I just installed some led lights into my speedo and tachometer housing. What a difference! I decided to use WHITE, but you could use RED (night vision) or BLUE.
These leds I bought are unique as they are RADIAL firing leds. They are 168 bulbs and fit perfectly into the hole, the only difference is that they have 5 leds that fire outward (key) and one forward.
I decided to change all the bulbs in my bike to leds as they consume so little power.
Here are some pics to clarify the bulb design. Also you can buy these on eBay for dirt cheap!
(http://home.comcast.net/~velocityusa/194_5_DIA.jpg)
Very clever design. The design addresses the usual problem of an LED replacement, "directionality" (if there is such a word).
Thanks for showing us! :thumb:
I jus searched on Ebay, but couldn't find anything like this product. I must be typing in the wrong search text. Can you give me some help? :)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/360-DEGREE-SUPER-BRIGHT-LED-BULBS-SUZUKI-MOTORCYCLES_W0QQitemZ4604233623QQcategoryZ35598QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I just found these... They look promising, but too expensive just to test out...
Those LED's look pretty wierd, are they much brighter then the original bulbs?
I have been toying with the idea of using a flexible rope light on the inside edge of the speedo and tach don't know if it will work yet, i presume it will but unsure of the brightness.
Any pics of your new brigth dials?
Richmore
Any chance you can post a picture or two that gives us an idea of how different these bulbs look like?
Also, who makes these puppies. They aren't "only available on eBay", are they?
My digital camera is not very good so any pics would be pretty disappointing.
I put white leds in as the stock bulbs looked sort of yellowish.
They are definately worth it and much brighter.
There is a seller on ebay selling them cheap, $5 for two!!! The sellers name is warden_jp2002
Search: 168 led and you will find them. I also bought the 35 led 1157 tail light bulb and it is awesome as well!!!
Are the tailight LEDs you got bright enough? Have you compared them to the stock bulbs?
how many bulbs are in the cluster total? Im about to order some off ebay..And also what size are the tail light bulbs?
Another question. Seeing that my gauges have never illuminated due to not being wired yet, is there any sort of color to the gauges or are they clear? meaning if I put blue LED's in there will my gauges light blue or are they going to turn out some funk ass purple color?
In order of questioning:
The 1157 tailight bulbs are VERY bright, they are way more red than stock. You must purchase red leds for a red lense! The only drawback is that when brake are applied they are not as bright but still extremelly visible. Worth every single penny :icon_mrgreen:. These 1157 bulbs have 19 aiming forward and 16 aiming sideways for the reflector. :thumb:
The gauge bulbs are 168 and there are only two, one for the tack and one for the speedo. You only have to remove the 8mm acorn nuts and pull the bulb socket out.
You will have to put a electronic flasher to maintain proper flash rate, when you add the leds for the tailight it flashes faster. i don't mind as it is way more visible that way!
just ordered a pair of blue ones for the gauges. will post pics as soon as they get here..
Ordered some white ones for the Speedo and Tach...
We'll see...
Now all we need is someone to locate and spring for some RED bulbs. Always liked the looks of RED gauges.
Okay, okay, I just talked myself into getting a pair. Off I go to search the web for a couple of those 5-LED (4 Radially mounted) bulbs.
First one who posts before & after pictures in this thread wins bragging rights. (If there are no pictures, it didn't really happen.)
Found a couple of vendors of RED "Matrix" 168 LED bulbs -- two on order.
In case Pandy wanders into this thread, AutoLumination (http://autolumination.com/194.htm) offers a UV flavor -- IT'S VERY PURPLE :
(http://autolumination.com/images/auto_bulbs/194p_matrix_lit.jpg)
Does your SV650S have a bulb behind your tach? If so, this bulb's for you !!!
ha haaaaaaaaa I shall win all bragging rights.
p.s. my neck is frozen.
Quote from: RedShift on January 18, 2006, 08:36:26 PM
Found a couple of vendors of RED "Matrix" 168 LED bulbs -- two on order.
In case Pandy wanders into this thread, AutoLumination (http://autolumination.com/194.htm) offers a UV flavor -- IT'S VERY PURPLE : Does your SV650S have a bulb behind your tach? If so, this bulb's for you !!!
oooOOOoOOoooo I liiiiikeeeeeee....I think red for my SVS and
PURPLE for ratbike!!!! :thumb: :cheers: :kiss3: :icon_mrgreen:
(Maybe I should surprise my stepson and slip some purples into the commuter that's his now.... :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:)
Quote from: that_guy on January 18, 2006, 09:59:09 PM
ha haaaaaaaaa I shall win all bragging rights.
p.s. my neck is frozen.
That'll learn ya to "stick your neck out". :)
Quote from: pandy on January 19, 2006, 08:01:26 AM
Quote from: RedShift on January 18, 2006, 08:36:26 PM
Found a couple of vendors of RED "Matrix" 168 LED bulbs -- two on order.
In case Pandy wanders into this thread, AutoLumination (http://autolumination.com/194.htm) offers a UV flavor -- IT'S VERY PURPLE : Does your SV650S have a bulb behind your tach? If so, this bulb's for you !!!
oooOOOoOOoooo I liiiiikeeeeeee....I think red for my SVS and PURPLE for ratbike!!!! :thumb: :cheers: :kiss3: :icon_mrgreen:
(Maybe I should surprise my stepson and slip some purples into the commuter that's his now.... :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:)
Stick around. Within 7 days one of us should have received our little LED's in the mail. Twenty minutes later, and it's Woo Hoo.
RED instrument cluster!! Can hardly wait to turn the lights out and snap those pics... :)
Quote from: RedShift on January 19, 2006, 08:02:49 PM
Can hardly wait to turn the lights out and snap those pics... :)
Yes!!! Please!!! Everyone must post pics!!!!!! :cheers: O0
Pics never do this kind of thing justice. None the less some referance pics wouldn't hurt.
Quote from: budget speed demon on January 19, 2006, 08:18:20 PM
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!!! O0
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.
those changing led's are cool, but theres points where you can't see the guages at all. :dunno_white: 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.
that_guy, those LEDs are totally pimp. :thumb: aren't they a little distracting though?
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
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. :D
Quote from: that_guy on January 19, 2006, 10:04:40 PM
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. :dunno_white:
i thought it was a Bon Jovi concert :laugh:
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.
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.
Well, the RED 5-LED Matrix bulb came today. (Ya gotta love the USPS, working Saturdays. :thumb:)
So I scurry into the garage, barely above freezing and snap the "Before" Pic:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/redshift/Gauges-StockBulbs.jpg)
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. :cry:
Work stops 'til I get a replacement, but this is what the Tacho looks like:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/redshift/Tacho-5-LEDMatrix.jpg)
(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 (http://autolumination.com/194.htm) for another purchase, may go for a couple of colours. Will have to get back to you folks next week.
I thought RED would look cool too, but seeing it now makes me want blue or something.
Thankz RedShift for the pics!
Quote from: RedShift on January 21, 2006, 08:36:12 PM
Well, the RED 5-LED Matrix bulb came today. (Ya gotta love the USPS, working Saturdays. :thumb:)
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 (http://autolumination.com/194.htm) 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. :thumb: :laugh: :kiss3:
Since you're testing colors... Could ya try blue for me? :icon_razz:
Quote from: annguyen1981 on January 21, 2006, 08:46:38 PM
Since you're testing colors... Could ya try blue for me? :icon_razz:
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.
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?
Mine went in snugly but would stay in when I pulled the connector out. I glued them in to prevent them from falling out.
Quote from: bulletproofcycle on January 22, 2006, 08:36:44 AM
... I glued them in to prevent them from falling out.
Glued them in??? :o 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.
I found another supplier of the 5-LED Raidially Mounted design -- SuperBrightLEDs.com. Their Miniature Wedge Base Bulbs (http://www.superbrightleds.com/mini-wedge.html) page are the same as other links here. Not as inexpensive as Ebay's price but better than AutoLumination's (http://autolumination.com/194.htm).
I put my order in -- not telling what I'm getting. You'll have to wait...
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..
Quote from: RedShift on January 22, 2006, 01:01:58 PM
I found another supplier of the 5-LED Raidially Mounted design -- SuperBrightLEDs.com. Their Miniature Wedge Base Bulbs (http://www.superbrightleds.com/mini-wedge.html) page are the same as other links here. Not as inexpensive as Ebay's price but better than AutoLumination's (http://autolumination.com/194.htm).
I put my order in -- not telling what I'm getting. You'll have to wait...
I have money on BLUE. :thumb:
Would these work?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4606572473&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
Quote from: chandra.hp on January 23, 2006, 03:47:00 PM
Would these work?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4606572473&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
Well, I barely got the 13.7mm 5-LED matrix bulb into the 12.3mm hole. According to the photo, those 9-LED bulbs are 15mm in diameter. You'd have to do some serious Dremel work to slip those babies into the instrument housings, but all things are possible.
These appear to have a much smaller diameter.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=8032827755&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT
Your thoughts?
Edit:
These also look to be a good fit. But it's not exactly 12.3mm. Would a smaller diameter work?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4606306718&fromMakeTrack=true
btw those are all from the same seller and he is located in Hong Kong. I haven't received anything yet aside from an email with no tracking number.
i just put the red ones in on my bike last night and they look awesome imo. Both work fine and are brighter than i thought. Lit up the gauges fine, better than what the pictures show. I used the same 5-LED's as well. The bulb just needed a lil bit of influence to get it in there.
Quote from: BOSS500 on January 24, 2006, 08:55:46 AM
i just put the red ones in on my bike last night and they look awesome imo. Both work fine and are brighter than i thought. Lit up the gauges fine, better than what the pictures show. I used the same 5-LED's as well. The bulb just needed a lil bit of influence to get it in there.
... but this is a visual kinda thing. Even if you think it might not do the visual justice of reality -- we gotta see it or it didn't happen!!
So I have ta say,
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/redshift/needpics.gif)
Once again SuperBrightLEDs.com (http://www.superbrightleds.com/mini-wedge.html) have come through. Took only three business days (excellent!!!) to get an assortment of 5-LED Matrix colours:
- Here's AMBER :
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/redshift/AmberMatrix5-LED.jpg)
- Here's BLUE :
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/redshift/BlueMatrix5-LED.jpg)
- and here's RED :
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/redshift/RedMatrix5-LED.jpg)
Which one do I favour? Not sure, but I think
annguyen1981 wins as I think I'll leave the
BLUE pair in the guages. The photos are a bit deceiving as the guages look darker than these pictures. Can barely see the Trip Odometer with
RED or
BLUE -- better with
AMBER.
AMBER is easiest to see at a glance, but seems too "off-
WHITE".
I may well order a pair of
WHITE bulbs just in case I feel the best course of action is to be safe and set it up the way Suzuki did originally.
Now, if only Spring would come early so I can get back on the road...
Anyone tried the single LED inverted cone type bulb like they have on that page?
Quote from: brembo on January 26, 2006, 06:05:39 AM
Anyone tried the single LED inverted cone type bulb like they have on that page?
I have, it doesn't work, I went with the WHITE 5 bulb MATRIX, its really bright and everything is visible!
DAMN that BLUE is SEXY!!!
The blue looks better than the red....
but I still think I'll do the red.
REDSHIFT - I tried to order some of the LED bulbs on superbrightleds.com, but I can't find anything that states "matrix" style. Maybe I'm just blind. Could you tell me which bulb you purchased. Thankz
Oh jeez! I think I just found them.
