As I mentioned on the other post, I am trying to upgrade my XJ6 S3 daskboard’s light to LED. I did all the gauges and it looks great. Then I move on to the Optic part of the car. To my surprise, only the light switch and arrows and air knob show some improvements. So I took the console apart and find out most of the optic lines are either pinched, bended or broken. Thinking I am going to have to replace all the optic lines and where I can get them. Then I sew the broken power driver has a LED light and it looks like it is small enough to work, and it does. It is a 3mm single LED bulb.
(pictures 1)

So I order a bunch of 3mm green single LED bulbs from Ebay and hope that I can eliminate the optic completely.
It took more then a month of them to get here and I am immediately started working on it. Here is how it looks on the light switch.
(pictures 2)

Here is how they look when I wired then all.
(pictures 3)
back and front.
(pictures 4)

Here is how they look when I put them back in.
(pictures 5)
Picture I took from my iPhone in the dark not real good. But you can see they are pretty bright. I am in the process to get a adjustable voltage regulator so I can dim the light to match the gauges intensity. I will post the result when finished.

 

That looks really nice.
But, um, you might have trouble dimming these. LEDs have a very narrow voltage requirement range, and if it gets too low, they merely don't light up. (you can ask me how I know) Dimmable LEDs small enough for your application may be available somewhere but I haven't found any.
(';')

 

looks great but I preferred in mine to keep the Opticell cables, instead of individual LEDs, too much hassle !

 

If you can't find a way to dim, you can also try something like cloth tape to diffuse the brightness. That's what I did on some ambient lighting I added and it worked fantastic.

 

Dimming an LED... This maybe sounds like a dopey solution as I have never tried it but I might try dipping the bulbs in ink or some such thing (Food coloring ?) probably needs a thin film of something to reduce glare maybe something like a varnish /stain the yellowish hue might make the green appear less bright and s bit warmer. This is something I want to do with my 86 VDP - change all this dinky lighting Damn these Brits must be part owl my MGB was the same ...Land of the redundant rheostat.

 

If I could keep the Optic cables, I would. But all of the cables except the Light switch and the air knob are beyond repair.

I did some test on the LED and they do dim from 9v to 4.5v (3 x 1.5v battery). So I have high hope that it could be dim by a voltage regulator.

 

Finally the voltage regulator is here. I did a quick test and it work pretty well. So I put it in and adjusted those 3mm single LED bulbs to about half the intensity of the full 12v. They looks pretty good to me. I was thinking to replace the dim switch on the dash with the regulator since it doesn't dim the light anymore after the LED upgrade. But realize it would be a bit of work to take the center console a part again. So I just mount it in the storage compartment in the console for now.
I Will take and post some pictures of the dash soon.

 

Picture 1 showing 12v intensity.
Picture 2 showing 3v to 4v intensity. I like this setting, I think it match pretty close to the dash light.

 

That looks Really nice!
I agree, the full 12v SCREAMS! It would be Very distracting I would think.
(';')

 

Three thoughts: Early for that, huh! Still sipping coffee. Coco has been out and had his kibble and chopped turkey...


1. Replacement fibre optic cables must be out there somewhere. I've had a little Christmas tree that has one non LED bulb at the base, A spinning wheel and cable to spread the colors around. Impressed me.


2. ATT is stringing fiber optics in to older neighborhoods to enhance service. I thought I was getting it a few years ago. Sale Rep over stated!!! Gee, should've known.


3. My 88 Tbird had a digital dash including a speedo that did not dim with the other numbers. The days of 85 max speedo's. Galled me to no end. Disturbing at night. Slick, a business card fit right over it.


The Tbird could go much faster, I know. I drove it way past that, but that cyclops eye stayed at 85.


Carl