Instrument Panel Lightbulb Replacement

[taosports]

Anyone had to replace theirs? I'm talking about the tiny lights that illuminate the speedometer and tach - the ones you can't see. Can they be replaced

[wncbmw]

My speedometer light has been out for a while and I had a bulb from the dealer to replace it. You have to remove the back of the instrument cluster. I think someone posted about it a while back. Since my speedster shield is off now while I replace a bolt that vibrated loose, I might see if that stashed bulb is still in one piece in my tank bag and replace it.

But I never look at the speedometer anyway, unless I see a blue light!

[rdsmith3]

You could forget the speedo and just get a GPS. Here is a screen shot from my Zumo

[taosports]

...You have to remove the back of the instrument cluster...

I was afraid of that Vann. Was hoping for an easier way although I don't know what that would be.

Beats buying a $300. GPS to replace a $2.00 bulb! (Sorry, Bob...couldn't resist that! Your suggestion is actually a good one and since I already have a GPS, I guess I can use it in the interim. Just bothers me to have a bulb out.)

I'll let you all know how it goes.

[frbank6]

As mentioned in another post regarding the idiot lights, I wonder if there is a direct LED replacement for these bulbs? Might be a permanent solution and perhaps even look brighter and 'crisper'.

[wncbmw]

Here is a screen shot from my Zumo

Showoff! A GPS is on my long list of things to get for the bike! But Michael is right, a bulb is cheaper in the short term.

[taosports]

Check out Bob's maximum speed!

[rdsmith3]

Check out Bob's maximum speed!

I was waiting for someone to notice that.

I assume it is some sort of GPS glitch, because neither my Roadster nor my current car (Toyota RAV4) can do 142.

[WildBlue]

As mentioned in another post regarding the idiot lights, I wonder if there is a direct LED replacement for these bulbs? Might be a permanent solution and perhaps even look brighter and 'crisper'.

Someone posted a picture of a bike with blue LEDs installed. He linked to his source (In the UK, they do ship here, however)... a search could turn up the link.

[WildBlue]

http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11375

here it is, the picture is a dead link, but it was sexy when I saw it...

[challey]

I copied and saved this out of the original posting:

Instrument lights:
I bought the T6.5base #24LED $4.99ea from here....
http://superlumination.com/74.htm
They're about 1/4 way down on the page. They are almost exactly the same dimension as the OE bulb, with a square top. I bought all Super White....which sort of washes out the turn signals and low fuel bezels, but otherwise they look great.
They are super bright, the instant on/off is cool to behold, and I don't think I'll ever leave my turn signals on again!
#24 Only (T6-1/2, T2-1/4) bulbs are 3/4" (17mm) x 5/16 (6.5mm)" diameter

On thing tho...if I were to do it again, (and I just might ) I think I would get the slightly smaller #74 bulb in the appropriate bezel colors. I think the 74 would fit the rubber holder easier & more securely....
I used 4 of these, two for the speedo and two for the rev counter
http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/wide-angle-h ... baa8823637
(286) New 120' Wide Angle High Ultimate 5mm Wedge Blue
[U286BB3] Size 5mm wide x 14mm high

And one of these for the clock,
http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/uba7b-ultima ... p-668.html
All these bulbs are direct replacements.
BA7s Bayonet base bulb with One Super Bright Blue 7mm LED
12 Volt AC/DC UBA7B BA7 - 7mm BC One Led Ultimate Blue Bulb x 4 Brighter

Hope this helps.

Charlie

[toolinalong]

take the back cover off of the instrument cluster and these are them:

[taosports]

Thanks Charlie for the links and toolinalong for the photo. I'll be changing the bulb this weekend. I'll probably change them all while I'm at it since I'm on 52,000 miles.

