Gauge bulb L.E.D replacement.

[Pontiackid73]

Anyone replace their gauge back light bulbs with led's? easy? mine are burnt out and thought I would upgrade them when i tear it apart.

[xunedeinx]

Easy, plug and play.

I haven't done the diode for the turn signals yet, so that the turn indicator works for both signals, but even thats easy.

Adidasguy got a diagram for you

[numus]

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=57144
Lot of information was compiled there..

The ones i had gone with where the WLED-5x Wide Angle and the 74x for the indicator lights... Then you get a full wave rectifer and solder it into the gauge cluster harness to fix the turn signal issue.

[seamax]

Easy, plug and play.

I haven't done the diode for the turn signals yet, so that the turn indicator works for both signals, but even thats easy.

Adidasguy got a diagram for you

get the wide angle leds, illuminates whole gauge much better

[adidasguy]

LED is easy for the turn indicator. If you can get a non-polarized one, just plug it in. Otherwise here's how the 2 diodes look.
(Technically it is half wave rectification, not full wave)


Wiring diagram:


Chose your color for gauges. The yellow one is a type that works really well - 4 side firing LEDs and one on the top. Aything taller, as you can see, will be too tall. You can get it in all of the colors shown.
The ones I recommend from SuperBrightLEDs.com are:
WLED-xHP5 & WLED-xHP5-PC:   4 Radially Mounted High Power SMD LEDs, 1 Forward Aiming SMD LED, 9~18VDC operating voltage range - 360 degree beam - These bulbs are Polarized.

[Paulcet]

(Technically it is half wave rectification, not full wave)

Technically it's just a rectifier. No waves in this DC circuit.   

[adidasguy]

(Technically it is half wave rectification, not full wave)

Technically it's just a rectifier. No waves in this DC circuit.   

Well, technically the circuit with the 2 diodes can be called a half wave rectifier. OK, call it a "dual diode" like the one in your bike connected to the side stand and the neutral wire.  Don't need any real "waves" unless you're going surfing. Electricity does go both directions through the stock indicator bulb and this makes it "DC" or no longer bisexual  meaning it goes only one way through the indicator.

[Worm]

I replaced all the bulbs in the dash with direct replacement leds from www.superbrightleds.com. Blue for the gauges to match the paint color and then colors that match the lens for the neutral, turn, oil pressure and high beam. I used this full wave bridge rectifier from radio shack to make the turn signal work http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062581&filterName=Brand&filterValue=RadioShack.

[adidasguy]

if 2001+, you need the diodes because T-10 LEDs don't fit. You need to use T-5's. There is no T-5 non-polarized LED.
If 1989-2000, you can get the non-polarized from Superbright: WLED-xLX, WLED-x6
Only the turn indicator needs to be non-polarized (green or amber depending on your indicator cap). It doesn't matter for the other ones. The WLED-xHP work good for a non-polarized LED.

[Pontiackid73]

Ok to clarify ( because i am electronically challenged)

I need a rectifier per each turn signal light total of 2, and then 2 T-5 led diodes.

Then two wide angle T5 led diodes for the actual back-lighting ( one per gauge )

Now looking at your diagram adidasguy i hook up both incoming wires to the rectifier, then tie them together after the rectifier and go to the power side of the led. Are rectifiers directional? ... ok also what does a rectifier do?

[adidasguy]

2 cheap diodes, like 1n4001. Available at Radio Shack.
The 2 wires going to the turn signal indicator get cut. The wires go to the diodes and the diodes are then connected together and go to one lead of the bulb socket. The other lead of the bulb socket connects to the ground wire on the adjacent bulb.

Diodes are directional - they let electricity go in one direction. Diodes will have a band on one end as you see in the photo.

You want T-10 size for the gauges for any year GS500.

T-5 size if your bike is 2001-present. T-10 size for indicators if your bike is 1989-2000.

What year is your bike?

[Pontiackid73]

It's an 01

[adidasguy]

Duplicate my photo. Those are 1N4001's. The black wire does connect to the black/white wire though hard to see the connection.

Looking at parts diagrams, it is hard to tell whether 2001-2002 uses T-10's or T-5's for the indicators. Pull one out and see. Since it is still a mechanical tach, my guess is T-10's. If so, all you need are the LEDs. No need for the diodes. While you can always put in the diodes, the main reason for later models with T-5 is because you can't get a non-polarized LED in T-5 size.

