Thoughts on XJS LED conversion...
#1
09-10-2014 | 02:57 AM
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Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 7
Likes: 3
From: Federal Way, Washington
Thoughts on XJS LED conversion...
Greetings. I'm not much of a poster, usually I just "lurk" the posts to find out what I need to know. And your members have been gracious enough to share their expertise, enabling me to solve a "bunches o' problems". I wanted to share this info because I learned a few things while doing this little operation, and thought maybe I could save somebody some grief.
So here's the dealio: LED's are cool, and we all want some. So, what to buy?
I think the old adage "you get what you pay for" doesn't really apply here. I suspect that they all come from a factory in China. Granted, you can spend a bazillion bucks at the auto parts store for something that's been re-labeled, but I think that's where they're all coming from.
I ended up buying these from Amazon:
Less than 10 bucks for the whole batch.
OK, so the first thing I noticed is that the leads are different. On your old style, incandescent bulb, you have TWO strips of wire lead, on the new ones, you only get one. 50% less contact surface, right off the bat. Hopefully, this pic will show what I'm talking about.
Here's why you would even give a damn: You've got them in, the polarity is correct, they light up like they're supposed to... all is good. You're driving down the road, you hit a bump and "tink", one (or more ) of them go out (ask me how I know
. Now you get to pull your dash just to reseat the thing, because the LED is fine, it's just not making good contact.
So, I thought, OK, easy deal, I'll just solder another piece of wire onto it (don't do this). I did it, and it made good contact, and all was groovy.
Then, I met the next issue: Jag light bulb sockets are different. On every car I've ever worked on, they had the "twist and pull" type of sockets. Not here. The jag sockets pop straight out. OK, I'm with it. But when I tried to insert the socket, with an LED bulb in it, from the back... it wouldn't fit thru the hole. The shoulder on the LED was too big to go thru the rectangular hole.
Why you would even give a damn: If you inserted your bulbs from the front, and they EVER go bad, now, not only do you get to pull your dash, but also remove your tach, or speedo (depending on the location) to replace them. I really wanted to maintain access from the back. Just pop it in, and be done. To get this done, I filed off the shoulders on each side of the LED base, allowing access from the back, for easy replacement if ever needed.
An easier solution: I didn't do this, because I was solving one problem at a time as I encountered it. But, with perfect "20/20 hindsight", I realized that this is the easier way to get it done: Straighten out the leads on the LED, pull the base off, clip off the shoulders of the LED base on both sides, put the base back on the LED, drill a couple holes in the bottom of your socket, feed the wires thru, bring them around the outside, SOLDER them onto the contacts.
It solves a few problems. Now, you've got a "bombproof" contact (it's never coming loose). And, you've retained access thru the back, so you can just pop in a new bulb (from the back), if you should ever need to, without also pulling tach or speedo.
Thass all I knows. My pic of the dash isn't very good, but it looks VERY MUCH better in real life. Quite sufficient. I did it the "hard way", but perhaps you can do it the more "intelligent way". I'm just sayin'...
So here's the dealio: LED's are cool, and we all want some. So, what to buy?
I think the old adage "you get what you pay for" doesn't really apply here. I suspect that they all come from a factory in China. Granted, you can spend a bazillion bucks at the auto parts store for something that's been re-labeled, but I think that's where they're all coming from.
I ended up buying these from Amazon:
Less than 10 bucks for the whole batch.
OK, so the first thing I noticed is that the leads are different. On your old style, incandescent bulb, you have TWO strips of wire lead, on the new ones, you only get one. 50% less contact surface, right off the bat. Hopefully, this pic will show what I'm talking about.
Here's why you would even give a damn: You've got them in, the polarity is correct, they light up like they're supposed to... all is good. You're driving down the road, you hit a bump and "tink", one (or more ) of them go out (ask me how I know
. Now you get to pull your dash just to reseat the thing, because the LED is fine, it's just not making good contact. So, I thought, OK, easy deal, I'll just solder another piece of wire onto it (don't do this). I did it, and it made good contact, and all was groovy.
Then, I met the next issue: Jag light bulb sockets are different. On every car I've ever worked on, they had the "twist and pull" type of sockets. Not here. The jag sockets pop straight out. OK, I'm with it. But when I tried to insert the socket, with an LED bulb in it, from the back... it wouldn't fit thru the hole. The shoulder on the LED was too big to go thru the rectangular hole.
