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stephen
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I replaced the regular bulbs with LED's a couple of years ago.

 

The difference was really like night and day.

 

The bulbs run cooler and you can actually see your gauges at night.

 

Just remember, the LED's may be polarity sensitive , and if they don't work one way just turn them 180 degrees.

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I replaced the regular bulbs with LED's a couple of years ago.

 

The difference was really like night and day.

 

The bulbs run cooler and you can actually see your gauges at night.

 

Just remember, the LED's may be polarity sensitive , and if they don't work one way just turn them 180 degrees.

 

Dont suppose you have any interest in doing a full write up on the procedure? WITH PICTURES?

 

I would LOVE to replace the bulbs (Cant see the gauges at night- rheostat is worthless) but have no idea WHERE they are, how to get to them, or what to replace them with.

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Roman, as we've discussed before, I'm technologically challenged so I can't do pics, but I will try to describe the steps as best as I can.

 

I'm also pretty sure I posted this when I originally did the changeover, but with the couple of crashes the site had the info. must have be lost.

 

Here goes:

 

The bulbs I used were Eurolites, but you can choose any brand that is available at your local autoparts store.

 

The bulb number is 194 and is available in various colours. I chose white as I wanted the brightest bulb possible.

 

The first step is to make sure you stretch and limber up as you are going to be asking your body to assume positions that an ordinary human can not achieve. (LOL)

 

If you have a lift, you could pull out the drivers seat to get more room, but I did mine the old fashioned way.

 

On the underside of the dash on the right side, there is a small panel that contains the switches for the headlights/ foglights /etc. Use a small phillips screwdriver to unscrew the panel and carefully swing it out of the way. This will give you access to the the gauges to the right of the tach. I can't remember if I removed the panel on the left side containing the rheostat but I think the access to that side was better.

 

The steering wheel on the CT is telescoping and I recommend extending it as far out as possible to give you maximum room.

 

If you are able to wedge yourself into the area with a flashlight or fluorescent worklight you will be able to see the pigtails that contain the bulbs. (NOTE!! If you use an incandescent work light you will probably get to experience first hand the smell of burning hair or flesh.)

 

You simply have to give them a partial turn and wiggle them out. If I remember correctly, there are two for the speedometer and tach. and one for each of the other gauges. (The one for the speedo was a pain and I wound up undoing the speedometer cable to get access to the upper bulb.)

 

One major tip as I mentioned before that the LED bulbs I used were polarity sensitive so I recommend putting the bulb into the pigtail and turning the light on prior to reinstalling it in the gauge. (Some of the newer LEDs may not have this problem but the ones I installed did) If the bulb does not light up just give it a 180 degree turn and it should solve your problem.

 

Reassemble the items you removed ,

visit your chiropractor................

and in a couple of days you should be back to driving.

 

One last tip. I found that if I turned on both the side/marker lights and the headlight switch at the same time, my dashlights were brighter than if I just turned on one or the other.

 

 

Best of luck.

D.

 

 

 

 

 

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Roman, as we've discussed before, I'm technologically challenged so I can't do pics, but I will try to describe the steps as best as I can.

 

I'm also pretty sure I posted this when I originally did the changeover, but with the couple of crashes the site had the info. must have be lost.

 

Here goes:

 

The bulbs I used were Eurolites, but you can choose any brand that is available at your local autoparts store.

 

The bulb number is 194 and is available in various colours. I chose white as I wanted the brightest bulb possible.

 

The first step is to make sure you stretch and limber up as you are going to be asking your body to assume positions that an ordinary human can not achieve. (LOL)

 

If you have a lift, you could pull out the drivers seat to get more room, but I did mine the old fashioned way.

 

On the underside of the dash on the right side, there is a small panel that contains the switches for the headlights/ foglights /etc. Use a small phillips screwdriver to unscrew the panel and carefully swing it out of the way. This will give you access to the the gauges to the right of the tach. I can't remember if I removed the panel on the left side containing the rheostat but I think the access to that side was better.

