Cluster Lighting Help Needed

[JDMSC400]

I keep seeing in diffrent Lexus forums of people changing their dash cluster lights with color LEDs but they never acually make it clear what sizes it takes! i took my cluster apart and looked at the bulbs and their are 2 diffrent size bulbs but all i want to change is the main part of the cluster i think i saw on a forum its 8 bulbs that are the main ones and those are the bigger bulbs...what is the exact size of those so i can order them in LEDs?? and is their anything i should worry bout? i saw on a thread someone put LEDs in and their cluster started smoking and melted the circuit ribbon..I plan on getting them already with resistors and im pretty sure i can get them with the plastic twist locks thats on the factory ones..i saw some on www.superbrightleds.com but still dont know the bulb size i need..any info would be great or pictures of your work! Thanks!

[cduluk]

The bulb size for the 8 or so that illuminate the gauge "dials" is 286, also known by T5. The bulbs for the little "door open" or "high beam" icons is a smaller type bulb.

You'll need an LED bulb replacement with several LED's firing in different directions, sometimes called "360 degree". And they should all have built in resistance designed for 12V.

I should caution that many of the LED bulbs out there aren't "actually" designed for most car applications, as most bulbs in cars can receive voltages as high as 14.5V, depending on the cars battery charge and alternator function. Try to find an LED bulb with a built in voltage regulator and heat sinking to help with overheating.

Also, make sure the "LED" part of the bulb is NO wider than an actual bulb, as the hole in the cluster may not be large enough for some LED bulbs to fit through.

And LED's are polar, meaning the positive and negative sides must match with the positive and negative leads from the cluster. So if you put an LED bulb in the cluster and it doesn't work, just remove it, rotate it 180 degrees and put it back in, and it should work.

Good luck!

[JDMSC400]

The bulb size for the 8 or so that illuminate the gauge "dials" is 286, also known by T5. The bulbs for the little "door open" or "high beam" icons is a smaller type bulb.

You'll need an LED bulb replacement with several LED's firing in different directions, sometimes called "360 degree". And they should all have built in resistance designed for 12V.

I should caution that many of the LED bulbs out there aren't "actually" designed for most car applications, as most bulbs in cars can receive voltages as high as 14.5V, depending on the cars battery charge and alternator function. Try to find an LED bulb with a built in voltage regulator and heat sinking to help with overheating.

Also, make sure the "LED" part of the bulb is NO wider than an actual bulb, as the hole in the cluster may not be large enough for some LED bulbs to fit through.

And LED's are polar, meaning the positive and negative sides must match with the positive and negative leads from the cluster. So if you put an LED bulb in the cluster and it doesn't work, just remove it, rotate it 180 degrees and put it back in, and it should work.

Good luck!

Very helpful info! Thank you very much!!!!! ill update with pictures as soon as i do it..