Replacing light for speedometer

[Tallemertes]

So last night was the first time I've rode at night, and I learned something. The lightbulb for my speedometer is out. I made it home without any tickets and I'm in the process of replacing the bulb. I've got the black plastic back off the gauges and now I'm looking at the white plastic. I read that the gray and black&white wires are for the lights but how do I get to the bulb? Do I just pull out the rubber seal? Do I unscrew something?

[GI JOE]

Carefully pull that rubber out, the bulb sits in it. I just did this last week on mine haha. I used a flat edge to wiggle it out until I could grab it. I believe it's a seal so moisture don't get in combined into the bulb seat.

[Tallemertes]

Thanks. I got the bulb out and now I got to find a replacement. Would an automotive store like auto-zone have the bulb?

[GI JOE]

Yea you can get it there for a few bucks just like the headlight. Seems to be basic and simple bike so things ain't hard to find. But yea I got the pack at auto-zone and replaced both gauges.

[Watevaman]

 Replace it with an LED bulb for a better overall glow and never having to worry about replacing it again. I think all models use a standard 194 bulb like this:

http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/miniature-wedge-base/194-led-bulb-5-led-wide-angle-wedge-base/199/

[jacob92icu]

+1 on the LED its so freaking bright.

[twocool]

I went with red LED...not too bright...can't see at all in day time....nice blood red color at night...very easy to read in red........

LED runs cool and uses not much power..

Cookie

+1 on the LED its so freaking bright.

[Tallemertes]

I wish I'd have seen this earlier, I went to a local dealership and they charged me $4 for a bulb. I would have replaced both with LEDs had I seem this. Thanks for that link!

[adidasguy]

When  you replace the indicators, they look best with colored LEDs to match the caps. White LEDs wash out the color.

For the turn, use a non-polarized LED or the dual diode modification. The diode modification will always work with whatever light you put in.

[mister]

If you go normal bulb in your speedo, best to change the tacho one at the same time - unless you can get the same wattage bulb.

[islandlaker]

My speedo and tach lights are also dead. I have not pulled the gauges off to change them because I want to have the parts first. I need a seperate light for each one correct? Also thinking the indicator lights could be switched out too they are dull. I would need a seperate light for each one of these as well? I am insterested in the LED lights mentioned above are they all 194? Lastly is this process covered in one of the repair or owners manual? I have neither and am thinking I need to buy at least one of them. Thanks for the help guys!

[gsJack]

I use the 194 automotive type bulbs in the speedo, tach, and 4 indicators lights available in all Walmarts and auto parts stores.

[dinkydonuts]

I wish you guys would stop telling people to get a "non polarized LED" for the signal indicator. They aren't as commonplace (read: almost impossible to find) and it seems nearly everyone ends up having to go the diode route.

[jdoorn14]

It depends on the model year of your bike as to how easy/hard they are to find.....and how much time/effort/money one is willing to spend. I forget exactly the year, but after a certain year (might be 2004) they changed the socket size for the turn signal indicator.


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[DoktoroKiu]

On my 2009 only the speedo and tach gauges use 194 lights.  The rest use smaller lights. Others have reported success with the 74 type lights, but those are not exactly the right size (US standard instead of metric).  According to what I've found they must have changed the bulb size on the indicator lights at some point, because some with earlier model bikes are able to use 194s for all of the lights (A 194 has both an incorrect plug and too large a diameter to fit in my indicator light sockets).

On partzilla (http://www.partzilla.com/parts/search/Suzuki/Motorcycle/2009/GS500F/SPEEDOMETER+-+TACHOMETER+%28GS500H+E28,+E95%29/parts.html) parts 14 and 15 are the gauge lights and indicator lights, respectively.  The gauge lights are listed as T10 (metric sizing standard) bulbs, but apparently T10 and 194 type lights are one and the same even though they are listed as T-3 1/4 sized (US standard).  The indicator lights are listed as T6.5, which corresponds to a type 24 LED from superbrightleds.  Unfortunately, even though these 24 LEDS have the proper T6.5 base, the bulb itself violates this diameter restriction and will probably not fit inside the instrument panel (the stock bulbs fit tight).  So I'd go with the tested 74 LEDs even though they are T1-3/4 US sized.

There are no "unpolarized" 74-type or 24-type LEDs, so you have to modify your turn signal indicator light wiring with a couple diodes to get it to work properly.  In all truth there are no "unpolarized" LEDs, and the bulbs advertized as such have additional components to correct for this.

