countach guage question

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.

Yep... Went off when I closed the door.

 

 

 

So from what I can tell by reaching my hand back there, the gauges have a metal tube on the back of them that the bulb fits in? So the bulb is surrounded on its sides (by the tube) and the light is aimed like a flashlight at the face of the gauge?? If so, I think that will narrow down my bulb search.

 

 

Also, it seems like the bulb literally just "rests" in the tube.... Nothing really snapping or holding it in but the friction of the bulb in the tube?

Yep... Went off when I closed the door.

 

 

 

So from what I can tell by reaching my hand back there, the gauges have a metal tube on the back of them that the bulb fits in? So the bulb is surrounded on its sides (by the tube) and the light is aimed like a flashlight at the face of the gauge?? If so, I think that will narrow down my bulb search.

 

 

Also, it seems like the bulb literally just "rests" in the tube.... Nothing really snapping or holding it in but the friction of the bulb in the tube?

 

If you look at post 12 you can see the tubes on the back of the gauges. That plastic bulb holder just slides kind of snug into the tube. Yep the light just kind of reflects in there. Speedo and tach are bigger so you get two bulbs.

If you look at post 12 you can see the tubes on the back of the gauges. That plastic bulb holder just slides kind of snug into the tube. Yep the light just kind of reflects in there. Speedo and tach are bigger so you get two bulbs.

 

 

Based on that, Im guessing that either These or These are going to be the ones.... I ::Think:: one of them will fit perfectly (Probably the first group).... I ordered some others with the SMD "bulbs" that unfortunately are just a smidge too big, but fcuk.... DO THOSE LITTLE THINGS LIGHT UP!

 

Im not totally sure about the metal looking ones as they may need too much power, but if they do work, 40+Lumens!!!! CRAP!

 

Ill have samples of both (as well as some other likely candidates) next week and Ill report my finding....

 

 

If it goes well, maybe we can put together a group buy?

OK.... Heres a Youtube Video showing some examples of the bulbs Ive looked at so far. Hooked up to a 9v battery (which is about what my dash has right now) and showing the SMD brightness.

 

OK.... Heres a Youtube Video showing some examples of the bulbs Ive looked at so far. Hooked up to a 9v battery (which is about what my dash has right now) and showing the SMD brightness.

 

 

Interesting, looks like I'll be popping into my local autospares shop (once I'm out of hospital lol..)

I had blamed the poor illumination on the 1970's design of the guages, (Designed to illuminate from around the edge of the guage, whereas modern units use a translucent face) of course the important one (Speedo) has so many numbers on it that at night you have to:

i) Remember what the speed the gauge shows when the needle points in that direction, before

ii) Converting that reading to mph, and finally

iii) Deducting about 15mph (at least in my particular vehicle at an indicated 100mph)**

At the moment I really on my SatNav to tell the Speed whilst I work out how to fit a Diablo Speedometer...

 

 

** Try explaining that to a copper without being done for having an inaccurate speedo!

Interesting, looks like I'll be popping into my local autospares shop (once I'm out of hospital lol..)

I had blamed the poor illumination on the 1970's design of the guages, (Designed to illuminate from around the edge of the guage, whereas modern units use a translucent face) of course the important one (Speedo) has so many numbers on it that at night you have to:

i) Remember what the speed the gauge shows when the needle points in that direction, before

ii) Converting that reading to mph, and finally

iii) Deducting about 15mph (at least in my particular vehicle at an indicated 100mph)**

At the moment I really on my SatNav to tell the Speed whilst I work out how to fit a Diablo Speedometer...

 

 

** Try explaining that to a copper without being done for having an inaccurate speedo!

Dont pop in too fast.... Im not happy with the latest tests. More to come.

iii) Deducting about 15mph (at least in my particular vehicle at an indicated 100mph)**

At the moment I really on my SatNav to tell the Speed whilst I work out how to fit a Diablo Speedometer...

 

Speak to these guys: http://www.speedograph-richfield.com

 

They built a converter gearbox that goes in the speedo cable for my Countach. It’s mounted in the front wing just above where the cable comes in from the front hub. Cost was about £100 and I fitted it myself. I used to have the same massive over-reading problem. Now when my speedo reads 140mph my GPS reads 138mph which is pretty accurate.

 

 

 

Here we go

 

And here are the IN CAR TESTS.

 

To perform these I removed ONLY the Lower bulb from the speedo.... The upper bulb is still a standard incandescent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ahhh! my eyes! I think I burnt my retinas.

 

 

I wear my sunglasses at night so I can drive Erik's Countach.

 

OK, all kidding aside very good job. Now what kind did you use again?