WLED-x5 LED Wedge Base Bulbs
(http://www.superbrightleds.com/products/car/wled-x5-all.jpg)
werd, from my experiments the blue was the best looking and most visible. My blue 5 bulds just came in today. Im putting them in tonight.
That blue *is* HAWT....love that purplish tint! :laugh:
i also recieved my blue lights today.
As nice as blue looks, it is very annoying in night driving! It was very distracting and somewhat hard to read.
I think the best choice is WHITE followed by RED
You guys might also want to replace the indicator lights: NEUTRAL, OIL PRESSURE, TURN SIGNAL AND HIGH beam with an led bulb as well. They are #37 or #73 doesn't matter which, they are the same. Basically the indicator bulbs are mini #168 like in the speedo and tach.
By replacing the lights on your bike with LEDS you are significantly lowering the electrical load on the bike and the battery. I noticed that when I was stopped at a light, while applying the braked and turn signals my headlight would go bright...dim...bright...dim.
This was because the turn signal bulbs and headlight use quite a bit of power.
Also I like to keep my bike in the parking light mode (rear light and front indicator light in headlight ON) this way no one will back into it at a mall or anywhere. With LEDS I can leave the bike in parking light mode all night and still have virtually these same amount of juice in the battery. Cheers
I ordered two white bulbs from SuperBrightLEDs.com. I'll post pics as soon as they are installed.
Quote from: annguyen1981 on January 26, 2006, 10:28:18 AM
Oh jeez! I think I just found them.
WLED-x5 LED Wedge Base Bulbs
(http://www.superbrightleds.com/products/car/wled-x5-all.jpg)
Yup. Them be the ones...
The ones I received don't have the coloured base (clear plastic) but otherwise the picture & description are the ones I got. It's a tight fit but if you fuss with them you can "angle" them in.
Quote from: bulletproofcycle on January 26, 2006, 06:18:46 PM
As nice as blue looks, it is very annoying in night driving! It was very distracting and somewhat hard to read.
I think the best choice is WHITE followed by RED
As safety goes, you're quite right. I haven't thrown anything out, and may well go back to
WHITE if night riding doesn't live up to the excitement I have in the garage. The
BLUE is darker than the
WHITE but you can't judge a bulb by its colour until you use it in action.
Quote from: bulletproofcycle on January 26, 2006, 06:18:46 PM
You guys might also want to replace the indicator lights: NEUTRAL, OIL PRESSURE, TURN SIGNAL AND HIGH beam with an led bulb as well. They are #37 or #73 doesn't matter which, they are the same. Basically the indicator bulbs are mini #168 like in the speedo and tach.
By replacing the lights on your bike with LEDS you are significantly lowering the electrical load on the bike and the battery. I noticed that when I was stopped at a light, while applying the braked and turn signals my headlight would go bright...dim...bright...dim.
This was because the turn signal bulbs and headlight use quite a bit of power.
You bring up an interesting point. All dashboard bulbs are 3.4w (with the exception of the High Beam indicator -- supposed to be 1.7w but looks the same to me. :dunno_white:) But remember that if all systems are go, no bulbs are ON except in the gauges themselves.
But I like the lack of filiments in the LED bulbs. OIL PRESSURE and NEUTRAL are really important indicators to see, and I may well replace these bulbs for the peace of mind they bring. Can't use the WLED-X5 Wedge bulbs for this though -- too big. Haven't looked but the Two LED Wedge would probably do. Will advise if I jump.
One other comment -- If your lights are diming on turn signal use, you may want to consider giving your battery a quick charge. I haven't noticed any affects with my bike from turn-signal effects on my headlight intensity.
Quote from: bulletproofcycle on January 26, 2006, 06:18:46 PM
Also I like to keep my bike in the parking light mode (rear light and front indicator light in headlight ON) this way no one will back into it at a mall or anywhere. With LEDS I can leave the bike in parking light mode all night and still have virtually these same amount of juice in the battery. Cheers
LEDs would be a good mod for this. You can get as many as 30-LEDs clustered in one 1157 bulb. Let us know what bulb you get -- make sure they're
RED so there's no wavelength absorption from the tail light lens.
Is it legal to have a red license plate light? 'cause your brake/tail light also lights the plate... So, red LEDs == Red Plate. :dunno_white:
Quote from: RVertigo on January 27, 2006, 10:45:19 AM
Is it legal to have a red license plate light? 'cause your brake/tail light also lights the plate... So, red LEDs == Red Plate. :dunno_white:
no it's not.
I didn't think so... I was thinking about the full LED move, but I've heard a few people say that the LEDs aren't as bright when braking... :nono: And if I did the conversion, It would be with white ones... Since I don't need ANOTHER reason to be pulled over. :icon_lol:
I put in the 1157 led bulb with about 20 aiming forward and two levels of 6 leds aiming outwards to light up the lens.
One word: AMAZING! Not only that they change from regular light to high level instantly when braking.
Quote from: RedShift on January 27, 2006, 04:46:28 AM
Quote from: bulletproofcycle on January 26, 2006, 06:18:46 PM
Also I like to keep my bike in the parking light mode (rear light and front indicator light in headlight ON) this way no one will back into it at a mall or anywhere. With LEDS I can leave the bike in parking light mode all night and still have virtually these same amount of juice in the battery. Cheers
LEDs would be a good mod for this. You can get as many as 30-LEDs clustered in one 1157 bulb. Let us know what bulb you get -- make sure they're RED so there's no wavelength absorption from the tail light lens.
Okay. Okay. I take it back. You're quite right to point out that the license plate needs to be illuminated with
WHITE light and not
RED. My mistake for not thinking it through.
Quote from: bulletproofcycle on January 27, 2006, 11:24:55 AM
I put in the 1157 led bulb with about 20 aiming forward and two levels of 6 leds aiming outwards to light up the lens.
One word: AMAZING! Not only that they change from regular light to high level instantly when braking.
What did you buy? Part Number and Supplier!! Links, we need links...
I buttoned up the instruments tonight, and decided to put 0.1 miles on the bike to see how the BLUE backlight looks in the gauges:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/redshift/BlueGaugesColdNight.jpg)
I love the reflection of the blue light off the tank. Can't see the trip odometer very well, but the "purple" indicator arms look trés cool. :thumb:
Getting back up the driveway offered a momentary thrill as I hit a patch of ice and the rear slid some. Reinforces why I don't ride unless I'm damn sure all the frozen stuff is off the road. ;)
Quote from: RedShift on January 27, 2006, 07:30:17 PM
I love the reflection of the blue light off the tank. Can't see the trip odometer very well, but the "purple" indicator arms look trés cool. :thumb:
Looks HAWT HAWT HAWT!! :thumb:
Quote from: RedShift on January 27, 2006, 07:30:17 PM
Getting back up the driveway offered a momentary thrill as I hit a patch of ice and the rear slid some. Reinforces why I don't ride unless I'm damn sure all the frozen stuff is off the road. ;)
+10,000 :o
I'm definitely getting the BLUE. :thumb:
Quote from: annguyen1981 on January 27, 2006, 09:15:10 PM
I'm definitely getting the BLUE. :thumb:
I'm looking forward to my first night ride. :) Sooo tempting right now -- temperatures are in the high 40's F (8ºC) but there's salt crumbs all over the place. The rain we need to remove it is predicted for over night, then rain steady all day tomorrow, then snow. Winter -- what an annoying time of the year. :cry:
Edit: When you get your bulbs installed, how's about sharing a picture -- I'd like to see what it looks like with a fairing/windscreen enclosing the guages.
Definitely! :thumb:
Arrrrrrghhhh....I'm *so* the last person to mod her bike, but I *really* like the looks of the coloured gauges.... :thumb: O0
And....yes, yes, yes dear...I know I need to give my bike a fenderectomy, too! :laugh: My bf and his son cringe at the sight of my HUGE back fender, but I just don't look at it! ;)
You're not the only one without a fenderectomy. I've still got the stock look.
My bf usually sweeps and I lead (he likes to keep an eye on me...make sure I'm not getting myself into trouble :icon_lol:)...perhaps he'll get so tired of lookin' at my HUGE.....errrrr.....rear.....that he'll perform the fenderectomy for me for my birthday (hint hint hint).... :laugh: O0
He wasn't impressed with those blue/purple LED's...I LOVE them! :thumb:
the leds looks sweet but how in the damn do you open the guages up to swap them out?
Quote from: average on January 29, 2006, 01:07:01 AM
the leds looks sweet but how in the damn do you open the guages up to swap them out?
hmm. u serious?
Here's an exploded view from Bikebandit.com (http://www.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/default.asp). (Just navigate through the OEM Parts path):
(http://houseofmotorcycles.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/assets/schematics/Suzuki/SU0083_024.gif)
Starts with removing the two bolts that attach the instrument cluster (nuts underneath). Remove the Tach and Speedo cables, then three screws holding the backing plate onto the front, then the gauges come loose. Undo the two cap nuts hold the gauges in, and you should be able to get at every light in the cluster. It's 20 minutes the first time, 5 minutes everytime there after. :)
Quote from: pandy on January 28, 2006, 10:32:07 PM
Arrrrrrghhhh....I'm *so* the last person to mod her bike, but I *really* like the looks of the coloured gauges.... :thumb: O0
And....yes, yes, yes dear...I know I need to give my bike a fenderectomy, too! :laugh: My bf and his son cringe at the sight of my HUGE back fender, but I just don't look at it! ;)
Don't know why people want to cut rear fenders off. Guess it's to get that "racing bike" look, but doesn't hurt function from where I sit. If anything it's polite -- going through a puddle doesn't cause the rooster-tail of water to spray up into the faces of those that follow.
What do you care what other people think? It's your bike -- do what you'd like. (Go buy the
UV bulbs and show us what they look like on your
RED SV650S.
Oops, there I go -- Shame on me for telling someone what to do...)
I just ordered the blue ones for my speedo and tach and also replacements for the intrument panel. Hopefully those work as well. I was having that problem with my headlight dimming as I wait at a stoplight w/ brake light and blinkers on. Not a problem with the battery charge as I keep it on a tender.
Frankly, a minor dimming of the headlight should be expected. I noticed that the bike's voltage will fluctuate between a low of battery voltage (say 12v-12.6v) up to a peak of a tad over 13.6v when the engine is rev'ing at over 3500+ RPM. That change in potential has got to affect the intensity of the headlight.
But if it goes way down in intensity, thats when it becomes a concern.
Quote from: bulletproofcycle on January 18, 2006, 12:43:15 PM
My digital camera is not very good so any pics would be pretty disappointing.
I put white leds in as the stock bulbs looked sort of yellowish.
They are definately worth it and much brighter.
There is a seller on ebay selling them cheap, $5 for two!!! The sellers name is warden_jp2002
Search: 168 led and you will find them. I also bought the 35 led 1157 tail light bulb and it is awesome as well!!!
Anyone buy from this Warden_jp2002 fella's store (http://stores.ebay.com/warden-jp2002_W0QQsspagenameZL2QQtZkm) on eBay? What's the service like? I have to say that the SuperBrightLEDs.com folks are a 3-day delivery -- hard to beat and the price seems reasonable. Just polling for opinions on suppliers...
Quote from: RedShift on January 29, 2006, 03:57:47 PM
Quote from: bulletproofcycle on January 18, 2006, 12:43:15 PM
My digital camera is not very good so any pics would be pretty disappointing.
