Does anyone know a good replacement for the dash bulbs? I got a pair of Sylvania 1891 bulbs that fit and turned on, but apparently they were too much for the housings and melted them to the point I had to chip them out. All I found in a search was the LED replacements. Thanks.
I went all LED and didn't look back. I can actually read my gauges now! No worries about heat issues either.
At first I tried the military issue LEDs (NSN 5980-01-438-8939) and they were okay but still not as bright as I'd prefer. The upside was they came with new, clear bulb caps to replace my melted green ones.
SuperBrightLEDs has 28v LEDs with the appropriate BA9S base and they are very reasonably priced. The only downside is that the 28v are only available in narrow 32 degree view. There's a remedy for that though. I made reflectors for inside of the bulb caps with some aluminum foil glued inside the top.
Since the lights were so inexpensive I tried a couple different color combos to see which I liked best. Red, green, and white all do a great job lighting up the dash. Amber is pretty mediocre. I used the whites for a little while but eventually went back to green. Also replaced my flasher light with one. No forgetting when it's on now!
Part numbers for LEDs:
BA9S-W4-32-28VAC: Cool White, 32 Degree, 28V
BA9S-G4-32-28VAC: Green, 32 Degree, 28V
BA9S-A4-32-28VAC: Amber, 32 Degree, 28V
BA9S-R4-32-28VAC: Red, 32 Degree, 28V
Some pics:
