I am in the process of rewiring my +2 dash. In the process I am replacing the instrument lights with LED versions. My question is:
The low fuel light is not earthed directly to an earth point. It would appear that the outer section of the bulb is + 12 V when illuminated with the centre pin to earth. As LED’s are polarity sensitive it would be good if someone could confirm if I will need to change the wiring so that the centre pin is +12 V.
Additionally I am intending to retain the original filament bulb for the ignition light, as I believe that the alternator will not work correctly if I replace that bulb with an LED. Can anyone confirm this?
Sorry, not a reply to your question but rather a comment on LED’s in teh Elan interior…
I replaced my Brake/Rear drivinbg lights with LED’s last year. They were a massive improvement on the old ‘close to zero watt’ filiment bulbs that used to do the job.
While at it, I ordered a pile of LED’s for the interior.
After fitting some I reverted to the filiments again…
Found the LED light to be a bit too sterile…too white!
I would imagine that you’ll have to be careful with the instruments as night driving may be a bit more tiring with (relatively speaking) bright light coming from the instruments, rather than a soft glow…
The alternator will work ok for charging with an LED. The ignition light circuit works as a balanced circuit. If there is 12v at the battery and 12v out of the alternator, then the warning light goes off. If the LED’s you are using are 12-14v, then they should work, but may start to light up at a slightly different voltage.
Hope this helps. At the end of the day, no harm in trying
Not 100% sure about the LED in the charging circuit. If you don’t have a correct resistance, the alternator won’t start charging when it’s supposed to. I speak from personal experience!! As long as the correct resistance is there, it will work ok. Regarding white light for instruments, ypu can get various coloured LEDs. You could also put some tinted cellophane or tinted paint over the white LED to achieve a warmer light.
I’m using green LEDs for directional indicators (on the inistrument panel), blue for the main beam indicator, and a flashing red for trouble! Works well.
Hi the post is correct in that the ignition must remain a normal globe. I replaced all of the instruments lights with Leds. Massive improvement over the original 2 or 3 watt globes especially at night. I also replaced the side indicator lights & parking globes to reduce the load across the grid & it did improve things like the indicator will flash with the lights on without bringing the engine off idle to make them flash.
The Leds are polarity sensitive but easily solved for the festoon leds just turn them around. I found the instruments all worked fine except for the red ignition light. Good quality leds will see most of us to the grave.