I put white leds in as the stock bulbs looked sort of yellowish.
They are definately worth it and much brighter.
There is a seller on ebay selling them cheap, $5 for two!!! The sellers name is warden_jp2002
Search: 168 led and you will find them. I also bought the 35 led 1157 tail light bulb and it is awesome as well!!!
Anyone buy from this Warden_jp2002 fella's store (http://stores.ebay.com/warden-jp2002_W0QQsspagenameZL2QQtZkm) on eBay? What's the service like? I have to say that the SuperBrightLEDs.com folks are a 3-day delivery -- hard to beat and the price seems reasonable. Just polling for opinions on suppliers...
yeah as i previously stated about this ebay seller. He is locaed in hong kong and shipping is slow.. packing was only fair but product is what you see on the auction. good bulbs..
Quote from: RedShift on January 29, 2006, 11:50:01 AM
Frankly, a minor dimming of the headlight should be expected. I noticed that the bike's voltage will fluctuate between a low of battery voltage (say 12v-12.6v) up to a peak of a tad over 13.6v when the engine is rev'ing at over 3500+ RPM. That change in potential has got to affect the intensity of the headlight.
But if it goes way down in intensity, thats when it becomes a concern.
I can confirm this from my "start the bike without a battery" experiment. The highest voltage I measured was a bit over 14v at around 3500~4000 rpm (with the battery on... without the battery, I couldn't really rev it up... not enough juice)
Quote from: chandra.hp on January 26, 2006, 09:44:52 PM
I ordered two white bulbs from SuperBrightLEDs.com. I'll post pics as soon as they are installed.
Have your received you
WHITE version of these LEDs yet? I'm curious of a Before and After look of these puppies in the gauges. If your review of them is favourable, I may get a pair as backup in case the
BLUE ones disappoint me over time.
Anybody else opt for
WHITE?
Quote from: RedShift on January 31, 2006, 06:11:43 PM
Quote from: chandra.hp on January 26, 2006, 09:44:52 PM
I ordered two white bulbs from SuperBrightLEDs.com. I'll post pics as soon as they are installed.
Have your received you WHITE version of these LEDs yet? I'm curious of a Before and After look of these puppies in the gauges. If your review of them is favourable, I may get a pair as backup in case the BLUE ones disappoint me over time.
Anybody else opt for WHITE?
Yes... I did receive my white LED's yesterday, but I have not had any time to work on the bike this week so far. But I have tomorrow (2-1-06) off from work. First thing I will do is replace the guage lights. I'll take some before and after pics.
I'm still waiting on mine... :cry:
Quote from: chandra.hp on January 31, 2006, 09:29:32 PM
Quote from: RedShift on January 31, 2006, 06:11:43 PM
Quote from: chandra.hp on January 26, 2006, 09:44:52 PM
I ordered two white bulbs from SuperBrightLEDs.com. I'll post pics as soon as they are installed.
Have your received you WHITE version of these LEDs yet? I'm curious of a Before and After look of these puppies in the gauges. If your review of them is favourable, I may get a pair as backup in case the BLUE ones disappoint me over time.
Anybody else opt for WHITE?
Yes... I did receive my white LED's yesterday, but I have not had any time to work on the bike this week so far. But I have tomorrow (2-1-06) off from work. First thing I will do is replace the guage lights. I'll take some before and after pics.
Thanks. I'm very curious if the LED's offer a brighter display. Suspect they will, but nothing like seeing the real thing.
Yeah if you order those 5 led replacements bulbs from superbrightled.com, they are snug fit, but if you rotate the bulb as you push it in it works pretty easily. If you do this however, make sure it is pluged into the socket, other wise you can not get the socket on, and you have to remove the bulb from the housing and start over.
Also, make sure you do not drop the led bulb into the housing, because it is a pain in the ass to get back out, so be carefull(don't ask how I know this)
P.S. The red one works nicely, and as far as viewing, they are comparable to stock, but you get the addtion of color.
QUESTION: How am I suppose to get inside the gauges? I got all the way in... but I can't seem to figure out how to get inside the white cylindrical housing where the bulb has to be placed? I tried applying light pressure to pry it open, but I didn't want to break it. What's the proper way of getting to the bulb housing?
Edit:
Nevermind... figured it out.
Here are the before and after pics as promised!
Before:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/R1ranger/old_gauges_01.jpg)
After:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/R1ranger/new_gauges_01.jpg)
Edit 2:
Yes... I know my camera sucks!
Holy crap, the white looks REALLY nice, and the electric blue even better!
+1 on what AlphaFire said.
The WHITE looks really good. I like the way the colour is more intense and pure than what the stock bulbs put out. Kinda like the difference between fluorescent and incandescent bulbs.
If I decide that BLUE, RED or AMBER is not my style, I'll switch to WHITE for sure. :)
I ordered the white ones... I'll tell you what's it like if they ever arrive.
I'll take some more pics later tonight. Hopefully they come out better.
I'd be surprised if you get better results. You're fighting the physics of your camera. Strong contrasts between light and dark are difficult to correct for unless you have control of shutter times and aperature openings.
Don't know about the others but you've convinced me that WHITE is All Right!!!
This is the best pic of the bunch... yeah.. I know... it's difficult to get low-light shots with extreme contrast levels. Oh well... Hope this helps...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/R1ranger/new_gauges_02.jpg)
Edit:
I really just need to buy a newer better camera. I'm still using this ultra-cheap HP camera I scored for $50 a couple years back. I'll upgrade to a better camera later this year. Hopefully by summer.
My LEDs finally arrived... Not sure when I can put 'em in... But, I'm thinking I should take a shot of the light vs LED and see if there is any difference.
Assuming I find time to put 'em in... and that my crappy camera will actually work...
What's the deal with everybody having crappy cameras?? Oh, I see... we're all spending our money on LED's and other cooler stuff.
Mine sucks 'cause I wanted one so bad I wouldn't stop talking about it... So my wife bought me what we could afford at the time, which was crappy...
But, the reason I haven't gone out to get a new one is 'cause I'm too broke buying LEDs and other cool stuff. :laugh: Not to mention that I spend most of my money on beer, food, and smokes. :oops:
I just got my blues in today. I hope to have time Sat morning (2-4-06) to install and take pics at night. I'll take them with the reflection off of my '04 tank and screen
Fantastic!! It's like we've got a Special Interest Group going here!! With Wairton Willy predicting an early spring, there's a lot of positive waves. PICS!! Bring'em on...
I ordered mine on Sunday and still am waiting on them :cry:
I know it was a three day delivery for RedShift, what about you other peeps? The tracking number they emailed me isn't working, it only says that the post office was notified to expect a package, but not that they got one.
I ordered the blue ones they were in my mail box in 3 days :dunno_white: I hope you get yours soon.
I ordered mine sunday nite, and received them already.
Got mine, I dig 'em. No tight fits for me, everything slid right into place.
Same here for the fitment. It was simple as pie too. I just undid the four bolts on the bottom, screw for the trip odometer, and the speedo cable. Did this in under ten minutes.
I forgot to mention that I'll take pictures tonight, since I have an '04f blue.
Sorry about the crappy-ass picture... My baby was parked in the corner, and I didn't want to move everything else to move her out. The headlight is shining right on the siding of the house, therefore creating some bright lighting coming back at me.
I LOVE THIS BLUE LOOK!!!
This is the best pic out of five that I took. It also doesn't help when I onnly have a 2.0 mp camera.
(http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/1856/p10100031fx.jpg)
Damn those look good!
Very nice annguyen. We now have another thing in common. :thumb:
We need someone to give a Night Ride report on the BLUE LEDs. Rained all day yesterday, then dropped snow. I won't be ridin' for some time to come. Someone closer to the equater needs to pipe in with impressions on readability.
Unfortunately, I do not have a helmet to ride with, so I won't be able to report on night-time visability for about two weeks.
My helmet is being repaired on the other side of the country in CA, and the ICON Mainframe Scorpion helmet I just ordered won't be shipped until this Tuesday. Today is such a nice day out, and I can't ride too far. I'm going outside right now to ride the side roads around my block. That'll hopefully carry me over till I get ONE of my helmets back.
is it tough to crack open the housing to change these bulbs? id like to do this but dont want to break anything, aslo anyone seen white faces for the gages? to go along
with the nice blue glow
It wasn't tough to change them at all. I did it early in the morning when it was still dark outside and managed ok. It took a little while but most of that time was spent going back inside to warm my fingers up. Hardest part was unscrewing the speedo and tach cables from the back... they were in there pretty tight.
I don't think I've seen anybody mention that you need a tiny phillips screwdriver to take the trip odometer knob off, I almost had to go buy one because I didn't know I needed it until halfway through, but was able to dig one up.
I haven't seen any white faces for the guages, but that would look sweet if you found some that worked.
I haven't heard of anyone needing to crack the case of the Spedo or Tach. The Clymer manual doesn't give any hints. But then unless you want to replace the gauge faces, I don't see any need.
I was able to wiggle the LEDs in without much difficulty. I didn't need to remove the reset knob for the trip Odo either -- just separated the bezel from the outer gauge cover to expose the wiring and access to the bulbs.
Keep it simple and it'll go back together just as easily as it came apart. :)
My '04f needed to have the knob removed in order to install the LED in the speedo.
I have found in the past a how-to on making your own custom gauges. It was geared towards a ford truck, but you can use the techniques towards any gauges. I'm gonna see if I can find it again.
Here's that site on how to make your own custom gauges
If someone decides to do this to their GS500, please share the photoshop files with us... That way one one of us will need to do the begining steps... (plus, I'm not that photoshop literate)
http://www.geocities.com/yeaulman/Gauges/Gauges.htm
Quote from: annguyen1981 on February 05, 2006, 06:45:58 PM
My '04f needed to have the knob removed in order to install the LED in the speedo. ...
Bummer. I forget how constraining a fairing can be.. ;)
I put in my blue lights finally today and they look great. very very bright but my gauges are a bit sunfaded sadly making the gauges look kinda hoopty, but still very visible.
Does anyone have pics of the purple?
Yeah, I'd like to see PURPLE gauge backlight too. After having bought AMBER, RED and settling on BLUE, I've used up my LED budget.
Where's Pandy and her SV650S. Surely there's a 194 bulb behind her Speedo/Tach instrument that could be replaced with a PURPLE or RED LED.
Hm. Do these things just plug into the standard light socket that the 194s plug into? If so... I might be ordering me up some blue ones :) :thumb:
Edit: Yes they do. I wonder why the blue ones are more expensive... This is more along the lines of a $15 mod instead of the $1.94 one I did originally. Problem with mine is that it's hard to see the tripometer at night. Problem with these seems that they're too bright. They'd blind you at night and not let you see the road very clearly.
Anyone?
Just pull the stock bulb out and push the LED bulb in. Simple as that.
Putting it back in the gauge is slighly more effort, but with a bit of convincing, mine went in and works just fine.
Quote from: RedShift on February 12, 2006, 03:45:22 PM
Just pull the stock bulb out and push the LED bulb in. Simple as that.
Putting it back in the gauge is slighly more effort, but with a bit of convincing, mine went in and works just fine.
I did standard 194 blue bulbs in mine, and my guages need to be fixed anyways, so that's not the issue anymore for me. What I'm worried about is if they are TOO bright.
