Hey folks,
I received a PM from a member asking for which LEDs I used for my instrument lights and I reckon I need to post it for easy reference.

There is a single T10 wedge, it was either the speedo or the tacho. Most of the instrument panel lights are the screw on type, it took me a while to figure out that this is a "E10" base. The festoon style is used for the interior roof and map lights. I bought them from ledlight.com, you can get them from ebay or a multitude of other places as well. I've cut-n-paste the order info to facilitate easy search and part # lookup:


Product ID: 45689
Product Name: T10 Wedge 5 Ultra Bright SMD LED Bulb 1.5W W5W 12 VDC T3 1/4
Attributes: T10 Color - Super White
Price: $3.69
Quantity: 1



Product ID: 57567
Product Name: E10 Screw Base 5 5050 SMD 3 Chip LED Light Bulb 12 VDC
Attributes: Color - White 6000K
Price: $2.80
Quantity: 6


Product ID: 39468
Product Name: Festoon Ultra Bright Round 9 LED 1 1/2 Inches-39 mm
Attributes: Color - White
Price: $3.91
Quantity: 3

 

Overall, it makes a night and day (pun) difference in that now you can actually see the dang instruments at night.

The instrument panel lights fit fine, but there was one bulb (the tacho if I recall) where the E10 LED was a very tight fit and required that the socket base be manually pulled down from under the base so as to get the bulb to not protrude past the limited clearance.

As seen in the pics, one of them shows only one half of the panel lights swapped to LEDs, the crappy tablet camera barely even captures the incandiscent bulbs - that's how much difference there is. One minor side effect is that the speedo and tacho have a slightly different / lighter green shade.

I opted not to use the festoon LEDs in the roof lights or map light because the white light kills the charming and classic yellow glow that is period correct and appropriate for the Series 3. I tried experimenting with yellow filters/screens covering the festoon LEDs, that never came out right. Then I ordered some "warm yellow" or some such bulb from Amazon, but that was gaudy neon type yellow, not the natural and warm color of the original bulbs. So if anybody has found a source for festoon LEDs that mimic the natural color, please post up.

As far as the Opticell, I have not gotten to it, I believe Elnr has found a good option in one of her threads. It would be helpful for other members if we could consolidate the info in one thread. I didn't want to give the cops better visibility into my plates, so I did not replace any license plate lamps . The trunk/dicky lights were festoons if I recall and will actually allow you to see that dead body in there.

Happy motoring.

 

Ok, here's the pic with left half original bulbs and right half LEDs. Posting pics from a phone/tablet sure is a chore

 

I bought (4) festoon type bulbs in white at the local stereo shop. They fit and work well - but the (new two years ago) owner of the '72 car does not like the bright white and I will restore the original festoon bulbs.

Will use them in my '71 S1 as I am replacing the light brackets for the second time in thirteen years due to the festoon bulb heat and then the eventual cracking of the plastic light bracket... eventually the outer covers are destroyed as well. Can reuse one of the other cars LED's in my light under the dash pad... will really help to have
actual bright light!

Am slowly converting all my cars interior bulbs to LED's... difference is good and the brighter and cooler running helps a lot. Will change out the tail lights and turn signals for sure as they are so small - being brighter will help others see the car from the rear and front when turning.

 

i just finished changing my interior lights with LEDs, and all outside lights ,brake,running,directionals, and parking lights with LEDs, WHAT a great difference it made for night driving!
less current drain and heat build up, i think all the lights on at once is less drain than just one incandesant bulb!

 

Like Warlock I don't like the color of the LED festoons as courtesy lights. They're certainly bright enough, but they have a blue cast that looks Terrible in my beige (or whatever the official name is) interior. The search continues for a suitable festoon replacement, with the knowledge that there simply may not be one.

The Opticell, however, here's the link to the replacement I found for that, takes you right to the correct page. It's posted in Console-ation.
BA9S 5 SMD LED 1.5 Watt 12VDC - Automotive LED Lights - LEDLight
(';')

 

i agree the blue/white superbright interior festoon is much to bright!

they have some Amber LED festoon,wonder how that may be , with a slight yellow color?
the old factory bulbs are just to dull, be nice to liven up the interior when we open the doors.