Why you would even give a damn: If you inserted your bulbs from the front, and they EVER go bad, now, not only do you get to pull your dash, but also remove your tach, or speedo (depending on the location) to replace them. I really wanted to maintain access from the back. Just pop it in, and be done. To get this done, I filed off the shoulders on each side of the LED base, allowing access from the back, for easy replacement if ever needed.
An easier solution: I didn't do this, because I was solving one problem at a time as I encountered it. But, with perfect "20/20 hindsight", I realized that this is the easier way to get it done: Straighten out the leads on the LED, pull the base off, clip off the shoulders of the LED base on both sides, put the base back on the LED, drill a couple holes in the bottom of your socket, feed the wires thru, bring them around the outside, SOLDER them onto the contacts.
It solves a few problems. Now, you've got a "bombproof" contact (it's never coming loose). And, you've retained access thru the back, so you can just pop in a new bulb (from the back), if you should ever need to, without also pulling tach or speedo.
Thass all I knows. My pic of the dash isn't very good, but it looks VERY MUCH better in real life. Quite sufficient. I did it the "hard way", but perhaps you can do it the more "intelligent way". I'm just sayin'...
#2
09-11-2014 | 04:36 PM
Veteran Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,458
Likes: 693
From: Key West, FL
One of the first things I did in my XJS and my girlfriends LR was replace all the interior lamps with LEDs. Both use festoon type so it was pretty easy.
I had a hard time finding the right type for the dash though, the first ones I ended up with were for xmas lights. I actually managed to jam those into the dash and make them work until I got the right size. The LEDs I found look like yours except without the plastic collar that you were forced to trim. Sounds like it is worthwhile to look for them.
They look amazing, don't kill your battery if left on, don't get hot, and last forever. Idk why it isn't a more popular mod.
I had a hard time finding the right type for the dash though, the first ones I ended up with were for xmas lights. I actually managed to jam those into the dash and make them work until I got the right size. The LEDs I found look like yours except without the plastic collar that you were forced to trim. Sounds like it is worthwhile to look for them.
They look amazing, don't kill your battery if left on, don't get hot, and last forever. Idk why it isn't a more popular mod.
#3
09-12-2014 | 08:03 PM
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Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 7
Likes: 3
From: Federal Way, Washington
My thoughts exactly...
Hey, sidescrollin .
What you said. IDK why it's not more popular either. Haven't gone thru the car to replace all the incandescents, but I did notice that my backup lights were a big, goofy, festoon style (which you can only get from, like England). After scoping on ebay, I found a Chinese seller that was selling an LED panel (roughly 1x2 inches, with about 24 leds), that I thought would be ideal (just solder them in). I've had good luck with these panels, used some 1x3 (48 led), in my old campervan to replace dome lights. Bright as hell, minimal power consumption, and very inexpensive. 
What you said
. IDK why it's not more popular either. Haven't gone thru the car to replace all the incandescents, but I did notice that my backup lights were a big, goofy, festoon style (which you can only get from, like England). After scoping on ebay, I found a Chinese seller that was selling an LED panel (roughly 1x2 inches, with about 24 leds), that I thought would be ideal (just solder them in). I've had good luck with these panels, used some 1x3 (48 led), in my old campervan to replace dome lights. Bright as hell, minimal power consumption, and very inexpensive.
#4
09-15-2014 | 06:13 AM
I did mine
Greetings. I'm not much of a poster, usually I just "lurk" the posts to find out what I need to know. And your members have been gracious enough to share their expertise, enabling me to solve a "bunches o' problems". I wanted to share this info because I learned a few things while doing this little operation, and thought maybe I could save somebody some grief.
So here's the dealio: LED's are cool, and we all want some. So, what to buy?
I think the old adage "you get what you pay for" doesn't really apply here. I suspect that they all come from a factory in China. Granted, you can spend a bazillion bucks at the auto parts store for something that's been re-labeled, but I think that's where they're all coming from.
I ended up buying these from Amazon:
I did the interior of my 84 xjs with LEDs, the dash ones I got are like yours, round, I just sanded the round on two sides flat and they fit and work fine. I plane on doing the exterior ones with LED this winter
Amazon.com: Jtech 10x 194 168 2825 T10 5-SMD Blue LED Car Lights Bulb: Automotive
Less than 10 bucks for the whole batch.
OK, so the first thing I noticed is that the leads are different. On your old style, incandescent bulb, you have TWO strips of wire lead, on the new ones, you only get one. 50% less contact surface, right off the bat. Hopefully, this pic will show what I'm talking about.
