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LED vs Standard Dash lights. 194 vs 168 ?


snomobeelr

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About to put the dash back in and I was searching LED vs Standard bulbs. Also is there a difference between the 194 and 168 standard bulbs? Some posts were from quite a while ago so I have some questions about the  Lights.  

 

Is one of the bulbs -  the 194 or 168 bulb brighter than the other?

Are the LED lights actually brighter?

Do the LED light Dim?

What brand LED Lights have people used and How do the LED bulbs hold up over time ?

 

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The 168's have 3 candle power vs the 194's are 2 candle power. I put in 168's when I rebuilt the gauge cluster, they are slightly brighter, plus I didn't sacrafice the dimming ability like I've heard from the LED's.

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I added the LED version of the 194's to my dash and it is so much brighter. You just lose the dimming ability of the dash lights. Now if I could get the stupid speedometer to work right.

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I just use the 194 bulbs. I seldom drive my car a night. I figure if the 194 bulbs were good enough when the car was new they are good enough for me today. I can see everything just fine if all the bulbs are lit.

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I went with the LED's, and have lost the dimming function. I drive my car everywhere and at night with such bright dash lights you sacrafice some night vision. Plus I find the extra bright lights cause eye fatigue when driving long periods of time at night. I will likely switch back to 194's, but it isn't a huge priority. For everyday driving, the LED's really make the dash look great. It isn't until you plan to drive all night that the non dimming thing becomes an issue.

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I put LED's on my 72 and love them. The night driving does not bother me but that my be because of my cataracts. Before  I could not see the left side of the speedometer and now I can. That problem might also have been from a burnt out bulb but I will probably not change back.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I recently replaced my 194s with LEDs too. The problem I have now is when I rev up the engine, the dash lights basically start flashing. As long as I'm sitting at idle, there's no issue. And ideas on what might be causing this?

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How hard is it to replace the bulbs without removing any dash parts? How many bulbs are there and the locations? Do you need any special resistors, flashers, etc when replacing just dash or interior bulbs? I was considering replacing the dome light, aftermarket gauge cluster, dash, back up lights, console rear light, and maybe a few others with LED and ordering them all at once to save on shipping. I know when I went to LED in the house it said to use all the same (LED, CFL, incandescent) in the same fixture and wasn't sure how that applied to the cars wiring.

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They are not hard to replace but You have to have them installed correctly because if backwards they will not work(voice of experience talking). I did drop the steering column and pull the dash forward to allow me access to all of the lights in the cluster.

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  • 1 year later...

I'm getting ready to put the dash back in the car and based on this post awhile back I bought the 168 bulbs as a replacement for the 194's.  Is there a potential problem with switching to the 168.  I would probably prefer a bit brighter and in this post they say the 168's are brighter.

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13 hours ago, Katman said:

Also is it possible to apply power to the printed circuit (without using the harness) to test the bulbs before I put the dash back in?

Mark, from what I remember i was powering mine up with a 9v  battery to test.  I know there was a + and - side to the bulbs, and if in reversed they would not light. 

Its been a while since I did this but I remember checking after I put each bulb in to make sure it was correct

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I tested mine with my sump pump back-up battery. My problem was once back in the car half didn't work and even when I rotated them they still didn't want to work. I didn't have enough room behind the cluster. I ended up replacing mine with new sockets and all new 194 bulbs. Good luck

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I'm using all new bulbs and sockets so I don't have the problem of them working when the dash is out and then failing after I get the dash back into the car.  ordered 194 bulbs and returning the 168's.  I read where some people used 168's on circuits that are not constantly on like the turn signal.  Just doesn't seem like a good idea to mix and match different brightness though.

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  • 4 years later...

Had some issues with my dash lights. I think it’s in the switch because when I play with the dimmer they’ll come on but not consistently. Im hoping that the 2 or 3 bulbs not lit are just burned out. While replacing the switch, I was thinking about going LED, if they’re dimmable. After reading these posts I’m having second thoughts. Since the last post was over 4 1/2 years ago, I’m wondering if anything has changed. Has anyone recently used them and are they now dimmable? Otherwise I’ll keep the 194s. 

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I used superbright automotive to purchase mine. In the description of each LED bulb it will state whether or not they are dimmable. Just search superbright automotive and you will be able to select the bulbs you need. 

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