I have a couple of issues. I built and wired this car about 7 years ago. I installed those little round LED turn and bright indicator lights for turn and bright indicators in the dash. I installed the 5/16" diameter lights. I have the 1/4" indicator lights in another car, and they are perfect. Why I went to 5/16" lights in the 2nd car, I don't know! The 5/16" lights are so bright that at night they will blind you. I have put a layer of green tape over the turns and blue over the high beam. I would like to get rid of the tape. I'm not very electrically minded, but I think a resistor would be able to reduce the brightness to a liveable level. Can anyone tell me what value of a resistor might work? Should the resistors be installed just before the light? I'm pretty sure I would need resistors at each light? A part number would be great. 12 volt system. The second issue I just noticed this morning. I started the car in a dark garage, which doesn't normally happen. I noticed that the high beam indicator had a very dim glow to it. Headlights not on. As I revved the engine, the light got brighter. It never gets near as bright as when I have the high beams on, but there is a glow. Is this a ground issue? Thanks for any help. As I said, I am not very electrically inclined.
Find some incandescent lights. They're getting harder to find, though. Last ones I got were for 1/2" holes. They're the right brightness. https://www.digikey.com/en/products...0745?s=N4IgTCBcDaIIwAYCcCCKBhArAWjmAaiALoC+QA
I used a plain old every day paper punch and punched out little round dots of electrical tape and stuck them in the center of the lenses. Cut down the glare a lot, but still plenty visible. Cheap and easy. .bjb
Incandescent lights are much easier to dim, either by fitting a resistance in line or by finding a lower wattage bulb. Dialight still have some incandescent bulb holders. Their aviation ones are really nice, with push to test and rotate to dim (closes off a little shutters inside the lens). They're kinda expensive, though because lots of moving parts and airplane tax. Personally I would be wanting to find the cause of the current; remove the bright light bulb from the circuit, test meter set to DC Volts. COM probe to vehicle body, check wire from bright light circuit. Should be 0 with engine/ignition off. Start engine, see what the reading is. Then select AC volts and see if you get a reading. That'll tell you if it's crosstalk from the generator, ignition system etc. if you get AC but not DC. Start there. Might just be a faulty/dirty switch or a ground loop that's acting as an antenna and the lights you have are sensitive enough to light up from it (incandescent bulbs will not). Phil
I am familiar with the bright LED lights you are currently using. Yes, they are indeed so bright that it's uncomfortable and distracting when they are on and you're driving, especially at night. As some others have suggested, I would recommend you look into purchasing old aviation dash lights. I own plenty of these style lights and they are great. They are typically from the WWII era and the quality of these pieces is something to behold. It's amazing some engineer put so much thought, design ques and quality into a dash light. You will pay a little more for these, but they look incredible, the quality is as good as it gets and they won't blind you. Here are some of mine. Here are some for sale..... https://www.ebay.com/itm/363632522146 https://www.ebay.com/itm/384745833679?hash=item5994a384cf:g:DKoAAOSwyjtiEr~y https://www.ebay.com/itm/192357653820?hash=item2cc968dd3c:g:aaUAAOSwZaNaAhMy https://www.ebay.com/itm/384847955052?_trkparms=amclksrc=ITM&aid=111001&algo=REC.SEED&ao=1&asc=20160811114145&meid=6d9c94895bd843579bd986734559b3c4&pid=100667&rk=1&rkt=8&sd=384847955052&itm=384847955052&pmt=0&noa=1&pg=2334524&_trksid=p2334524.c100667.m2042
I know it’s off topic , I’m just offering help . My old OT Power Wagon has all mechanical gauges installed , with the OT indicator lights . I used a sharpie to coat the lens a few coats , all is fine at the moment .
I've used the glass dye that they sell for leaded glass at hobby stores to 'tone down' the brightness. It's a tint, not paint, so it doesn't block all light, but you can paint on multiple coats to get the darkness you want.
The LED lights will have an internal current limiting resistor. You can open the light up and replace with one of a higher resistance (the one already there should be around 600 Ohms)., or just wire another in series (Doesn't matter which side), grab a few 1/4 watt resistors from 200 -2000 ohms, and try it out, until you find a brightness (or dimness) that is OK .
I know the LED's are OT, but just a note here. They are voltage sensitive, so you can't reduce the voltage with a resistor, as they'll simply stop working. Buy some finger nail polish and paint the lenses to reduce light levels.
Hmmm....LEDs are kind of interesting devices. They have a "forward voltage", which you need to exceed to get it to light up. They also have internal resistance. And the ones you buy to use as indicators usually have a resistor built in, in addition. The brightness depends mostly on the current, and the current can be reduced by increasing the resistance...up to the point that the forward voltage drops below what's needed to make it light up. So, you can play with adding a resistor in series, as 36roadster suggested. It might get it to be dim enough without going out completely. But it sure would be more traditional to get an old panel lamp socket that holds an incandescent bulb. If there's room for it, some of them are rather large!
These have been used by Rodders for a long time: https://www.ronfrancis.com/product/705 https://www.ronfrancis.com/product/652
Lucas dash warning lights, used on cars and motorcycles up till 60s. Red, Green, Blue with small peanut bulb that is replaceable. (I searched on 60s Norton) 2 watt bulb. Available via swap meets or vintage english motorcycle dealers. Also a nice licence light from same era used on English cars (also used on original Cobras).
You might take a look at these. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/indicatorlamps13-15811-5.php?clickkey=3023695
Just watch the early ones the plastic is hygroscopic and turns cloudy, particularly the red and blue ones. Yellow ones tend not to. That one there is still nice and pretty looking.
Only if you don't use a current limiting resistor. The forward voltage across an LED is around a couple of volts, so the rest appears across the resistor. It is a basic voltage divider. Folks get confused between LED's which you can buy which are not in a housing, and don't have an inbuilt current limiter, which when forward biased (say across 12 volts) will burn out within a second, because it acts like a fuse. The ones sold in a bezel usually have an inbuilt resistor, which can be checked with an ohm meter (you will get around 600 ohms in one direction, and open circuit in reverse direction). To calculate your limiting resistor, just divide your voltage by 0.02 (20 mA), the answer is how many ohms you need. (12 volts / .02 = 600 ohms. 560 or 680 are standard E12 values, 1/2 watt is plenty) The less current, the dimmer the light, so putting in a higher resistance will decrease the light. 20mA is a rule of thumb for standard LED brightness.
Of course you can add a resistor in series to dim LEDs. Get a variable resistor and dial in the desired level, rake it out of the circuit, measure the resistance, and buy a pack of resistors about the level you measured. All less than replacing the little jewels, or you can develop a fetish for these things like I have and shop till you have enough of them.
The Jalopy Journal