They're not too bright at all. Just right IMO
Since these BLUE guys offer a very tight bit of the spectrum, and the short end of it at that, they're not going to be too bright.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/redshift/BlueMatrix5-LED.jpg) (sorry -- had to slip in another pic -- it's been a while)
Haven't ridden at night with them yet, but the camera doesn't do reality justice in this regard -- skews the image to be brighter than they really are. I'm thinking they might be a bit too dim for a quick glance to make out the Trip Odometer, but as AnnGuyen says, the rest of the gauge display seems to be just right.
I'm thinking of replacing the indicator lights as well, but I'm not so sure about it. Has anyone done this? Please post pics
That looks good, and the tripometer is a LOT brighter than on mine at night. Now if only I could afford the $15 price I need! :laugh: Maybe next month. Stupid college.
Quote from: RedShift on February 12, 2006, 03:36:04 PM
Where's Pandy and her SV650S. Surely there's a 194 bulb behind her Speedo/Tach instrument that could be replaced with a PURPLE or RED LED.
I just started riding again (after recovering from surgery), so mods haven't been high on my list. :icon_razz:
I've been lazily watching everyone else do the work so that I can decide what I want to do. :icon_mrgreen: I really like the blue with the purple haze (don't know if that haze is due to the photography or if that's how it really looks). I'm leaning toward making my ratbike a trackbike, so she might be turned purple and get those blue or purple Speedo/Tack LED's... (yeah, I'm all talk and no action at the moment.... It's a good day if I make it out of bed in the morning lately :laugh:)
Yeah the needles look a little purple with the blue led's. At least they do to me, but not as much as shows in RedShifts pics.
Quote from: annguyen1981 on February 12, 2006, 08:49:17 PM
I'm thinking of replacing the indicator lights as well, but I'm not so sure about it. Has anyone done this? Please post pics
Yeah I replaced the indicator lights as well. I don't have pics and don't want to go outside in the rain to get them right now, but I can tell you they look really good. I bought from superbrightleds.com, used the single led wedge based bulbs. The color looks more pure than before. Pure red instead of whitish red in middle and more red on outside rim.... sorry if that doesn't make sense, it's 5am and I am studying for two friggin tests I have today.
I'll take pics tonight if you really want 'em.
Quote from: Thor S Magic Bathtub on February 13, 2006, 05:48:47 AM
Yeah the needles look a little purple with the blue led's. At least they do to me, but not as much as shows in RedShifts pics.
Quote from: annguyen1981 on February 12, 2006, 08:49:17 PM
I'm thinking of replacing the indicator lights as well, but I'm not so sure about it. Has anyone done this? Please post pics
Yeah I replaced the indicator lights as well. I don't have pics and don't want to go outside in the rain to get them right now, but I can tell you they look really good. I bought from superbrightleds.com, used the single led wedge based bulbs. The color looks more pure than before. Pure red instead of whitish red in middle and more red on outside rim.... sorry if that doesn't make sense, it's 5am and I am studying for two friggin tests I have today.
I'll take pics tonight if you really want 'em.
Yes please! Thankz! :thumb:
oky doky, I'll post them when I get off work tomorrow morn around 7am-ish. BTW, I noticed today on my cruise around town that my turn signal indicator light only works when the left blinker is on... it doesn't flash when my right turn signals are on, but the signals are flashing. I'll mess with the led, but I don't think it's gonna do anything. Perhaps it's something to do with the polarity of the led? Anybody have ideas? I know that particular led is polarized...
The problem in not flashing on one side may well be a polarization. I spent 15 minutes staring at my Clymer manual's electrical diagram and I suspect the current both ways to ground. I'll stare at it some more -- maybe it'll click with me.
If it's polarization, then flipping the bulb around should have the opposite effect.
because it's an LED, if you flip it around, I thought it wouldn't work.
Here ya go annguyen1981, sorry for the bad quality, I got off work late because of my lazy boss that can't do anything right (but that's another story), so the sun was coming up as I took these.
(http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e199/aketo_wwu/GS500good.jpg)
As you can see, the indicator lights are plenty bright, and as you may not be able to see, they look better than bulbs (in my opinion). As far as the speedo and tach brightness goes, that's a fairly accurate depiction of the brightness of the speedo and tach vs the brightness of odometer and trip odometer. The trip is kinda hard to read without taking a little extra long look, but it doesn't bother me at all. I dig the blue too much to care.
Remember the sun was rising, so it's all a little brighter in full dark.
Oh yeah, staring at this picture reminds me it's time to change the oil and lube the chain :thumb:
And yes, I agree, those are remarkably low miles for a '96, thank you :icon_mrgreen:
You better get that oil problem checked out and also the turn signal light doesn't light up. :laugh: just kidding.
Thankz for the pic. Are you using the same LED color as the lenses
yup
Sweet. What did you order and from whom? Links!! We need links. :) (Please...)
Has anyone found LEDs that actually fit in the speedo and tach housings yet?
I ordered mine from superbrightleds and wasn't terribly impressed with their product. If they're supposed to be 194/168 compatible, then they should be 194/168 compatible, including size (didn't RTFT beforehand). That, and one of them let out the magic smoke and blew the 20A fuse! The other I got stuck in the housing, and had to get it out with needlenose pliers, breaking it in the process of course....
I also got a new meter bracket and the turn signal indicator is amber instead of the green that was on my bike, so I'm going to have to replace the green LED that I bought for it....
Arrrrgh!
Yup, you roll the dice when you insert these 5-LED Matrix bulbs into the housing. As I reported in Post 35 (http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=23589.msg241806#msg241806) and Post 42 (http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=23589.msg242145#msg242145) here, the hole is smaller than the largest diameter of the bulb. I lost a RED bulb and got lucky with the BLUE bulbs.
All I can suggest is to lubricate the bulb with silicone or other lubricant, have the bulb warm (so it'll bend a bit), try to politely squeeze the perimeter LED's in just a titch and try to slip it in diagonally. It's a risk when the hole is smaller than it needs to be. :cry:
My install was the easiest thing ever. I just tilted the LED in a bit, and viola!
... however, my extractions required my needle-nose pliers as well. And per annguyen I wiggle it out at an angle, similar to how it went in.
Extraction would have been relatively easy, being the opposite of removal, if I hadn't moved the tach and had it fall into the housing. That's where it gets difficult, because the LEDs are top-heavy, and you can't get the plug end to stick out of the hole. I finally had to grab it by the bulb end, breaking the glass (!) square on top.
It would just be nice if I could find the radial LEDs that actually fit into the housing. It would make life much easier.
Huh, I didn't have any trouble at all fitting the bulbs in. I got the same blue ones as you, RedShift. They slid right in....
For the indicator bulbs, I bought from superbrightled's, got the single led wedge base bulbs (inverted cone), but like I said earlier, anybody replacing their turn signal bulb will want to go non-polarized.
http://www.superbrightleds.com/mini-wedge.html
Quote from: RedShift on January 29, 2006, 03:57:47 PM
Quote from: bulletproofcycle on January 18, 2006, 12:43:15 PM
There is a seller on ebay selling them cheap, $5 for two!!! The sellers name is warden_jp2002
Search: 168 led and you will find them. I also bought the 35 led 1157 tail light bulb and it is awesome as well!!!
Anyone buy from this Warden_jp2002 fella's store (http://stores.ebay.com/warden-jp2002_W0QQsspagenameZL2QQtZkm) on eBay? What's the service like? I have to say that the SuperBrightLEDs.com folks are a 3-day delivery -- hard to beat and the price seems reasonable. Just polling for opinions on suppliers...
I bought from him. I won the auction on Feb 5th and just received them today. If you are willing to wait for shipping (they come from Hong Kong) not a bad deal.
Haven't put them in yet, too cold out (high of 12 today). BTW I ordered blue also.
I think I finally have time to put mine in tomorrow... We'll see. :icon_confused:
OK... FINALLY!!! Got mine installed...
Pics of the New (left) vs Old (right) (Sucky as-per-usual):
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RVertigo/MotosPhotos/Gauges1.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RVertigo/MotosPhotos/Gauges2.jpg)
They're not as bright as I was hoping, but I really like the bright-blue/white of the new ones, rather than the yellow/orange of the old bulbs.
Wow that light is insane, i just has a se-se-se-se-ssssssssss---seizure :mad:
Quote from: RedShift on January 21, 2006, 08:36:12 PMPull out the socket and the bulb is stuck inside the Speedo housing!! <insert favourite curse>
Oh man, I feel your pain there... Tonight I just put in some blue led's in my tach/speedo and I couldn't get the bulb to fit into the tach housing so I took my other bulb that wasn't in the rubber socket yet and tried to fish around to find the best method of getting it in.... Anyways, I got it in great and I thought, "Hey, I'll just leave it just like that and snap the socket in with the bulb sitting in the housing...." DOH! Bulb fell into the tach cluster itself.... Swore for a good half hour while I fished that thing out of there, but luckily I didn't break mine in the process.
Quote from: Thor S Magic Bathtub on February 17, 2006, 03:44:12 PM
Huh, I didn't have any trouble at all fitting the bulbs in. I got the same blue ones as you, RedShift. They slid right in....
For the indicator bulbs, I bought from superbrightled's, got the single led wedge base bulbs (inverted cone), but like I said earlier, anybody replacing their turn signal bulb will want to go non-polarized.
http://www.superbrightleds.com/mini-wedge.html
Mini-wedge not required. I just used a regular WLED-X6, I just filed down the edges of the wedge until there was but a thin peice of plastic protecting the wire. It slid right in and fits very solid. I also have the mini's because from reading everywhere on this board everyone says to use the mini's because the regular's don't fit, but since I ordered them BEFORE I saw the thing about them not fitting..... I thought I'd give it a shot and they work so much better. The turn signal lights up when left or right is used... no modification necessary other than filing the wedge down a bit. The x6's are so much more crisp than the mini's and in fact the mini's look identical to the stock bulbs in the housing so I wouldn't waste any money on the mini's.
So I finally got around to getting and installing the single blue LED in the bright indicator. NO MORE BLUE SUN! It's great. Much easier on my night vision.
I do kinda prefer the x6's in the indicator lights myself because in the daytime, I could never see any of those. Though, turn signal is very bright at night.....
I have a 6-led blue that you can have cheap! I don't mind the turn signals or other lights being bright. They're not going to be used for extended periods of time like the highbeam. It doesn't really matter in the daytime.
How much you want shipped? :)
LEDs usually have a lot less reistance built in than incandcent bulbs. Did you have to add a 1k Ohm resistor in series to the LED to reduce current through the wires?
Who are you asking?
I didn't put crap in. It's a direct plug-in replacement, so I assume that they have put any necessary resistors inside. Otherwise, the Light-Emitting Diodes would become Dark-Emitting Diodes pretty quickly.
Yeah, it is a direct bulb replacement. I used the X6 LED bulbs for my indicator lights and they all work just fine including the blinker. Alot of people said blinkers wouldn't work without some modifications, but the X6 worked just fine. :dunno_white:
there is no need for additional resistors, there is already the correct resistor built into each 'bulb' so you don't have to do any of the thinking.
oh, and the resistance of the whole LED bulb is MORE than that of the stockers, it's the current draw that is less, but in any case it doesn't have any effect on the blinkers or anything.
bump...
I *HAD* to resurrect this thread... This is an awesome MOD.
:thumb:
Thanks for the ressurection... :thumb: and since my spedometer guage bulbs just burned out yesterday, I though HUMMM...
now I am a little confused after reading all the posts...lol
so are theses the one to use for guages and indicators?