 

The steering wheel on the CT is telescoping and I recommend extending it as far out as possible to give you maximum room.

 

If you are able to wedge yourself into the area with a flashlight or fluorescent worklight you will be able to see the pigtails that contain the bulbs. (NOTE!! If you use an incandescent work light you will probably get to experience first hand the smell of burning hair or flesh.)

 

You simply have to give them a partial turn and wiggle them out. If I remember correctly, there are two for the speedometer and tach. and one for each of the other gauges. (The one for the speedo was a pain and I wound up undoing the speedometer cable to get access to the upper bulb.)

 

One major tip as I mentioned before that the LED bulbs I used were polarity sensitive so I recommend putting the bulb into the pigtail and turning the light on prior to reinstalling it in the gauge. (Some of the newer LEDs may not have this problem but the ones I installed did) If the bulb does not light up just give it a 180 degree turn and it should solve your problem.

 

Reassemble the items you removed ,

visit your chiropractor................

and in a couple of days you should be back to driving.

 

One last tip. I found that if I turned on both the side/marker lights and the headlight switch at the same time, my dashlights were brighter than if I just turned on one or the other.

 

 

Best of luck.

D.

thank you that is just what we needed! thanks mike i have talked to raymond but he was no help at all. it is nice having a 16 year old son to bend in to those places!

thanks guys!!!!!!!

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thank you that is just what we needed! thanks mike i have talked to raymond but he was no help at all. it is nice having a 16 year old son to bend in to those places!

thanks guys!!!!!!!

 

Hahhaha... Lucky you! I can't tell you how many times I've had my wife come out (with her small hands) to help get at some item that is tucked away! :icon_mrgreen:

 

Keep us posted on how it all comes out!

 

 

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Roman, as we've discussed before, I'm technologically challenged so I can't do pics, but I will try to describe the steps as best as I can.

 

I'm also pretty sure I posted this when I originally did the changeover, but with the couple of crashes the site had the info. must have be lost.

 

Here goes:

 

The bulbs I used were Eurolites, but you can choose any brand that is available at your local autoparts store.

 

The bulb number is 194 and is available in various colours. I chose white as I wanted the brightest bulb possible.

 

The first step is to make sure you stretch and limber up as you are going to be asking your body to assume positions that an ordinary human can not achieve. (LOL)

 

If you have a lift, you could pull out the drivers seat to get more room, but I did mine the old fashioned way.

 

On the underside of the dash on the right side, there is a small panel that contains the switches for the headlights/ foglights /etc. Use a small phillips screwdriver to unscrew the panel and carefully swing it out of the way. This will give you access to the the gauges to the right of the tach. I can't remember if I removed the panel on the left side containing the rheostat but I think the access to that side was better.

 

The steering wheel on the CT is telescoping and I recommend extending it as far out as possible to give you maximum room.

 

If you are able to wedge yourself into the area with a flashlight or fluorescent worklight you will be able to see the pigtails that contain the bulbs. (NOTE!! If you use an incandescent work light you will probably get to experience first hand the smell of burning hair or flesh.)

 

You simply have to give them a partial turn and wiggle them out. If I remember correctly, there are two for the speedometer and tach. and one for each of the other gauges. (The one for the speedo was a pain and I wound up undoing the speedometer cable to get access to the upper bulb.)

 

One major tip as I mentioned before that the LED bulbs I used were polarity sensitive so I recommend putting the bulb into the pigtail and turning the light on prior to reinstalling it in the gauge. (Some of the newer LEDs may not have this problem but the ones I installed did) If the bulb does not light up just give it a 180 degree turn and it should solve your problem.

 

Reassemble the items you removed ,

visit your chiropractor................

and in a couple of days you should be back to driving.

 

One last tip. I found that if I turned on both the side/marker lights and the headlight switch at the same time, my dashlights were brighter than if I just turned on one or the other.

 

 

Best of luck.

D.

 

Great Information!!!!! I figure I will change out my bulbs to LED's when I have to take the dash off one of these days to fix a couple small spots where the leather is pulling away.

