LED Speed Gauge Cluster Build

[bonhamsurf]

I plan on replacing the bulbs in my Speed Gauge Cluster with Blue LED's when I can find the appropriate bulbs.

I know there's some threads already about this, but none came to any conclusions yet, so I want to put in my help.

Searching various LED providers online, I found one site that had a good selection... http://autolumination.com/74.htm
So I emailed them a list of the part numbers from the manual along with a link to the image of the parts on one of the OEM Parts Suppliers.
Until I pull the dash out, I'm not 100% sure which and how many of each bulb I need to replace, but from what I can tell from the image below, here's what I gathered from this image as to the bulbs needed replacing and possibly how many of each....

1. 35505-SA5-003 - 13 of these
2. 37102-SA5-003 - 4 of these
3. 37103-SL0-003 -4 of these
4. 37237-SA5-003 - 1 of these

I used this image for finding these part numbers..

The response from the guys at http://autolumination.com/74.htm said they thought most of them could be found at that page, but they couldn't be sure without photos.
So, instead of waiting until I pulled out the dash, instead, I ordered one of each of these bulbs from Honda Parts Unlimited.
I will post photos and details of each bulb in a separate thread below to help keep them organized. I placed a quarter near the bulbs to help give a sense of their size, and I intend to send these photos to the LED guys and see what they say are the best replacements. I hope this helps anyone looking to change out their old, dimmer bulbs or just want to change the orange to something a little more updated.
Images below and I'll post updates as I find out more info on each.

 

[bonhamsurf]

Bulb Number 1, OEM Part 35505-SA5-003, there's 13 of them in the "Meter Components" part of the OEM Manual Page.
The base of the bulb is black, and it's the smallest of the 3 bulbs that had a plastic base. When placed on a dime with the bulb facing up, the straight part of the base stretches about 60% the width of a dime.
Etched into the glass is says
"TSD 2
7 2"
The words "Toshibsa V-2" stamped in the bottom of the black plastic.
Here's the photos for reference....

 

[bonhamsurf]

Now, bulb #2 is 37102-SA5-003 - 4 of these in the "meter components" part of the gauge cluster.
Etched into the glass, it says
"Toshiba U 0
158 9 3"
This bulb is the largest of the group. It, too, has a black plastic base and when placed on a dime, it stretches about 95% of the width of a dime. It's shape, color and overall design is almost identical to 35505-SA5-003 in the post above, only it's considerably larger, about 70-80% larger. It also has "Toshiba V-2" stamped on the bottom. Here's the photos...

 

[bonhamsurf]

The last one that had a plastic base is bulb 37103-SL0-003, there's 4 of these in the "Meter Components" image.
Size - slightly larger than 35505-SA5-003, but only by about 5-10%. If you lined up the straight part of the bottom plastic, this one was about 5mm longer that 35505-SA5-003.
Another difference between this bulb and the other 2 was that the base plastic was green, not black.
Again, the words "Toshiba V-2" were stamped into the bottom of the plastic base.
The glass had this etched into it..
"Toshiba
A14V3W"
Here's the images....

 

[bonhamsurf]

Now, the last bulb came without any plastic base. THis is bulb 37237-SA5-003. There's only 1 of them in the "Meter Components" image of the OEM parts list.
The bulb was actually the largest bulb when comparing only the glass part of all of the bulbs.
This one had "Stanley 158 HD" etched into the glass. Here's the pics...

 

[bonhamsurf]

So now I am going to send these images to the LED supplier and get their opinion on what would be the correct replacement LED bulbs. I'll keep this thread updated...

 

[bonhamsurf]

So I sent the info to Autolumination, and here is their response...
"The bulb at the top (marked 158) is a 194 bulb. That, and the bulb at the bottom (shown without a twistlock base on it) are actually the same bulbs. The first one should come out of that base. If it does not, you would simply purchase a new 194 twistlock base to install the replacement bulb into.

