ghettocruiser

iTrader: (17)

Hey all.

I have been driving my swap for almost 2500 miles now. Everything seems great so far.

One little thing that botters me, is the check engine light. I used an orange LED from radio shack as my check engine light. If I go out right now and turn the key to run, it lights up. Goes out after the car starts. However...while its running, the LED is lit ever so slightly. I mean it has to be dark and you have to look to notice it. But it is...

I also have a couple of codes that trip...that are codes that Im aware of and arent major. But..the check engine light doesnt illuminate all the way.

Also...and this is weird to me... But if I shut the car off, and then turn the key back to run...the check engine light doestn come on all the time. I have to have the key off for alittle bit, then it will light up during start up.

What the heck??? I gotta get under the dash to do some wiring clean up soon...so Ill double check for things like shorts...but I was pretty thorough when I wired it.

Any ideas? can someone who has an LED as their check engine light go out at night and see if it lights alittle bit with the car running? I was thinking maybe you wouldnt notice it on a stock dash because its a bulb and its behind the gauge overlay.

Justin

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (17)

No ideas guys??? Im going to get a tune as soon as I fix a few odds and ends and the weather clears up. I have an M6 with an A4 PCM...so Im going to get it completly re-flashed to an M6 PCM and have it tuned. So whatever is goofing with me will probably be fixed. Unless its not PCM related...thats why I was postin about it.

Thanks!

Justin

01WS6/tamu

iTrader: (37)

You may try changing to a red indicator lamp like painless makes. It is possible there is enough residual resistance leaking through the pcm that will light an led but will not light a bulb type mil. There is not anything wrong with the pcm just the way it works some times with resistance's it takes the path of least resistance seeking a way to ground.

Quick Double Nickel

iTrader: (5)

Did you use something like this:

http://www.ledshoponline.com/automotive_leds1156.htm

(Fully electronic no-load flasher unit)

Or did you just attach the LED directly to the PCM wiring?

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (17)

01WS6/tamu: Thats what I was thinking... Its just weird that none of the codes that my scan gauge is showing triggers the light to come on. Im wondering if the previous tuner set the SES setting to off...so the codes set but dont trip the light. Im going to be moving my scan gauge from my console to my dash...so the warning lights will be moved. I might just try to change them to bulbs. The LEDS are kinda crappy/cheap looking anyway.

Quick Double Nickel: Im not sure which part you were talking about with that link... But my warning lights are just single LED bulbs, that are set up to run on 12V. Resistor built in etc etc... They are from radio shack. Here is a pic of the bulbs that Im using for my warning lights....



I think I might change up the bulbs since I have to re-do things alittle on the dash. Now's the time...

Justin

Quick Double Nickel

iTrader: (5)

The item I was referring to was the "Fully electronic no-load flasher unit". It was to go along with what 01WS6/tamu was saying. Since, you have the LEDs with the resistor built in then I was thinking it might just be a lack of overall resistance, which is what the product I was reffering to takes care of (I think, not sure).

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (17)

Thanks for the replies guys. Im thinking you are probably right. I didnt think a 12V LED could come on below 12V...but maybe there is something wrong with the bulb that I got? Or maybe the PCM just isnt designed to be used with an LED.... I think what Im going to do is hook up a lamp and see what happens. If it stays dead while the LED is glowing dimmly, then Ill switch to bulbs instead of LEDS. Like I said, I dont really like how they look anyway.

Justin

Quick Double Nickel

iTrader: (5)

I was going to go with LED for my cluster, but your problem with how they look is making me think twice. In your opinion, what don't you like about the way they look? Too bright?

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (17)

Well...honestly, they arent "on" very often. The only two that I have functioning right now is the MIL light and the ebrake light. I have a light for low coolant and low oil but I need to wire them up.

My main problem is when they are off, they just look cheap. I have nice gauges, and a clean dash, and they are installed into plexi that is painted black from behind...so they stand out. And they just look like crap IMO.

When On...they dont really look like LEDs...they are pretty dull looking. Plenty bright I think. But they dont have that nice crisp sharp light like an LED. I was going to use the LEDs that are the single diode and you install them into a chrome housing...but 1) I thought the chrome wouldnt go because I dont have chrome anywhere and 2) I was hoping the radio shack 12v LEDs would have a better light pattern...instead of shooting right out of the front.

Here is a bad pic of the dash..its hard to see the LEDs...but you can see how the dash is mostly clean and those little plastic dots just look like crap.



Here is a crappy blown up pic just for giggles...



I had a hard time finding lights that I liked for warning lights. My indicator lights (turn signals and highbeams) are the stock indicators. I was able to resuse them. Now that I have more time to search around, Im going to find some that I like better and ditch those LEDs...

Justin

Quick Double Nickel

iTrader: (5)

Well, I'm in exactly the same situation as you. I too think that most of the LED indicator lamps out there just don't cut it when it comes to looks. I don't have any chrome in my interior so I'm not leaning towards those either. I've been searching everywhere for a possible solution. The problem is I'm not a fan of the way the incandesent bulbs look either. I've found some black-bezeled ones that I'm going to maybe try out. Check them out at the link below:

(they are the "Type No: PS/LH/8" - fourth selection down in the yellow box on the list with a 8.0 mm mounting hole size)

http://www.oxleygroup.com/lamps/advanced_lamps.html

I like the ones where you can get letters or an image printed on them.

