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Old 06-28-2018, 08:26 AM   #51
Rich69shortfleet
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Re: Need help with dash lights

Look for a very bright festoon that has lots of LEDs on it to get the maximum amount of light and that directs the light into the glovebox. You don't need to be concerned with how wide the festoon is since you won't be fitting it into a possibly restrictive fixture. I used one of these:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-x-36mm-1-...72.m2749.l2649
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Old 06-29-2018, 07:27 PM   #52
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Re: Need help with dash lights

Rich...

Lotsa good info here.

Subscribed.
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Old 06-30-2018, 11:56 AM   #53
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Re: Need help with dash lights

Rich, that red looks great, thanks for testing that out!
It may not be quite as good a contrast as the green light, but way ahead of my all dark dash!
Also, I will have to look into the glove box light too, didn't know these truck had a light there...

Thanks again!
Jim
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Old 06-30-2018, 12:33 PM   #54
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Re: Need help with dash lights

Quote:
Originally Posted by Old_Gold View Post
Also, I will have to look into the glove box light too, didn't know these truck had a light there...
Well, a lot of these trucks, including mine, had no glove box light from the factory. There are kits available from various vendors to add a light. That's what I did, and I'm considering changing to a brighter light for it.
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Old 06-30-2018, 08:56 PM   #55
Rich69shortfleet
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Re: Need help with dash lights

Quote:
Originally Posted by Old_Gold View Post
Rich, that red looks great, thanks for testing that out!
It may not be quite as good a contrast as the green light, but way ahead of my all dark dash!
Also, I will have to look into the glove box light too, didn't know these truck had a light there...

Thanks again!
Jim
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stocker View Post
Well, a lot of these trucks, including mine, had no glove box light from the factory. There are kits available from various vendors to add a light. That's what I did, and I'm considering changing to a brighter light for it.
That's right, the glovebox light was an option. I added it to mine using a socket and harness I got off one in the junkyard. My truck originally didn't even have a cigar lighter! It was real low optioned.

The dash LEDs are a inexpensive and easy way to improve and upgrade the look of the dash. All kinds of colors are available. The red looks slightly subdued probably due to the inside of the housing being painted light green which takes a bit of the edge off the intensity of the red. These red LEDs are very bright and luxuriously red when seen directly or from behind a red or white lens. But they still make the instrument panel look interestingly different. I'm going to stick with the green though. For now. Of course they are so easy to change, you could have a different color every week if you cared to.

I'm glad some folks are finding the contents of this thread useful and helpful.
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Old 11-04-2018, 02:26 PM   #56
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Re: Need help with dash lights

Thanks for taking the time to post all of your work. That is a good tip about the standard bulb with the green boot for the shifter. Now I have to see if I can find one of those green boots. Are you still using that or did you find another option.
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Old 11-05-2018, 05:12 PM   #57
Rich69shortfleet
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Re: Need help with dash lights

Quote:
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Thanks for taking the time to post all of your work. That is a good tip about the standard bulb with the green boot for the shifter. Now I have to see if I can find one of those green boots. Are you still using that or did you find another option.
I just switched to an LED that fires in all directions. You can probably get the little green bulb condoms at any parts store that carries aftermarket gauges.
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Old 11-05-2018, 08:03 PM   #58
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Re: Need help with dash lights

Check amazon for the green covers. I just bought a pack myself. Works Great.
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Old 11-08-2018, 09:16 AM   #59
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Re: Need help with dash lights

Where did you get the green leds?
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Old 11-08-2018, 10:59 AM   #60
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Re: Need help with dash lights

I've got 194 LED in most colors from Amazon.

I also even out the backlighting by where I chose to place reflective vs nonreflective tape on the back of the gauge housings.

Just did a 1968 Impala:

.
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Old 11-08-2018, 09:36 PM   #61
Rich69shortfleet
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Re: Need help with dash lights

I got all of my LEDs on ebay. There are some links elsewhere in this thread.
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Old 11-09-2018, 12:01 AM   #62
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Re: Need help with dash lights

I recently put these in mine, (sorry don't have a picture), I was please with them AND the best thing is they are indeed DIMMABLE.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Old 05-21-2019, 10:53 PM   #63
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Re: Need help with dash lights

I thought I should bring this back, as it was a great write up. I used the red side firing LEDs that were found from the eBay listing above. They have a nice glow, great lighting, and great upgrade.
Rich, thanks again for the help!
Jim
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Old 09-02-2019, 12:11 AM   #64
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Re: Need help with dash lights

Looks good. Thank you all for the inputs. Im looking to do mine as well, i cant see my speedometer at night. Debating on the color
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Old 09-02-2019, 08:16 AM   #65
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Re: Need help with dash lights

I had never opened this thread before. A whole lot of good info, glad I finally did.
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