Ahhh! my eyes! I think I burnt my retinas.

 

 

I wear my sunglasses at night so I can drive Erik's Countach.

 

OK, all kidding aside very good job. Now what kind did you use again?

 

They are these:

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/sto...%2FWLED-xLX.htm

 

 

I have some concerns because of the higher current draw. Plus they do sit more forward in the gauge than the incandescent (Closer to the gauge face) and they put off a bit of heat... Any ideas on how to determine if either is going to be a problem?

The runners up (and best choice especially for the small gauges)

 

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/sto...cs%2FWLED-x.htm

Wow what a difference! Great job!!

They are these:

Any ideas on how to determine if either is going to be a problem?

 

IMO, if you were to compare the temperatures of the old style and new style bulbs in the speedometer over a period of time with a infrared temperature gauge it would be the best way to determine if they might be too hot.

 

I would guess that 15 minutes time should be sufficient for both bulbs and surrounding area to get to a stable temperature to compare them. Start with the original ones first, then monitor the LED replacements so you can shut them off if it is apparent that they are way too hot.

IMO, if you were to compare the temperatures of the old style and new style bulbs in the speedometer over a period of time with a infrared temperature gauge it would be the best way to determine if they might be too hot.

 

I would guess that 15 minutes time should be sufficient for both bulbs and surrounding area to get to a stable temperature to compare them. Start with the original ones first, then monitor the LED replacements so you can shut them off if it is apparent that they are way too hot.

 

OK.... That sounds like a plan....

 

Heres whats Ive done so far- Hooked it up at 8 am this morning on the bench to 12v. Just came back to it at almost 11 am.... I can pick up the bulb and put the lit LED right up to my hand with no problem. Its a LITTLE warm. But certainly no where near hot enough to burn....

 

Right now I have it wrapped in aluminum foil (to replicate the metal case its in in the car, and sitting RIGHT ON a plastic CD case.... I sincerely doubt it will do any harm.

OK.... That sounds like a plan....

 

Heres whats Ive done so far- Hooked it up at 8 am this morning on the bench to 12v. Just came back to it at almost 11 am.... I can pick up the bulb and put the lit LED right up to my hand with no problem. Its a LITTLE warm. But certainly no where near hot enough to burn....

 

Right now I have it wrapped in aluminum foil (to replicate the metal case its in in the car, and sitting RIGHT ON a plastic CD case.... I sincerely doubt it will do any harm.

 

 

Waste of time.... No harm. I still think more than 2 (one in the tach, one in the Spedo) would be overkill.

OK... After all the testing the best choice is THESE... They are PLENTY bright, but not overly so, they fit perfectly, and I would feel fine running all 9 the same.

 

 

 

Bench Test

 

 

In the car

Fantastic! So you went with the WLED X4 bulbs? For some reason the link is not working for me. Those others were just a little too bright and fit too tight?

Fantastic! So you went with the WLED X4 bulbs? For some reason the link is not working for me. Those others were just a little too bright and fit too tight?

 

 

Sorry About that-

These

Please correct me if Im wrong...summerizing for all.

 

Final part number for the WHITE four LED lamp is..# WLED-W4-x

 

RomanDad did you experiment with the 32deg. vs. the 90deg. lamp? The 32 is NONpolarized (goes in either way) and the 90 is Polarized.

Any noticable difference in the way the light was distributed?

 

 

Thankyou for the test...Great Job and big help!!!

Please correct me if Im wrong...summerizing for all.

 

Final part number for the WHITE four LED lamp is..# WLED-W4-x

 

RomanDad did you experiment with the 32deg. vs. the 90deg. lamp? The 32 is NONpolarized (goes in either way) and the 90 is Polarized.

Any noticable difference in the way the light was distributed?

 

 

Thankyou for the test...Great Job and big help!!!

 

By all my experiments, Ive come to the conclusion 90deg is the way to go.... Any light going to the sides is lighting up the metal mounting tube, and not the gauge.

 

 

BTW, dont bother with other colors. The gauges have a green tint to them already, White bulbs work the best.

RomanDad,

 

Thanks for putting in all the legwork and effort on this! I just put my order in today, After driving the car into work at 4am this morning and and not being able to see the gauges at all, I figured it was about time!!! I know, better late than never!!!

 

Mike

 

 

 

Are 9 bulbs required for the full install of the 7 guages (do the tach and speedo require 2)?

Are 9 bulbs required for the full install of the 7 guages (do the tach and speedo require 2)?

 

That is correct. 1 each for the small gauges and 2 each for the Tach & Speedo.

 

Mike