I believe that the smaller bulb is a 74 size bulb (also shown in a twistlock base) You may be able to reuse the original base as long as the bulb will come out of it. To confirm the size, measure the bulb itself (not the base). A 74 bulb has a diameter of ~ 5mm. A #24 has a diameter of 6.5mm and a 194 bulb is 10 mm diameter.

The 194 bulbs and twistlock bases for them are all on the website on this page here:
http://autolumination.com/194.htm

The 74 bulbs and twistlocks (as well as the #24 bulbs and twistlocks) are on this page here:
http://autolumination.com/74.htm"

Indeed, they are correct, except they I think they meant to say, the Second Bulb from 37103-SL0-003 is the same as the bottom bulb from 37237-SA5-003. And yes, they are the same.. So here's a recap of them...

These 2 have same sized bulb
2. 37102-SA5-003 - Larger Black Plastic Base
4. 37237-SA5-003 - No plastic base, just the bulb...

THe other 2 parts have different size bulbs, so now I need to measure their diameter and will get them posted ASAP.

 

[UnhuZ]

^ I'm also interested in replacing the OEM bulbs, but with white LEDs...

i think you use the same bulb plastic bases ("twistlock base" as they said) and only replace the actual Bulb.

Nuno

 

[NSX1145]

Subscribed

 

[BTL3.0]

the only issue i think you will run into would be spot of shadow. unless you get the leds that shines at a wide view angle. most leds seems to have limited view angle. the oem bulb type lit more evenly.

 

[UnhuZ]

Hi,

the only issue i think you will run into would be spot of shadow. unless you get the leds that shines at a wide view angle. most leds seems to have limited view angle. the oem bulb type lit more evenly.

My man Mike (comtec) told me a trick to go arround that problem (back when he sold LED kits):

The LED plastic case is Clear...so... sand it all arround and the light will be uniform :wink:

Thanks,
Nuno

 

[bonhamsurf]

I plan on measuring the small bulbs today and I'll post the sizes, then order what's suggested and keep this thread updated.

 

[BTL3.0]

Hi,


My man Mike (comtec) told me a trick to go arround that problem (back when he sold LED kits):

The LED plastic case is Clear...so... sand it all arround and the light will be uniform :wink:

Thanks,
Nuno

that is a good trick. never knew u can do that. thanks for sharing.:biggrin:

 

[NSXCessive]

Hi,


My man Mike (comtec) told me a trick to go arround that problem (back when he sold LED kits):

The LED plastic case is Clear...so... sand it all arround and the light will be uniform :wink:

Thanks,
Nuno

Nuno has it correct... I've done this as well on some LED's on my car, sanding the bulb helps dispersion of light from the LED.

 

[UnhuZ]

Hi,

that is a good trick. never knew u can do that. thanks for sharing.:biggrin:

you can... after all it's only plastic :wink:

think of it like this:

How do you transport light from one place to another?? through transparent materials like plastic and glass... but have to be clear, so it "keeps going"... but once it reaches the destination you want, you need a way to get what you want lighted up... clear gets the light through, but if you sand the clear, then it holds the light and shows it to you...

new headlights and tailights led strips kinda work this way to get the light uniform...or you would see a faint light line with bright spots (where LEDs are)..

hope i explained myself reasonably :biggrin:

Nuno

 

[bonhamsurf]

Ok, so here are the measurments

35505-SA5-003 - Bulb Diameter 5mm - This is the smallest piece, with the black plastic base. This is what is etched in the glass:
"TSD
2 7 2"

37103-SL0-003 - Bulb Diameter 7mm - This is the second smallest piece, the one with the green plastic base. Etched in the glass is
"Toshiba
A14V3W"

 

[Lamini]

My cluster is dim... what a coincidence this thread popped up

Subscribed!

 

[Venom2049]

Mine is dim as well, subscribed.