[Ritchard]

Thanks to this thread, I just replaced my instrument lamps (one on the tach and the clock were burnt out) with the blue LED's from Ultraleds.co.uk. It looks SWEEEEEEEET, and to my mind is more legible.

a Couple of points: this is an easy less-than-one-hour DIY job. Trickiest bit is re-aiming the headlamp. This is the most rewarding job I have done on my '02 R1150R.

Second, Ultraleds.co.uk took my order on the web on Wednesday, shipped Thursday, and arrived here on the other side of the Atlantic Tuesday. That's pretty wicked service.

Thanks for the knowledge, fellas,

R

[fallingpines]

you don't need to pull off the whole back side of the housing to change the instrument lights, just remove the torx fastener on each instrument and pull the gauge out the top. The illumination lights on each gauge can then be accessed. I changed mine over to red LED's from http://www.superbrightleds.com/led_prods.htm . I don't recall the exact replacement sizes, I removed and compared them to the ones on the site to be sure I got the right style. These come in red, amber, white, blue and green. Red looks good when it's dark out, however when there is still some light out, they look a little pink because they are shining through a white background.

For the speedo and tach, I 'think' I used the '74-xHP Wedge Base LED Bulb'. Be sure to get the 6 lumens version as the 2 lumens is not bright enough. ($2.49 X 4 pcs +$9.96)

The clock takes a smaller bulb, I believe is was 'BA7s Bayonet Base bulb '. This only comes in one brightness, which is 'almost' bright enough, but at least the color matches. (.89 cents, only one needed)

[Ritchard]

you don't need to pull off the whole back side of the housing to change the instrument lights, just remove the torx fastener on each instrument and pull the gauge out the top.

er, Doh!

Of course, how stupid of me. But then I would never have discovered that a previous owner had hidden a spare key in a magnetic box stuck to the back of the headlamp. At which point I felt like a treasure hunter.

So then this is tremendously worth doing. It would only take 10 mins to change out the original lamps to leds that way. I guess I took of the back of the cluster because of the picture posted above in this thread.

R

[Ritchard]

last night the other LED's arrived from the US site, the coloured ones for the idiot lights. This was also an easy job (once I figured out just how to pop off the lenses - I was scared of breaking something). It looks fantastic, well worth the $20 or whatever I spent. As someone pointed out above, you may never leave your turn signals on again, because these suckers are BRIGHT! In fact, the High beam indicator may be too bright for prolonged use, it may simply shine in the eyes too much. The one question, since the tiny lamps have distinct polarity, is, "Did I install the low fuel lamp properly?"

We'll see pretty soon.

Thanks again for the wisdom, fellas.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Check out Bob's maximum speed!

I was waiting for someone to notice that.

I assume it is some sort of GPS glitch, because neither my Roadster nor my current car (Toyota RAV4) can do 142.

I don't know about that, well, maybe a little. I just got back from Colorado and one Sunday morning in NE New mexico I opened the RR. I was at 121 on my Zumo when I started to slow down. There was a LOT of twist left in the throttle, easily 1/4 of a turn. I don't know if I would've seen 142, but...I'm just saying.

John

[marsdog]

I ordered some replacement lights from superbrightleds.com for the speedo, tach and clock. I was able to take everything apart just fine and new clock light worked fine. As far as the tach, I plugged the new LEDs in and nothing lighted. I wanted to be sure I was doing things right, so I put the old bulbs back in and those two were now dark. Meanwhile I still have the original speedo lights in and lighting up. I then moved onto the speedo to see if I'd get a different result and simply pulled the bulb holder out of the back of the unit (leaving) the bulb in the socket. I then turned on the ignition and that was now dark too! I can't imagine what I'm doing wrong! Anyone else have such issues?
FYI, below are the bulbs I ordered base on what I've read on this and other threads. At first I thought maybe I have the wrong bulbs, but since I can't get the original bulbs to work, I'm not so sure about that now.

4 | 74-xHP Wedge Base LED Bulb | $ 2.49 |
Blue 74-BHP

[Dr. Strangelove]

fuses? wire harness?