I used two of these (in blue) for my speedo and tach lights and they work perfectly:
http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/miniature-wedge-base/194-led-bulb-5-led-wide-angle-wedge-base/199/

I plan to buy these 74-type lights for the indicators and modifying the turn signal light with the diodes:
http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/subminiature-bulbs/74-led-bulb-1-smd-led-wedge-base/227/#/tab/Overview


In case you are curious, these are the 24 type lights.  If you look at the picture comparing them to the incandescent you can see how much wider the bulb is (NOTE: I do not recommend buying this bulb, as it will most likely not fit):
http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/subminiature-bulbs/24-led-bulb-1-smd-led-wedge-base/229/

[BockinBboy]

There are no "unpolarized" 74-type or 24-type LEDs, so you have to modify your turn signal indicator light wiring with a couple diodes to get it to work properly.  In all truth there are no "unpolarized" LEDs, and the bulbs advertized as such have additional components to correct for this.

This!  I think it was changed in '02, that the indicator light sockets changed sizes... So anyone with an '02+ must do the diode mod if you want an LED signal indicator... because there aren't any 'non polarized' leds that fit this socket (74).  Otherwise, you just use the standard incandescent bulb if you don't want to mess with wiring.  However, you can find the 'non-polarized' led to fit the pre-01 model indicator sockets (168 or 194), they are a little harder to find and cost a little more, but they do exist...

- Bboy

[bombsquad83]

Great info in this thread.  This pretty much covers everything around replacing indicator bulbs, and replacing with LEDs.

[gsJack]

I've used the standard incandescent #194 automotive bulbs from Walmart and auto parts stores for all 6 of the guage and indicator lights on both my 97 and 02 GSs.  The OEM high beam indicator was 1.7W and the other 5 were 3.4W.  The 194 is 3.78W, a little brighter.  All had the T10 base.

According to parts fiches the change to the smaller indicator bulbs was for 04 and later models and Suzuki went to 1.7W bulbs for both the 2 guages and all 4 indicators on these.  The 1.7W guage bulbs still have the larger T10 base and the 4 smaller indicators are a T6.5 base.

Interesting, now that Suzuki has put in 1.7W bulbs all around their users are changing to LED bulbs to make them brighter again.

[jsyzdek]

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=976505 - that's where I got the headlight, but as I said - it's a sucker to put in.

LEDs for indicator lights (T5) I got here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007G67JCS/ref=oh_details_o08_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

LEDs for the clock backlight and the front parking light (T10): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EPA7CZC/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
but you can also go with these (although I haven't received them yet, I'm not sure how much brighter they are and how they fit): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006R34PB4/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I haven't received the turn signal bulbs, but I ordered these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006RFC60Y/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I will only change the back bulbs. They draw a lot less current so their effective resistance is much higher. So when you swap both, the blinker will be more of a strobe. If you swap only one on each side, it will only double the blinker speed.

I'm planning to leave the front turn signals and rear braking/riding lights stock for now. There are some decent 2-intensity bulbs for the braking/riding light, but they are really expensive. And cheapies have very little difference in intensity between the low and high intensity (and they also leak current to the other circuit). And I want to avoid changing the entire system for the turn signals, so the front will remain as is (for now). I'm not a purist, won't split hair over just a few extra watts that I could shave off.


Coming back to turn signal indicator: a regular polarized LED will either show you right, or left turn blinker, not both (the way the circuit is wired, makes the current go either one way or the other, depending whether it's right or left turn). You need to either get a non-poralized LED, or solder in a couple of diodes. I'll dig out a diagram posted by late Adidasguy (RIP) that shows how to do it. I'm actually going to do it right now, because I just got the diodes in mail today

It's from another thread here:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=67422.20

whenever you wanna buy something, I recommend checking out amazon and ebay before you go to any dedicated website. Chances are you're gonna get it way cheaper on amazon... I only end up buying elsewhere if Amazon doesn't carry the exact thing I want. Save yourself some $$$! 

BTW - those turn signal LEDs came in recently. Put them in the back (so I only changed one on each side). Now blinking is about 50% faster, so it's actually good - draws a little more attention, but is far from being too fast. They aren't brighter than stock, but are going to last longer and draw less power.

[bmckzari]

I want as straightforward of an answer as possible. My speed/tachometer lights are out. I'd like to change all my lights to LED. Yet for now, I want to get the gauge lights taken care of. From this thread, it seems people are saying the 194 bulb fits. I have a 07 gs500e. So the naked model. What is the actual verdict? Thanks all, ride safe.