 

[bonhamsurf]

So here's the verdict on the replacements. I'm sure there are many suppliers out there, however I am definitely going to purchase mine from http://autolumination.com. So far, they have been extremely helpful and very, very quick in their response time on my detailed questions. Now that I have determined the sizes for each bulb, the only decision left is which replacement LED to get?
My goal is to get LED's that provide a nice, even light that's similar to the light output of the current OEM lights. Also, what's important is that the new LED is a "Dimmable" light so that I can continue to use the dimmer knob to increase and decrease the light output. I have asked them which ones meet these 2 requirements, and will post the response. In the meantime, here's the final size matches and their replacements...

One question to anyone on NSX who knows the answer to QUANTITY? Does anyone know if it's necessary to replace all 4 products numbers below and the quantity I have next to each??

Another thing to keep in mind is the rest of your interior lights. At some point you might want to change all of your dash lights so that you don't have different colors going on... more on this later... here's the size recap.

1. 35505-SA5-003 - 13 of these - Replacement LED is size #74, found at http://autolumination.com/74.htm

2. 37102-SA5-003 - 4 of these - Replacement is size 194, found at http://autolumination.com/194.htm

3. 37103-SL0-003 -4 of these - Replacement is size #24, found at http://autolumination.com/74.htm

4. 37237-SA5-003 - 1 of these - Replacement is size 194, found at http://autolumination.com/194.htm

Looking at the options on these pages, I have asked them about the Superstar bulb, if it's a nice even light and is dimmable. This is the one I'm referring to

Once they let me know which bulbs are an even light and can be dimmed, I'll place my order and keep the thread updated with the install and results!!

 

[Venom2049]

Thats awesome thanks for the update

 

[bonhamsurf]

Ok, so I asked them to let me know which products on those pages are dimmable, in case someone wanted to purchase an LED different than the Superstar. Here is their response...

"The Superstar light is very even and bright, but they do not emit light out the sides. The SS are very good lights though.
If side facing light is useful, the Samsung are a good choice as they have the two side facing leds. Actually the Samsung will fit either the #74 or #24 base as they are sized right in-between to fit both sizes."

I had been thinking about the Superstar as the bulb looked very similar in shape and design to our OEM bulbs, but the Samsung is what I think I'll order. Since they are going to be dimmable, I'm thinking the side facing LED's will help put a more even light.

I'll keep it updated.

 

[comtec]

You may want to use a color besides blue for the lights behind the colored indicators like the BRAKE, CEL, etc because it's going to cause weird changes to the colors and some of the light will be filtered out because of the colored diffuser. I would just replace the main ones that provide the background colors to the assembly which should be the gauge lights. The others behind the problem indicators wouldn't make much of a difference to replace with LED and their hardly ever on anyways so save a little money.

Mike



Here maybe this will help.

 

[bonhamsurf]

You may want to use a color besides blue for the lights behind the colored indicators like the BRAKE, CEL, etc because it's going to cause weird changes to the colors and some of the light will be filtered out because of the colored diffuser. I would just replace the main ones that provide the background colors to the assembly which should be the gauge lights. The others behind the problem indicators wouldn't make much of a difference to replace with LED and their hardly ever on anyways so save a little money.

Mike



Here maybe this will help.

Great suggestion and thanks for the photo, this is a big help. I am ordering the lights today, so good timing!

 

[L_RAO]

You may want to use a color besides blue for the lights behind the colored indicators like the BRAKE, CEL, etc because it's going to cause weird changes to the colors and some of the light will be filtered out because of the colored diffuser. I would just replace the main ones that provide the background colors to the assembly which should be the gauge lights. The others behind the problem indicators wouldn't make much of a difference to replace with LED and their hardly ever on anyways so save a little money.

Mike



Here maybe this will help.

Subscribed.

It looks like there's only 5 "gauge" lights in total, right? (3) 3.0W lights and (2) 1.4W lights.

 

[comtec]

Subscribed.

It looks like there's only 5 "gauge" lights in total, right? (3) 3.0W lights and (2) 1.4W lights.

There may be 2 more on the top, upper part of picture.

Mike