(http://www.superbrightleds.com/products/car/WLED-x_all.jpg)
or theses;
(http://www.superbrightleds.com/products/car/WLED-x4_all.jpg)
You use those.
Use the single for high-beam, and the multiple LED for the rest of the indicators.
Use the wide-angle LEDs (the ones with LEDs on the side) for the gauges.
U7
Quote from: Wrecent_Wryder on April 21, 2007, 07:54:47 AM
Um.. that picture of the "singles" looks like the kind with the side-diffusion cone on top of the LED, I don't think you'd want that for the indicators.
The type with the LEDs on the side are not pictured here.
Don't forget the indicator bulbs changed after '02.
okay tyhen I am still confused, and to add to the confusion, yes I ride an 05 ...(goes back to figuring out what to use...)
Ik
Okay, on the 04+... well, mine was an 05, but the 5-LED bulbs are used for the indicators such as blinkers, oil, high beams.. s'what I did.. And the 5-LED ANGLE bulb, the one with 4 LED's on the sides and one in the center is used to replace the gauges. You *may* have to file down the edges for the indicator bulbs where it connects into the plug because the 5-LED bulb's connectors are too fat.. Either 10 minutes of sandpaper or 5 seconds with a dremel will fix this. I did this over a year ago and the bulbs are still working great.
[8
Err, maybe I did use the x6's... either way, I did follow those same threads in getting my lights all changed out. Contradictory or not, that's what I did, and they've been in for over a year now :P
Suzuki lists the gauge (2005+) bulbs as T10 (slot thinner than 194 but close) and the indicator lights as T6.5 (Also called #24)
BTW found another LED seller, he has clear images of each bulb dispersal paterns (if anyone wanted to know)
194 bulbs : http://autolumination.com/194.htm
T6.5/24 Bulbs (scroll half way on this page): http://autolumination.com/74.htm
havent found any real good T10 LED sites, but working on it.
That's why I had to file down the edges of the terminal on the indicator LED's to make them fit. :P
so just to recap after reading this whole thread in one sitting:
speedo and tach gauges = 12 volt, 3.4 watt or #168 LED, preferably radial-aimed 5-LED type bulb
Turnsignal, neutral, oil pressure indicators = 12 volt, 3.4 watt or #168 LED, like a 4 or 6 banger LED type bulb
High beam indicator = 12 volt, 1.7 watt or #37 LED or #74 LED or a single LED for some reason
All I need right now is the high beam. Here goes...
on a 2004+ model ALL the idiot lights are t6.5
the gauge light is a t10
Quote from: galahs on May 16, 2007, 01:21:57 AM
on a 2004+ model ALL the idiot lights are t6.5
the gauge light is a t10
Okay... this has no meaning for me. I ordered the single WLED 1-LED bulb in blue from superbrightleds.com for the hi beam indicator. I hope this is right.
Quote from: galahs on May 16, 2007, 01:21:57 AM
on a 2004+ model ALL the idiot lights are t6.5
the gauge light is a t10
yep t10 = 194 WLED x5
have you found T.,65 replacements cause the 194 Wled x4/x6 blades are just too wide.. (though they fit in the below headlight spot (grin I have a nice blue led under headlight now...lol)... I would like to find a decent replacement (05 here) for the t6.5
Idiot lights = turn signal, oil pressure, neutral and high beam lights.
These are much smaller than the Guage lights (Speedometer and Tachometer)
Idiot lights are approx 74's (T6.5 or T5)
Gauge lights are close to 194's (T10)
Yeah I beleive you are 04+ years is T6.5 ot T5
found LED for them indicators at http://autolumination.com/74.htm
Cheers...
HUmmm of course had to find a video..:)
not mine but Blue LED at night... looks sweet ..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt85t5ONuRw
Ok im confudled now. On my 07, which will work on speedo and on idiot lights. Gotta spell it out for me, my idiot light in head is on. Where do i get them and do the make those radials in the color changing type. :thumb:
:bowdown:
Quote from: roosterbike on May 20, 2007, 05:04:26 AM
Ok im confudled now. On my 07, which will work on speedo and on idiot lights. Gotta spell it out for me, my idiot light in head is on. Where do i get them and do the make those radials in the color changing type. :thumb:
:bowdown:
alright Unless they changed the bulbs between 05 (my bike) and your 07
guages = 194 bulbs = 5 LED WEDGE MATRIX LED BULB
http://autolumination.com/194.htm looks for ^^^^ I typed (it is the 3rd led listed)
indicators are basically 74's or 24's I have some of both on order and waiting to see which one is is a dirrect fit :)
T5
Send me some acrylic that's a little (.002 - .005) oversize O.D. and I'll make 50 or so indicator light replacements.
YOU will be in charge of all the email requests and whatnot though. :thumb:
[5
4fd
Quote from: Wrecent_Wryder on May 23, 2007, 12:07:21 PM
Bump?
nothing to report still waiting for led's to come in
Quote from: pbureau69 on May 23, 2007, 12:18:07 PM
Quote from: Wrecent_Wryder on May 23, 2007, 12:07:21 PM
Bump?
nothing to report still waiting for led's to come in
well got home and the leds from CTLumination (www.autolumination.com) were in... and I can confirm for the 2005 F (shoudl work 04-07 models the same) model the Led for the indicators to be used is Model #74 LED's 1 blue, 2 green and 1 red = 14$... works wonderfully. plug and play no cutting or trimming.
cheers...
somthing i guess i got to do now. all my dash lights are now out as well as my high beam
Quote from: rangerbrown on May 23, 2007, 10:54:21 PM
somthing i guess i got to do now. all my dash lights are now out as well as my high beam
all of them? How is that possible?
I've replaced the speedo/tach backlight now, and soon the high beam indicator... same year as your bike with 13,800 mi. That's it.
I Replaced Mine , Then Replaced The Clocks lol .
I Spend On The Moment , :P
here are some pictures Blue LED in guages and #74 led's in the indicators
no flash then flash and vido below as well :)
(http://longcoeur.com/gs500mods/leds/S5000726.JPG)
(http://longcoeur.com/gs500mods/leds/S5000727.JPG)
short video : --> http://longcoeur.com/gs500mods/leds/Led_guages_GS500F.wmv
I am done with guages now..... time to make a pretty wiki page and next.. tailight.. (lol)
Wiki Updates, now its actually organized from the information this forum discussion has brought, I beleive I covered everything, and it is now in a more comprehensible (instead os earching forum) way for anyone to find/get leds for their GS the quick and painless way...
Patrick
I got my dash LEDs the other day and installed them today on my 2005 GS500F.
First I installed a white T10 (194) in my front positioning light (below the main headlight). Much whiter than the stock filament bulb. (Now makes my stock main headlight look yellowish :icon_confused: ). This was easy to install. Just reach under the front fairing from the front, remove the rubber cap, then pull the rubber housing of the bulb straight out.
They are as bright as the old bulb but they arn't super duper bright.
(http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5825/5led18zt2.jpg)
I also used this same bulb for my gauges. (I like the white look). Now they were a tight fit (and I dropped one into the housing and had to fish them out with a pair of surgical tweezers!!!)
They look really good at night! Brighter and whiter than stock but not too bright.
To access the guage lights you:
1. Unscrew the speedometer cable from the left gauge.
2. unbolt the two main bolts that attach the instrument housing to the bike.
3. turn the instrument housing upside down.
4. Unbolt the 4 bolts and three screws that hold the guage covers onto the guages. With a tad of force sepertae the guages from their housing. Note on the 04 - 07 you DO NOT have to remove the ODOMETER DIAL.
5. Just pull the the rubber light sockets striaght out. The light bulb will come with them.
6. Replace the globes with LEDS. Turn the ignition to ON to ensure the LEDS light up. If they don't try installing them in the other direction.
7. Reinstall is opposite to disassembly. 30 minute job at most!!!
Whilst changing the gauge lights change the "Check Lights" (Idiot lights) With the instrument panel upside down you just pull each lights rubber socket out and the light comes with them. Replace the globes with 74's (T6.5 or T5) lights.
I used these...
(http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/3521/t53led7yl0.jpg)
I used all White LED's for simplicity sake but for a more spectacular, brilliant looking colour I recommend using the actual colour of each lens cover. Again test each globe before re-installing the instrument panel to the bike.
Also note if replacing the Indicator/blinker/turn-signal dash light, it need to be a non-polarised LED or it will only flash for right or left turns, not both!!!
Overall a fairly simple task for us 04 - 07 owners and one I highly recommend :thumb:
Where did you get the non polarised LEDs from? I got some ebay ones that are great but are polarised. I haven't been able to find non polarised ones in Au.
James
J5
Quote from: Anakist on May 27, 2007, 04:23:55 AM
Where did you get the non polarised LEDs from? I got some ebay ones that are great but are polarised. I haven't been able to find non polarised ones in Au.
James
I didn't get one. I bought my LED's not knowing if they were polarised or not. Ended up they weren't so I left the stock blinker bulb.
Also I should note, a white light LED under the green Neutral light shines an aqua like colour. Different from the incandescent bulb. Brighter than stock just not a pure green. A good example as to why ideally its best to get the right colour LED for each indicator light.
Also I love how the led in the Neutral indicator flashes quickly but bright when you shift from 1st to 2nd or 2nd to First. :thumb:
Am i missing something?
I just wasted time, money, and energy finding out that the piece of crap "WLED 1-LED bulb 12VDC Wedge Base Bulb (194/168 type) $ 1.49" from superbrightleds.com doesn't work in the 'bright idiot indicator' socket. Way too big even with filing.
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=CAR&keywords=&cart_id=884232.3616&next=50 (http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=CAR&keywords=&cart_id=884232.3616&next=50)
couple pages down
I focking hate wasted time, money, and energy. Pisses me off more than anything else.
You might be able to file it but it is definitely too big to go into any of the idiot lights on a 2004 - 2007 in its stock size.
Quote from: galahs on May 16, 2007, 02:11:44 AM
Idiot lights are approx 74's (T6.5 or T5)
Gauge lights are close to 194's (T10)
This is the pertinent information... so confusing... argh.
Time to reorder.
Just put on some Blue LED for my gauges and they look awesome. I will probably do the indicators later on caz i couldn't find the right ones on superbrightleds.com, if they are on there let me know.
Indicator bulbs:
74 Wedge Base LED bulb
Small Wedge Base LED bulb (74 type)
3/16 inch wide base, 13/16 inch overall length
Flat tipped LED produces wide beam angle
$ 1.19
their interface is abysmal, however this part can be found on its own page, or halfway down the 2nd page of various bulbs. It looks like the speedo/tach bulb, but is about half the size. 74 Wedge Base.
Havent installed these but should be arriving soon.
did not order one for the turnsignal bulb as these are polarized, and would only work for one signal direction.
A couple pictures, looks a lot better in person tho.
(http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/8495/gaugesce5.gif)
I put in 2 dash indicator LEDs today and it blew my fuse... twice. (separate topic already started)
edit: superbrightled's bulbs have somewhat loose and easily displaced leads... if you remove one to turn it around and reinstall it for polarity, check the leads on the bulb before you put it back in, and tamp them down with your thumbnail if they have moved any. :bs:
I think superbrightled's LEDs are a bit flaky. That happened to me on one too.
the Matrix 194 wedge from superbrightleds aren't polarized btw. The conections on the base seem a little cheap make sure the two wires rnt touching when you install em.
anyone know where to get a 74 wedge base for the turn signal? im trying to find one and i cant i ordered all the other gauges blue for the speedo and tach and red green and blue for the indicators i have a 2004f model
blue were wled-5 matrix style 194 replacements from superbrightleds.com
and the other indicators were 74 wedge base single led from them too all work great but i need a non polarized one for the turn signal any help would be greatly appriciated!!