Parts diagram does show same bulbs for indicators and gauges for 2001-2002. 2004+ it shows different bulbs for gauges and indicators and went to electronic tach. The plastic back cover for the gauges changed when it switched to electronic tach.

Gauges all have T-10's.

[knowles]

adidasguy i wish you lived close to me so i could drive over and pay to to do all the lights to leds for me, when i get to my project next winter im going to all leds and will be asking for help on here

[numus]

adidasguy i wish you lived close to me so i could drive over and pay to to do all the lights to leds for me, when i get to my project next winter im going to all leds and will be asking for help on here

Everything is plug and play except hte turn signal indicator.. you can do the 2 diode setup like adidasguy mentioned above, or you can go full rectifer like was mentioned about that. They both accomplish the same thing and one may be easier for you to understand then the other..
That is how to install a full wave rectifier.

[Pontiackid73]

adidasguy i wish you lived close to me so i could drive over and pay to to do all the lights to leds for me, when i get to my project next winter im going to all leds and will be asking for help on here

Everything is plug and play except hte turn signal indicator.. you can do the 2 diode setup like adidasguy mentioned above, or you can go full rectifer like was mentioned about that. They both accomplish the same thing and one may be easier for you to understand then the other..
That is how to install a full wave rectifier.

could you draw up a wiring diagram of that?

[numus]

adidasguy i wish you lived close to me so i could drive over and pay to to do all the lights to leds for me, when i get to my project next winter im going to all leds and will be asking for help on here

Everything is plug and play except hte turn signal indicator.. you can do the 2 diode setup like adidasguy mentioned above, or you can go full rectifer like was mentioned about that. They both accomplish the same thing and one may be easier for you to understand then the other..
That is how to install a full wave rectifier.

could you draw up a wiring diagram of that?

It would be pretty much worthless to draw one... It is a very simple installation...
You take the wiring harness from the gauge cluster and cut the black and the light green wire...
solder the black and light green wires from the gauge cluster to the + and - on the rectifier (doesn't matter which one goes on the + or -) and solder the black and light green wires from the connector to terminals labeled ~ . That is all there is to it.
I installed it a little above the connector (as you can see) so it hides inside the headlamp assembly.

In the end how it works is the signal from the turn signal is transmitted as "AC" (since it grounds through the opposite side) while the indicator itself is "DC" (this allows you to use a 74x or T(whatever) polarized.

[adidasguy]

I posted the diagram for 2 diodes.  Full wave bridge can work as well. nemus description is pretty clear for the bridge. Just do what he says. Cut 2 wires and make 4 connections to the bridge as indicated.

My preference is 2 diodes because it can be hidden right in with the existing wires. Where the full wave bridge is a little bigger lump to have in there.

It is easy enough to take a spare bulb harness and mod it. Its 4 bulbs, 8" or so of wire and a connector. There are a couple different wiring harnesses with different connectors. To do it, someone would need to know what connector was on the end of your indicator lights. I winder if I should start a business of modifying indicator harnesses and supplying LEDs. 

[numus]

I posted the diagram for 2 diodes.  Full wave bridge can work as well. nemus description is pretty clear for the bridge. Just do what he says. Cut 2 wires and make 4 connections to the bridge as indicated.

My preference is 2 diodes because it can be hidden right in with the existing wires. Where the full wave bridge is a little bigger lump to have in there.

It is easy enough to take a spare bulb harness and mod it. Its 4 bulbs, 8" or so of wire and a connector. There are a couple different wiring harnesses with different connectors. To do it, someone would need to know what connector was on the end of your indicator lights. I winder if I should start a business of modifying indicator harnesses and supplying LEDs. 

Another point to make is the full wave rectifier can still cause problems with SOME led turn signals. Since it doesn't solve the ground issue through the opposite side. Your modification with the 2 diodes DOES solve this issue since it grounds at the gauge cluster. Just depends which the person is comfortable with and which style indicators they are going with I guess.

You had talked about it a while ago (assemblying upgrade kits with the proper leds). You could probably just get a bunch of the holders and solder together a pigtail with the diodes and the grounding wire.. Then just instructions to cut the light green and black wires... Tie them into the 2 pigtail wires to the doides and then ground the other pigtail wire... Not sure how many people would be interested tho. Also have the problem of the different jewel colors depending on when the gauge cluster was made.

Note: IDK if you did it later but you might want to either wrap the ground wire solder with some electrical tape or put a small section of shrink tubing... That could cause a random grounding issue if left uncovered.

[adidasguy]

It was all covered in tape and shrink tubing. Photo taken before being buttoned up.