dash lights

I`ve mentioned this before, and tried to solve the problem with a nice set of blue bulbs, but they only shine in 25% of the dial.

AND STILL ALL MY DASH GAUGES ARE BLOODY NEAR BLACK.
Do I really have to resort to a Pretzl head light just to see how fast I`m going or how much petrol I`ve got.
Christ, how can Land Rover get away with putting **** components in that don`t work.
PLEASE..........has any one had the same problem, and managed to resolve it successfully.
Its driving me nuts!!!!!!!

Just get some new bulbholders and wire the fookers up yaself. or fit slightly brighter bulbs instead of fancy Blue ones.

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHyVM2u18ek"]YouTube - Land Rover Defender LED Dash Lighting upgrade[/nomedia]

Blue light is the hardest to see, so that's part of your problem.

I went to Maplin, bought a pack of 12v white LED's. Took me about 30 minutes to fit them into the existing bulb holders and solder the wires. Cost under 10 quid. All gauges well lit now.

Thanks guys. I thought blue would be better, but I was wrong.
LED`s it is then and this job has gonr to the top of the list.

I've also got blue ones fitted; absolutley useless!
Let us know how you get on chico; time for me to change mine too

Ok I've also done this and LED's sucked! I got a mixture of 10mm dia ones with various angles of light and all of them suck! Will be going back to Std bulbs asap

mine dont work at all so when i heed to see how fast im going i turn the light on. mind you that dont happen alot as i know im not speeding

aaron1980 said:

mine dont work at all so when i heed to see how fast im going i turn the light on. mind you that dont happen alot as i know im not speeding

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Thats what I'm doing currently however I have just brough 4 LED's form ebay to try. Really need a dashboard that has at least a couple of mounting tags left on them. Anyone breaking a defender with a good set of clocks/surround etc?

aaron1980 said:

mine dont work at all so when i heed to see how fast im going i turn the light on. mind you that dont happen alot as i know im not speeding

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switch?

Lol Yea if you didn't know how to turn them on it could be er embarrising

My switch works however having no bulbs in th holders and the dash not exactly mounted as it should doesn't help me much.

In what way did your LED`s suck jai.
Not bright enough, didn`t fit ?
Need to know cos goin` up to Maplins on next opening day and dont wanna waste my money.
Did you get exactly what was in the youtube clip in earlier post, or something else?

I went for standard bulb replacement found that having a working bulb in each holder greately improved the ability to view my speed ! previous to that I was using a mag light to view the fuel gauge as there were only 2 bulbs in whole dash !

I started off with standard bulbs, all present and all working. Just didnt illuminate all of the guage and was so dull I couldnt see it anyway.
Hence the `upgrade` to blue bulbs which didnt work either.
Now I may try the LED`s once I hear what jai has to say, or other peoples opinions.

i said that earlier - i went out and started it - and popped the fuel gauge bulb - only started it 4/5 times since i replaced them - will check it hasnt just vibrated loose but i suspect it might be dodgy wiring !

id like to put in t10 leds as per the guy on youtube - they made a huge difference BUT his went white - it seems that the lenses on my dials which sprays the light out is green - i cant see how mines would ever be bright white !

Well they sucked I did not have any specs although I wanted wide angle 10mm single Ultra white LEDs and they were rubbish. The green coloured inserts made them too dark and worse than bulbs. I will try the ones I got from Ebay as soon as I get a decent dash to put in.

Landrover Defender 110 TDI 1990
Been reading this thread. I was getting excited about changing my standard (very dim green light) bulbs for LED's. Having looked at the job then the bulb holder pushes into a white cyliner which itself is screwed onto the threaded green "Lens" which itself is housed within the gauges! So even if I fit bright LED's they will still be shining through the bloody green lens! Or am I missing an alternative??

I replaced mine the other week a I said on ere - both I replaced have blown again - I best check thy circuit !

How hard is it to remove the stupid green lense ?

top drive said:

How hard is it to remove the stupid green lense ?

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No idea. But it must be possible because my 1988 Ninety came with blue LEDs fitted in the dash already. They just push into the tubes in the back of the gauges like a bulb would.