Tim
Looked around and can't seem to find anything in the way of a non-polarized 74 and a matrix wont fit like in the older GS so i guess we're out of luck. i would say jsut keep the stock bulb in there for now i guess :dunno_white:
yeh i jsut put my shite ones in today
intalation is the easiest thing
the speedo side is a little difficult but its worth it
im ordering two more so i can replace my bottom head light with one
Quote from: annguyen1981 on February 05, 2006, 06:52:48 PM
Here's that site on how to make your own custom gauges
If someone decides to do this to their GS500, please share the photoshop files with us... That way one one of us will need to do the begining steps... (plus, I'm not that photoshop literate)
http://www.geocities.com/yeaulman/Gauges/Gauges.htm
wow I am so doing that lol< any ideas on a background or votes?
I just put in blue superlgihtled's I will take a picture tonight, it looks awsome. On my way to work this morning I could see my speed !!!!
-oh and by the way now that ive added these lights my bike is faster....... (j/k)
blue is a good choice, they are bright and look sweet. check out my pic a couple post up to see if u like the look.
Does anyone have a picture of the WHITE LED bulb in the Gauges? I like the blue, but I think it might clash with my yellow bike. I have the SuperWhite ones installed in my car interior, and it looks sweet. I thought that maybe one of you guys had tried it out. Also, what bulb do I use for the license plate. And does anyone have a picture of the lower front headlight on the GS500F with the LED installed and which model bulb is that?
You're right, the blue led does look a little funny with the yellow bodywork, its a very unnatural/saturated color. White would be more fitting.
However I still like having them in. :dunno_white:
I have a white LED in my gauges and they look much crisper than the stock incandecent bulbs. The whiteness is a good improvement. :thumb:
I used the same white LED in the gauges for the front positioning light on my '05 GS500F
Looks good too, but the white glow doesn't match the yellow tint of the halogen bulb, but I think it still looks good.
I don't have a good clear photo unfortunately.
Quote from: galahs on September 17, 2007, 05:20:46 AM
I have a white LED in my gauges and they look much crisper than the stock incandecent bulbs. The whiteness is a good improvement. :thumb:
I used the same white LED in the gauges for the front positioning light on my '05 GS500F
Looks good too, but the white glow doesn't match the yellow tint of the halogen bulb, but I think it still looks good.
I don't have a good clear photo unfortunately.
You would be a GOD if you could get some pictures of those!!!
I will add it to my "to do list" :thumb:
Can anyone direct me to the EXACT bulbs I should get for the indicator bulbs!!!!? I wanted to get the different colors to match the covers, but I guess I can settle for all white if I have to. I will obviosly skip the turn signal light, since their are no non-polarized bulbs for it. I am going to buy the MATRIX bulbs (see link) for my TACH, ODOMETER, and PARKING lights.
http://superlumination.com/images/auto_bulbs/194_matrix_w_wm.jpg
U can file down a WLED-6x for your signal indicator if u wish, thats what i did.
from this website (http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=CAR&keywords=&cart_id=3579801.30382&next=50) the bulbs you need are:
Gauges: WLED 5-LED Wide Angle LED bulb - not quite half way down.
Indicators: 74 Wedge Base LED bulb - i little over half way down the page
Thanks! I just ordered all of the bulbs except for the turn signal. Has everyone been pretty much satisfied with superbrightleds.com? I usually get my car lights from autolumination, but are significantly more expensive. Anyone have tips or instructions on installing on a 2004 GS500F with fairings?
I've ordered twice from them, decent shipping and they give u a nice little bumper-sticker too lol.
for the indicators just unscrew the cluster and speedo cable and pull on the indicator wires
for the Gauges- u need to unscrew the black cover and pull out the two bulbs
for the parking light- not to sure but should be pretty straight forward.
I used all white leds in my 'idiot lights' but I left my blinker as the stock indecent globe. :thumb:
Unfortunately my gauge light photos didn't work, so I'll have to try again on them.
But here a few photos of my front LED positioning light.
(http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/4503/frontled1rg6.jpg)
(http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/9452/frontled2wy4.jpg)
(http://img469.imageshack.us/img469/974/frontled3ti2.jpg)
You can really see how the LED makes a whitish/blue light in comparison to the Halogen Headlight globe (H4 Philips X-treme Power 80+)
:thumb: nice.... Someone put (forgot who) a multi-color bulb... was cool to watch it change from blue-green-red-yellow-white ....lol
I have a blue led too but it aint as nice as yours..... I may have to change bulbs I guess... then Ill worry about it, once I install my HID kit this weekend (grin)...
Looks nice galahs! Thanks again. Now I just have to find a perfect, bright matching headlight bulb!
The Philips X-treme power globes are actually much whiter than the stock globes.
You can get those Crystal White or Cool Blue stock wattage globes whose colour will match the LED's better.
Just be aware that these bulbs are usually coated with a blue tint to create the white look. Problem is this blue tint does cut down on the globes output somewhat.
After taking another look, and remembering when I bought the bike, I think the original owner put a sylvania silverstar or something like it in. The light is actually whiter than the parking light, so it might go well together.
A stock parking light or an LED parking light?
It's whiter than the stock parking light.
The X-treme Power globes I put in were much whiter than the stock globe I took out, but in comparison to the LED it is way off.
Unless your silverstars are a special white/blue light type they will still be far from as white as the LED.
Got them in!!! They look great!...One mishap though. When trying to get the bolts out of the black plastic housing covering the gauges, it stripped the metal post out of the white plastic underneath the gauge. What a poor design! I guess I'll try to use some epoxy to try and mount the metal post back on the gauge. Have any other suggestions?
I've seen a few people post about that, as i recall they used epoxy to hold it in.
Couldn't find anything on it, must not be very good at searching. :dunno_white:.
Count me in. This thread is very informative.
I got a dead bulb in my tach, but had no problem to replace it with LED.
Thanks, guys in this thread.
Now my tach and speedometer are much brighter.
(http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/5987/bwr2223xix3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
I have had my 2nd LED front parking light burn out on my F model this summer.
Seems the LED's can't hack the heat of the stock globe (60watt) plus Australia's 40+ degrees Celcius summers.
they do tell u not to use them in headlight assemblies.
Yeah I know. I often like to disobey good advice. :icon_twisted:
I want black ones to match my paint :thumb:
Sweet! Like the stuntship from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Black lights against black backgrounds with black labels that light up black to tell you they're done something. :laugh:
youtube it
just a quick question will these in fit in the tach speedo on an 06 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-SUPER-BLUE-4-LED-WEDGE-BASE-LIGHT-BULBS-194-168-158_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33713QQihZ018QQitemZ280234162384QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
Yes, but those aim all of the light toward you, and for speedometer and tachometer you'd really like to aim the light in all directions. The WLED-B5 wide angle LED bulbs from superbrightleds.com fits tight, but works beautifully. While you're at it, you might as well replace them all (takes less than an hour), here's the shopping list for a complete replacement from superbrightleds.com:
(1) WLED-B-X 90 degree viewing angle : hi-beam indicator
(1) WLED-R6 red : oil pressure indicator
(2) WLED-G6 green : neutral & turn signal
(2) WLED-B5 wide angle blue : speedometer & tachometer lights
========================================
Total, including shipping is $24.54
Hi, I bought the suggested LEDs several months ago but had directionality problems with the turn signal indicator (it only blinked for the LH turn signals). I probably bought the wrong bulb, I suppose. Which is the right one? Is there a way to get this one to work?
this is the bulb I bought from superbrightleds.com:
74-x Wedge Base LED bulb $ 1.19 (each)
Options: White 74-W
-G
if i remember correctly its because its a polarized light. you need a non polarized led for the turn signal indicator or it will only flash for either left or right not both you flip it and it switches which side works
Quote from: Eric_in_OR on September 18, 2008, 07:35:20 PM
Yes, but those aim all of the light toward you, and for speedometer and tachometer you'd really like to aim the light in all directions. The WLED-B5 wide angle LED bulbs from superbrightleds.com fits tight, but works beautifully. While you're at it, you might as well replace them all (takes less than an hour), here's the shopping list for a complete replacement from superbrightleds.com:
(1) WLED-B-X 90 degree viewing angle : hi-beam indicator
(1) WLED-R6 red : oil pressure indicator
(2) WLED-G6 green : neutral & turn signal
(2) WLED-B5 wide angle blue : speedometer & tachometer lights
========================================
Total, including shipping is $24.54
Yay, simple list. I just want to clarify - will this list of bulbs work for all model years? (I have a '95, E). And, the WLED-G6 for the turn signal works for left and right? (and is therefore non-polarized?)
I don't get it....which bulbs do I get?? I want BLUE speedo and tacho light, and hyperwhite indicator/position light....someone please assist
I want blue leds for my tach and speedo. I have an 05. I just read this whole thing... super confused. Wiki is confusing me as well... too many letters and numbers. Can someone just post a link to some blue leds that are plug and play.. thanks.
Quote from: JHoffy8 on February 08, 2009, 01:36:13 PM
I want blue leds for my tach and speedo. I have an 05. I just read this whole thing... super confused. Wiki is confusing me as well... too many letters and numbers. Can someone just post a link to some blue leds that are plug and play.. thanks.
+1....SUPER confusing...I'm able to understand complex things...but this thread is all over the place...and even if the part name is provided, I don't know how/where to find it on the even on the more confusing site (superbrightleds.com)
Quote from: JHoffy8 on February 08, 2009, 01:36:13 PM
I want blue leds for my tach and speedo. I have an 05. I just read this whole thing... super confused. Wiki is confusing me as well... too many letters and numbers. Can someone just post a link to some blue leds that are plug and play.. thanks.
WLED-x6 LED bulb
12 VDC 6-LED Wedge Base bulb (194/168 type)
With built-in voltage regulator
Select LED Color
$ 2.79
they are on this page http://superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=CAR (http://superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=CAR)
choose blue
those are the ones I have and they look like this at nigth
(http://jjvphotography.com/moto/gs500night/gaugesnight.jpg)
hope that helps you. I have had them in the bike about 2 years no, no problems.
Hey thanks for your reply, very very helpful...ok so..I notice in previous posts the actual LED were angled and one shot straight...the:
WLED-x6 LED bulb
12 VDC 6-LED Wedge Base bulb (194/168 type)
With built-in voltage regulator
Select LED Color
$ 2.79
that you posted shoot straight up....will it definitely light up the whole instrument?
Also, I am in Canada...they require $25 minimum order....can someone in USA please purchase and then ship to me?...that would be amazing and very helpful, won't be complicated at all really
So you'd buy it, have it shipped to you for cheaper (than me having to pay for shipping to Canada)...then you can ship via USPS which will cost $3 or less to my address for such a small and light item....and I will definitely pay everything and the costs via Paypal etc.....someone please? :D
Thanks I decided to go with the 5x 194/68 for the speedo/tach since they aim outward... I am now looking for the indicators... what is with needing the non polarized why is that/ where can i order them. I am using this site: http://superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi is what I need on there??
I couldn't be bothered finding a non polarised LED for my indicator globe so I just left it as is.
You need one so your indicator globe will flash when for both the left and right hand side. Otherwise it will only flash for one side.
