Dash lights replacement

Does anyone know a good replacement for the dash bulbs? I got a pair of Sylvania 1891 bulbs that fit and turned on, but apparently they were too much for the housings and melted them to the point I had to chip them out. All I found in a search was the LED replacements. Thanks.

That can happen when you double the voltage a bulb is rated at?

Kaz said:

Does anyone know a good replacement for the dash bulbs? I got a pair of Sylvania 1891 bulbs that fit and turned on, but apparently they were too much for the housings and melted them to the point I had to chip them out. All I found in a search was the LED replacements. Thanks.

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I went all LED and didn't look back. I can actually read my gauges now! No worries about heat issues either.

At first I tried the military issue LEDs (NSN 5980-01-438-8939) and they were okay but still not as bright as I'd prefer. The upside was they came with new, clear bulb caps to replace my melted green ones.

SuperBrightLEDs has 28v LEDs with the appropriate BA9S base and they are very reasonably priced. The only downside is that the 28v are only available in narrow 32 degree view. There's a remedy for that though. I made reflectors for inside of the bulb caps with some aluminum foil glued inside the top.

Since the lights were so inexpensive I tried a couple different color combos to see which I liked best. Red, green, and white all do a great job lighting up the dash. Amber is pretty mediocre. I used the whites for a little while but eventually went back to green. Also replaced my flasher light with one. No forgetting when it's on now!

Part numbers for LEDs:

BA9S-W4-32-28VAC: Cool White, 32 Degree, 28V
BA9S-G4-32-28VAC: Green, 32 Degree, 28V
BA9S-A4-32-28VAC: Amber, 32 Degree, 28V
BA9S-R4-32-28VAC: Red, 32 Degree, 28V

Some pics:

where do you find these jewels at...

SuperBrightLEDs BA9S bulbs

And just an FYI, if you don't put some sort of reflective material inside the caps, only the green and white ones look decent. Red is on the dim side. Also, goes without saying, you're going to be limited to green or white with the green tinted bulb caps if you don't get the clear ones that come with the military issue LED kit.

Inexpensive......1.98.....postage was around 3 bucks.....I ordered 6....

Much thanks for the info.....now get back to wrapping your kids stuff....

Action said:

That can happen when you double the voltage a bulb is rated at?

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They aren't 24v? I told they guy they were for a 24v system. I bet you're right and I got hooked up with the wrong stuff.

bulbs.com lists it as 14v.

got some green ones. After I ordered I noticed they sell led ba15s Imight replace the tail lights and signals with led bulbs too.