Here's why you would even give a damn: You've got them in, the polarity is correct, they light up like they're supposed to... all is good. You're driving down the road, you hit a bump and "tink", one (or more ) of them go out (ask me how I know. Now you get to pull your dash just to reseat the thing, because the LED is fine, it's just not making good contact.
So, I thought, OK, easy deal, I'll just solder another piece of wire onto it (don't do this). I did it, and it made good contact, and all was groovy.
Then, I met the next issue: Jag light bulb sockets are different. On every car I've ever worked on, they had the "twist and pull" type of sockets. Not here. The jag sockets pop straight out. OK, I'm with it. But when I tried to insert the socket, with an LED bulb in it, from the back... it wouldn't fit thru the hole. The shoulder on the LED was too big to go thru the rectangular hole.
Why you would even give a damn: If you inserted your bulbs from the front, and they EVER go bad, now, not only do you get to pull your dash, but also remove your tach, or speedo (depending on the location) to replace them. I really wanted to maintain access from the back. Just pop it in, and be done. To get this done, I filed off the shoulders on each side of the LED base, allowing access from the back, for easy replacement if ever needed.
An easier solution: I didn't do this, because I was solving one problem at a time as I encountered it. But, with perfect "20/20 hindsight", I realized that this is the easier way to get it done: Straighten out the leads on the LED, pull the base off, clip off the shoulders of the LED base on both sides, put the base back on the LED, drill a couple holes in the bottom of your socket, feed the wires thru, bring them around the outside, SOLDER them onto the contacts.
It solves a few problems. Now, you've got a "bombproof" contact (it's never coming loose). And, you've retained access thru the back, so you can just pop in a new bulb (from the back), if you should ever need to, without also pulling tach or speedo.
Thass all I knows. My pic of the dash isn't very good, but it looks VERY MUCH better in real life. Quite sufficient. I did it the "hard way", but perhaps you can do it the more "intelligent way". I'm just sayin'...
So here's the dealio: LED's are cool, and we all want some. So, what to buy?
I think the old adage "you get what you pay for" doesn't really apply here. I suspect that they all come from a factory in China. Granted, you can spend a bazillion bucks at the auto parts store for something that's been re-labeled, but I think that's where they're all coming from.
I ended up buying these from Amazon:
I did the interior of my 84 xjs with LEDs, the dash ones I got are like yours, round, I just sanded the round on two sides flat and they fit and work fine. I plane on doing the exterior ones with LED this winter
Amazon.com: Jtech 10x 194 168 2825 T10 5-SMD Blue LED Car Lights Bulb: Automotive
Less than 10 bucks for the whole batch.
OK, so the first thing I noticed is that the leads are different. On your old style, incandescent bulb, you have TWO strips of wire lead, on the new ones, you only get one. 50% less contact surface, right off the bat. Hopefully, this pic will show what I'm talking about.
Here's why you would even give a damn: You've got them in, the polarity is correct, they light up like they're supposed to... all is good. You're driving down the road, you hit a bump and "tink", one (or more ) of them go out (ask me how I know
. Now you get to pull your dash just to reseat the thing, because the LED is fine, it's just not making good contact. So, I thought, OK, easy deal, I'll just solder another piece of wire onto it (don't do this). I did it, and it made good contact, and all was groovy.
Then, I met the next issue: Jag light bulb sockets are different. On every car I've ever worked on, they had the "twist and pull" type of sockets. Not here. The jag sockets pop straight out. OK, I'm with it. But when I tried to insert the socket, with an LED bulb in it, from the back... it wouldn't fit thru the hole. The shoulder on the LED was too big to go thru the rectangular hole.
Why you would even give a damn: If you inserted your bulbs from the front, and they EVER go bad, now, not only do you get to pull your dash, but also remove your tach, or speedo (depending on the location) to replace them. I really wanted to maintain access from the back. Just pop it in, and be done. To get this done, I filed off the shoulders on each side of the LED base, allowing access from the back, for easy replacement if ever needed.
An easier solution: I didn't do this, because I was solving one problem at a time as I encountered it. But, with perfect "20/20 hindsight", I realized that this is the easier way to get it done: Straighten out the leads on the LED, pull the base off, clip off the shoulders of the LED base on both sides, put the base back on the LED, drill a couple holes in the bottom of your socket, feed the wires thru, bring them around the outside, SOLDER them onto the contacts.
