bryan89

so a couple of my bulbs are out / missing in my 88 4runner. so i thought i would go ahead and replace with LEDs.
probably going to use superbrightled.com unfortunately, i did not think to look at the numbers last time i had the dash out. i searched and found that the cluster bulbs are 194 and 286. but they do not seem to have the twist lock.

my first question is exactly which bulbs are you guys buying from superbright? and which ones go where as far as warning lights vs. gauge light? i have searched and read that some people requried triming to get the twist lock instrument cluster bulbs to fit. others didnt. i want to make sure i get the right ones.


finally, will the dimmer on the bottom of the dash still work with the LEDs?

thanks
bryan

Zelephant

The dimmer will not work. An LED is not a bulb, it is a Light Emitting Diode. It is either on or off. If you use the dimmer switch and limit the voltage too much, the LEDs will simply go out.

barrel roll

http://www.mikesflightdeck.com/led_dimmer.htm

xxxtreme22r

I've asked the dimmer question before on here and I was told it would still work. I will try to find that answer.

A.Wilson013

The factory dimmer switch will not work.

barrel roll

To dim a LED you have to limit current, not voltage. To dim incandescent bulbs you limit voltage.

xxxtreme22r

did you not see that quote? the guy said his dimmer works and he has LED's. Maybe it's a crapshoot whether they work or not?

barrel roll

If you go to my link, you will understand why the bulbs keep blowing. I'll give you a hint, though, the dimmer switch is doing it.

A.Wilson013

The quote was after I posted. That's neither here, nor there.

In my 87 4Runner I had LEDs in all of the lights in my dash, including altimeter.

With my stock dimmer switch they would go from on to off. They would never dim. (I had an aftermarket temp gauge that had a halogen bulb, and it would dim, but the LEDs would not.)

bryan89

so,
i can see where the dimmer may or may not work depending on how it works.

either way,
sounds like superbrightleds are cheap quality. i dont want to have to pull the dash out every couple of months cause its a PITA. i wanted to put the leds in there to AVOID having bulb burnout issues ( i was under the impression that leds last much longer than filament bulbs)

anyways, if you guys dont think that super bright leds are a good company where should i go? and what part numbers should i get?

thanks
bryan

RobD

I have had LEDs in my dash from superbrightleds.com and from an eBay retailer. I assure you that my dash dims and brightens with the factory dimmer switch just fine.

shaeff

Not always, read on.

Yes and no. I believe it depends which dimmer you have.

You have a 4runner, right? I think that's why. The dimmer rheostats in the pickups are crap. I have superbrightleds in mine (the 5 ways) and they all are still fine after several years of use. I don't dim them, though. The 4runner's dimmer is much better quality, and here's where I believe the difference is.

I had superbrightleds in my Supra, too. The dimmer on that worked flawlessly, dimmed the LEDS down to nothing and right back up to full bright. I NEVER ran them on full bright because it was TOO bright in the Supra. The 4runner dimmer and Supra dimmer feel exactly the same to me.

I'm willing to bet that if you retrofit a 4runner dimmer to the pickups, the LEDs will dim just fine, as my Supra did (Before I took it apart, LOL) and just like Rob's do.

bryan89

ok. the dimmer will probably work.

but that still doesnt help me figure out which leds to get.
My guess is that i need the NeoWedge Style. But do i need the Ne0-3, Neo-4, or Neo-5? or some combination of both for the warning lights / gauge light?

Thanks guys

Swimmerboy2112

iTrader: (2)

Ok i'm going to give you a straight answer here...

1. The dimmer will NOT work. I have the LED's and the dimmer DOESN'T work.

2. This is the cluster i have, all my references to bulbs go to this cluster.


3. The cluster takes 11 194 WLED-x5 wide angle LED blue bulb WLED-B5 (the big bulbs size 194) and 8 74-x Wedge base bulb-blue 74-B (the small bulbs size 74)

4. The black twist locks are just holders for the bulbs, pull the old bulbs out of them and put the new LED's in.

5. If you need any more help, send me a PM and i will give you the direct links to the page on superbrightleds.com

-Brian

xxxtreme22r

Brian didn't you say the dimmer didn't work to begin with though?

bryan89

swimmerboy,
thanks for the info.
dang those are expensive though. about 50 bucks for the whole dash. i was hoping to use the ones with the twist lock already on them, cause they are cheaper and less of a hassle. dont have to pop out bulbs and what not.

but i guess if the other ones dont fit....it is what it is.

xxxtreme22r

don't quote me on this one, but those twist locks might be Toyota only specific.

aa1911

iTrader: (1)

probably the same exact stuff but also check out www.autolumination.com, some better, some worse prices....

From reading around on here (I'm about to do this LED swap) you want the '5 way' bulbs or the 120 degree bulbs for the instrument cluster.

I will be doing a writeup with more details than I can find on here so far for both my 2000 taco and my 93 runner, i'll be sure to post up...

bryan89

i guess i need to pull my cluster back out and pull a bulb out and measure it. they have the print listed on the bottom of the info sheet for the Neos. ill just check some dimensions and see if they fit i guess. if not, ill use the ones swimmerboy pointed out.

irab88

iTrader: (4)

i was thinking of getting one of these. it's an adjustable led driver. simply attach to pre-existing wires, and a 2-wire rheostat. i think it should work