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ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Suzuki 4x4 Forum => Topic started by: CDNJIMNY on April 12, 2011, 07:17:55 PM

Title: Samurai Dash bulbs. LED?? how many?
Post by: CDNJIMNY on April 12, 2011, 07:17:55 PM
Heya! Newb here!,

i need to change a couple dash bulbs and I am thinking of going with LED's as a replacement.
Has anyone done this?? How does it look??  I have done it in another one of my cars with great results.
Also how many of each type of bulb is there?   I'm too lazy to drop the dash just to count!!!

Thanks to all!
Title: Re: Samurai Dash bulbs. LED?? how many?
Post by: fordguy79 on April 12, 2011, 09:47:55 PM
its a samurai the cluster take 4  194 size bulbs  as for the small bulbs i have had to change any yet so I'm not sure what the numbers are or how many
Title: Re: Samurai Dash bulbs. LED?? how many?
Post by: Merlin93 on April 13, 2011, 05:32:56 PM
By my count: 4 x #194 (#168 is brighter, but hotter) for overall gauge illumination. Mine were noticeably black inside the glass. If you use incandescent bulbs, be sure to get the LL (Long Life) kind.

9 x #74: 
5 x T1.5 (Red):   Brake, Oil, Seat Belt, Check Eng., BATTERY <--- see note below
3 x T1.5 (Green): L & R Turn, 4WD
1 x T1.5 (Blue):  High Beam

All of these have twist-lock bases, 4 large and 9 small.
You may not want to replace the battery lindicator, as the bulb current is used to tickle the alternator into operation at start up. The reduced LED current would make it harder to get the alternator working when you first start.  Or not, I haven't tried it.  If it does, just use an incandescent at that location.

Two sites that might be of some help: AutoLumination and SuperBrightLEDs. The second sells LED with the smaller twist-lock base.  Wide beamwidth is not needed for these indicators.

I had a hard time finding suitable #194 LED replacements that worked for me, and still dimmable. I found some 9-LED amber clusters on eBay that might be satisfactory. I have yet to test them in the instrument panel.  I believe amber will work better (in my Samurai) than white, or any other color, and I haven't considered any others.