Date:         Fri, 28 Dec 2012 11:29:11 -0600
Reply-To:     Jarrett Anthony Kupcinski <kupcinski@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jarrett Anthony Kupcinski <kupcinski@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Dash Lights
In-Reply-To:  <EE97729F-A5A9-4BC7-960F-3A598FB72BE0@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

I got replacement LEDs from the guys at superbrightleds.com, and they do provide a whiter, brighter light to the gauges. The bulbs that I got had very tight tolerances, and scraped away some of the copper on the instrument cluster flat wiring foil. So be careful when you insert them. (I rewired my dash completely and ended up soldering the lights to the wires, so that's not a problem now.)

That being said, the real issue is that the Vanagon instrument cluster is very poorly lit by today's standards. Today's gauges are more typically back-lit, which makes them brighter and more uniformly lit. So unfortunately, even with brighter LED's illuminating a vanagon cluster, there's only so much you can do.

My personal take is that changing to a white instrument face doesn't improve the visibility of the guages. I have always preferred the high contrast of white on black. White gauges sure look snazzy though. YMMV.

-Jarrett
89 Vanagon powered by Bostig

On Dec 28, 2012, at 12:03 AM, OlRivrRat wrote:

>       Check out these guys ~ this link is for a 90Vanagon but you can plug
> in your own year if you're concerned about a possible diff'
> 
> http://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/led-vehicle-replacement-bulbs/vehicle/1990-volkswagen-vanagon--/64-1112--/
>> I would like to get more light shinning on my dash.  Is there an
>> upgrade to
>> the little stock bulbs?