How to: Brighter gauge face with LED’s.

[theleisure]

Hi guys, thanks for your patience and thanks for letting me sneak into the big Healey forum for a little while. I took a handful of bulbs out to the car to test the "bad bulb" theory. None of 'em work other than a momentary flash when switching from on (but not running) to the off position. I put the original bulb back in and it works as it should. What do I need to test? I have the tools to test electrical stuff but I'm a complete novice.

Sean

 

[Keoke]

Hi Sean, Thats a bummer for sure.How old is the Voltage regulator in your car??--Keoke

 

[theleisure]

How old is the Voltage regulator in your car??--Keoke

I've had the car since June; it's older than that. If it's the regulator that would be an excuse to upgrade to an internally regulated alternator, right?


Is this Led issue something that somebody can walk me through-- test wire x and meter should read y? I'm sure I can fix it.

 

[AUSMHLY]

Sean,
Your car is negative ground, right?

You can test the led first my running a hot wire to the center of the led and a ground wire to the metal surround of the led. Confirm the led lights, then try it in the top of the Speedometer gauge. You should have a 2.2 watt filament bulb there now.

I'd suggest putting an inline fuse between the led and hot wire on all your tests. For safety of course. And that these leds cost about ten bucks a piece. Ouch.

The bulbs in the top of the gauges have one wire running to them. The gauge cylinder is the ground, in a negative car. The bulbs in the ignition and high beam should have two wires running to them,(pos and neg) for they are in an isolated plastic tube. Is the led in the ignition socket getting a hot wire to center and a negative ground to the base of the led?

Roger

 

[Keoke]

How old is the Voltage regulator in your car??--Keoke

I've had the car since June; it's older than that. If it's the regulator that would be an excuse to upgrade to an internally regulated alternator, right?------Yeah!- :laugh:


Is this Led issue something that somebody can walk me through-- test wire x and meter should read y? I'm sure I can fix it. I am not sure.
A Led is very sensitive to series resistance. For example it can be dimmed using the forward resistance of a conducting diode. That resistance is very small and out side the scope of standard multimeters. This resistance may reside in the following locations:
1] Fuse block--Clean contacts thoroughly
2} W & E contacts on the regulator--Clean Connectors & tab on BOTH Clean & tighten Ground connection of E on the Car chassis.
3] Ignition Switch Contacts ---Bypass it with a short jumper

As a matter of fact clean all of the contacts and connectors on the Regulator. After each correction recheck the led operation. Make certain the battery is fully charged. If you choose later the internal contacs of the regulator can be cleaned. I hope this will Help .---Keoke quote]

 

[theleisure]

OK, I tried the bulb in another dashboard light holder. That one didn't have a ground wire to it so I had to ground it against the dashboard itself. Good news, the bulb worked fine in that situation. These things are bright!

Review: -car is negative ground
-ignition light works as should with filament bulb
-ignition light does not work as should with E10 supertstar
-E10 superstar works in holder with one wire lead when grounded by touching to dashboard
-ignition light+ E10 superstar does not shine when ignition on and car not running but does flash when going from on position back to off.

does this still lead you to believe that the regulator is faulty?

 

[Keoke]

Yes it has to be some where in that circuit. I would clean all the connections up first if that does not solve the problem then get a regulator. But be sure you by pass that ignition switch.---Keoke

P.S. does the regular bulb extinguish when the engine is started??

 

[theleisure]

Review: -car is negative ground
<span style="color: #FF0000">-ignition light works as should with filament bulb</span>
-ignition light does not work as should with E10 supertstar
-E10 superstar works in holder with one wire lead when grounded by touching to dashboard
-ignition light+ E10 superstar does not shine when ignition on and car not running but does flash when going from on position back to off.

since the light works fine with a regular bulb i guess i could leave it that way...

 

[Keoke]

Yep., If the light works fine with a regular bulb. Leaving it alone is a smart approach I think.---Keoke-- :thumbsup:

 

[AUSMHLY]

Sean,

Where did you install it in the dashboard? What gauge? Where is the bulb in that gauge?

If the bulb in that gauge had one wire, then it would have been the hot wire. The bulb holder, metal, would have been the ground. You should not have to run another wire to ground it to the metal dash.

Something is off.

 

[theleisure]

I didn't run another wire, I just touched the metal housing to the metal of the dash. Touch the dash= on, take away form the dash= off. This bulb should go to the fuel gauge but it doesn't right now because I don't have the special bulb bracket installed.

 

[GregW]

The gauge cylinder is the ground, in a negative car.

Hi Roger,
The gauge body is always ground. In a neg ground car, it's neg. Pos ground car = pos.

The bulbs in the ignition and high beam should have two wires running to them,(pos and neg)

<span style="text-decoration: underline">Both</span> leads to the ignition light are hot. One from the battery and one from the generator (or alternator). When the engine is off, idling really low or the system isn't charging, the bulb lights from the <span style="text-decoration: underline">difference</span> in the voltage. I.E. +12v and +3v. Once the charging system has a good output, the voltage difference drops below what will keep the bulb lit. It may be that LEDs require and honest neg voltage to work.

 

[Keoke]

:laugh:
or one hat is appruaching 0 V. Conxequently. all resistance in the circuit must be minimized for this to happen.---Keoke

 

[AUSMHLY]

Greg, Keoke,

I always look forward to reading your posts. The technical, how the ignition light works, is beyond my knowledge. I'm sure you guys can help Sean work though his situation. I'm looking forward to finding out why, or where the problem is.

Cheers,
Roger

 

[Keoke]

Hi Roger, that particular Led may not work in that application at all. This may be because the differential voltage across it can not be raised high enough. Consequently to find out emphatically we need to minimise contact and inter facial resistance to the minimum practical.--Keoke

 

[AUSMHLY]

Hi Roger, that particular Led may not work in that application at all. Keoke

I've got the same led in my ignition, no problem.
I've got led in all my gauges, and the turn signals. No problems.
????
Roger

 

[Keoke]

Different circuits and different hardware Roger---Keoke

 

[AUSMHLY]

Different circuits and different hardware Roger---Keoke

Thanks Keoke.
I wish I had known this, from the beginning. Then I would have included it as a disclaimer, in the beginning of this post... how to: brighter gauge face with LED's.

So, to those who read to page 6, this page, disclaimer noted.

Cheers all,
Roger

 

[Keoke]

Yeah Roger, I will buy that some of the applications cited in this post have nothing to do with brightening the gauge faces even though some are located in the gauges.--Keoke-- :thumbsup:

 

[GregW]

I wish I had known this, from the beginning. Then I would have included it as a disclaimer,

I don't know how you could have known whether it would work on a different car Roger. Can't say I've seen a wiring diagram for a Sprite myself.