KrashDH

So I know there are a million cluster lighting threads, but I wanted to share my experience with it... I had one burnt out cluster bulb, so I thought while I was in there I would switch to LED's and get rid of that drab green color.

I had read a few previous threads on 99's, but I could never completely solidify how many bulbs of what kind did what in the cluster (say that ten times quick).
My experience getting up to the point to remove the cluster went well until I reached the driver side vent duct. A lot of wiggling and odd angles to pull it out...but, I got it.

So that led me to removing the cluster, to find that the back bulb setup was much different than I anticipated (see picture "cluster")
There are 4 194's in a row that light up the main tac, speedo, and fuel and temp gauges, then 3 small 74 bulbs above (2 for turn signals). When i ordered my LED's, I bought 3 of the 5 LED ones and 3 of the 194 inverted cones, thinking that I only needed 2 194's for the tac and speedo ( the 5 LED) and 2 for the blinkers (inverted, not so much light needed). This wasn't the case so I used a combitnaion...I used the three 5-LED ones for the main gauges where the numbering was white, and I used one of the inverted ones near the redline of the tac, since that wouldn't be very blue anyway. It worked out well. Plus, I used two 74's for the blinkers.

I also read that for the temperature cluster, there tends to be hotspots with LED's. This proved true, so I ended up spray painting the back of the cover a metallic chrome reflective color...hard to see in the pic (labeled "backside") in hopes to spread the light better. It certainly did, but there are still slight hotspots.

It was nice while I was tearing trim out of my truck the lady was kind enough to jump in and sand the a/c panel for me before she taped the symbols off and layed a thin coat of the metallic spray paint down, so I had to give her some love on this thread as well (labled "sanding")
Ha i just noticied it appears to be a good pitch for ACE hardware...

I will put a photo up when it gets dark of what they look like.

Sorry bout how I had to upload the photos I haven't figured out how to put them directly in a thread yet...
[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/seanh/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-2.jpg[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/seanh/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-3.jpg[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/seanh/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-4.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/seanh/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/seanh/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/seanh/Desktop/Truck%20stuff/almost.jpeg[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/seanh/Desktop/Truck%20stuff/almost.jpeg[/IMG]

KrashDH

Ok so some night pictures. My cell phone doesn't do it justice. No hotspots to the viewer. I put a "less-output" LED by the red part of the tac because that wouldn't show up anyway. Super stoked on the outcome, turned out a lot better than expected.

KrashDH

Just a note on the dimming issue...I got my bulbs from superbrightleds.com (great service and super quick with the shipping...got mine in 3 days...) and the gauge LED's do NOT dim. Turning the knob does nothing, except when you turn the knob all the way down they shut off. But they aren't annoyingly bright, which is a good thing for me.

RobD

That's odd. All of my Superbright LEDs (the WLEDx5 and the 74s) dim just fine with the dimmer.

KrashDH

Yeah I have the 5's too and a no go on the dimming...you'd think on Yota's with the same bulbs there would be no difference...tis odd...

ChildrenOfBodom

I agree, I can't stand the amount of threads on this but the lack of a clear answer.

Is the Tacoma the same as the 4Runner in 99 when it comes to this? I've heard so many different configurations, I just want to know what's right before I have to take apart my dash...

KrashDH

Are you talking about the type of bulbs or about the dimming? The above poster I would think has a 4runner because of the avatar, and they claimed the dimmer worked, while I didn't notice it working on my Tacoma...I'm going to check again tonight to be sure.

And honestly, I cannot answer correctly what bulbs you would have for your 4runner...because I read about every thread there was to have and then when I tore into my dash, the configuration was different.

Here's what I would say...if you have the Speedo, tac, fuel, and temp combination like I have, there are 4 main bulbs that light these 4 things up. Everything else (bulbs for 4wheel drive, blinkers, high beams, etc..) was smaller bulbs, the 74's that go behind the a/c panel.

I have seen a write-up w/ a 99 tacoma that just had a speedo, fuel ,and temp gauge. No tac. And the backside of it, there were 4 194's, but not in a row..there were a set below and above each other, but the top two 194's were for the blinkers, instead of the small 74's that are used for the blinkers in my 99 tacoma.

I actually went to the dealership and they were able to provide me with an exploded view of the gauge cluster and the bulbs. That's a good place to start. Maybe also post a picture of your gauges (obviously in-tact) and it you can get some advice from someone on here that has done it with that same gauge...

KrashDH

Ok so a follow up on the dimming thing for those that are interested. I will come clean and say that when I finished the install the other night, I had taken down a few brews

I couldn't notice any dimming then so I figured that was the result. But, upon further inspection tonight, YES, the LED's do dim, but it's such a small amount that it's not too noticeable. My girlfriend pointed out (she was in the passenger seat) that it was easier to see the dimming happening if you weren't actually looking at the gauges, and sure enough, they dimmed. (Sort of like catching a meteor in your peripherals, you can see it better..)
Anyway, hope this helps for anyone in the future...

SoiledGreen98

I've been wanting to do this but am scared of the lights not dimming. Since I do do a fair amount of night driving offroad I like to dim my light real low so I can keep an eye on the tach and stuff. My Kenwood doesn't dim and is very bright so I throw a handkerchief over it.

KrashDH

Yeah I have a kenwood deck too...I would say that the deck is brighter than the lights. They dim, but its more of a midnight blue...It's pretty easy on the eyes I expected worse but turned out perfect for what I was lookin for.