The difference in indicator bulbs over the years is the earlier bikes use a 194 led, the newer GS's 2004+ use a smaller T5 led.
Screw it I will leave as is.
Quote from: JHoffy8 on February 08, 2009, 07:53:45 PM
Thanks I decided to go with the 5x 194/68 for the speedo/tach since they aim outward... I am now looking for the indicators... what is with needing the non polarized why is that/ where can i order them. I am using this site: http://superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi is what I need on there??
The 5 led bulbs work fine, it is a tight fit but they will get in there.
The indicators are tricky... a regular #74 led bulb from superbrightleds.com will work for the OIL, Neutral, and High Beam indicators.
The turn signal indicator is a pain in the ass... it requires a non-polarized bulb or else it will only blink for the left or right side- not both.
I managed to file down a non-polarized #194 led bulb ( not sure if it was the Wled-5x or Wled-6x) but that leaves you open to a possible short. your best bet would be to keep the regular filament bulb for the turn signal indicator.
That's what I was thinking I'd do too, when I convert my dash lights and turn signals to led, is just leave the turn signal indicator an incandescent bulb but change the rest of them. So far all I've done is a 48 LED taillight.
Are you guys doing it mainly for looks or function? I'm mainly converting my lights to led to conserve on battery power and I think they do look better providing they're at least as bright as what they replace.
Tony
Quote from: TonyKZ1 on February 11, 2009, 07:12:41 AM
That's what I was thinking I'd do too, when I convert my dash lights and turn signals to led, is just leave the turn signal indicator an incandescent bulb but change the rest of them. So far all I've done is a 48 LED taillight.
Are you guys doing it mainly for looks or function? I'm mainly converting my lights to led to conserve on battery power and I think they do look better providing they're at least as bright as what they replace.
Tony
Just curious... Why are you trying to conserve battery power? :dunno_white:
Quote from: TonyKZ1 on February 11, 2009, 07:12:41 AM
That's what I was thinking I'd do too, when I convert my dash lights and turn signals to led, is just leave the turn signal indicator an incandescent bulb but change the rest of them. So far all I've done is a 48 LED taillight.
Are you guys doing it mainly for looks or function? I'm mainly converting my lights to led to conserve on battery power and I think they do look better providing they're at least as bright as what they replace.
Tony
For the following reason:
- save battery power
- brighter
- they should last a long time
- they look good
Quote from: loki7714 on February 11, 2009, 02:43:54 PM
Just curious... Why are you trying to conserve battery power? :dunno_white:
To have more available power to run heated gear, like a heated vest & grips, etc.
Tony
hey guys i have not long joined this forum, but i must say that the information you have for us newbies is fantastic thank you so much, I bought a 1991 gs and have got my test in a week but have been working on it constantly since i got it to make it mine, i just fitted green leds to my speed/tach as i hadnt seen neones with them before and i must say they look awesome, ill try and get a pic up asap. thanks again guys.
(http://file048b.bebo.com/0/original/2009/02/22/20/3647016114a10171306189o.jpg)
i like this but think i should have left the deflector in it to make a more even distribution of light rather than a bright spot at the top, oh well we live an learn
Green is cool I like it alot... I should be putting my blue leds from superbrightleds.com in tomorrow.. if I figure the carb thing out atleast, priorities ya no... I'll post pics when I get them going.
Quote from: platinum_black on February 22, 2009, 08:32:06 AM
hey guys i have not long joined this forum, but i must say that the information you have for us newbies is fantastic thank you so much, I bought a 1991 gs and have got my test in a week but have been working on it constantly since i got it to make it mine, i just fitted green leds to my speed/tach as i hadnt seen neones with them before and i must say they look awesome, ill try and get a pic up asap. thanks again guys.
Why don't you put the deflector back in? Welcome to the forum, and if your 1991 is near as good as the 1994 that I bought used (same bike except the '94 came with a beefier rear shock) you'll be a very happy camper. The GS 500 is a very satisfying motorcycle. (if you can ignore your horsepower-addicted friends who will always be nagging you to buy a bigger bike) It is comparatively cheap to run, fix, and soup-up. I haven't made the LED modification yet but I might. (I'm not annoyed by the old-fashioned bulbs I'm using now!)
By the way folks, changing all the indicator bulbs to LED's will save a fraction of the power used by one electric vest, which uses 45-75 Watts, and today's alternators and regulators put out a few hundred Watts, so there's no need to save every Watt, unless you want to strap a big Kenwood on this thing!! Changing turn signals and brake lamps to LED's would save the most power by far, but they're not on all the time. The correct reason to go with LED's is because you think they look cool!
I have changed my tail and brake lights to LED :thumb:
Quote from: bill14224 on February 22, 2009, 09:05:09 PM
Why don't you put the deflector back in?
i would put them back in but unfortunately i snapped one of them :( i need to look at getting new clocks anyway as i only just noticed when i took the screen off to replace the bulbs that the housing for them is broken and when i do that im considering trying purple
Quote from: galahs on February 22, 2009, 11:32:11 PM
I have changed my tail and brake lights to LED :thumb:
Nice isn't it? expensive little suckers though. I have a set in mine as well.
THREAD RESURRECT!!
Just did mine. Not as bright as I would have liked, but nice anyway.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3451/3886040520_9b43d13345.jpg)
Glad you revived this.. i am next in line. just ordered my led a few days ago.
THREAD RESURRECT 2010!!!
I'm on ebay as we speak to buy LED lights for my gauge cluster on my 2006 gs500f. this thread helped a lot! O0
A lot of people buy them direct from http://www.superbrightleds.com now too
I'm thinking now of changing my gauge lights over to LED (safety is my priority). I was wondering though, and this is a little off-topic :oops:
I am going to change my headlight over to halogen and I have read here that some people have changed their parking light over to a T10 LED etc... I'm wondering what the best option is? LED? Globe? Any other choices? I hate the yellow-tinge of the stock bulb so any suggestions would be fantastic.
Easy to do. I went with amber. You can go with white.
(http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb442/adidasguy/GS500/DSC01213a.jpg)
FYI: Gauge Lights
(http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb442/adidasguy/GS500/instrument_LED.jpg)
You can see the metal light deflector in the instruments.
Note how small a T-5 wedge is compared to a T-10. While all use T-10 in the instruments, newer bikes use T-5 in the 4 indicators. Not as bright as a T-10 and you can't find non-polarized T-5's. You can shave a T-10 to fit. Or for the turn signal, use a T-5 and add 2 diodes as noted in a prior post on indicator LEDs.
got my uv (purple) leds from autoluminations... installing now, will take pics tonight and post them...
(http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj575/sxxdnne/DSCN6366.jpg)
these are not that bright but I love the color...
wow. great thread!
Came here with the idea of replacing my speedo and tach lights with blue....was not disappointed!
:woohoo:
Based on the other posts, I found some of these on Amazon: AGT Brand 4x 194 168 5-SMD Blue High Power LED (http://amzn.to/J66TWs). I got the 4 pack in case some of them didn't work, but in the end I had enough for the speedo, tach, neutral indicator, and high beam indicator.
Worked out really well - here's a side by side comparison with the old incandescent bulbs:
(http://www.chrismarriage.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120428_1212151.jpg)
Once I figure out how to take a better picture of the gauges at night I'll upload that as well :)
Definitely worth it - thanks for all the info...
After reading this whole thread, ive come to realize that riding at night with no speedo light is...well, tricky! So ive ordered 2 blue LED's for the speedo/tacho.
Ill update with pics when they are fitted.
I went blue, no pics on here but it works well.
I doubt you'll be disappointed. Definitely worth it.
My Neutral indicator light went out couple weeks ago so decided to do the LED upgrade. All went well except for the bulb I ordered for the High Beam.
I ordered from SuperBrightLEDs: 74-xHP: 74 LED Bulb - 1 SMD LED Wedge Base 74-BHP: Blue
I thought that is what the wiki said to order? http://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Upgrades.LEDIndicators (http://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Upgrades.LEDIndicators) Doesn't fit at all. Perhaps I read it wrong, but it looks like I need just another 194 LED bulb (which is what went into the other indicators).
Love the new light the gauges give off! (just tachometer, Oil and Neutral done in image below)
(http://imageshack.us/a/img839/8929/imag1119.jpg)
Quote from: lboaman on June 03, 2013, 05:56:34 AM
My Neutral indicator light went out couple weeks ago so decided to do the LED upgrade. All went well except for the bulb I ordered for the High Beam.
I ordered from SuperBrightLEDs: 74-xHP: 74 LED Bulb - 1 SMD LED Wedge Base 74-BHP: Blue
I thought that is what the wiki said to order? http://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Upgrades.LEDIndicators (http://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Upgrades.LEDIndicators) Doesn't fit at all. Perhaps I read it wrong, but it looks like I need just another 194 LED bulb (which is what went into the other indicators).
Try turning the bulb 180* in the socket. Might have gotten the polarity wrong...or else just a bad LED. Can also pull the LED out and touch the leads to a 9V battery to see if the LED is good or not.
Man I wanna get these leds. I found these white radial 5 led ones very similar to the WLED-x5 on ebay for $1.59 free shipping but I want colored ones for the gauges. I'm kinda short on cash atm so I guess I'll wait to buy them off superbrightleds :/.
just ordered these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007XI2PSM/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007XI2PSM/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
went for my first night ride last night and realized my speedo light was out, that was fun not knowing how fast i was going. also, my neutral light has been out since I got the bike so I figured this was as good a time as any to replace the speedo/tach and neutral bulbs. will post pics if anyone is interested.
Cool beans Torstein!! Sure, make sure to share pics!
I just did LED bulbs in my dash/gauges a few months ago... brake lights too... and I love them. I did blue for the speedo and red for the tach.
For search purposes I'll share this here... I had a small issue tho at first... I *think* the newer GS's have this teeny tiny 74 bulb in the indicator spots... (Neutral, Oil, High Beam, etc) and that's what I originally ordered... but when I got them they were way too small for the sockets in my bike. Turns out the indicator spots on my '98 use the 194's... same as the gauges... so I had to order more. Now I'm all good 8)
My bike used all 194's for the dash! I put a green led in the neutral, Amber for the turn indicator, blue for high beam, red for oil and white for the speedo & tach. I also went with LED brake lights, turn indicators. I had LED headlight but it wasn't focused properly so I put a regular halogen back in. The bike is much more pleasant at night compared to the dull halogens
I just ordered a bunch of LEDs from SuperbrightLeds, hopefully the few extra bucks is worth it. I wanted to go with the lights I found on Amazon but they were mostly packs of 10.
Here's my order, for future members searching the threads:
I have an 09, after reading over a dozen threads and over a hundred posts - I hope I got the right bulbs.
Qty Product/Options Price/Ea
2 74-GHP3: Green 2.49
1 74-BHP3: Blue 2.49
1 74-RHP3: Red 2.49
2 WLED-WHP6: Cool White 6.95
post pics when you get them installed!
Ordered mine from superbrightleds.com too :thumb:
Here is my new dash. The tach is washed out a bit, seems like the overlay is wearing out or something. The speedo looks better, but they both look nice at night. I also threw new bulbs in the oil and neutral slots. I wanted to do a turn signal bulb, but it would only flash for one direction, if I flipped the bulb, it flashed for the other direction. How do I fix that?