01WS6/tamu

iTrader: (37)

You do not have to use something that big. When I built my monte carlo with a vortec 350 I used the smallest one painless makes I think it was a 5/16 and it had a small chrome trimring around it. It looked nice was unobtrusive and It worked everytime.

stealth71

iTrader: (15)

I got some LED's online. They are all clear until they are lit. I have yet to mount them, but they are much higher quality than the radioshack ones. I took a couple pics of them a while ago. My only problem is they are almost too bright. I can tone them down w. larger resistors if I need to.

Green:


Orange:


I will take some pics tonight of them not lit up.

01WS6/tamu

iTrader: (37)

I checked on jegs the number for the 5/16 red one is 764-80206 and the 1/8" one is 764-80201. If you go to their webiste it is under electrical and down toward the bottom in the far right column it is labeled as indicators etc.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (17)

The problem with the radio shack ones isnt the actual LED inside...Its the plastic housing they have them installed into. Which is what I initially liked about them. I thought the plastic dome style housing would help diffuse some of the light source and make it less of a directional beam.

But it really doesnt do that...all it does is look like crap and make the LED dual looking.

Thanks for the web page Double....I havent seen that yet. I searched for LEDs when I was doing some projects (RC Cars) and I found some good sites. But those are nice panel mounts. I like the black bezel idea...

I REALLY wanted to find some lights with stuff printed on them. A guy on this board has a cobra kit car (right hand drive) and he had some lights with little pictures on them. They were pretty big though...too big for my taste.

J.

Quick Double Nickel

iTrader: (5)

Well, I have an e-mail into those guys to give me a quote on some of there printed LED panel lights, so we'll see what they come back with. My fear is that they will come back with "we don't sell in quantities less than 200, so if you want 200 . . ."

01WS6/tamu: Yeah, I saw the smaller Painless lamps, but like ghettocruiser I'm not a big fan of the way they look. And after looking at the Radio Shack pieces I wouldn't go with those either. If it ends up that I can't get the black LED then I'll probably go to the Painless pieces and put LED bulbs inside and maybe try to cut-up some stickers to put over them to make them like the ones I want. It's going to be difficult to cut stickers that small though . . .

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (17)

My other solution... It will take a bit more work, but would be super slick when finished...

My 87 Dash had little inserts with bulbs behind them. They looked black when unlit, and then lit up the correct color with words when the bulb came on. Orange for check engine, and the rest were red.

I was going to use those behind my plexy. I was going to put circular or rectangular stickers down, then paint the plexy black, then glue those inserts onto the plexy so from the front it looks black when off. Then, using some pieces of the old dash that I hacked up, get the sockets and attach them so each bulb is concealed over each insert. That would be really trick, and really slick.

The only thing that kept me from doing this the first go around, was that I was in a hurry and drilling 4 holes was much faster. Plus, I wanted the low oil and low coolant...which I didnt have inserts for. Which..in hindsight doesnt really matter because I didnt hook up those lights anyway...

Justin

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (17)

Actually....Im liking this idea again... I might give it a shot. If it works, Im sure you could do it with any dash from any car. Just gotta butcher it up for the little inserts... It would look really nice I think.

Ok...need some help finding some parts then... Anyone know where I can get a 194 bulb style socket like my drawings? Not to scale...did them in like 4 minutes just now. I know where to get the actual socket that the bulb goes into, but I would need something else like a housing to snap the socket into. Can be round or square like the drawing. Doesnt need to have a reflector..just needs to be able to contain the light of the bulb so it all shines through the insert. Im sure I can make something work...but finding some parts like that would make it possible to skip a step or two. Maybe even some small flash light reflectors...just have to modify the hole a bit.

Let me know if you have any ideas!!!



J.

76LQ9TA

iTrader: (1)

i like that idea. I may start butchering the 95 caprice cluster I have when I switched it to a 96 camaro cluster.

Quick Double Nickel

iTrader: (5)

Yeah, your idea is right along the lines of what Brains is doing for his dash in his Mustang conversion. I was going to go that route, but having to put the inserts in and and find the reflectors for the bulbs kind of put me off. I just though that putting in an actual indicator lamp would be easier. But your's and Brains ideas are definitely much nicer looking. I may end up going that route if I can't find a suitable lamp assembly for the LEDs (and assuming you can find the relfectors to hold the bulbs for us ).

Right now I'm leaning towards a piece of carbon fiber panel with the gauges and indicator lamps put into it. Pretty simple to accomplish. Now if I could just find some good looking LED indicator lamps. . .

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (17)

You know...I think I remember reading that brains was doing that...

I gave it some thought and it doesnt have to be a 194 bulb. It can be any small bulb...wedge base or twist base... Hell it can even be LED.

Finding the actual housing/holder is going to be a chore. I might just need to modify something else to work...or make it out of fiberglass or something. We'll see. Its too damn cold to do much out there, but Ill see what I can get done over the next few days.

Im glad there is some interest in this! We should be able to come up with some good solutions!

J.