extra gauge lighting

[deathegg]

Hi everyone,
I have a question for anyone here who is good with wiring and electric work; I know the basics but wiring is a bit difficult for me.

I want to add an extra light to the gauge cluster lights, so I will have 3 lamps instead of 2. Even with the 2 working well it's a bit too dim for me. Now, um,,, how would I do this? It's not the modification to the cluster so the bulb socket will fit ,etc. I can do that part of it.

I feel the easiest way would be to use an oem Festiva socket and bulb, spliced into the circuit between the two original bulbs.. but really not sure which wires to cut etc. (red wire or black? or both?? etc)

any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
Mark

[sam.1956]

I added a 9" red LED self-adhesive strip (designed to work on a car's 12v system) up in the instrument cluster on my car. I'll have to dig up details but both wires from the strip go to the back of the cluster where the little "grain of wheat" bulbs already plug in to the cluster's PC board. LED strips are available in many auto parts stores.

[elcamino1]

What cluster do you have in your car?

[deathegg]

Cluster is the original stock unit ('88 L+) with no tach.

[GenevaDirt]

if you pull the light bar off there there is a piece of plexiglass that is colored...take it out...also I believe the non tach onse have the four bulbs....I put the ones from the non tach speedo in mine without the piece of glass....I have to keep it turned down on the lowest setting because it is so bright.

[Pu241]

I pioneered that swap on the old yahoo board!
Had it all written up too!
No real wiring needed just extend two wires so they can be attached to the original power attachment points.

But, I like Sam1956's idea better!
A set of LED's, I like the white though, will give more light at a lower power draw and produce less heat in the "light bar's" plastic housing!
I've seen these distort from the heat given off from the bulbs.

[GenevaDirt]

A set of LED's, I like the white though, will give more light at a lower power draw and produce less heat in the "light bar's" plastic housing!
I've seen these distort from the heat given off from the bulbs.

I thought it was just a color on the bulb of the LED so wouldn't that be the same power draw...and I also thought that LED's give off very little heat. They are in a plastic stick on strip already.

[elcamino1]

I did what John and Willie said,swaped light bars around!

[Pu241]

I thought it was just a color on the bulb of the LED so wouldn't that be the same power draw...and I also thought that LED's give off very little heat. They are in a plastic stick on strip already.

No, different color LED's use different semiconductor materials.
Incandescent bulbs use coatings to "color" the light because they have a thermal emission spectra, ie they have light in a broad range of frequencies/wavelengths.
LED's have very narrow band emission spectra.
White is tough because it is a broad spectra and composed of many colors.
Your old too, remember when all LED's were red and green!
the first LED calculator used red and sometimes green LED's.
None were blue or white!
White and Blue LED's are relatively new developments.
LED's are probably 10X, or more, efficient at converting electricity to light than incandescent bulbs.
This mean way less heat, more light, less power used.

[sam.1956]

The good thing about the flexy-LED strips at the auto parts store -- although a bit pricey -- is that all the current limiting resistors have already been calculated for a 12v system & are installed on the strip. All you got's to do is connect it to power (correct polarity is essential - they ARE diodes!)

[Pu241]

Uh, if you don't mind me asking how "pricey" and which auto place did you find yours?

[sam.1956]

Oh, you would ask! Contrary to popular rumor, I have a great mind; just a lousy data retrieval system. Right!

I believe it was either Pep Boys or Advance Auto. Something like $17.99-ish.

[ch33z3x]

pic? pretty pretty please? With a marshmallow sauce and a cherry on top?

[sam.1956]

Let me see if I still have pics of that. Some stuff got misplaced during my move this summer...

[CharlieZ]

Those huge stores found all over the country except in the City of Chicago (headquarters based in Benton Arkansas) have a fair collection of fairly low cost in various sizes and configurations of LED stick-ons.