71-73 Ford Mustang 5X LED Gauge Cluster Light Kit STD

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rolandmhall

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 9, 2011
Messages
283
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4
Location
St. Louis, MO
My Car
72 Mustang Coupe - Restomod
just know you can piece the leds bulbs off ebay for about 10$ verse 50-80$ for some kits plus shipping.

 
Cool, can you send some links to what would be needed? I'm cheap... Much rather pay ten bucks vs 60. I bought a set of bulbs and installed, they are only slightly brighter than before.

 
i wrote a post about the newest mult-array LEDS.

I was very happy with the ones i got off ebay from china.

http://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-advancements-in-led-lighting-2014

now i will caution from personal experience. some bulbs you want to leave as normal bulbs and not use LEDS.

i had issues with the turn signals, brake warning light. when i used leds the brake warning light went nuts the lower ohms rating on the led was freaking out the sensor switch. the turn signals as LEDS were way way too bright and blinding me at night.

caution with the multi array leds, more isn't always better the super bright ones are longer and will not fit inside the cluster. you can also get a weird reflection pattern inside the cluster i had to mask off one led array with black paint to eliminate a reflection.

so always bench test first before install.

read the thread i started and then decide how you want to go.. most kits have everything you need you want to make sure you get the newest versions with the multi LED. so for the extra money you are getting everything at once and you don't have to hunt for the correct bulb and you get a Circuit board diagram and premarked LED bulbs showing neg and positive leads. you can save money a lot of money but you will need to do more prep work before install.

you will also need to remove the blue filters inside the gauges and buy green leds to keep factory looks(or use other colors) however once you pull these blue filters there may not be a way to go back, the plastic is very brittle and removing the filters always cracks the plastic mounts apart.

 
I had a hipo parts kit.. It was better, but not what I wanted. Then I put in SMD LEDs from super bright LED's.

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My car has been completely converted to LED, inside and out. The difference is astounding, I love it. Better lighting than it ever had.

 
I put the superbright LED's in mine using the maximum brightness level and stock color. The bulbs I got were kind of yellowish and I had to use the original blue diffusers. The end result was brighter lights but not as bright as some of the photos shown above. In hindsight, I should have painted the white plastic housings with fresh white paint because they were a bit dingy when I had them apart. I wil say, the color matches OE nearly perfect when compared to original. In addition, in an attempt to brighten the needles, I painted them bright optic orange with some paint I had kicking around here. Looks great, but the extra weight on the tach needle has affected its operation. The other pointers seem unaffected.



I put the superbright LED's in mine using the maximum brightness level and stock color. The bulbs I got were kind of yellowish and I had to use the original blue diffusers. The end result was brighter lights but not as bright as some of the photos shown above. In hindsight, I should have painted the white plastic housings with fresh white paint because they were a bit dingy when I had them apart. I wil say, the color matches OE nearly perfect when compared to original. In addition, in an attempt to brighten the needles, I painted them bright optic orange with some paint I had kicking around here. Looks great, but the extra weight on the tach needle has affected its operation. The other pointers seem unaffected.
 
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When you still use the original blue diffusers than you lose a lot of brightness.

What is the factory color exactly blue or the green like the radio and dash knobs, i have 2 different colors in the dash!!

Just information about paint markers.

I bought a while back those paint markers, fluo orange/black/silver chrome.

-fluo orange is really orange (original Mustang is more red, no problem when you do all gauge needles)

-black for the deluxe door plates with wood grain ( not easy to make a nice line)

-silver chrome for bezels or knobs... forget the chrome look it's just silver.

Overall its good stuff/paint but not that what I thought about those paint markers.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Flo-Orange-Paint-Pen-for-Gauge-Needles-Clusters-Console-Shifter-Shift-Indicators-/381044093682?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A1973%7CModel%3AMustang&hash=item58b7ff72f2&vxp=mtr

 
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I had a hipo parts kit.. It was better, but not what I wanted. Then I put in SMD LEDs from super bright LED's.

IMG_14531.jpg


09171412371_zps735cb9c1.jpg
Today I pulled the cluster again. I removed the blue diffusers and ordered the blue LEDs form super bright LEDs. They are 30 mins from my house. Didn't know that. Tomorrow I'll pickup the lights and install.

One thing to note when I took out the diffusers I plugged the cluster back in and it's brighter. I can see all the gauges. Last time I put auto zone sylvania bulbs in. Without the blue diffusers the gauges look orange now.

When I get everything reinstalled I'll post pics

 
OK, I installed my bulbs this afternoon. I went out to Super Bright LEDs in Earth City, MO and picked up a bag of bulbs.

I'm pleased with the end result because they aren't too bright and I can definitely see everything clearly in the dark now. They also match my underdash LEDs, so I'm digging the ambiance.....

Here's what I got:

194 LED Bulb - 4 LED Wedge Base. They were $2.59 each. I spent a total of around $35.00 for what i needed.

URL: https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/miniature-wedge-base/194-led-bulb-4-led-wedge-base/198/866/

What I did:

1. I removed the blue diffusers. They were glued in, so if you lightly pry on them, they will come out.

2. cleaned the cluster as best as I could

3. I didn't paint anything

4. put the bulbs in and hooked everything back up

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