(http://i.imgur.com/oa9JxgO.jpg)
Quote from: Torstein on August 11, 2016, 05:19:22 AM
Here is my new dash. The tach is washed out a bit, seems like the overlay is wearing out or something. The speedo looks better, but they both look nice at night. I also threw new bulbs in the oil and neutral slots. I wanted to do a turn signal bulb, but it would only flash for one direction, if I flipped the bulb, it flashed for the other direction. How do I fix that?
(http://i.imgur.com/oa9JxgO.jpg)
Search for LED turn signal indicator diode fix.
That's how my tach is too Torstein... guess they just fade!! :technical:
(https://scontent-yyz1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13924905_10154484875183278_2080135373791766228_n.jpg?oh=74900f8cf26fdf6dfa8e7fab9ae320c9&oe=5851BFFA)
There was a thread I'm remembering from years(ish) ago... where a person who was making custom gauge faces but it turned into a bit of a runaround if I recall correctly.
The turn signal issue... yeah jdoorn is correct, if you search on here you'll find lots of info and threads about how LED bulbs can't just be swapped as easily for the signals. I just left mine alone, they are still regular bulbs cuz I didn't want to get into all that.
Quote from: ShowBizWolf on August 11, 2016, 10:08:24 AM
The turn signal issue... yeah jdoorn is correct, if you search on here you'll find lots of info and threads about how LED bulbs can't just be swapped as easily for the signals. I just left mine alone, they are still regular bulbs cuz I didn't want to get into all that.
More specific to the dash indicator, the way the turn signals work is that if the flow is positive to negative, one direction flashes. If the flow is negative to positive, the other direction flashes. The incandescent bulb will flash as long as the current is applied in
either direction. The LED you bought to replace the indicator is polarized, meaning it will only flash when current is flowing in one direction and one side is flashing. That's why when you turn it around the other direction will cause it to flash.
You have two possible solutions. 1) Find a direct replacement LED that is a non-polarized LED. This will allow it to flash when either direction signals are flashing. This not available for 2004+. You'd have to file down an LED to fit the socket. 2) Splice into the indicator wire harness and install diodes such that you funnel current to the turn signal indicator in the proper current flow direction regardless which side your turn signal is flashing. This is what's known as the 'LED indicator diode fix'.
mehh, i'll just leave the turn signal one alone then. no sense in screwing around with a work-around. too bad about the fading overlays. seems like it wouldn't be too difficult to make my own but i probably wont. :)
Quote from: jdoorn14 on August 11, 2016, 12:01:16 PM
Quote from: ShowBizWolf on August 11, 2016, 10:08:24 AM
The turn signal issue... yeah jdoorn is correct, if you search on here you'll find lots of info and threads about how LED bulbs can't just be swapped as easily for the signals. I just left mine alone, they are still regular bulbs cuz I didn't want to get into all that.
More specific to the dash indicator, the way the turn signals work is that if the flow is positive to negative, one direction flashes. If the flow is negative to positive, the other direction flashes. The incandescent bulb will flash as long as the current is applied in either direction. The LED you bought to replace the indicator is polarized, meaning it will only flash when current is flowing in one direction and one side is flashing. That's why when you turn it around the other direction will cause it to flash.
You have two possible solutions. 1) Find a direct replacement LED that is a non-polarized LED. This will allow it to flash when either direction signals are flashing. This not available for 2004+. You'd have to file down an LED to fit the socket. 2) Splice into the indicator wire harness and install diodes such that you funnel current to the turn signal indicator in the proper current flow direction regardless which side your turn signal is flashing. This is what's known as the 'LED indicator diode fix'.
very cool, thanks for the good information!!
Thanks for sharing pics Torstein and Showbiz. I have tons of goodies to install, but no time. :mad:
Hope to get some wrenching done this weekend.
Ok, thanks to all the great advice on this board (some links at the bottom) and the GSTwins wiki, I was able to convert my speedo & tach and my dash indicator lights (oil/neutral/brights) to LEDs and got great results. I did NOT convert the turn signal dash indicator light to LED because i was not ready to do the LED Diode Modification (you can search it) required to convert that one. So as a thank you and to repay the favor, here is my step-by-step with photos, including superbrightleds.com part numbers and even the invoice/packing list with up-to-date parts.
My bike is a 2002 GS500. Here's the bike and the before picture. My speedometer light was burnt, and a replacement lens on my brights indicator looked a little purple (a blue LED fixed that)
(https://i.postimg.cc/NfP1L0zS/IMG-8636.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/dt02qC4G/IMG-8637.jpg)
Ok, first for the Speedo/Tach Gauges LED upgrade: I tried both blue and white LEDs, and decided I liked the blue. Here are shots of the LEDS (blue and white) and original bulb for the gauges.
(https://i.postimg.cc/HWz0Dz4p/IMG-8644.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/pTYfdYwJ/IMG-8645.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/rsf51yFd/IMG-8646.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/hvD9QQgW/IMG-8647.jpg)
I took off the chrome cap nuts (2 bolts per gauge) holding the gauges in the housing. And later I did take out the two bolts holding the dash indicators in place. (I watched a you-tube video of how to change the bulbs). I did NOT need to disconnect the speedo cable or anything else. There is enough room to get to the gauge bulbs just by moving the gauges within the housing.
(https://i.postimg.cc/qvPyX50G/IMG-8649.jpg)
5-LED replacing incandescent bulb (194-NWHP5 = white, 194-BHP5 = blue).
I turned on the bulb to be sure it was working, confirming correct polarity. First white, then blue.
(https://i.postimg.cc/CxBb8gy1/IMG-8650.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/yx8Z8qX7/IMG-8651.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/bv1b69wf/IMG-8653.jpg)
Picture of white LED in speedo and blue LED in tach. I decided to go with blue in both.
(https://i.postimg.cc/1tPFbV8n/IMG-8654.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/LXTPS4Py/IMG-8657.jpg)
Now for the dash indicator lights: Here are photos and part numbers for the LEDs.
(https://i.postimg.cc/Xq1yZ2Qd/IMG-8659.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/Fs1St4HZ/IMG-8661.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/mZm96DBk/IMG-8663.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/023wPB6q/IMG-8664.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/FHLJRVck/IMG-8665.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/43RHhHbL/IMG-8666.jpg)
And here is the great final result.
(https://i.postimg.cc/XvKGKNsV/IMG-8673.jpg)
and a copy of the purchase info from superbrightleds
(https://i.postimg.cc/hvjThNWb/IMG-8816-b.jpg)
Notes:
- I did not upgrade the turn signal indicator light in the dash (see LED Diode Mod).
- The four LED blue light is a little too bright for the "brights" indicator. I don't use my brights much in the city so its not a big deal, but if I was to do it again, I would use a 1-LED (194-B-90) blue light for the brights.
- The wiki says my 2002 bike should have needed #74 base LEDs, but the #194 base LEDS worked great in both the gauges and the dash indicator lights. I recall a reference that it is 2004 and newer bikes that need the smaller base, but can't confirm
- The blue LED fixed my "purplish" brights replacement lens issue
and for reference and a big THANK YOU, here are some direct links to a few threads, besides this one, that helped me. Including a couple from addidasguy (RIP).
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=62474.msg729921#msg729921
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=57144.msg647306#msg647306
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=67072.msg807287#msg807287
___________________________________________________________________
5/5/2019 UPDATE:
GREAT NEWS. The 194-G4-90 LED Bulb from SuperBrightLEDs is
"NON_POLARIZED"!! This means it works in the turn signal indicator
without the need to do LED Diode Mod. Just plug the bulb in and it works - for left and right signal! I noticed in the catalog that it was listed as non-polarized, but the label on the bulb I bought for the neutral light said polarized. I contacted tech support, they confirmed the bulb
is indeed non-polarized,
the package is incorrect, and they submitted a change request to correct the package label. I installed it today, and it worked!
I also switched out the 4 led bulb for a 1 led bulb for the blue BRIGHTs indicator, so its not as bright.
So here is the current list of bulbs from SuperBrightLEDs to change the whole set of gauges and indicators to LED:
Gauge Lights:Speedometer: 194-BHP5- Led Bulb – 5 SMD LED Tower - Miniature Wedge Base – Blue
Tachometer: 194-BHP5- Led Bulb – 5 SMD LED Tower - Miniature Wedge Base – Blue
(Alternate color option 194-NWHP5 – Natural White, or other colors available)
LED Indicator Lights:Oil Pressure: 194-R4-90 Led Bulb – 4 LED Miniature Wedge Base – Red Wide
Neutral: 194-G4-90 Led Bulb – 4 LED Miniature Wedge Base – Green Wide
Turn Indicator: 194-G4-90 Led Bulb – 4 LED Miniature Wedge Base – Green Wide (same bulb as Neutral)
Bright Lights: 194-B-90 Led Bulb – 1 LED Miniature Wedge Base – Blue 90 Degree
(https://i.postimg.cc/NMwvgvxJ/IMG-8885.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/cJ3NyLft/IMG-8886.jpg)
That is interesting about your 2002 being able to use the 194's (in the indicator sockets). I've just been over a few parts diagrams for 2000 and earlier models and compared them to a few 2001 and newer diagrams... and the bulb part numbers change then (from 2000 to 2001)... except for the high beam bulb.
BUT, the change shows that you should be able to use them (because they are the same as the bulbs in the gauges) which is information contrary to the wiki. I'm wondering if it's time to edit that info....
https://www.motosport.com/motorcycle/oem-parts/suzuki/2000/gs500e/speedometer-_-tachometer
https://www.motosport.com/motorcycle/oem-parts/suzuki/2001/gs500/speedometer-_-tachometer
I remember years ago when I swapped out my dash bulbs in my 1998 (all but the turn signal one) I thought I needed the 74 base bulbs for the indicators... but when I got them, the 74s were much too small and wouldn't work at all in the sockets. I had to order 194s... which would make my 1998 similar to what you encountered with your 2002 (194 bulbs working for all sockets).
I love your post CarlM and am really glad you got it all sorted! I can't see the pictures on the computers here at work but I look forward to checking them out later when I get home.
5/5/2019 UPDATE:
GREAT NEWS. The 194-G4-90 LED Bulb from SuperBrightLEDs is "NON_POLARIZED"!! This means it works in the turn signal indicator without the need to do LED Diode Mod. Just plug the bulb in and it works - for left and right signal! I noticed in the catalog that it was listed as non-polarized, but the label on the bulb I bought for the neutral light said polarized. I contacted tech support, they confirmed the bulb is indeed non-polarized, the package is incorrect, and they submitted a change request to correct the package label. I installed it today, and it worked!
So here is the current list of bulbs from SuperBrightLEDs to change the whole set of gauges and indicators to LED:
About $25 for the whole set.
LED Gauge Lights:
Speedometer: 194-BHP5- Led Bulb – 5 SMD LED Tower - Miniature Wedge Base – Blue
Tachometer: 194-BHP5- Led Bulb – 5 SMD LED Tower - Miniature Wedge Base – Blue
(Alternate color option 194-NWHP5 – Natural White, or other colors available)
LED Indicator Lights:
Oil Pressure: 194-R4-90 Led Bulb – 4 LED Miniature Wedge Base – Red Wide
Neutral: 194-G4-90 Led Bulb – 4 LED Miniature Wedge Base – Green Wide
Turn Indicator: 194-G4-90 Led Bulb – 4 LED Miniature Wedge Base – Green Wide (same bulb as Neutral)
Bright Lights: 194-B-90 Led Bulb – 1 LED Miniature Wedge Base – Blue 90 Degree