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#1
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LED dash light replacements?
I read about folks trying this a while back. It seems it would be good to update the tired yellow lighting with nice bright white lights. But as far as I know, they can't be dimmed. Any updated experiences with these?
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1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles 2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed 2005 Toyota Sienna 2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible 1999 Toyota Tacoma |
#2
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You're right, LED's can't be "dimmed" in the conventional sense, but they could be modulated with a duty cycle ranging from 5% to 100% at a fairly high frequency, giving the illusion of dimming. The regulator, voltage/duty cycle converter and switch could be built into the base of a replacement bulb. But nobody's done this...yet...hehe...you read it here first.
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86 560SL With homebrew first gear start! 85 380SL Daily Driver Project http://juliepalooza.8m.com/sl/mercedes.htm |
#3
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So the rheostat would have to be replaced with some kind of duty cycle gizmo? Sounds like something I would screw up for sure without expert guidance. Oh well, I liked the idea anyway ..
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1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles 2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed 2005 Toyota Sienna 2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible 1999 Toyota Tacoma |
#4
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Quote:
Steve
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'91 MB 190E 2.3 '08 RAV4 Ltd 3.5 '83 Lazy Daze m'home 5.7 |
#5
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chuni959 replaced the lights in the CC with blue LEDs and they are adjustable with the rehostat. He put three LEDs in series (then three sets of these) to give ~3.5V drop across each LED (at 12V). To do the same thing with white (or any other color) you would just need to put enough LEDs in series (or add resistors) to ensure that the voltage drop across each LED at 12V is near the maximum (recommended) voltage for the LED.
here are night/day pics:
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Daily Driver: 02 E430 4MATIC In the family: '03 E500 // '04 ML500 // 64 220SE Last edited by skiier3_9; 01-10-2006 at 01:43 PM. |
#6
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wiring:
another day shot of the center console:
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Daily Driver: 02 E430 4MATIC In the family: '03 E500 // '04 ML500 // 64 220SE |
#7
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Quote:
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86 560SL With homebrew first gear start! 85 380SL Daily Driver Project http://juliepalooza.8m.com/sl/mercedes.htm |
#8
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Current control makes good sense, since the luminance is essentially an electron-photon exchange process. The more electrons per second (i.e. more current), the more photons per second (i.e. more brightness). Controlling current with a linear regulator is a lossy process, though, and this is what you do with a rheostat in series. This also has problems because you cannot shut off the current, and the one pre-existing in the dash was not designed for controlling the lower current requirement of the LEDs, nor will this circuit limit the maximum current - a series resistor must be added or the LEDs will burn out rather quickly. Higher efficiency is possible by using a switching regulator to adjust average brightness, but this is only significant for very high brightness LED assemblies, such as those you mentioned. For dash LEDs, a simple linear current regulator using a control pot instead of the rheostat would be a good choice. Steve
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'91 MB 190E 2.3 '08 RAV4 Ltd 3.5 '83 Lazy Daze m'home 5.7 |
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