LED dash light replacements

[GBrown #8092]

Has anyone had any experience doing so with a generator charged 12v car? 
I have to replace the dash bulbs on my '57. It is a major PITA, so I would like to never have to do it again.However, I've heard stories about them flickering in older cars, and that is annoying as well. 

[J. Gomez]

Has anyone had any experience doing so with a generator charged 12v car? 
I have to replace the dash bulbs on my '57. It is a major PITA, so I would like to never have to do it again.However, I've heard stories about them flickering in older cars, and that is annoying as well.

One reason of the flickering is the LED lights cannot be dimmed with the standard dash board rheostat, it requires the standard filament bulb to work. Most folks just leave with it and place the rheostat on the “ON” position w/no dimming.

Also, the same applies to the dash turn signal indicators, the way Cadillac had them wired is the filament on the non-working bulb at the dash provides a path to ground for the working front and dash turn signal lights. Actually it is how the three prom flasher is set up.

Good luck..!

[n2caddies]

Personally speaking I don't care for the LED lights in my vintage cars. I have had zero issues in my cars once I replaced all the original dash lights with the extended life name brand bulbs and retained proper function of the dimmer on the headlight switch and turn signals. Just my opinion.
Randy

[Jeff Rosansky CLC #28373]

I have always thought some earlier car's dashlights were somewhat dim. If it is around dusk or with other ambient lighting I have a hard time seeing the speedometer well. I guess that us a function of driving new cars with brighter dashlights, and the fact my eyes are older than my car. I have not had much luck finding brighter bulbs tho.
Jeff

[TJ Hopland]

I didn't think about the dimmer issue with dash led's.  That would be difficult issue to overcome.   

Maybe another question would be is there a source for quality replacement incandescent lamps?    I know in my day job before everything went digital a few years ago it was getting tough to find decent indicator bulbs.   A box of 10 lamps used to last one system several years.  Near the end 10 sometimes would not make it one year.

[cadillac ken]

I have experimented with LED's in a multitude of applications in my Resto/Custom shop.  One major problem is the LED does not "spread" light very well in comparison to a filament bulb.  That could mean a disappointing "upgrade" in the dash lighting and of course the issue with the Rheostat is also a valid one. 

I would maybe check into the PC board replacement for that instrument cluster.  The originals now are getting pretty fragile and I have had several in my 1958 cads just start to delaminate.  IIRC the !957 should be the same-- but check others here who may know more than me on that. You may want to replace that too. 

If it were me, I'd stick with the incandescent bulbs.  I have noticed that at the local AutoZone Sylvania bulbs list the wattage of the bulb on the package.  I have found some very suitable replacement bulbs for particular applications that were considerably more wattage than the bulb I was replacing.  Of course, Sylvania bulbs are no longer made in the USA but you're probably going to be hard pressed to find a bulb that is.

[TJ Hopland]

Leds can be made to have a useful pattern and color but its not cheap to do the designing and usually won't fit into the same space as the original lamp so that makes retrofits difficult in many cases.

In my day job we deal with Sylvaina for some specialty lighting products and a few months ago our rep told us that the company had put the entire consumer lighting division up for sale and they had several good offers.  The name was going to go with the sale so at some point in the not to distant future you will be buying a Sylvania bulb that has nothing to do with the original company.   You would hope that since the name will still be associated with the original company and products there would be something in the sales agreement where they will have to keep some decent level of quality but then again who knows, they may just be desperate to unload all the now obsolete factories.     

[Jeff Rosansky CLC #28373]

Great.....
Is anything still made here?
I guess that's a topic for another thread.

[bcroe]

I have encountered all the above issues.  However, I drive a lot at night and get tired of the dash lights blackening and then burning out.  They can be very difficult to replace.  Also the originals frequently aren't bright enough to suit me.  The other problem, is the heat of the bulb in time can distort the mounting, so when its put in, contact is unreliable.  Pictured is an example of a fix. 

So just inserting LED replacements isn't enough here.  I have considered soldering in some of the latest bright LEDS, working on the alignment to get even enough light.  I would just feed them from the tail light ckt, in other words, no dimmer.  Dimmers here have failed, and messing with it can leave the overhead light on and run down the battery.  But
this isn't a trivial thing, so only spot LED indicators have been done so far.  Bruce Roe

[stevehayes]

From what stores I should buy these dash lights?

[35-709]

12 volt incandescent bulbs for your dash are still available at parts stores, or you can Google 12 volt incandescent automobile bulbs and find many sources. 
Bulb Town is just one of many --- https://www.bulbtown.com/

[fishnjim]

Recently a similar post, someone wanting modern convenience, came on another brand site.   What's the sense of owning a vintage auto, if we want a modern one?   That's for "modifieds".   We've changed, the cars did not.   In '57, people were just happy to have dash lights!  They weren't thinking of keeping their car for 63 years.  Some designer spent hours placing the lights for the right "effect".   My uncle used to shut off his dash so my aunt wouldn't know how fast he was driving at night.   
I guess you can send to dakota digital and get it totally revamped to your liking.   
There were many faux pas in the design of autos over the years and this early bread board dash has it's issues.  There's a lot of amp draw for the amount of "stuff".  The sockets twist in, so they can get loose and oxidize also.   One size(lg?) of socket was getting hard to get when I last bought bulbs.  I bought a bunch of bulbs as they're getting harder to come by as well.   The boards aren't made but there's some repro floating around.   I obtained a set, but haven't changed, because as it says, PITA to work on these dashes.   I don't drive my car much and not a night.   

[stevehayes]

I understand that you are a little bit annoyed, but sometimes it is better to upgrade or convert to something new and modern. Sometimes old can mean too expensive. For example back in the days, work lights for your vehicle were not so bright and not so good. Now just take a loot at these Vehicle LED Work Lights. These are a lot more advanced and a lot more efficient and a lot more good looking. I have an old ford truck that had some old work lights, those were really rusted and practically junk. I changed those to some new LED work lights and now it is much better to use them in the  night.

[Roger Zimmermann]

On my '72 coupe de Ville, I saw nothing when entering a tunnel at day (we have to make light in a tunnel). At night, the illumination was marginal. I replaced the original bulbs with LED ones which can be dimmed. What a difference!