Best LED replacement for interior bulbs?

[Mike Tonon]

Like 194’s? I sealed up a 1987 Ford Ranger instrument cluster with foamrubber weatherstripping and tape, so dust won’t get in, but now it gets super hot. So I need cooler bulbs. Can LEDs help me?

 

[adsm08]

Well LEDs don't make nearly as much heat as an incandescent but I don't understand why you would seal up the cluster in the first place.

 

[Jim Oaks]

LED's don't put off heat. I replaced all of the bulbs in my camper with LED. You could see dark spots on the ceiling where the light fixtures were mounted from the heat of the original bulbs, as well as heat damage to the wiring.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I picked C...

Just buy a pocket full for about 7 bucks.

 

[Mike Tonon]

Well LEDs don't make nearly as much heat as an incandescent but I don't understand why you would seal up the cluster in the first place.

Dust... dust makes instrument clusters look like trash and once it’s in there, gotta take the dash apart. Solution (I’m thinking) seal up the cluster, replace bulbs with QUALITY LEDs. Upon researching this, it looks like there are a lot of trash LEDs in the market. They stop working, break, burn out. Some are bigger than the original bulbs and modification is necessary to make them fit.

I’m looking for, first and foremost almost no heat from the LEDs and for them to last at least a decade, if not two decades. If the light is better quality and is less strain on the charging system, that’s a plus, too.

 

[wildbill23c]

LED's are the way to go, less power draw and far less heat issues. Thinking of doing LED's when I pull the dash to replace the radio in my Bronco 2. Probably will never need to change another dash cluster bulb by switching to LED's, probably do the bulb(s) for the heat/AC controls and gear shift position indicator too. I'll swap the dome and cargo lights as well while I'm at it.

The trouble I've came up against is I believe they are 194 bulbs for the most part, but what LED's do I use? Don't want anything extremely bright, and need something that you can dim if that's even possible IDK.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

I used Hikari or something like that from amazon.

Just search amazon for "194 led." tons of good options out there.

 

[Dirtman]

If LEDS dont make heat why do LED heatlights have fans built in and halogens dont?

 

[Curious Hound]

I believe it's the power supply for the LEDs that gives off the heat. Tiny little 194 replacement LEDs just have a resistor built in and since they don't draw much current, there is very little heat.

The more powerful LED lights, such as headlights, fog lights, light bars, etc. Take more powerful power supplies to transform 12 volts to the proper voltage and current levels. That is where more heat is generated. The heat is usually dissipated through heat sinks and cooling fans.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

The larger the LED, the more heat it will produce. It's all a matter of total amperage required to run the LED and how many lumens you require from them.

I've always had great luck with LED's from this site, though you'll definitely pay more than the cheap stuff from Amazon: https://www.superbrightleds.com/