MGB & GT Forum

The gauges in my B are near impossible to see at night - ancient old peepers don't help. So I dismantled the gauges and cleaned out 4 decades of dirt. Most of the paint in the housings fell off, so they were given a fresh coat of gloss white and reassembled with new seals.
While the gauges were out I removed the old wire wound pot and gave it a good clean with switch cleaner/lube and replaced the 2.2w incandescent globes with these leds.

Fanbloodytastic improvement - I can see again. Unlike other 12v leds these things seem to work OK with the dimmer.
The tricky bit was the 2 smaller gauges. These early gauges have the lights mounted externally with a blue filter. Not wanting bright blue gauges I had to VERY CAREFULLY remove the blue filters and replace them with some home made ones. The fuel gauge was easy, the oil/temp gauge not so easy.

The OAL of these leds are longer then the incandescent globes so I don't know if they will fit the later gauges. They won't fit my Smith's clock.

A few pics showing the new leds on min and max brightness.





and a close up of the speedo and tacho on max.


The "Goldilocks" zone is with the pot set to about mid way - not too bright, not too dark.
One job done, god only knows how many more to do.

De-clunk the diff, fix oil leaks, replace leaky exhaust, fix oil leaks, low comp on #3, fix oil leaks, very noisy rocker #2 inlet, fix oil leaks, re-trim seats, fix oil leaks, repair choke on front carb, fix oil leaks...............................................................

DOES IT EVER END?

Wow, Garry, that looks fantastic.

How about a part number and source for those LED's, please?

G'day Mike, I got them from ebay, do a search for "led e10"
Try Item number: 170638525278

I also bought some with "ba9" bases that I intend to use as daytime driving lights - if they work
cheers

Got it! Thanks, mate!

Interesting that the ebay seller (topshop1985) advertises these E10's not for cars, but for use in Lionel and Marx O-Gauge model trains !

I agree that the multi-LED panels would make great daylight running lights and/or map lights, with low currect draw.

Thanks again,
Mike

Mike, You can also go here for the LEDS
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=%2F1157.htm

http://www.ledlight.com/e10-screw-base-auto-led-lights.aspx

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Gil

will these work with our standard electrics or is a relay upgrade in order?
thx!

Good one!

Will those fit in the warning lights (like BRAKE and IGNITION)?

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Below links are for my 80 B LE with factory 1800 and include pictures.
Blackstone Labs Oil Report #2 on 80 B LE (8/2011)
My MTX-L Wideband O2 Installation (8/2011)
M!ata Seat Install (5/2011)
Rear wheel cylinders, brake line bending, brake master cylinder replacement, pressure bleeding (9/2010)
1975 No-Cat Stainless Exhaust Installed (8/2010)

Where did you get your gauge seals?
Thanks, Fireball

Since they draw less current than the originals, using them would make a relay even more overkill...

To Gazza from Bazza! What a bugger my new loom comes with bulb holders for those new push-in bulbs and not screw in. Fireball have a look at Britcot - I think it's page one for seals.

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Mk1: CKD 11/66 first registered 8/5/67; owned since 3/77. 18GB +40 balanced. Peter Burgess BVFR head. Piper 285. 123. FidanzaFW. 4synch c/r box. Lots more as I did a nut and bolt rebuild; finished 2015. Tartan Red.

GT: December '78. VW Golf guards, flush fit front and rear valances. Torana XU1 vents, frenched indicators & Mk1 rear lights. 'Worked' Rover V8 with Monsoon ECU for EFI. GM4L60E, Lokar tiptronic & Quick4 controller. Vintage Air A/C. FC IFS. CCE 4 link rear. Salisbury with Quaife. Jaguar Storm.

The one thing that I would watch buying train lights is make sure it isn't for headlights on toy trains,they are a pin point light,being a Lionel enthusiast ,I bought some from a show they don't spread the light enough. I think what you need is a light that shows from the sides..
John

They're 'brilliant' Garry... Does anyone know if these will work with a positive earth system?

Thanks to all for the positive comments.
To answer a few questions, no relays required, I hooked these up to my Var P/supply and took a few measurements.
@ 12v the incandescent globes draw about 185 mA and the leds 46mA
@ 13.8v the globes increased to 200mA and the leds about 70mA
Takes a big load off the dimmer.

I don't know if they would be suitable for an IGN warning light. Anyone know how much field current is required to kick an alternator into life?
For most other warning lights you only need 1 led facing the driver so something like these MAY be more suitable.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/20PCS-E10-12V-Led-Bulb-Light-Lamp-LIONEL-1447-/330533972582?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item4cf55c2a66

Do the later cars use an E10 base?

In my junk box I had a bag full of drive belts for VCRs, cassettes & turntables and few of them fitted OK. For the chrome bezels I used self adhesive open cell foam. Seems to do a good job. Barrie's link is probably the best bet for seals.

When removing the old fossilised seals I found heating them with a hair dryer made the job a lot easier.

Bazza - If you do a search on 12v leds you might be able to find something with the correct base. Fleabay seems to have them in all shapes and sizes.

For anyone wanting to disassemble the early speedos, they are a major pita. I wimped out and gave it to the local instrument repair guy.

jewar - I agree, the ones with the single front facing led are next to useless in the gauges. Might work OK in the warning lights.

Sixty2B - sorry mate, neg earth only. Companies like Narva or Britax may have an insulated socket that might work. Even that is going to involve a bit on minor surgery to the wiring and if it shorts to gnd all that Lucas magic is going to escape.