Dashboard Lights

[Stelianos]

Leds wont work, you need SMD LEDs which spread the light to 180 degrees.
Do no go red blue or orange etc because the SMD is too bright and you cant see the numbers at night....
do T5 SMD LED Bright White its the best!

 

[Stelianos]

SMD LED Blue will look like this, i tried this colour first (before red) since my truck is blue also but i couldnt see very well...

 

[Oldie]

Where I go it's best to drive at night. At the mo, it has to be pitch black outside before you can see the dash and even then it's dim.
but I don't need super bright dash lights in my eyes.
I just wanna be able to see the water temp and fuel gauges.
So I guess the t5 3w standard will be ok ? if I can get them here in Wait Awhile ( WA )

 

[Stelianos]

if you want standarts just go to nissan, it cost me just 8 euros for 2 and they come with new holders and they were a bit larger than the factory ones so i guess they changed something through the years.

 

[tweak'e]

last time i got a price of those bulbs from Nissan, they wanted $50 each. thats right, $100nz for a pair of tiny bulbs you can get for a few dollars.

 

[Oldie]

I've just picked up 4 x t5 3w globes from Repco for $9.95 if that helps anyone.
Supercheap & Autobarn don't have them.
cheers

 

[ShortyNavros]

Okay so I just replaced my dash lights with LED ones like this http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-X-T5-L...ash-Console-/321493411525?hash=item4ada8026c5 They arent all that great and I was hoping for better light output.

Looking at various styles on ebay I can see most like the ones above that I bought but a couple of varients like these

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2x-LED-1...dicator-B11-/252053597045?hash=item3aaf90ab75 I assume this would be much they same as I have but it has a bit nicer wedge tail to it

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2x-T5-So...Bulbs-70-74-/111735304650?hash=item1a03f171ca These have 4 LEDs total but I get the feeling at the sides there wont be much light

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-X-T5-C...meter-WHITE-/261476488823?hash=item3ce1369677 These look dodgey as hell but they have side mounted LEDs plus the LED on top

Has anyone tried these other styles of LEDs and if so which ones work best?

Cheers,
Shorty

 

[tweak'e]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2x-T5-So...Bulbs-70-74-/111735304650?hash=item1a03f171ca These have 4 LEDs total but I get the feeling at the sides there wont be much light

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-X-T5-C...meter-WHITE-/261476488823?hash=item3ce1369677 These look dodgey as hell but they have side mounted LEDs plus the LED on top

Has anyone tried these other styles of LEDs and if so which ones work best?

Cheers,
Shorty

those two are what you want.

the trouble with the series 2 D22 dash is it only uses two bulbs and a plastic light spreader arrangement. that uses the sideways firing light. so the top mounted led probably won't work very well. it does vary with led's as they have different light output angles.
i suspect you will find the sideways led works better.

the only other thing would be to fit a lens/reflector on the top firing led to help spread the light sideways.

 

[tweak'e]

i just replaced a blown bulb.
found a t6.5 3.4 watt bulb. a little loose fitting but tightened the contacts to fix that.
the base looks fractionally smaller than the t5. i will have to measure to be sure. no brand so they may not be to spec.

 

[Stelianos]

white and red looked awefull, white was dim and red was hurting my eyes blue only works but i got tired of it eventually since you just cant read the ODO and the clock! original bulbs work best for me in the end just make sure they are alright, because my first set was not blown but they had silvered out inside due to years of usage. i got a new set in 4 months ago and its simply awesome (info the OEM bulbs i got out which were in the truck since 2002 were physically smaller than the ones i bought to nissan 4 months ago) same W but still much better.

 

[ShortyNavros]

Okay so were do I get these new bulbs. Can I buy them from Nissan? Are they crazy expensive?

 

[Rabbid-chop]

^id be interested to know as well.

Standard t5's work, but the actual bulb part is narrower than stock and dont seat quite as well but still work.

Also, i snapped a lug off one of the bulb holders. They seem to get pretty brittle. Are these obtainable?

 

[tweak'e]

this is what i got
http://lightbulbman.co.nz/shop/product/3-4w-12v-wedge-t6-5.1600

i'm not sure what the bases are called. should be a standard item.

first time i got quoted $50nz per bulb from nissan. this time it was $27nz ex japan.
bugger going to nissan.

 

[tweak'e]

probably have to take the bulb holder out and measure it. there is a few that are very similar.

 

[Rabbid-chop]

Might give these boys a try
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Van-Car-...nsion-5-Pcs-/181873472792?hash=item2a5880f518

 

[ShortyNavros]

It seems those t6.5 bulbs are sold by motorcycle dealers. I may contact my local one and see if they have them. This store is quite close to me and they seem to sell a 3w T6.5 12v bulb http://www.maryboroughmotorcycles.com.au/product_details.php?product_category_id=573&product_id=5236

 

[tweak'e]

Might give these boys a try
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Van-Car-...nsion-5-Pcs-/181873472792?hash=item2a5880f518

i think the contacts are not right. they would be on the wrong side of the circuit board.

 

[Rabbid-chop]

i think the contacts are not right. they would be on the wrong side of the circuit board.

You're right. Doh. Oh well iv bought them now. Hopefully i can bend the contacts up to go inside the circuit board. If they even fit at all..

 

[Stelianos]

you can see how much bigger the bulbs i got from the dealers are in my first picture in the previous page, it wasnt expenside at all i payed 8 euro or 12.3918 AUD and it included new holders as well, as i said both the holder and the bulb are physically bigger than the ones i had already.

 

[Rabbid-chop]

Yeah i might hit nissan up for a price.