It solves a few problems. Now, you've got a "bombproof" contact (it's never coming loose). And, you've retained access thru the back, so you can just pop in a new bulb (from the back), if you should ever need to, without also pulling tach or speedo.
Thass all I knows. My pic of the dash isn't very good, but it looks VERY MUCH better in real life. Quite sufficient. I did it the "hard way", but perhaps you can do it the more "intelligent way". I'm just sayin'...
I did the interior lights of my 84 XJS this past winter with LEDs. the dash ones were like yours, round. I just sanded the round edge flat to fit. All fitted fine and work fine. I plan on doing the exterior lights with LEDs this winter
#5
09-15-2014 | 10:30 AM
Veteran Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 24,976
Likes: 11,021
From: Pacific Northwest USA
Because, as many postings (here and elsewhere) illustrate, it can be a bit of of PITA
. I don't get the fascination with LED lighting (or most other lighting mods) which seems to have taken the world by storm. But, hey, maybe that's because I'm older. When I had an XJS I just bypassed the rheostat (5 minute task) and the panel lights were an ideal intensity....for my eyes, at least!
A few years ago I succumbed to the trend and tried some LED lighting in my XJR. I was really just looking for a lower cost alternative to the stupid-expensive OEM bulbs. The LEDs were too bright, and I didn't have the patience (nor strong enough desire, obviously) for further experimentation so I went back to incandescent bulbs.
Carry on
Cheers
DD
#6
09-16-2014 | 03:31 PM
Veteran Member
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 2,986
Likes: 560
From: Houston, Texas
So far the only LED BULBS in my XJS are in the fog-lights which I converted to accept H3 bulbs instead of H2
They are there because they don't look like LED's and are a nice warm white color, and because those fog-lights are prone to overheating and cracking. I found those warm white h3 LEDs from a seller on E bay. Granted they are not very functional, but I don't care.
I definitely would not mind LEDs in the interior and in the rear of the cars.
The only LEDs I dislike are the white-bluish tint ones that almost all manufacturers are using in their headlights.
They are there because they don't look like LED's and are a nice warm white color, and because those fog-lights are prone to overheating and cracking. I found those warm white h3 LEDs from a seller on E bay. Granted they are not very functional, but I don't care.
I definitely would not mind LEDs in the interior and in the rear of the cars.
The only LEDs I dislike are the white-bluish tint ones that almost all manufacturers are using in their headlights.
#7
09-18-2014 | 02:39 AM
So far the only LED BULBS in my XJS are in the fog-lights which I converted to accept H3 bulbs instead of H2
They are there because they don't look like LED's and are a nice warm white color, and because those fog-lights are prone to overheating and cracking. I found those warm white h3 LEDs from a seller on E bay. Granted they are not very functional, but I don't care.
I definitely would not mind LEDs in the interior and in the rear of the cars.
The only LEDs I dislike are the white-bluish tint ones that almost all manufacturers are using in their headlights.
They are there because they don't look like LED's and are a nice warm white color, and because those fog-lights are prone to overheating and cracking. I found those warm white h3 LEDs from a seller on E bay. Granted they are not very functional, but I don't care.
I definitely would not mind LEDs in the interior and in the rear of the cars.
The only LEDs I dislike are the white-bluish tint ones that almost all manufacturers are using in their headlights.
Mine already take the H3s, (must have been converted before I bought it) and have ordered the H3 LEDs for mine, I don't generally drive at night or nasty days so like you I am not too concerned on brightness, also ordered the bulbs for the other exterior lighting. The dash lights are LEd and I have color coordinated them to it, eg, green for turn indicators. Will have to post some pics soon
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#8
06-10-2015 | 04:30 PM
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
From: Ottawa Canada
Extremely helpful - thanks
I was just looking at the back of my cluster, and wondering whether to enlarge the square hole in the back of the cluster housing (perhaps getting plastic dust into something important and terminally sensitive to plastic dust) or dremel'ing the sides of the LED base to make it fit the housing hole (perhaps damaging the LED not to be discovered until re-installed).
Hmmmmm, devil or deep blue sea.
Hey, check the forum, I thought.
Lo and behold, an answer far more elegant than I had imagined appeared.
Forums really do help.
Thank you.
Hmmmmm, devil or deep blue sea.
Hey, check the forum, I thought.
Lo and behold, an answer far more elegant than I had imagined appeared.
Forums really do help.
Thank you.
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