Club 80-90 Forums

Can any one advise if this is the sort of thing I need to replace the led for the main beams

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/5mm-white-led-n72kg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I know this is white but was going to get some blue caps to cover

thanks

Tim

I am prepared to be corrected, but on both of my dashboards the main beam telltale is an incandescent bulb that fits into a blue filter, not an led.

That is correct.

Normally available from Brickwerks, but out of stock just now. E-mail them to find out when they will be back in stock.

It is a regular bulb but you can change it for an LED (with correct resistor) if you wanted to. Based on the spec of that LED, you'd need a 330 ohm resistor (or slightly higher if you can't find that value). All my dash lights are LEDs now with correct resistors depending on brightness sought.

The actual overhead dash lighting can be similarly upgraded using 10mm LEDs.

Actually, come to think of it, all my home lighting is LED too. Big fan of them. Trick is not to overdrive them (ie too low a resistor value)

I got one from my local VW commercial dealer about a year ago.

It was a normal bulb and came with the blue cover/cap also (which I didn't need as had the original).

I can't remember the exact price but seem to remember it was about £5 ish.

Hope this helps.

or LED and resistor for about £1 - less on ebay as you can buy whole packs that way. Maplins isn't the cheapest by any means. Maxed-out on their pricing I'd say but they do have to pay for shop/staff etc. It does make sense to change the bulb for an LED though. The only reason VW didn't do so is because blue LEDs were just a dream back then - and white, hence filament bulbs. Not everyone wants to solder though.

Think I've got confused with the led as is getting referred to as that on a few parts sites (perhaps that an updated alternative part).

Called VW commercial as of Feb this year its no longer an order-able part, did get asked if my reg was a private plate (no its just old), they recommended to email Oldtimer.nutzfahrzeuge@volkswagen.de to see if they can help.

Have emailed brickwerks to see if they may be able to source, as the only genuine ones i can find are in Canada http://www.frankcondelli.com/staging1/s ... uct_id=891" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Its not due for MOT till next August so not to stressed but would like to fix over winter.
if all fails will go down the led route can solder but not the most delicate.

Tim

Try the dealers by asking for one from a Golf, Passat or Scirocco of the same era, they are the same bulb.

Part number is 357919062 - here are some possibilities = https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=35791 ... GkadLprMgN" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Its one of those searches that looks promising but not in stock any ware in the UK from what I can see.
The cheapest i found was to get one sent from Canada or may be USA but might incur customs charge. Postage from EU is more expensive.

Just get the maplins one. Would take all of 20 mins to fit it. Once you've done one, the rest soon follow.....

https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... &p=8085400" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

No bad thing to get familiar with how the dash works and you soon get clarity on what does what. High-beam and lighting circuit probably the easiest to work on.

CovKid wrote:
Actually, come to think of it, all my home lighting is LED too. Big fan of them. Trick is not to overdrive them (ie too low a resistor value)

I would love to go down this route or even change to 12v for all the lighting at home.
Where would you advise going to buy long lasting quality componemts (that arent a fire hazard) at reasonable cost?

Depends what kind of lighting you want. As always, good drivers are important. More and more converters are appearing that allow you to fit LED replacements in domestic bayonet fittings for instance but I use a lot of clip-on and desklamps that take GE10 fittings which are available in LED format. I quite like building my own these days and converting existing light fittings over to LED. The dash has been a lot of fun and yes I could have bought off-the-shelf bulbs but LEDs alone are incredibly cheap (pennies if you buy packs) and you can 'tweak' the brightness to suit the application.

As an aside, my dash dimmer has been replaced and with its removal, plus a bit of filing/cutting, the space is now used for my chicken switch. You don't need a dash dimmer at all once you have the right resistors fitted whereas with tungsten you don't have much choice. Its worth doing any lights that come on in sidelight position as it means you can leave it parked for several days without flattening the battery then. Was caught like that a few times before I replaced them.

Have learnt a lot about LEDs in recent years and they will, ultimately see the end of those crappy energy saving bulbs. The voltage curve on LEDs isn't linear which normally makes dimming that much tougher but with good driver units you can set the mood just right.

Mr Covkid

Would these work http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DIFFUSED-5mm- ... 723c286f7c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; already have the resistors soldered in.

tim