Speedo and Tach Guage LED lights

[pandy]

Pics never do this kind of thing justice. None the less some referance pics wouldn't hurt.

Nope, they usually don't; however, the frame of reference is much appreciated!!! 

[that_guy]

ok so I put some ghey color changing LED's in my gauge cluster to get me by until i get my Ebay LED's in the mail.  I made a video.  Check them out.  I even included some rockin music..

http://www.houston-imports.com/users/that_guy/bike/gauges.AVI

you can click it but it will probably load faster if you right click save as it.

[budget speed demon]

those changing led's are cool, but theres points where you can't see the guages at all. doesn't seem like a good idea to me.
it would be cool if you could hit a button and they would change to the next colour though.

[jen_]

that_guy, those LEDs are totally pimp.   aren't they a little distracting though?

[that_guy]

they are kinda fruity IMO I just thought they would be neat to have for a few days until my real ones get here.  I only took the bike for a spin after i put them in.  I have not had working bulbs in the gauges since i installed them so it's just nice to have any light at all.  But yes the points between changes of color it is dark and once again hard to see.  Oh well they're kinda fun for a day or two..lol

[NightRyder]

Hahaha thoes lights would bug me. I did like the orange and blue though. Green was ok too. Haha if anyone wants to see what it looks like with some color, they should just check out that video it seems to have them all covered.

[RedShift]

ok so I put some ghey color changing LED's in my gauge cluster to get me by until i get my Ebay LED's in the mail.

Have some questions:

• How many LED's per bulb?  What is its orientation?
  
• (Apart from White) What colour do you think is the best at night?  Which is the worst?  They essentially the same?

I know the latter is subjective, and as Budget has offered, technology usually has trouble with low-light conditions. 

Light from LED's is directional, and it seems to do a good job backlighting the upper half of your gauges.  Is the lower half legible?

No matter.  I'll have RED soon enough.  Looks like you currently hold bragging rights.  Interesting Video, but I figure the colour-changing would bug me too. 

[jeast]

i thought it was a Bon Jovi concert

[that_guy]

LOL.  Tonight on my ride home from work I will figure out which color is "the best" for night riding...  Also it is actually 1 bulb that has 4 or 5 colors in it.  it's very strange.  I guess they just use different LED's melded into one large one.  it is really quite interesting.  I'll see if i still have the box and maybe I can look up the manufacturer.

[that_guy]

Blue IMO is the best color out of the 5 that they make.  Red is nice but you can barely see the needles.  It seems like they blen in when red.  Blue shows great contrast from the numbers to the background and it makes the needles very visible. 

[RedShift]

Well, the RED 5-LED Matrix bulb came today.  (Ya gotta love the USPS, working Saturdays.  )

So I scurry into the garage, barely above freezing and snap the "Before" Pic:



Then set to work to take the dash apart.  Pull out the 5-LED Matrix bulb and see a problem.  These puppies are wider than the stock 168 bulb.  The matrix effectively a Square -- 10.3mm per edge, but the hypotenuse is the dimension that counts -- at 13.7mm it's just a tad wider than the hole it has to fit into (which is 12.3mm).  (Discard the idea of drilling it out.)

Well, I managed to squeeze the Tachometer bulb in, but the Speedo bulb doesn't light.  Pull out the socket and the bulb is stuck inside the Speedo housing!! <insert favourite curse>  Needle nose plyers extract said bulb but she's broken. 

Work stops 'til I get a replacement, but this is what the Tacho looks like:



(Apologies for the fuzziness -- shoulda put the close-up setting on.  Will do the next time.)

Not sure if I'm completely smitten with RED , but since I'll be back to AutoLumination for another purchase, may go for a couple of colours. Will have to get back to you folks next week.

[annguyen1981]

I thought RED would look cool too, but seeing it now makes me want blue or something.

Thankz RedShift for the pics!

[pandy]

Well, the RED 5-LED Matrix bulb came today.  (Ya gotta love the USPS, working Saturdays.  )
So I scurry into the garage, barely above freezing and snap the "Before" Pic:
Not sure if I'm completely smitten with RED , but since I'll be back to AutoLumination for another purchase, may go for a couple of colours. Will have to get back to you folks next week.

Nice work! And fast! Hmm...the red is rather strange looking. I wonder how long that would take to get used to.... You could always test the PURPLE for me. 

[annguyen1981]

Since you're testing colors...  Could ya try blue for me?   

[that_guy]

Since you're testing colors... Could ya try blue for me?

my blue ones came today.  However the stupid mailman delivered them to the office of my apartments so you will have to wait until tomorrow to see the blue ones.

[RedShift]

Besides getting a replacement RED, I just might get a pair of UV (a.k.a. PURPLE), or a AMBER or BLUE.  You'll just have to be patient and wait for my next move. 

__________________________________________________

Oh, any of you others notice that you have to C-O-N-V-I-N-C-E the LED bulbs into the instruments?  Was I just unlucky that I broke one to get it in?  Guy?  Anyone who's tried them?

[bulletproofcycle]

Mine went in snugly but would stay in when I pulled the connector out. I glued them in to prevent them from falling out.

[RedShift]

... I glued them in to prevent them from falling out.

Glued them in???    Geez, you have faith in things man-made!!  Hope it doesn't come back to bite you.

Next time I'm going to "hair drier" the rear end of the instrument housing and grease the hole in the hope it slips in easier.

[RedShift]

I found another supplier of the 5-LED Raidially Mounted design -- SuperBrightLEDs.com.  Their Miniature Wedge Base Bulbs page are the same as other links here.  Not as inexpensive as Ebay's price but better than AutoLumination's.

I put my order in -- not telling what I'm getting.  You'll have to wait...

[that_guy]

i think i'll probably dremmel the hole a hair.  Im going t go to the office and get mine now.  BBS

edit: DAMN!!  it wasn't the package I thought it was at the office.  It was the oil filter cover studs I ordered from bike bandit.  Even though I don't need them anymore because home depot did the job just fine..