 

 

 

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Dont suppose you have any interest in doing a full write up on the procedure? WITH PICTURES?

 

I would LOVE to replace the bulbs (Cant see the gauges at night- rheostat is worthless) but have no idea WHERE they are, how to get to them, or what to replace them with.

 

I am lucky my instruments are bright. I found it easier to remove the panel with the gauges. Also consider just bypassing the rheostat. That thing by now is just creating a draw and actually dimming your lights. Makes a big difference in brightness.

 

My way I just:

1) disconnect battery

2) Pop steering wheel off

3) Remove securing screws on front of panel

4) Put tape on leather to avoid scratching when pulling out panel

5) When it is pulled out a little reach back and disconnect speedo( also under front bonnet check to see that cable has enough free play to move out).

6) Remove nuts and wires from back of ampmeter

7) Mark and disconnect electrical plugs

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Excellent write up guys.....

 

HOW MANY bulbs need to be replaced? (As in how many replacement bulbs should we buy prior to doing the job?)

 

 

Also, it appears 194s come in "90 degree" and "120 degree" variants. Anybody know which is better for this application?

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I also replaced all my dash lights this winter to LED. Pulling out the metal gauge panel was much easier than wedging in under the dash. If I remember there was 2 bulbs each for the speedo & tach all the other gauges were 1 each. I bought mine at the local parts store (LORDCO)...they were $12 for a package of 2. I have 1 spare bulb, I will take a picture & post later. Also I found the factory bulb would work with very low voltage (4-6v) but the LED would not even glow until they got minimum 7v. I bypassed the rheostat and also added another ground wire to the metal gauge panel. I was then getting approx. 9v to each LED bulb which allowed me to finally see the gauges at night.

Jeff

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Excellent write up guys.....

 

HOW MANY bulbs need to be replaced? (As in how many replacement bulbs should we buy prior to doing the job?)

 

 

Also, it appears 194s come in "90 degree" and "120 degree" variants. Anybody know which is better for this application?

 

There are a total of nine bulbs for the gauges.

 

Tach and Spedo take two all others take one for illumination.

 

Oil pressure and Fuel have a second bulb for low levels, these do not need to be replaced.

 

The photo below compliments of Tony Ierardi show the gauges removed with wiring harness.

 

1121112_126_s79k.jpg

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ok.... I ordered a shitload of different leds from the above site (i have previously bought stuff from them, including led dome lights for the ct). I will test them and give a rec.

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I also replaced all my dash lights this winter to LED. Pulling out the metal gauge panel was much easier than wedging in under the dash. If I remember there was 2 bulbs each for the speedo & tach all the other gauges were 1 each. I bought mine at the local parts store (LORDCO)...they were $12 for a package of 2. I have 1 spare bulb, I will take a picture & post later. Also I found the factory bulb would work with very low voltage (4-6v) but the LED would not even glow until they got minimum 7v. I bypassed the rheostat and also added another ground wire to the metal gauge panel. I was then getting approx. 9v to each LED bulb which allowed me to finally see the gauges at night.

Jeff

 

couple of pics of the bulbs I used

 

post-9543-1268273053_thumb.jpgpost-9543-1268273039_thumb.jpg

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OK... NONE of the bulbs I bought seem to work.... All seem too big and they dont light up from the dash. I can connect them direct to a 12v battery and they light up fine (and bright) but no dice from the dash. Incandecent in the dash DOES light....

 

I can obviously get SMALLER LEDs that will fit but I doubt that will resolve the wont light up issue.

 

 

Thinking rheostat is not providing enough volts to the dash circuits....

 

Anybody know proper way to bypass without completely fcuking everything up?

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OK... NONE of the bulbs I bought seem to work.... All seem too big and they dont light up from the dash. I can connect them direct to a 12v battery and they light up fine (and bright) but no dice from the dash. Incandecent in the dash DOES light....

 

I can obviously get SMALLER LEDs that will fit but I doubt that will resolve the wont light up issue.

