grinding will compromise the LED or create a safety issue. But the bulbs are only $2 each.

Mike Mizesko
Columbus, OH

[IXLR8]

Hi--

In working with other electrical items, I have found that manufacturers will sometimes specify a lower wattage bulb specifically to keep the heat down in order to increase the life of the bulb.

Additionally, as was pointed out, the specifications of 50 some years ago probably were the best for the bulb life of that era.

Today, the leds better accomplish the same goal.

the other Joe

[Moe]

Hi, I am new to this forum and came across your reply stating that you plan to put the list of replacement bulbs (to LED) for the instrument panel.  I have a 1966 230SL and I am planning to replace all the bulbs - tach, speedo meter, and the center section light bulbs.  Any pointer to a list of bulbs/part numbers (LED) from www.superbrightleds.com or any other site would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Moe

[Jonny B]

Moe,

Try the search engine for this. There are quite a few topics on the LED light installation.

Use the main search function, the link to the right of "Home", between "Technical Manual" and "Admin" this will search the entire forum. The one at the top right, just under the club logo will only search in the forum you are reading.

I used "led light" with the quote marks, and got a single page of items. There are several dealing with dash lights, and there are some further links within each thread.

Good luck. And welcome to the group!