Info: Cluster Backlight Bulbs

[BoaR]

Long story short I was working on my needles & cluster backlighting (using that sticked thread on the subject) decided to be intelligent and buy some LED whites and jerry rig them in according to the specs in said thread.

When I put everything back in the LED's instantly blew.

Out the cluster comes again I test my 12v lights and what do you know. all dead... I called to verify the prob, it seems the thread info is a little bit off for total DYI not using those part #'s.

The voltage on those bulbs are not 12v but rather 14v and 3watts. I double verified by calling the dealership and cross ref'ing the part # with my multimeter readings.

It was confirmed by the repair center, make sure for the backlighting (the 8 bulbs) if you will do it all yourself by finding LED's locally to get 14v 3watt ones. (can be ultra bright or standard leds)

It's only 5 bucks lost total for the led's I blew up, but bah its very annoying having to take the cluster apart again, resetting the needles etc etc...

Save yourselves some time and just get the right parts in the first place OR you are most certainly ABLE to use any friggin LED you want - as long as it classes 14v 3w. :P

Oh and on a '95 es300 you cannot remove the temp/gas needles. I literally tried everything and while at the dealership he verified and they are 1 piece units. scrapyard scrounging time if you have this model and they are busted =/ (quote of 235$ each replacement..ouch)

The other 2 came out in spades. the DYI needle fix was great.

Both mods are really not that hard in "work" terms. more annoying than anything if its your first time. Just set aside a day and you are gold.

B)

[Billybobjoe]

Wow I've had both of these same problems recently. I replaced my backlights w/ the bulbs from Superbrightleds.com and they have started slowly dying over the course of the past week. The over voltage would explain that - but how are all of the other lights in the car rated at 12 volts. The bulbs I bought are for automotive use . . .

Where did you get your bulbs locally?

Also, my '95 ES300 cluster temp./fuel gauges were impossible to get off. I broke them off, did the mod, then superglued them back together (The prongs came out of the socket but the plastic broke as well because I needed to pry them with a screwdriver.

I wonder what year the fuel/temp needles start to become possible to remove?

[BoaR]

its the cluster not the entire car lights rated like that.

while I was talking to the parts guy (at the actualy lexus repair/dealership err "garage") we were verifying and the rest of the lights for the seatbelt, engine check etc lights are 12v - not 14.

only those friggin backlighting 8 (should have green base twist tabs) are 14v 3w.

As for where locally, I did the smart way. called the lexus dealership, asked for the parts department, and then asked for the replacement bulbs for the 95 es300. the part number in the DIY thread is correct btw. dont have it on hand but it was 118 something .. the guy found the exact lights in 2 seconds with that number.

btw i did note that the "new" bulbs he gave me HAD the 14v 3w printed on the mini blue "boot" cover. as the old ones didnt.

Sorry to hear about those needles. the dealership guy showed me a dead one and what it would take to get it off. you literally will gouge a massive hole in the backplate plastic or shatter the needle and the very thin metal coil strip trying to remove the needles. In one move he did both right in front of me to show the force needed to pop those needles off. the guage was wreaked.. so dont try for our year of car !!!! 1995 is a no-no haha. you can only do the rpm/speedo long needles. not the short ones.

I would just junkyard some spare ones. takes 2 min to replace your old ones and you can test them right in the junkyard for "working" led's with a 9v battery and 2 wires (same way you test the diy mod b4 reinstalling) so dont forget your battery when hunting :)

[Billybobjoe]

I'm not completely following you . . so your new bulbs are incandescents? I wouldn't have taken them out in the first place if I knew the only replacements were normal bulbs.

[BoaR]

well its a yes and no answer.

the oem ones pretty much are, if you DIY led's you need to get the proper voltage ones. hence my post of that info here.

Im up in canada, hate paypal with a passion and dislike waiting for anything. If I cant buy it locally and need to wait - there is a good chance I will jerry rig something instead. "IE: totally impatient"

So ordering those LED's to test was a no-go for me. would take forever + an eternity to get them shipped up here from wherever they are. in the states it might go lot quicker.

Lots of folks here ahve done the needle and backlight fix with the LED's from the other thread, and they seem to work fine. either they got really lucky or those ultra bright LED's are actually 14v and not 12. I never ordered any, nor could i find anyone locally that even sold those types of LED's. I need my dashboard, and my lights so I just popped in oem replacement bulbs for now. still looks great, nice and bright no fading etc. just they arent led's ;)

[BoaR]

move steering down, look on the HUD upper black backspaced part, 2 little flip screw covers. pop them down, undo screws, remove frontplate, 4 corner indented screws holding cluster. unscrew those, remove wiring in back, enjoy.

remove the neg battery term before starting or your airbag needs to be reset @ dealership for the nice tune of 1k $