 

 

Thinking rheostat is not providing enough volts to the dash circuits....

 

Anybody know proper way to bypass without completely fcuking everything up?

 

I just used a jumper wire on the pig tail for the rheostat.

 

When I get the chance I will take a look at how I hooked it up. Vic

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I just used a jumper wire on the pig tail for the rheostat.

 

When I get the chance I will take a look at how I hooked it up. Vic

 

 

I pulled the molex connector from the back of the rheo.... Looks like a three prongs coming out (one looks like a dedicated ground)... A red, Black and two whites going in (I assume the whites are actually coming out). Can I just jump the red and the whites?

 

I put two blade connectors on a short piece of 10 gauge. Plugged them into the red and white plugs respectively,(Seems like this should work, but as I have learned in the last 4 years, Lamborghini electricals are 1/3 standard, 1/3 improvisation and 1/3 black magic.) but before I turn on the lights I want to make sure I wont short out the lights and set my hair on fire.

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I pulled the molex connector from the back of the rheo.... Looks like a three prongs coming out (one looks like a dedicated ground)... A red, Black and two whites going in (I assume the whites are actually coming out). Can I just jump the red and the whites?

 

I put two blade connectors on a short piece of 10 gauge. Plugged them into the red and white plugs respectively,(Seems like this should work, but as I have learned in the last 4 years, Lamborghini electricals are 1/3 standard, 1/3 improvisation and 1/3 black magic.) but before I turn on the lights I want to make sure I wont short out the lights and set my hair on fire.

 

It's been a while since I did mine so I don't recall the colors but you do have the right idea with the jumper wire. A start would be to take a test light and find out which wire gets power when you turn on the lights. That wire should get connected to the dash lights (probably the white). Are the bulb wires white? As I recall mine were the same.

 

On some Ferrari's I have done it was one wire in and one out and all I do is connect them together.

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It's been a while since I did mine so I don't recall the colors but you do have the right idea with the jumper wire. A start would be to take a test light and find out which wire gets power when you turn on the lights. That wire should get connected to the dash lights (probably the white). Are the bulb wires white? As I recall mine were the same.

 

On some Ferrari's I have done it was one wire in and one out and all I do is connect them together.

 

 

Closed my eyes, held my breath, turned the key and flipped the switch....

 

 

Jumper works.

 

And my hair isnt burned. Thanks RL & Steve!

 

 

Dash already looks a little brighter.... LED still wont light- flip it in the holder, still no joy. I then took the LED, hooked it up to a 9V Battery.... Lights right up.... WTF AM I MISSING HERE?

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Nevermind... Got it.... HAVE to turn on the side marker lights switch. With that the LEDs light and I get about 8.3V to the plug. Now I just have to get the right size bulbs!

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Very cool keep us posted on the LED's you find to work best. You should have a nice green glow in the cockpit with the brighter lights and 7909 :icon_super:

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strange thing.,.... This didnt happen earlier in the day.... Now, when I flip on the side marker light switch, the REALLY annoying buzzer goes on.... Im hoping it goes off when the car is started.... Otherwise, Im going to need to kill it.

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strange thing.,.... This didnt happen earlier in the day.... Now, when I flip on the side marker light switch, the REALLY annoying buzzer goes on.... Im hoping it goes off when the car is started.... Otherwise, Im going to need to kill it.

 

 

I would say the buzzer is going off to inform you that you have left your marker lights on with the ignition off.

 

You probably never noticed it before because how often do you turn your side lights on with the car off?

 

I am sure it will cancel out once the engine is fired up.

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strange thing.,.... This didnt happen earlier in the day.... Now, when I flip on the side marker light switch, the REALLY annoying buzzer goes on.... Im hoping it goes off when the car is started.... Otherwise, Im going to need to kill it.

 

On my car the buzzer goes off when the lights are on and the door is open (car not running). Door switch kicks it on to tell you the lights are on before you leave the car. Your car is probably the same as mine.

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