Yes its another interior lighting thread.....but don't scream at me yet! i did try to do my homework on this forum.

I have an '02 Sport runner. My understanding is the gauge cluster's are powered by #24 bulbs, however #78's work as well. What is optimal? Also, does anyone know what the shifter bulb size is as well as the bulb sizes in dash. (ECT, A/C, fan dials.)

Also, i have been reading that LED bulbs sometimes give off hot spots. Can this be eliminated for sure? i have seen mixed results in the posts i've read.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Good luck I think you are going to have to do trial and error. Digital cameras don't show a true night shot of gauges. Me and friends tried taking pics of a few cars that had led swap and had hot spots. However, in the pics they looked bright and even. You might just have to try different styles till you find something that you like.

 

Thats a shame. I know the LED's are alot brighter..... i just had hoped there was a way to eliminate the hot spots completely.

 

I think www.superbrightleds.com makes a 3-way led, if I am not mistaken and that should help with the hot spots.

My trouble is with the gear lights (the ones that tell you you are in "park" "neutral" "drive"
The drive bulb went out and wanted to replace it but could not find any info but I am still looking. But if anyone has any info or has changed this out before, please enlighten me. Thanks.

-austin

 

we've got a 95 toyota camry that also has the little light out that signifies "Drive" on the dashboard. it was like that when we bought it back in 2000, with 100k on it. haven't tried to replace it, but i would also like to know how to replace it.

 

There was a thread on here about the LED dash lighting and all sorts of info.

But for some reason, I was not able to find out how to replace that specific area.
What's hard is that, how do you call that area? The shifter is easy because you have to shift so its called the shifter. I guess it would be call the gear or transmission indicator. Tried searching that and couldn't find any info about that.

 

As far as hotspots, you can never get a completely uniform field as the incandescent bulbs with the little condom, but you can get close. The A/C panel is usually the worst, so along with the LED's I spray painted the back of the panel with a reflective metallic paint...this helped a ton.

For the gauges, I used a 5-led setup (one forward facing, 4 shooting out the side). I took a picture with my cell phone, and the hotpots showed up, but when I or anyone see it in person, you can not see them at all...it's very uniform light.

 

Forgive me if this is beside the point, but couldn't one just change out the condom colors on the lights? (I guess this is assuming one can purchase differently colored lightbulb condoms... ) or did you want LEDs because they are brighter? I find at night that i dim my dashboard down anyways because its tough on your eyes to have to keep switching from the dark landscape to the bright dash lights.

 

i also have a 2002 4runner. do u have a limited? i only ask because of the digital temp controls. if i look at my recipets, i think i can provide with with a precise list

edit: i just reread your OP. you have a sport. ill check my receipts when i get home today

 

I'm sure if you could find those condoms then yea I would say that may be the way to go, if you like the spread of the incandescent lights.

Yes LED's are brighter, but they still can be dimmed with the dimmer, as I was able too. Plus, the colors aren't necessarily hard on your eyes. I ended up going with a blue LED, and it's more of a midnight blue...actually very soft and easy on the eyes. As well, LED's are said to last much longer than an incandescent.

I felt like it was a feat getting in there anyway when i had a couple burnt out bulbs because I have so many aftermarket switches on the dash (hard to unplug and plug back in tiny wires) so while I was in there I decided to give it a different appearance (color) and I figured LED's were the way to go as far as longevity in hopes I will not have another burn out for a long time... large hands do not aid in unplugging all those switch wires...

 

Still don't know why people insist on using LEDs. They offer zero advantage over incandescents and never look right with their undesirable light outputs.

Longevity is a stupid positive; the original incandescents in my 96 lasted 12 years without any issue.

I used some hyper white incandescents. Bright, even output like the stock bulbs and a great, Lexus/Acura look to the gauges at night. Every single place I put the bulbs gave me great results, except for the shifter, since it has a green tinted diffuser under the labeling.

And they cost about a quarter of what the LED bandwagoners paid.

 

midget can I get some more details about these bulbs?

 

I hear ya brother, I changed mine out a couple of times and was not happy with it. I learned the hard way because I spent a good amount of money on LEDs and pretty much changed out my entire interior lighting setup. About a week later, I changed everything out. In terms of intensity, LEDs are the way to go but for actual USE-able light, incandescent is the way to go. I even changed out the map and dome light but wasn't happy with the light output. Now, tail lights could be a good use of LEDs because that red color will be intensified.

-austin

 

Maybe for you but as far as toyota owners and what they might go through to get to these bulbs because of customizations, you are a needle in a large haystack. There are TONS of led threads on here and everyone who has done it seem to get great results.

Longevity matters to me, and I have had issues with the incandescents, so I decided to try something different. It can't hurt and if it keeps me from having to go in there again for the rest of the trucks life, then I think it's well worth it.

Time will tell.

 

I would like to change my colors out as well, the old green isn't quite doing it for me. i was thinking about going for red? given the arguments for both types of lights- incandescent and LED, I think I'd rather go with the incandescents actually. Less bright, look right, cheaper... i've got one out, and my truck is a 99. my 95 camry has only one out as well and that's the gear selection light that signifies when you're in drive, which is basically always on when the car is on. also, i feel like if you're willing to go into the dashboard and the other interior lighting surfaces just to change something out like a color, you won't mind replacing a bulb when its out ten or fifteen years down the road. nothing against anyone who has used LEDs, i just feel that the brightness of them isn't really necessary in a place like the dashboard, where a dimmer light is key. as said above, the place for LEDs really seems to be in the back. (no offense intended)

 

No, every thread or comment I read on the $40 worth of LEDs it takes the interior lighting has someone complaining about hot spots or saying "it looks good enough." Everyone tries to justify the expense, by my $10 worth of incandescents gives far better results than any LED could ever hope to.

What issues have you had with incandescents? As long as you don't coat them with bacon grease and clean them throughly before installing, then you won't have any issues.

The colored incandescents are just as low of quality as any LED bulb you're going to find, so you might as well save your money and go with the cheaper of the two.

 

I have no noticeable hotspots to the human eye, but when i take a photo you can see them because of the way the camera filters light.

I have had two standard bulbs burn out on my truck, and I have read other's that have had the same issue. Maybe it's a year thing. Anyway, it's a PITA to get to them because of my setup, so I figured I would try something that may work better. And I am pleased with the results. To each their own.

 

Amen.

Now does anyone know how to change out the light that tells me that I am in "D" or "R" on my dash board. Any help is much appreciate it. Also, the light that tells me that one of my doors is open needs to be changed as well. Thanks guys.

 

the dash in my '86 is a breeze to get too..lol..i feel sorry for all you guys in your newer vehicles..

the LED's are not expensive in my case..

bout $1 a piece..
like 5-6 bulbs in the cluster
2 or 3 in the heater controls
one for the dome light
and then another for my aftermarket tach..
so less than $15 to replace all the lights in my truck

my problem is though everybody says the bulbs are the same for the 2nd and 3rd gen trucks..and mine look different than a 3rd gens..lol

 

Well, my 99 isn't that hard to get to, the thing that makes it hard is my own fault i guess...I have a bunch of aftermarket switches for various things, and I didn't solder the wires to the switches...I used a "plug" type on the end of the wire that is crimped on. The theory was that these would make life easier, but as I found, because of their location and lack of space behind there, it makes it hard if you have man hands to unplug these tiny prong things.


To 2000t4 I'm not sure about the drive/park light, but when I took out my cluster there are a bunch of 74 bulbs for the things like the parking brake, check engine light, etc. I can imagine that there is something similar for yours, but hard to say because i have a 5 spd.